These verbs are tricky for English-speakers, as English usually uses adjectives or past participles in their place.
Before continuing, have a look at the following tables to make sure you are in the right place:
| Question | Example verbs | Example sentences |
| Type A. Is the verb followed by a noun [or does it use an object concord]? | uku-dla uku-thenga | ngidla isinkwa bayazithenga [izingubo] |
| Type B. Is the verb followed by a locative? | uku-ya uku-hlala | uya ekhaya? sihlala endlini. |
| Type C. Does the verb describe a state or situation? | uku-khathala uku-sha | ziyakhathala they are getting tired iyasha it is on fire |
| Type D. (1) Is the verb followed by two nouns [or does it use an object concord and have another noun]? or (2) Is the verb followed by a noun [or does it use an object concord] and a locative? | uku-tshela uku-nika or uku-faka uku-susa | ngizotshela indoda indaba banginike ithuba or luzofaka umfutho entweni bazisusa etafuleni |
| Type E. Is the verb followed by na*? | uku-hlangana uku-fana | angifuni ukuhlangana naye. ubaba ufana nenkunzi. |
| Type F. Does the verb end with -wa, followed by a copulative? | uku-kholwa | sikholwa nguye |
If you are certain that this is the place to be, then continue. Otherwise, you can head back to the overall izimpambosi page.
The following table explains Type C Verbs, which are those describing states or situations:
| Type C: verbs that describe states or situations aka stative or perfect verbs | what happens when you add an impambosi | example sentences |
uku-khathaza uku-shisa | add -isa > allows you to add an object that you make do (or cause to do) the action > many stative verbs end in -ala, and these then replace the L with a Z (when other verbs add IS) > changes these verbs to Type A | uyangikhathaza you exhaust me [you-me-make-tire] ilanga liyashisa the sun is hot [it-cause-burning] |
| uku-khathalela uku-shela | add –ela > allows you to add a purpose or indirect object to the action, or add a location > changes these verbs to Type B or Type D (2) | bayasikhathalela they are worried about us [they-us-apply-tiring] indoda ithanda ukushela the man likes to court / woo / chat people up [act-burning-apply ] |
| uku- uku-khathazana uku-khathalelana uku- uku-shisana uku-shelana | add –ana [only possible with compound impambosi, –isana or –elana with Type C verbs] > allows you to add someone who is doing this verb with the original subject > changes these verbs to Type E | izelamani ziyakhathazana the siblings irritate each other [they-do-tire-cause-reciprocal] bayashelana they court each other [they-do-burn-apply-reciprocal] |
| uku-khathazeka uku-shiseka | add –eka or –akala > since Type C verbs are like this in their basic state, this extension allows you to express extended versions of the basic verb as simply happening, with no effect on another noun > most often has a connotation of ‘able to…’ > changes extensions of these verbs back to Type C | ungakhathazeki don’t worry [you-should-tire-cause–happen-not] akushiseki it’s not flammable [no-it-burning-cause–happen-no] |
uku-khathazwa uku-khathalelwa uku-shiswa uku-shelwa | add –wa or –iwa > this is very close to the basic coding of Type C verbs, and almost never occurs in their unextended form > makes the statement passive, i.e. the subject experiences the action, done by the agent > changes these verbs to Type F | ukhathazwa yini? what’s troubling you? [you-tire-experience it-what?] igudu lishelwa ngamanzi the smoking horn has burnt dry [it-burning-apply-experiences] |
| – -khathele -shile | add –ile > makes the verb into a state or a finished action > many stative verbs end in -ALA, and these then replace the A with an E to make the stative or perfect impambosi > changes these verbs to a more polished or finished Type C | ngikhathele I’m tired [I-tire-state] ishile it’s burnt [it-burning-state] |
| uku-shisisa | add –isisa > makes the action of these verbs more intense | ilanga alishisi, liyashisisa! the sun isn’t hot, it’s scorching! [it-burn-intensive] |