Directions and Verbs

More on Directions (and a lesson about verbs):

• Last week I learned that one can give directions by saying:
  kata iburyo/ibubamfu -- turn right/left
  (pronounced: katiburyo/katibubamfu)
• However, this is apparently incorrect, and one should instead say:
  katira iburyo/ibubamfu -- turn right/left
  (pronounced: katiribuyo/katiribubamfu)
• "kata" and "katira" are both simple imperative forms of "gukata" -- "to turn," but "katira" is the form that better joins with a direction (and in general the "ir" marker indicates that some sort of specifier will follow the verb).

• Other verbs follow this same pattern, for example: "kurindira" -- "to wait"

• rindira -- wait (imperative)
• rindirira aha  -- wait here 
• One could say "rindira aha" would be understood, but this is not correct, because the verb is in an isolated form ("wait.") rather than one that leads to more detail ("wait here")
• ndindira -- wait for me
• ndindirira aha -- wait for me here

• (Incidentally, another useful phrase when giving directions is: katira aha -- turn here)

• Another example of this "ir" modifier that came up in the last lesson was "zana" and other forms of the verb "kuzana" -- "to bring":
• zana -- bring (which can be gruffly and imperfectly used as in "zana ID" -- "bring. ID.")
• zanira -- bring ____ (e.g. "zanira ID" -- the more correct way to say "bring ID")
• muzane -- bring him/her (e.g. the baby)
• muzanire -- bring him ____ (e.g. "muzanire inka" -- "bring him a cow")
• In this case, my teacher explained that the "ir" indicates that an indirect object will follow.