← Isambilisho lya Chisungu ku Bashimika ChiBemba
"To" is one of the most frequent words in English. In this lesson we learn its work with verbs: "to" before a verb makes the infinitive, the basic form of the verb: to eat, to go, to learn.
Bemba does the same job with a prefix, not with a separate word. The Bemba infinitive always begins with uku-: ukulya (to eat), ukuya (to go), ukulanda (to speak). Before a vowel uku- becomes ukw-: ukwafwa (to help), ukwisa (to come), ukwenda (to walk). So where Bemba writes one word, English writes two: uku-lya = to eat.
English "to" has a second job, which Bemba does with a different word: it shows the place you are going to. "I am going to the shop" = Ndeya ku sitolo. Here "to" = ku. One English word, two Bemba tools:
- "to" + verb = uku- (to buy = ukushita) - "to" + place = ku (to the shop = ku sitolo)
What does "to" mean in Bemba? Before a verb it is the infinitive prefix uku- (ukw- before a vowel); before a place it is ku.
Key Takeaways:
- "To" + verb = the Bemba infinitive in uku-: to eat = ukulya, to help = ukwafwa. - After "to" the verb never changes: to eat, never "to eats", "to ate" or "to eating". - Many verbs take "to" + verb: want to, like to, have to, learn to, know how to. - "To" also shows purpose: "I am going to the shop to buy bread" = Ndeya ku sitolo ukushita umukate. - After can, must and will there is no "to": "I can go", never "I can to go".
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
to — strong form /tuː/; weak form /tə/ before a consonant (to go /tə ˈɡəʊ/), /tu/ before a vowel (to eat /tu ˈiːt/)
The strong form /tuː/ is used when "to" is stressed or at the end of a phrase: "I want to." In normal speech, before a verb, English uses the weak form /tə/, with the short neutral vowel /ə/. Bemba has no /ə/: the vowel is like a very short, relaxed a, with the mouth hardly open. Do not say "tu-go"; say /tə ˈɡəʊ/, quickly, as one word.
English /t/ at the start of a stressed word has a small puff of air after it: /tʰuː/. Bemba t has no puff, so practise with a hand in front of the mouth.
The words to, too and two are all pronounced /tuː/ when stressed: "I want to go too" — "two" means 2.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
