In this lesson you will learn about locations and how to talk about location (in front of, nearby etc)
Locatives
locatives "ko/kwa", "mo" and "fa" are used to describe location. "mo" usually means "in, on, inside" while "ko/kwa" usually means "to, from, at".
| o kae? |
where are you/he/she ?
|
| ke bereka mo ofising |
I am working in the office
|
| o nna kwa Broadhurt mo Gaborone |
he stays at Broadhurst in Gaborone
|
| Festus o ko Francistown |
Festus is in Francistown
|
| Ba kwa tirong |
They are at work
|
| Sarah o yo |
Sarah is here
|
| Sarah ga a yo |
Sarah is not here
|
Note the use of "ofising" and "tirong" above. In general, whenever a noun is used as a location following "ko/kwa/mo/fa" then -ng is added at the end, unless the noun ends in "a" in which case the "a" is replaced by "-eng".
Location nouns
| banka |
bankeng |
in the bank
|
| sepatela |
sepateleng |
in the hospital
|
| moraka |
morakeng |
at the cattle post
|
| kereke |
kerekeng |
in the church
|
| motse |
motseng |
in the village
|
| tafole |
tafoleng |
on the table
|
| kopi |
koping |
in the cup
|
| ofisi |
ofising |
in the office
|
| lefifi |
lefifing |
in the dark/darkness
|
| sephiri |
sephiring |
in secret/privacy
|
| shopo |
shopong |
in the shop
|
| toropo |
toropong |
in the town
|
| tiro |
tirong |
in the workplace
|
| sekolo |
sekolong |
in the school
|
| maru |
marung |
in the clouds
|
see later lesson getting around for how to say "on top of", "underneath" etc
Where is?
| A |
John o kae ? |
Where is John ?
|
| B |
O teng |
He is here/roundabouts
|
| A |
Bese e* kae ? |
Where is the bus ?
|
| B |
Bese e teng |
The bus is here/there
|
- "e" is the subject marker for the noun "bese" see noun classes later
Conversation
| A |
Dumela tsala ya me |
Hello my friend
|
| B |
Dumela Dineo, o tlhotse jang? |
Hello Dineo , how have you spent your day ?
|
| A |
Ke tlhotse, wena o kae? |
Good, how are you ?
|
| B |
Le nna ke teng. O ya kae o itlhaganetse jaana ? |
I'm fine as well. Where are you going in such a hurry?
|
| A |
Ke ya kwa bankeng, ke batla madi go ya kwa dikopelong ka moso |
I'm going to the bank, I need money to go to the music competitions tomorrow
|
| B |
Ao! Dikopelo di kae ? |
Oh! where are the competitions ?
|
| A |
Di kwa Mochudi kwa sekolong sa Molefi |
They are in Mochudi at Molefi School
|
| B |
Ehe! O tlaa boa leng ? |
Right! when will you come back ?
|
| A |
Ke akanya gore ke tlaa boa ka moso morago ga dikopelo |
I think that I will come back tomorrow after the competitions
|
| B |
Mme o tsamaya ka eng ? |
How are you getting there
|
| A |
Ke tlaa tsamaya ka dibese ka gore ke tshaba dilifiti |
I will go by buses because I am afraid of lifts
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| B |
Ruri tsala ya me, le nna ke tshaba dilifti. O tsamaye sentle |
Certainly my friend, I am also afraid of lifts
|
| A |
Ee, rra tlaa bonana fa ke boa |
Yes, we will see each other when I come back
|
This example uses the verbs - future tense and subject marker "di" for noun "dikopelo" which we will see in the next lesson.