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:
Possessive Markers
| Class 1 |
Mosadi |
o + a |
wa
|
| Class 2 |
Batho |
ba + a |
ba
|
| Class 3 |
Molomo |
o + a |
wa
|
| Class 4 |
mesese |
e + a |
ya
|
| Class 5 |
legodu |
le + a |
la
|
| Class 6 |
makgowa |
a + a |
a
|
| Class 7 |
Setswana |
se + a |
sa
|
| Class 8 |
dimumu |
di + a |
tsa
|
| Class 9 |
koloi |
e + a |
ya
|
| Class 10 |
diphologolo |
di + a |
tsa
|
| Class 11 |
lorole |
lo + a |
xxx
|
| Class 12 |
dikgong |
di + a |
tsa
|
| Class 14 |
borotha |
bo + a |
xxxx
|
| Class 15 |
go ithuta |
go + a |
xxxx
|
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
When a name or kinship term is used with a possessive, the word "ga" is added before the name
| ngwana wa ga Neo |
Neo's child
|
| ke mosese wa ga Nthati |
it is Nthati's dress
|
| re bonye dikgomo tsa ga Dikeledi |
we saw Dikeledi's cattle
|
| ba badile dibuka tsa ga Shakespeare |
they read Shakespeare's books
|
| dinsta tsa gago di bolaile dipodi tsa ga maolme |
your dogs have killed my uncle's goats
|
Possession question - Whose ?
=== Descriptive Possessives