12.1 I (n-) want ndefwaya to uku- eat -lya
12.2 I (n-) want ndefwaya to uku- go -ya
12.3 We (tu-) want tulefwaya to uku- learn -sambilila
12.4 She (a-) wants alefwaya to uku- sleep -lala
12.5 I (n-) like nalitemwa to uku- read -belenga
12.6 Do bushe you (mu-) know how mwalishiba to uku- speak -landa Bemba iciBemba
12.7 We (tu-) have to tufwile go ukuya to ku school sukulu
12.8 I (n-) want ndefwaya to uku- drink -nwa water amenshi
12.9 The child umwana wants alefwaya to uku- eat -lya nshima ubwali
12.10 I (n-) am going ndeya to ku the shop sitolo to uku- buy -shita bread umukate
12.11 We (ta-tu-) do not want tatufwaya to uku- talk -landa about it -po
12.12 My father batata is going baleya to ku town tauni to uku- work -bomba
12.13 Children abana like balitemwa to ukw- play -angala outside panse
12.14 It is ni time inshita to ya ku- go -ya home ku ng'anda
12.15 Tomorrow mailo we (tu-) will go tukaya to ku Lusaka Lusaka to uku- look for -fwaya work incito
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
12.1 I want to eat. Ndefwaya ukulya.
12.2 I want to go. Ndefwaya ukuya.
12.3 We want to learn. Tulefwaya ukusambilila.
12.4 She wants to sleep. Alefwaya ukulala.
12.5 I like to read. Nalitemwa ukubelenga.
12.6 Do you know how to speak Bemba? Bushe mwalishiba ukulanda iciBemba?
12.7 We have to go to school. Tufwile ukuya ku sukulu.
12.8 I want to drink water. Ndefwaya ukunwa amenshi.
12.9 The child wants to eat nshima. Umwana alefwaya ukulya ubwali.
12.10 I am going to the shop to buy bread. Ndeya ku sitolo ukushita umukate.
12.11 We do not want to talk about it. Tatufwaya ukulandapo.
12.12 My father is going to town to work. Batata baleya ku tauni ukubomba.
12.13 Children like to play outside. Abana balitemwa ukwangala panse.
12.14 It is time to go home. Ni nshita yakuya ku ng'anda.
12.15 Tomorrow we will go to Lusaka to look for work. Mailo tukaya ku Lusaka ukufwaya incito.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
12.1 I want to eat.
12.2 I want to go.
12.3 We want to learn.
12.4 She wants to sleep.
12.5 I like to read.
12.6 Do you know how to speak Bemba?
12.7 We have to go to school.
12.8 I want to drink water.
12.9 The child wants to eat nshima.
12.10 I am going to the shop to buy bread.
12.11 We do not want to talk about it.
12.12 My father is going to town to work.
12.13 Children like to play outside.
12.14 It is time to go home.
12.15 Tomorrow we will go to Lusaka to look for work.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
These are the grammar rules for "to" in English:
1. "To" + the base form of the verb. The infinitive is "to" + the verb with no ending: to eat, to go, to read. Bemba writes it as one word with uku-:
- to eat — ukulya - to go — ukuya - to speak — ukulanda - to read — ukubelenga - to work — ukubomba - to buy — ukushita - to help — ukwafwa (uku- + -afwa) - to play — ukwangala (uku- + -angala)
The verb after "to" never takes -s, -ed or -ing: "She wants to sleep" (12.4), not "She wants to sleeps".
2. Verbs that take "to". After these verbs English puts "to" + verb, just as Bemba puts the uku- form after ndefwaya, nalitemwa, -fwile:
- want to — ndefwaya ukulya (12.1) - like to — nalitemwa ukubelenga (12.5) - have to — tufwile ukuya (12.7) - learn to, begin to, need to, try to - know how to — mwalishiba ukulanda (12.6). English needs "how": "Do you know how to speak Bemba?" not "Do you know to speak Bemba?"
3. "To" for purpose (why you do something). "I am going to the shop to buy bread" (12.10). Bemba simply adds the infinitive: Ndeya ku sitolo ukushita umukate. English does the same with "to": no "for" is needed. Say "to buy bread", never "for to buy bread" or "for buy bread".
4. A noun + "to". "It is time to go home" (12.14). Bemba links the noun and the infinitive with ya: inshita yakuya, "the time of going". English has no "of" here: "a time to go", not "a time of to go".
5. "To" before a place = ku. "We have to go to school" (12.7) uses "to" twice: the first belongs to the verb (have to go = tufwile ukuya), the second shows the place (to school = ku sukulu). Look at the word after "to": a verb (go, buy, eat) means uku-; a place or person (school, town, Lusaka) means ku.
6. No "to" after can, must, will, should. "I can read", "You must go", "We will go" (12.15). Only "have to" keeps it: "We have to go."
7. Negative. "We do not want to talk about it" (12.11): the negative goes on the first verb (do not want), and "to talk" stays the same. To say "not to" + verb, put "not" before "to": "I decided not to go."
Common Mistakes:
- "I want eat." Correct: I want to eat. Do not drop "to". - "I can to swim." Correct: I can swim. - "She wants to goes." Correct: She wants to go. - "I went there for buy sugar." Correct: I went there to buy sugar. - "I want that you come." Correct: I want you to come. - "Do you know to cook?" Correct: Do you know how to cook? - "We go to home." Correct: We go home (12.14). "Home" takes no "to", although Bemba says ku ng'anda. - Writing "too" or "two" for "to". "To" goes before a verb or a place; "too" means also or very; "two" is 2.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
"To" is among the ten most frequent words of English, because it does two common jobs: it makes the infinitive (to go) and it shows direction (to Lusaka).
