Malagasy
Malagasy: Cause and Effect
Causality – how one event causes another – is one of the more interesting aspects of Malagasy. Often, this requires keeping track of tenses; as a reminder, in general:
- Verbs starting with “m” are in present tense.
- Verbs starting with “n” are in past tense.
- Verbs starting with “h” are in future tense.
Some related words showing cause and effect include:
| fa | but |
| dia | so / then |
| ka | so / then |
| rehefa | then, when, soon, soon after |
Watch for these words when reading the following story.
| Androany, nandeha niantsena aho. | Today, I went shopping. | androany – today mandeha miantsena – to go shopping nandeha niantsena – to have gone shopping |
| Te-hividi broccoli aho, fa tsy nisy tany an-tsena, ka nividy soflera sy laisoa. | I wanted to buy broccoli, but the market did not have any, so I bought cauliflower and cabbage. | fa – but ka – so / then soflera – cauliflower laisoa – cabbage |
| Nila akondro ny reniko, ka nividy akondro telo kilao aho ho azy ary roa kilao ho ahy. | My mother needed bananas, so I bought 3 kilos of bananas for her and 2 kilos for me. | mila – to need nila – needed reni – mother reniko – my mother |
| Nahatsiaro ho toy ny rajako na gidro aho. | I felt like a monkey or lemur. | mahatsiaro ho toy – to feel like rajako – monkey lemur – gidro |
| Nividy akondro aho mba manao mofo akondro. | I bought bananas to make banana bread. | mba – in order to |
| Nafangaroko lafarinina, akondro, siramamy, ary menaka mba hanaovana mofo matsiro io. | I mixed flour, bananas, sugar, and oil to make this tasty bread. | mafangaro – to mix lafarinina – flour siramamy – sugar menaka – oil |
| Natory aho avy eo. | After, I took a nap. | |
| Natory aho rehefa avy eo. | After, I then took a nap. | rehefa – then, when, soon, soon after |
| Marani-tsaina nyalikako ka nihinana ny mofo raha natory aho. | My clever dog ate the bread while I was asleep. | matory – to sleep
natory – to have slept |
| Malahelo aho izao, tsy misakafo ny zanako, ary marary kibo ny alikako satria be loatra sakafony. | Now I am sad, my children do not have dinner, and my dog has a stomachache because she ate too much. | izao – sad zanako – children marary – sick kibo – stomach alikako – my dog be loatra – too much. |
