Sequential Verb Constructions

How can you combine verbs in a list-like format so that you can say things equivalent to "I sat down and studied Bambara"?

To do so in Bambara, you can string multiple verbs together in what is known as a sequential verb construction.

With the infinitive marker ka

All you need to do is build a normal verbal sentence (e.g., N bɛ wuli [I get up], N wulila [I got up], etc) and then add on another verb along with its infinitive marker ka.

Recall that the infinitive marker is little bit like the word "to" that we include when giving verbs in citation form in English. For instance: "to go", "to run" or "to eat something", which in Bambara would be given as ka taa, ka boli and k'à dun.

(NOTE: The verb dun has the infinitive marker k'à because it's a transitive verb. If we expand it out then it would be ka à dun [lit. 'to it eat'], which we can translate as 'to eat something'.)

Let's take two verbs—ka wuli ('to get up') and ka taa ('to go') and build a sequential construction with them, so you can see what I mean. For instance:

N wulila ka taa sugu la

'I got up and went to the market'

Note that the first part of the sentence is completely normal. All we have done is added ka taa (plus the destination of the market) directly afterwards.

Only the first verb (ka wuli) is conjugated for the past tense; the second verb (ka taa) is in base citation form. We don't conjugate taa to match wuli:

N wulila ka taara sugu la

Note that this principle applies regardless of the "tense" of your sentence. For instance, let's look at another example in the present:

– Sɔgɔma, i bɛ mun kɛ?
– N bɛ wuli ka taa sugu la.

– In the morning, what do you do?
– I get up and go to the market.

Another thing worth pointing out is that in English, we naturally place the word "and" before the second verb.

But in Bambara, there is no word that translates to "and" in the sentence. Instead, there is just the infinitive markerka. Earlier, I said that ka is close to the word "to" in English (as in, "to go"), but here we see how that breaks down since the "to" doesn't make sense when translating a sequential construction:

N bɛ wuli ka taa sugu la

'I get up (and) go to the market'

Multiple verbs

You can string as many verbs together as you like using this kind of construction.

For instance:

N wulila ka daraka kɛ ka taa sugu la

I got up and ate breakfast and went to the market

Or:

N ye sogo san k'à jeni k'à ɲimi

'I bought meat and (then I) grilled it and (then I) ate it'

(NOTE: k'à ɲimi literally means 'to chew')

No ka with taa and na

There are two verbs which are exceptions. They do not require the verb that follows them to be preceded be ka:

• ka taa = to go
• ka na = to come

For instance:

N taara foli kɛ

"I went and did greeting"

(as in, "I went and said hello [to someone]")

Or:

Isa nana an dɛmɛ

"Isa came and helped us"

Note that in both cases, it would be incorrect to have ka inserted in between the two verbs. For example:

N taara ka foli kɛ

Or:

Isa nana ka an dɛmɛ

Let's look at few more examples. For instance:

Na sanni kɛ!

'Come make a purchase!'

(as in, "Come buy something!")

Or:

Taa baara kɛ!

"Go work!"

There are some exceptions to this rule of not using ka following the verbs taa and na that occasionally pop up.

For instance, there's the common expression used when you want someone to come back later:

Taa ka na!

"Go and come!"

(as in, "Go and come back [later]")

You will surely encounter others, but at that point, they shouldn't throw you off since you'll already be at ease with sequential constructions.

Ambiguity in English

In English, we make a clear distinction between sentences like: "She came to eat" and "She came and ate".

In Bambara, sequential constructions (in particular with taa and na) can often seem to cover both of these meanings. For instance:

À nana dumuni kɛ

"She came and ate"

VS

"She came to eat"

Or:

À taara nɛgɛso san

'He went and bought a bike'

VS

'He went to buy a bike'

Generally the context suffices for understanding what the person means, so don't get hung up on it. What's important is that you know how to build and recognize sequential verb constructions!

Using ka sɔrɔ ka like "and then"

If you really want to be clear on the idea of things being sequential instead of goal-oriented, you can use the verb ka sɔrɔ within a sequential constructions.

As a transitive verb k'à sɔrɔ means "to obtain something". But when used intransitively in sequential constructions it generally expresses the idea of "and then" in English.

For instance:

Adama ye kalan kɛ ka sɔrɔ ka sunɔgɔ

'Adama studied and then slept'

Note that this sentence could also be stated without ka sɔrɔ:

Adama ye kalan kɛ ka sunɔgɔ

'Adama studied and (then) slept'

Let's look at one more for good measure. Note how it could be stated with or without ka sɔrɔ:

N wulila (ka sɔrɔ) ka daraka kɛ

'I got up and (then) ate breakfast'

Summary

Alright, here's what we covered.

• Sequential constructions allows to string together multiple verbs in Bambara

• The infinitive marker ka is used to connect verbs, with the first verb conjugated and the second in base citation form

  N wulila ka dumuni kɛ

  'I got up and ate'

• Multiple verbs can be combined in a single sentence

  N wulila ka dumuni kɛ ka bɔ

  'I got up and eat and went out'

• Exceptions to this rule include ka taa (to go) and ka na (to come), which generally do not require ka for the following verb

  N taara dumuni kɛ

  'I went and ate'

• There is a potential ambiguity between goal-oriented and sequential actions when translating into English

  N nana dumuni kɛ

  "I came to eat" VS "I came and ate"

• You can use ka sɔrɔ for sequential clarity

  N taara ka sɔrɔ ka dumuni kɛ

  "I went and then ate"