The future with "going to". English often speaks of the future with "be going to" + verb: "I am going to cook" means "I will cook soon". Compare 12.10, where "going to the shop" is real movement. Do not confuse the two: Bemba ukuya + infinitive always means real going, as in Ndeya ukufwaya amenshi, "I am going (somewhere) to look for water", while English "I am going to cook" need not mean any movement at all.
-fwaya has two meanings. In Bemba ndefwaya means "I want", and ukufwaya also means "to look for" (12.15). In English these are two different verbs: "want" and "look for".
Spoken English. In fast, informal speech "want to" sounds like "wanna" and "going to" like "gonna". Learners should understand these forms but should write "want to" and "going to".
Polite requests. In a shop or office, "I would like to…" is more polite than "I want to…": "I would like to buy bread, please."
Common expressions with "to":
- nice to meet you — said when you meet someone for the first time - time to go — said when you must leave - to and fro — moving one way and then back - face to face — meeting in person
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Ecclesiastes 3:2, from the poem on the times of human life. English: King James Version (1611). Bemba: Ishiwi Lyakwa Lesa (2015), Kafundisha 3:2.
"A time inshita to be born yakufyalwa, and a time ne nshita to die yakufwa; a time inshita to plant yakulimba, and a time ne nshita to pluck up that which is planted yakunukula" - Ecclesiastes 3:2 (KJV)
"A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;" "Kuli inshita yakufyalwa, ne nshita yakufwa, inshita yakulimba, ne nshita yakunukula" (Kafundisha 3:2, Ishiwi Lyakwa Lesa 2015)
The verse is built from pairs of opposites: born and die, plant and pluck up. Every pair hangs on the same pattern, "a time to" + verb, repeated again and again through the poem (a time to weep, and a time to laugh, 3:4). The Bemba translation keeps the pattern exactly: inshita yaku- + verb, ne nshita yaku- + verb. Read the two side by side and you see the rule of this lesson: English "to" + verb = Bemba ku- + verb.
- "A time to die" = inshita yakufwa. English joins the noun and the infinitive directly; Bemba joins them with ya (inshita ya-kufwa). The Bible writes yakufwa as one word; other Bemba writers write ya kufwa as two. - "To be born" is a passive infinitive: to + be + past participle. Bemba makes the passive inside the verb: ukufyala (to give birth), ukufyalwa (to be born). - "To pluck up" is a phrasal verb (verb + up): the "to" stands before the whole phrase. - Bemba opens the verse with kuli, "there is"; the KJV gives no verb here, because the sentence continues from verse 1, "To every thing there is a season".
