Prerequisite: Lesson 3.
New words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| suda | past marker — put it before the verb |
| saufa | future marker — put it before the verb |
Two words. That is the entire tense system of Amadunia.
The verb never changes
Take any sentence you already know and drop one word in front of the verb.
| Amadunia | English |
|---|---|
| Mi kula pan. | I eat bread. |
| Mi suda kula pan. | I ate bread. |
| Mi saufa kula pan. | I will eat bread. |
kula stayed kula. It will always stay kula.
Everyone, every time
| past | present | future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | mi suda go | mi go | mi saufa go |
| you | yu suda go | yu go | yu saufa go |
| she / he | ta suda go | ta go | ta saufa go |
| we | kita suda go | kita go | kita saufa go |
Read down any column: the verb is identical in every row. Read across any row: only the particle moves.
Where the particle goes
Directly before the verb, after the subject. Nowhere else.
- Rafiki suda lai. — The friend came.
- Anak saufa nomu akua. — The child will drink water.
- Doktor suda kan ta. — The doctor saw her.
A conversation
— Yu suda kula? — Ya, mi suda kula pan. Yu? — No. Mi saufa kula. — Ok. Mi saufa beri ca.
Did you eat? — Yes, I ate bread. You? — No. I will eat. — Ok. I’ll give (you) tea.
Not repeating yourself
Once the time is set, you may leave the particle off until the time changes:
Mi suda go ruma. Mi kula pan. Mi nomu ca. Mi kan rafiki. — I went home. I ate bread. I drank tea. I saw a friend.
Only the first sentence carries suda; the rest inherit it. Putting suda in every sentence is also correct — just longer.
Practice
- Ta suda sema. — She spoke.
- Kita saufa kan sol. — We will see the sun.
- Anak suda nomu akua. — The child drank water.
- Yu saufa lai ruma? — Will you come home?
- Mi suda bil nama. — I knew the name.
What you can already say
Four lessons in: greet, ask, want, eat, drink, come, go, give, see, speak, know — in past, present and future, for any subject, without a single verb ever changing shape.
Plurals are covered in Lesson 5, possession in Lesson 6, questions in Lesson 7.