Concords in isiZulu are some of the strangest aspects of the language when compared to English.
Here are some examples, highlighting not only the fact that the concords change but that they have a specific order:
Noun-Possessive-Adjective-Relative is how one describes something,
and Noun Subject-Object-Verb is how one talks about actions.
You can see how the concords work in these patterns by following the links and going to the pages:
- Colours and Descriptions (how to work with adjective and relative concords)
- Possession explained (how to work with the possessive concords)
- Verbs and their Concords
Examples of the patterns for Human Noun Class
noun possessive adjective relative: umuntu wami omkhulu obomvu
umuntu
umu: u- -m- ::: uyamthanda [verb]
wa- omu- o- ::: wami omkhulu obomvu [descript.]
“umuntu wami uyamthanda umuntu omkhulu obomvu”
my person likes the/a big red person
“umuntu omkhulu uyamzonda umuntu wakhe omhlophe”
the big person hates his white person
abantu
aba: ba- -ba-::: bayabathanda [verb]
ba- aba- aba-::: bami abakhulu ababomvu [descript.]
“abantu baseMzansi bayababheka abadlali bebhola abasha abansundu”
people of-Mzansi they-them-watch young black players of soccer
abantu ba-s-eMzansi bakuphi? baseMzansi
people of-it’s-Mzansi-place where are they? they-are-in-Mzansi
“abantu besikole aba-y-ishumi bazobhikisha kusasa”
people of-school who-are-ten will protest tomorrow