CHAPTER 5
A LEARNER'S SYNOPSIS OF
KIRUNDI STRUCTURE
singular and one plural:
| umucuúngwa | 'orange' |
| imicuúngwa | 'oranges' |
| ikiintu | 'thing' |
| ibiintu | 'things' |
| izína | 'name' |
| amazína | 'names' |
| etc. |
In general,non—personal noun stems that have /umu—/ in the singular have /imi-/ in the plural, stems that have /ik1-/ in the singular have /ibi-/ in the plural, and so forth, but there are some exceptions.
What is the plural form that corresponds to each of the following singular nouns:
| umutí | 'drug' | ____________ | 'drugs' | [imití] |
| ikiintu | 'thing' | ____________ | 'things' | [ibiintu] |
| umushuumba | 'servant' | ____________ | 'servants' | [abashuumba] |
| umutéetsi | 'cook' | ____________ | 'cooks' | [abatéetsi] |
| igituúngwa | 'domestic animal' | ____________ | 'dom. animals' | [ibitúungwa] |
| umudúga | 'car' | ____________ | 'cars' | [imidúga] |
What is the singular form that corresponds to each of these plurals?
| ibiintu | 'things' | ____________ | 'thing' | [ikiintu] |
| abashuumba | 'servants' | ____________ | 'servant' | [umushuumba] |
| abakáraáni | 'clerks' | ____________ | 'clerk' | [umukáraáni] |
292
