Possessives
From Setswana
Aim - be able to describe ownership using possessive markers (my/your/our etc).
Possessive expressions are formed using a possessive marker, which depends on the noun class of the thing possessed.
mosadi wa motsomi | the wife of the hunter | (mosadi = class 1) |
molomo wa tau | the mouth of the lion | (molomo = class 3) |
lee la ntshe | the egg of the ostrich | (lee = class 5) |
selepe sa kgosi | the axe of the chief | (selepe = class 7) |
ditlhako tsa ngwana | the shoes of the child | (ditlhako = class 8) |
The possessive markers are formed by taking the subject marker and adding "a" as follows:
Contents
Possessive Markers
Class 1 | Mosadi | o + a | wa |
Class 2 | Batho | ba + a | ba |
Class 3 | Molomo | o + a | wa |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
x | x | x | x |
Personal Possessive
mine | - me | ngwana wa me | my child |
your | - gago | dilepe tsa gago | your x |
his/her | - gagwe | baithuti ba gagwe | his/her x |
our | - rona | ngwana wa rona | our child |
your (plural) | - lona | Ditonki tsa lona | x |
their | - bone | ngwana wa bane | thier child |
Possession with a Person's Name
Possession question - Whose ?
=== Descriptive Possessives