IMPERFECT AND PRETERITE (DISTANT PAST) TENSE for Sesotho Language Manual
ke ne ke pheha28
u ne u pheha29
o ne a pheha
re ne re pheha we were cooking
le ne le pheha you all were cooking
ba ne ba pheha they were cooking
Imperfect tense of to be (ho ba):
ke ne ke le
u ne u le
re ne re le
le ne le le you all were
ba ne ba le
Imperfect tense of to have (ho ba le):
ke ne ke e-na le I had
u ne u e-na le you had
o ne a e-na le he/she had
re ne re e-na le we had
le ne le e-na le you all had
ba ne ba e-na le they had
Imperfect tense of to say (ho re):
ke ne ke re I was saying
u ne u re you were saying
o ne a re
he/she was saying
re ne re re
le ne le re
ba ne ba re they were saying
28 “Ke ne ke” is used with the perfect tense of the verb if it is a verb that takes the perfect in the present
tense (such as ke khathetse, I am tired). When the perfect tense is used with other verbs, the meaning
changes from ke ne ke pheha, I was cooking, to ke ne ke phehile, I had cooked.
29 When spoken, this is often shortened, so o ne a becomes o n'a, and u ne u becomes u n'u.
Using the imperfect in a relative clause30
Add -ng to the ne. For example:
Batho ba neng ba bina... The people who were singing...
Motho o neng a rekisa joala.... The person who was selling beer....
Some examples using the imperfect tense:
Ha kea kena sekolo maobane
I did not attend school yesterday
hoabane ke ne ke kula.
Ke ne ke nahana hore u ile
I was thinking that you went to
E ne e le labokae maobane?
E ne e le labohlano.
2. Preterite Tense
This tense is not used as often as the perfect or the imperfect tense. It is used to express
an event that happened in the past and that is over and done with.
ke ile ka pheha
u ile ua pheha
o ile a pheha
re ile ra pheha
le ile la pheha
ba ile ba pheha
Preterite tense of to be (ho ba):
ke ile ka ba
u ile ua ba
o ile a ba
re ile ra ba
le ile la ba
ba ile ba e-ba
Preterite tense of to have (ho ba le):
Ke ile ka ba le
u ile ua ba le
o ile a ba le
re ile ra ba le
le ile la ba le
ba ile ba e-ba le
Direct relative clauses will be covered in Lesson 29.
Preterite tense of to say (ho re):
ke ile ka re
u ile ua re
o ile a re
re ile ra re
le ile la re
ba ile ba re
Using the preterite tense in a relative clause:
Add -ng to the ile. For example:
Batho ba ileng ba bina...
The people who sang...
Motho o ileng a rekisa joala...
The person who sold beer...
ho roka (rokile), to sew
ho loha (lohile), to knit/to braid
ho thata (thatile), to braid
ho phunya (phuntse), to pierce/to bore a hole
ho hula (hutse), to pull
ho hlakola (hlakotse), to wipe off/to erase
ho fofa (fofile), to fly
ho tšoara (tšoere), to catch/to grab/to hold/to arrest
ho itšoara (itšoere), to behave (ho itšoara hampe, to misbehave)
ho kalima (kalimme), to lend
ho kolota (kolotile), to owe (o nkolota 5 Maloti, you owe me 5 Maloti)
ho amohela (amohetse), to receive/to welcome
ho tsotella (tsoteletse), to care (ha ke tsotelle!, I don't care!)
ho tšepa (tšepile), to trust/to hope
ho tšepisa (tšepisitse), to promise
ho hlompha (hlomphile), to respect
ho tlontlolla (tlontlolotse), to dishonor
ho phomola (phomotse), to rest
ho khaleha (khalehile), to fall asleep (ke khalehile, I fell asleep)
ho lora (lorile), to dream
ho tlameha (tlamehile), to should/to have to (do something), (ke tlameha ho tsamaea,
I have to leave)
ho tšoanela (tšoanetse), to should/to have to (do something), (ke tšoanetse ho pheha,
I have to cook)
ho sesa (sesitse), to urinate
mosese or moroto, urine
lemao (mamao), safety pin
nale (linale), needle
lesela (masela) or lelapi (malapi), cloth/material
boroko (no pl.), sleep (ke tsoeroe ke boroko, I am tired)
toro (litoro), dream
1. Give suitable answers to the following questions, and then give the English translation
a. Ba ne ba re’ng?
b. O ne a roka seshoeshoe sa ka?
c. U ne u bua le mang?
d. Le ne le batla mang?
e. U ne u ile kae maobane?
f. Ba ne ba etsa’ng?
2. Change the verbs in the following sentences from the perfect to the imperfect tense,
and give the English translations of your answers.
a. Ke khalemetse ngoan’a ka.
b. O u thetsitse.
c. Ba qabane ha bohloko.
d. Re hlakotse lijana.
e. Ba sesitse pel’a shopong.
f. Ke itse o khalehile.