Lesson 7 – Making sentences (Verbs)
When we want to talk about doing, saying or thinking anything we need to use verbs (action words).
Suffixes are put onto the end of verbs to describe when, how, or why the action took place. For example, in English ‘-ing’ and ‘-ed’ are suffixes. Compare talk, talking, talked; listen, listening, listened.
In this lesson we will be learning the Present tense, Past tense, Future tense and Purposive verb forms. We will also look at some example sentences for each of these.
First up, here is a list of commonly used Arabana verbs. A suffix (ending) is then added at the end of these ‘root words’, which we will look at after.
idnhi-
lie around, be, exist, remain
Here are some suffixes commonly used on the end of Arabana verbs.
-rnda, -rda
shows that the action is happening right now (present tense suffix).
-ka
shows that the action happened in the past, like English -ed (simple past tense suffix).
-nha
shows that an action will happen later, in the future (future tense suffix).
-lhuku
used to explain the purpose of an action. It can be translated as ‘in order to’ in English (purposive suffix).
This is what the verbs from above look like with the suffixes added
Present tense
idnhirnda
lie around, be, exist, remain
Sentence examples
Madla ngura-ruku thikarnda.
The dog returns home.
madla means dog, ngura means home and the ending -ruku means to
Lhuka karla-nga thangkarda.
Mum sits in the creek.
lhuka means mum, karla means creek and the ending -nga means in
Anpa ngawirnda?
Are you listening?
anpa means you
Nharla-ru kira pardarnda.
The man makes a boomerang.
nharla means man, the ending -ru shows who is doing the action and kira means boomerang
Past tense
idnhika
lay about, was, existed, remained
Sentence examples
Uka Marree-ruku yukaka.
She went to Marree.
uka means she, the ending -ruku means to
Kuya-ru yalka wayaka.
The girl wanted a bush onion.
kuya means girl, the ending -ru shows who is doing the action and yalka means bush onion
Athu paya nhanhika.
I saw a bird.
athu means I, paya means bird
Nhuthi-ru kungarra pirdaka?
Did brother kill the kangaroo?
nhuthi means brother, kungarra means kangaroo
Future tense
yukanha
will go, will come, will walk
thangkanha
will sit, will stay
idnhinha
will lie about, will be, will exist, will remain
pardanha
will do, will make, will hold
pirdanha
will hit, will kill
Sentence Examples
Athu unanha anti nhanhinha.
I will see you later.
athu means I, unanha means you, anti means later
Uka Pt Augusta-ruku thikanha.
He will return to Pt Augusta.
uka means he, the ending -ruku means to
Madla-ru paya pirdanha.
The dog will kill the bird.
madla means dog, paya means bird
Anpa ngura-ruku yukanha?
Will you go home?
anpa means you, ngura means home, the ending -ruku means to
Purposive
yanhilhuku
in order to speak
ngawilhuku
in order to listen
nhanhilhuku
in order to see
yukalhuku
in order to see
thikalhuku
in order to return
wangkalhuku
in order to sing
thangkalhuku
in order to sit
tharkalhuku
in order to stand
idnhilhuku
in order to lie about, be, exist, remain
pardalhuku
in order to do, make, hold
pirdalhuku
in order to hit, kill
Sentence examples
Athu Marree-ruku yukarnda Jess-inhaku yanhilhuku.
I’m going to Marree in order to speak with Jess.
athu means I, the ending -ruku means to, the ending -inha shows that Jess is a name and the ending -ku means with
Marree-ruku lhuka nhanhilhuku athu thikaka.
I returned to Marree in order to see Mum.
the ending -ruku means to, lhuka means mother and athu means I
Yardlarda arnanthara ngurkumarnda tharnilhuku.
We are cleaning grass seeds in order to eat.
yardlarda means grass seeds, arnanthara means we, and ngurkuma- means to clean
