Spanish 
French 
German 
Italian 
Portuguese 
Russian 
Chinese 
Japanese 
Korean 
Arabic Zarma Verb Usage Patterns
Complete usage patterns for the 20 most essential Zarma (Djerma) verbs. Zarma is a Songhay language spoken primarily in western Niger, where it is the most widely spoken indigenous language. Zarma verbs do not conjugate for person or number — tense and aspect are expressed through pre-verbal particles placed between the subject pronoun and the verb.
How Zarma Verbs Work
Zarma has a Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) word order, though the verb often appears directly after the subject when there is no explicit object. The verb itself remains unchanged regardless of who performs the action — all grammatical information about tense and aspect is carried by pre-verbal markers.
Key features of Zarma verbs:
- No person/number agreement — the verb form stays the same for all subjects
- Pre-verbal markers indicate tense/aspect: ga (habitual), go ga (progressive), ma (future), si (negative), mana (negative past)
- Completive (past) is the unmarked form — the bare verb with no marker
- Imperative uses the bare verb for singular, wa + verb for plural
- Postpositions are used instead of prepositions (e.g., habu ra = "in the market")
Subject Pronouns
| Zarma | English |
|---|---|
| Ay | I |
| Ni | you (singular) |
| A | he / she / it |
| Iri | we |
| Araŋ | you (plural) |
| I | they |
Tense/Aspect Patterns
Completive (Past)
No marker — bare verb
Subject + Verb
Ay kaa. → I came.
Incompletive (Habitual)
Marker: ga
Subject + ga + Verb
Ay ga kaa. → I come.
Progressive (Ongoing)
Marker: go ga
Subject + go ga + Verb
Ay go ga kaa. → I am coming.
Future
Marker: ma
Subject + ma + Verb
Ay ma kaa. → I will come.
Negative (Habitual)
Marker: si
Subject + si + Verb
Ay si kaa. → I don't come.
Negative (Past)
Marker: mana
Subject + mana + Verb
Ay mana kaa. → I didn't come.