66 Matumizi ya Lugha

SARUFI:        (1) -NGE-/-NGALI-;
                           (2) -KI-

-NGE-/-NGALI–

The -nge- marker expresses a present or future unlikely condition, -ngali- a past condition imagined to be different than what actually happened.  In the famous song “Malaika,” the singer expresses—in slightly different words—the following:

     Ningepata pesa ningekuoa.         If I’d get money, I would marry you.
(And it’s unlikely that this will happen.)

Using the other marker, the sentence would read:
     Ningalipata pesa ningalikuoa.   If I had received the money, I would’ve married you.
(But I didn’t …)

* Monosyllabic verbs keep the -ku- with these markers, both in the affirmative and the negative.
     ningekuwa     I’d be                       nisingekuwa   I wouldn’t be
     wangekula     they’d eat                 wasingekula   they wouldn’t eat
     ingepita          it would pass            isingepita        it wouldn’t pass

There is an alternative negative, which is much less frequently used than the -si- type.
     singekuwa     I wouldn’t be              hatungekuwa  we wouldn’t be
     hungekuwa    you wouldn’t be        hamngekuwa   you wouldn’t be
     hangekuwa    s/he wouldn’t be       hawangekuwa  they wouldn’t be

Examples from the novel:
     Nisingezaliwa hapa labda ningekuwa mtu mwingine. (57)
If I wasn’t born here maybe I would be a different person.

Labda ingefaa kama tusingaliwapeleka watoto wetu shuleni. (59)
Perhaps it would be best if we hadn’t sent our children to school.
NOTE: ‘kama’ is often used with these markers.

Stella alimwelezea jinsi Zakaria alivyonoa panga kumkata
vipandevipande kama angalirudi nyumbani siku ile. (59)
Stella told her how Zakaria was sharpening the machete to chop her up
if she had home that day.
NOTE: ‘kama’ is often used with these markers.

Zoezi la kwanza. TAFSIRI.
1          Hata kama mtu angalitembea juu ya paa Thomas asingesikia. (54)
2          Kama Padri angalizungumza juu ya mambo haya labda angaliweza
kumsaidia. (48)
3          Labda mambo yote yangalikwenda sawasawa kama Stella
asingaliropoka. (6)
4          Kama upepo usingalikuwa unavuma [..] wangaliweza kusikia kelele. (7)
5          Mwezi uliofuata darasa lilikuwa tulivu. Rosa asingepata taabu tena
kama habari fulani zisingemfikia Sista John. (27)
6          Thereza alimsaidia na kama isingalikuwa yeye, Rosa asingalimaliza. (29)

Zoezi la pili. MAZUNGUMZO.
Wanafunzi wanaongea kwenye vikundi vidogovidogo. Kila mwanafunzi achague mhusika mmoja kutoka katika video zinazofuata. Mazungumzo yatakuwa kama hivi.

(A amechagua kuwa papa, yaani ‘pope’ kwa Kiingereza.)
B            Ungekuwa papa ungefanya nini?
A            Ningewaruhusu mapadri waoe.
B            Kwa nini?
A            Kwa sababu wangeweza kuishi maisha ya kawaida na
kupenda kazi yao zaidi.
B            Je, ungewaruhusu wanawake wawe mapadri?
A            Sijui kama ningewaruhusu.
B            Ungekaa wapi?
A            Ningekaa katika jumba langu kubwa huko Vatican.

Zoezi la tatu. HOTUBA FUPI.
Wanafunzi watoe hotuba fupi waliyoandaa nyumbani. Watacheza mhusika mmoja kama katika Zoezi la pili. Walete picha, n.k.

-KI-

It expresses an action going on at a specified time, as another action is going on, e.g.
     Alimwona baba yake akitembea barabarani na mbwa. (32)
She saw her father walking down the road with a dog.

Deogratias [..] alikuwa hatoi kofia yake kichwani hata wakati
akiwasalimu wazee. (38)
Deogratias […] didn’t take off his cap even while/when greeting old people.
NOTE: ‘wakati’ is used quite often together with -ki-.

Zoezi la kwanza. TAFSIRI.
1          Wote wawili walishangaa waliposikia mlango ukigongwa. (54)
2          Rosa alikuwa amekwishapata barua tatu kutoka kwa mama yake
zikimjulisha ugonjwa wake. (56)
3          Rosa hakujali kusikia hayo maneno yakisemwa na watu wengine. Lakini
kusemwa na baba yake!
4          Hapo alikaa akinywa chupa yake ya Kilimanjaro. (42)
5          Siku hazikupita alipokuta vijana wakiangalia gazetini. (45)

Zoezi la pili. ANDIKA MAELEZO YA PICHA.
Magazeti ya Kiswahili yanatumia sarufi hii sana wanapoeleza picha. K.m. chini ya picha ya rais na uwanja wa ndege utasoma, ‘Rais akiondoka kwenda Mwanza’, ‘The president leaving for Mwanza’. Lete picha kama sita, pamoja na maelezo yake. Tumia picha zinazopatikana kwenye mtandao, kwa mfano:
http://www.ippmedia.com                                         Gazeti la Tanzania
http://www.africaonline.co.ke/carnivore/index.html     Hoteli ya Nairobi
https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/AfricaFocus