Zulu Grammar

The Zulu grammar allows you to manipulate the vocabulary to obtain multiple forms of a word. The grammatical rules below are the most important in Zulu and help connect words or shape the structure. We start with the prepositions:

And: bese	Under: ngaphansi
Before: ngaphambi	After: ngemuva
Inside: ngaphakathi	Outside: ngaphandle
With: no-	But: kodwa
For: ye-	From: kusukela
To: kuya	In: e-

Questions and Adverbs

To ask questions, use the following:

What?: ini?	Who?: ubani?
How?: kanjani?	Why?: ngobani?
Where?: kuphi?

Some of the most important time adverbs:

Never: soze	Rarely: ngokungavamile
Sometimes: ngesinye isikhathi	Usually: ngokujwayelekile
Always: njalo	Very: kakhulu

Most commonly used pronouns in Zulu:

I: mina	You: wena
He: yena	She: yena
We: thina	They: bona

To express the possession of something [possessive form]:

My: okwami	Your: okwakho
His: okwakhe	Her: okwakhe
Our: okwethu	Their: okwabo

Grammar in a sentence

Some random verbs to show how it's being used:

I speak English: ngikhuluma isingisi

You speak French: ukhuluma isi-french

He speaks German: ukhuluma isijalimani

She speaks Italian: ukhuluma isintaliyani

I visited France: ngivakashele e-france

I will drink milk: ngizophuza ubisi

Some extra grammatical structures:

I understand you: ngiyakuzwa

I don't understand you: angikuzwa

I don't speak French: angisikhulumi isifrench

This is my house: indlu yami lena

That restaurant is far: i-restaurant ayikho kude

No problem: ayikho inkinga

The above Zulu grammar can provide tools to use in coordination with the Zulu vocabulary to obtain some popular Zulu phrases.