This is the most common type of verb in isiZulu, and is the one you will have the most practice with.
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 should be helpful for understanding verbs of this type.
| Type A: verbs that are followed by nouns aka transitive verbs | what happens when you add an impambosi | example sentences |
| uku-dlisa uku-thengisa | add -isa > this is the basic coding for Type A verbs, so adding it sometimes doesn’t work well, or doesn’t make sense > generally, it allows you to make another noun do the verb or cause the action to occur > changes these verbs to Type D (1) | ngizomdlisa ushevu I shall poison him [I-shall-him-make-eat the-poison] bathengisa izingubo they sell clothes [they-cause-buying the-clothes] |
| uku-dlela uku-thengela | add –ela > allows you to add a locative or another noun as an indirect object > changes these verbs to Type B or Type D (2) | ngidlela lesi sidlo etafuleni I eat this meal at the table [I-apply-eating this meal table-place] uyithengela ubani? for whom do you buy it? [you-it-buy-apply who?] |
| uku-dlana uku-dlelana uku-dlisana | add –ana [more commonly –elana or –isana with Type A verbs, unless you are comfortable with casual cannibalism] > allows you to add someone who is doing this verb with the original subject > changes these verbs to Type E | siyadlana we are eating each other [we-do-eat-reciprocal] siyadlelana we eat from one another [we-do-eat-apply–reciprocal] siyadlisana we eat together [we-do-eat-cause–reciprocal] |
| uku-dleka uku-thengeka | add –eka or –akala > allows you to express the verb as simply happening, with no effect on another noun > changes these verbs to Type C | akudleki it’s inedible [no-it-eat-happen-not] iyathengeka it’s for sale [it-does-buying-happen-yes] |
| uku-dliwa uku-thengwa | add –wa or –iwa > makes the statement passive, i.e. the subject experiences the action, done by the agent > changes these verbs to Type F | elinye iqembu lizodliwa yithi another team will be beaten by us [other team it-future-eating-experience it-us] imoto ayithengwa ngabantwana a car is not purchased by children [the-car no-it-buying-experience it-is-children] |
| -dlile -thengile | add –ile > makes the verb into a state or a finished action > changes these verbs to Type C | ngidlile I’m full / I’m done eating [I-eating-state] bathengile they are done buying [they-buying-state] |
| uku-dlisisa uku-thengisisa | add –isisa > makes the action of these verbs more intense | abadli, bayadlisisa they don’t just eat, they devour [they-do-eat-intensive] izolo izintombi bezithengisisa! yesterday the girls were on a shopping spree! [past-they-shop-intensive] |
What you will notice is that the basic verbs undergo quite a lot of change with the addition of the extensions:
- ‘eat’ becomes ‘poison’, ‘eat at’, ‘eat together’, ‘be edible’, ‘be beaten’, ‘be full’, and ‘devour’
- ‘buy’ becomes ‘sell’, ‘buy for’, ‘be for sale’ and ‘go on a shopping spree’.