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- "Sitapotea"
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The -ta- infix specifies the future tense, as compared to -na- for present tense.
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Only in the present tense does the -a verb ending become -i in the negative. As this is future tense, the ending remains unchanged. Is that correct?
Yes, correct.
Also, negations are very easy in the future tense. Just change the subject prefix ( ni to si, u to hu, and so on), and that's it.
For other tenses the tense infix (i.e. -na-, -me-, -li-) changes in the negative, but not for the future tense.
yes, but if I recall correctly, the habitual tense doesn't take on any subjects, objects, tense, or really any modifiers at all. It's pretty much just "hu + Root verb", thus I believe you can tell the difference between a habitual tense, and a negative 2nd person present.
KUUZA - to sell
Habitual - Wewe huuza - you usually sell (along the lines of, it is known that you sell something, even if it is unknown if you are actively selling in the present)
Negative second person present - Wewe huuzi - you do not sell/ you are not selling.
Again... it's been a while and I'm not fluent so maybe take me with a grain of salt lol
I came to this thread precisely for this question! Thank you for this explanation
this sentence should notbe in a lesson on present tense as it is a future!
Agree, this lesson seems not very well designed. It really needs some explanation and more samples and it might stick to the subject.
True, but Ive found it quite helpful in pushing me to get to grips a bit with verbs!
"to lose" would be the intended spelling, I think. (Rhymes with "whose" and "two's" and "booze". Good job Swahili spelling is much more logical.)
In Guarani, the future tense is marked by a ta affix, just as in Swahili!
In Guarani, however, it is a suffix ("ohóta, ahecháta, reguatáta"), while in Swahili is an infix ("tutacheza, nitapoteza, utasoma").
Now we are getting even further from examples of the present tense in Swahili ...
Why is it not sitapotei? Does the last a only turn into an i in the negative present?
Correct. As Juryrigging wrote above:
Only in the present tense does the -a verb ending become -i in the negative. As this is future tense, the ending remains unchanged.
They probably just didn't add it as an alternative because it's pretty stilted, old-fashioned usage that hardly anyone uses anymore.
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This appeared for me in the 'Present 3' unit even though it's not in the present tense.
