English | Wolof |
He/She is beautiful
I am beautiful You(s) are beautiful You (p) are beautiful We are beautiful |
Moom dafa rafet
Man dama rafet Yaw da nga rafet Yen da ngeen rafet Nun dan rafet |
Helping verb (ngée) + main verb in the infinitive.
English | Wolof |
I am dancing
You (s) are eating He/She is dancing We are coming You (p) are eating They are coming |
Man ngée fecha
Yaa ngée leeka Mu ngée fecha Nyu ngée nyow Yee na ngée leeka Nu ngée nyow |
Auxiliary verb + 'doon' + main verb in infinitive.
English | Wolof |
I was dancing
You (s) were dancing He/She was dancing They were dancing You (P) were dancing We were dancing |
Dama doon fecca
Dang doon fecca Dafa doon fecca Danj doon fecca Da ngeen doon fecca Danj doon fecca |
The following endings are put after the main verb in the infinitive (regular verbs).
English | Wolof |
I have danced
You (s) have danced He/She has danced They have danced You (p) have danced We have danced |
Fecca naa
Fecca nga Fecca na Fecca nan Fecca ngeen Fecca |
Auxilary verb in future + main verb in infinitive.
English | Wolof |
I will dance
You (s) will dance He/She will dance They will dance You (p) will dance We will dance |
Dinaa fecca
Di nga fecca Dina fecca Dinany fecca Di ngeen fecca Di nany fecca |
»ley« is a helping verb that signifies present tense.
English | Mandinka |
She/He is beautiful
I am beautiful You(s) are beautiful You (p) are beautiful We are beautiful |
A té nyi nya ta ley
Inte nyi nya ta ley E’nyi nya ta ley A tol nyi nya ta ley Ntol nyi nya ta ley |
Helping verb (beh) + main verb in infinitive + la (s)/neh (pl).
English | Mandinka |
I am dancing
You (s) are eating He is dancing We are coming You (p) are eating They are coming |
Inte beh dongo la
E’te beh doumorool la Etol beh dongo la Ntol beh nakan neh A’l tol beh doumorool la Et tol beh nakan neh |
Auxiliary verb (beh) + 'nung' + main verb in infinitive (-o + la).
English | Mandinka |
I was dancing
You (s) were dancing He/She was dancing They were dancing You (P) were dancing We were dancing |
Inte beh nung dongo la
E’b beh dongo la nung Etol beh nung dongo la Et tol beh dongo la nung A tol beh dongo la nung ntol beh nung dongo la |
Verb in the infinitive + »neh«
English | Mandinka |
I danced
You (s) danced He/She danced They danced You (p) danced We danced |
N’gan dong neh
yé dong neh Eyé dong neh Et tol yé dong neh Al yeh dong néh Ntol ngan dong neh |
Auxilary verb in future + main verb in infintive.
English | Mandinka |
I will dance
You (s) will dance He will dance They will dance You (p) will dance We will dance |
Mbeng dong na ley
E’beh dong na ley A’beh dong na ley Et tol beh dongo na ley A’l beh dong na ley Ont tol beh dong na la ley |