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
12.16 Mutale Mutale what nshi do you (u-) want ulefwaya to uku- do -cita today ilelo
12.17 I (n-) want ndefwaya to ukw- help -afwa my mother mayo
12.18 I ine too na want ndefwaya to ukw- help -afwa
12.19 We (tu-) have to tufwile go ukuya to ku the shop sitolo
12.20 What nshi do we (tu-) have to tufwile buy ukushita
12.21 We (tu-) have to tufwile buy ukushita sugar isukali and salt no mucele
12.22 Do bushe you (wa-) know how walishiba to ukw- cook -ipika nshima ubwali
12.23 Yes ee I (n-) like nalitemwa to ukw- cook -ipika
12.24 I (n-) do not know how nshaishiba to ukw- cook -ipika
12.25 You (u-) have to ufwile learn ukusambilila
12.26 I (n-) want ndefwaya to uku- learn -sambilila today ilelo
12.27 Now nomba we (tu-) have to tufwile go ukuya
12.28 Do bushe you (u-) want ulefwaya to ukw- walk -enda
12.29 Yes ee I (n-) like nalitemwa to ukw- walk -enda
12.30 It is ni time inshita to ya ku- go -ya
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
12.16 Chanda: "Mutale, what do you want to do today?" Chanda: "Mutale, bushe ulefwaya ukucita nshi ilelo?"
12.17 Mutale: "I want to help my mother." Mutale: "Ndefwaya ukwafwa mayo."
12.18 Chanda: "I want to help too." Chanda: "Na ine ndefwaya ukwafwa."
12.19 Mutale: "We have to go to the shop." Mutale: "Tufwile ukuya ku sitolo."
12.20 Chanda: "What do we have to buy?" Chanda: "Bushe tufwile ukushita nshi?"
12.21 Mutale: "We have to buy sugar and salt." Mutale: "Tufwile ukushita isukali no mucele."
12.22 Chanda: "Do you know how to cook nshima?" Chanda: "Bushe walishiba ukwipika ubwali?"
12.23 Mutale: "Yes, I like to cook." Mutale: "Ee, nalitemwa ukwipika."
12.24 Chanda: "I do not know how to cook." Chanda: "Nshaishiba ukwipika."
12.25 Mutale: "You have to learn." Mutale: "Ufwile ukusambilila."
12.26 Chanda: "I want to learn today." Chanda: "Ndefwaya ukusambilila ilelo."
12.27 Mutale: "Now we have to go." Mutale: "Nomba tufwile ukuya."
12.28 Chanda: "Do you want to walk?" Chanda: "Bushe ulefwaya ukwenda?"
12.29 Mutale: "Yes, I like to walk." Mutale: "Ee, nalitemwa ukwenda."
12.30 Chanda: "It is time to go." Chanda: "Ni nshita yakuya."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
12.16 Chanda: "Mutale, what do you want to do today?"
12.17 Mutale: "I want to help my mother."
12.18 Chanda: "I want to help too."
12.19 Mutale: "We have to go to the shop."
12.20 Chanda: "What do we have to buy?"
12.21 Mutale: "We have to buy sugar and salt."
12.22 Chanda: "Do you know how to cook nshima?"
12.23 Mutale: "Yes, I like to cook."
12.24 Chanda: "I do not know how to cook."
12.25 Mutale: "You have to learn."
12.26 Chanda: "I want to learn today."
12.27 Mutale: "Now we have to go."
12.28 Chanda: "Do you want to walk?"
12.29 Mutale: "Yes, I like to walk."
12.30 Chanda: "It is time to go."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
The dialogue uses "to" + verb in every line, in four patterns:
- want to: "What do you want to do today?" (12.16), "I want to help my mother" (12.17), "Do you want to walk?" (12.28). - have to: "We have to go to the shop" (12.19), "You have to learn" (12.25). In questions: "What do we have to buy?" (12.20) — "do" comes first, "have to" + verb stays together. - like to: "I like to cook" (12.23), "I like to walk" (12.29). - know how to: "Do you know how to cook nshima?" (12.22), "I do not know how to cook" (12.24).
Two kinds of "to" in one line. In 12.19, "go to the shop", the first "to" belongs to the verb (to go = ukuya) and the second shows the place (to the shop = ku sitolo).
"Too" is not "to". In 12.18, "I want to help too", "too" means "also" (Bemba na ine, "me too"). It is pronounced /tuː/, like the strong form of "to", but it is spelt with two o's and comes at the end of the sentence.
Short answers. In speech English can stop after "to" when the verb is clear: "Do you want to walk?" — "Yes, I want to." Here "to" takes its strong form, /tuː/.
Writing a dialogue. Each speaker's words go inside quotation marks, after the speaker's name and a colon.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
- Weak and strong: "I want to eat" /aɪ wɒnt tu ˈiːt/; "We have to go" /wiː ˈhæf tə ˈɡəʊ/ — the v of "have" becomes f before "to"; "Yes, I want to" /ˈwɒnt tuː/. - "Want to" joins the two t sounds into one longer t: /ˈwɒntə/. - Spelling: to (before a verb or a place), too (also, very), two (the number 2). All three can be pronounced /tuː/. - "To" is written as a separate word, never joined to the verb: "to eat", never "toeat", although Bemba writes ukulya as one word.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
---
Course Index: [latinum.substack.com/p/index](https://latinum.substack.com/p/index)