Lesson 4 – Conjugating the Verb “To Be” in the Present Tense

On important auxiliary verb in Lingala is kozala (To be). It is important to know how to conjugate this verb.

Let’s go over the conjugaison of the verb kozala (To be) in Lingala together!

1.

na-zal-i                       o-zal-i                         a-zal-i

na-zal-i                       o-zal-i                         a-zal-i

na-zal-i                       o-zal-i                         a-zal-i

—

na – I                     (zal)i – am

o – You                  (zal)i – are

a – He/She           (zal)i – is

2.

to-zal-i                       bo-zal-i                         ba-zal-i

to-zal-i                        bo-zal-i                        ba-zal-i

to-zal-i                        bo-zal-i                        ba-zal-i

—

to – We                   (zal)i – are

bo – They               (zal)i – are

ba – They               (zal)i – are

As you will notice, while the root -zal- of the verb does not change, the personal pronouns and ending of the root changes. Depending on which personal pronoun one uses and the tense, the root -zal- takes on a different meaning and ending.

PRACTICE

Now let’s practice some of these!