KwaunobvaMutauroChiratidzanguva
Mutauro
Chiratidzanguva
Tense Markers
Tsanangudzo
Chiratidzanguva chinoratidza nguva yechiitiko, uye chinobatana nechiratidzamuiti pamberi pomudzi wechiito, senge 'ti-cha-b-a' (tichaba). Zvinoburitswa nemadzitsi anosiyana: /-a-/ (zvabva kuitika nhasi), /-aka-/ (zvakaitika mazuva apfuura), /-no-/ (zvinogaroitika), /-cha-/ (zvichaitika), /-o-/ (zvava pedyo kuitika), /-ai-/ kana /-i-/ (zvaigaroitika), /-nga-/ (zvinogona kuitika), ne/-chi-/ (zvanga zvichiitika).
In English
A tense marker shows when an action takes place, and combines with a subject marker before the verb stem, e.g. 'ti-cha-b-a' ('we will steal'). Different markers express different time frames: /-a-/ (happened earlier today), /-aka-/ (happened on a previous day), /-no-/ (habitual), /-cha-/ (future), /-o-/ (about to happen), /-ai-/ or /-i-/ (used to happen), /-nga-/ (possible), and /-chi-/ (was happening, ongoing).