GRADE 8 indigenous languages – Story telling – Ogre narrative Quiz
1. When telling a past event about an ogre in Kiswahili, which verbal marker commonly shows simple past (e.g., 'The ogre ate')?
In Kiswahili and many Bantu varieties used in Kenya, simple past is commonly formed with the past marker '-li-' after the subject prefix (e.g., alikula = 'he/she ate'). '-ta-' is future, '-me-' is perfect, and 'je' is a question particle.
2. To describe the ogre's usual behaviour (habit) in a story, which verbal marker is commonly used in Kiswahili?
The infix '-na-' is used for present or habitual actions in Kiswahili (anapika/anakula). It expresses what typically or currently happens, suitable for describing repeated behaviour in a story.
3. Which statement correctly describes subject-verb agreement in many Kenyan Bantu languages used when telling a story about an ogre?
Bantu languages (e.g., Kiswahili, Kikuyu) mark subject-verb agreement by subject prefixes on the verb that match the noun class of the subject (e.g., m- for singular human, wa- for plural humans).
4. When you want to include a direct object (the ogre's victim) on the verb in Kiswahili, where is the object marker placed?
Object markers in Bantu languages like Kiswahili are typically inserted between the subject prefix and the verb root (e.g., a-li-m-wona = he saw him), allowing verbs to include direct object reference.
5. Which relative word is commonly used in Kiswahili to introduce a clause that describes 'the ogre who came'?
'Ambaye' (and its agreement forms like 'ambao', 'ambaye' depending on class) is the common relative pronoun in Kiswahili to introduce relative clauses (e.g., 'jitu ambalo liliingia' / 'jitu ambalo' or 'jitu ambalo/ambaye').
6. In some Kenyan Nilotic languages, which structure commonly expresses two sequential actions (e.g., 'He went and ate') without using a conjunction?
Many Nilotic languages use serial verb constructions where multiple verb stems occur in sequence to express related actions (e.g., 'went eat'), sharing one subject without a coordinating conjunction.
7. Which verb form is commonly used to give a plural command to a group when telling children to 'Come, children!' in Kiswahili?
Plural imperatives in Kiswahili are commonly formed by adding '-ni' to the verb stem (e.g., 'lete' (singular) -> 'leteni' (plural)) or using plural forms like 'njooni' for 'come (plural)'.
8. When saying 'the ogre's house' in a Bantu language, what grammatical principle determines the possessive form?
In Bantu languages possessive forms agree with the noun class of the possessed item. For example in Kiswahili 'nyumba yake' ('his/her house') the possessive concord aligns with 'nyumba' (class 9/10 patterns).
9. When using demonstratives to point to 'that ogre' (far from the speaker) in a Bantu language, what must the demonstrative do grammatically?
Demonstratives in Bantu languages carry concord that matches the noun class of the modified noun, so the demonstrative morphology changes to agree with the noun it points to.
10. Which grammatical process is commonly used in some Kenyan languages to show repetition or intensity (e.g., 'the ogre laughed and laughed')?
Reduplication (repeating a whole word or part of it) is a common grammatical device in many African languages to indicate repetition, intensity, or habitual action (e.g., 'lala'-> 'lalalala' for repeated sleeping/laughter).
11. In reported speech while narrating what the ogre said, which Kiswahili structure typically introduces the reported clause?
Kiswahili commonly introduces reported speech with a reporting verb and a complementiser like 'kwamba' or 'kuwa' (e.g., 'alisema kwamba...'), which grammatically marks the reported clause.
12. Which verbal suffix in many Bantu languages typically adds a benefactive or applicative meaning (e.g., 'He baked bread for the child')?
Applicative suffixes like '-ia'/'-ea' in Bantu languages increase the valency of the verb to introduce beneficiaries, instruments, or locatives (e.g., 'pika' -> 'pik-ia' meaning 'cook for/with').
13. How is a reflexive action often formed in Kiswahili when the ogre acts upon himself (e.g., 'He cleaned himself')?
Reflexive actions in Kiswahili are commonly expressed with 'ji-' (or its inflected forms) attached to the verb stem (e.g., 'anajisafisha' = 'he cleans himself').
14. Which verb marker indicates recent perfect (a completed action relevant now) in Kiswahili when saying 'The ogre has eaten'?
The infix '-me-' in Kiswahili marks perfect aspect, indicating an action has been completed with relevance to the present (e.g., amekula = 'he has eaten').
15. How are yes/no questions commonly formed in Kiswahili storytelling when asking 'Did the ogre come?'?
Yes/no questions in Kiswahili are often formed by adding the particle 'je' or relying on intonation and context. There is no special suffix '-q' — particles and intonation are the main devices.
16. To negate a past action (e.g., 'The ogre did not come') in Kiswahili, which negative prefix is typically used with the verb root?
Past negation in Kiswahili commonly uses 'haku-' (subject negative prefix + past tense) to indicate 'did not' (e.g., hakufika/hakuna depending on dialect).
17. What is the usual basic word order in many Kenyan indigenous languages (including many Bantu and Nilotic languages) for simple sentences used in storytelling?
Many Kenyan languages (including Kiswahili and several Nilotic languages) commonly use SVO word order for simple declarative sentences, which is the default order in storytelling.
18. If you want to emphasise the ogre's victim by placing it at the start of the sentence, which grammatical device are you using?
Moving an element (like the object) to the sentence initial position to highlight it is called fronting or topicalization; it is a syntactic device used for emphasis in many languages.
19. Which Kiswahili word commonly links two events in sequence in a story (e.g., 'He ate, then he left')?
'Kisha' is a common conjunction/adverb in Kiswahili used to sequence events ('then'/'after that'), useful in storytelling to show order of actions.
20. To form a comparative like 'The ogre is bigger than the hunter' in Kiswahili, which word is typically used to mean 'than'?
'Kuliko' and phrases like 'zaidi ya' are used in Kiswahili to form comparisons (e.g., 'jitu ni mkubwa kuliko mwindo' = 'the ogre is bigger than the hunter').
21. Which noun-class pair often marks singular and plural for human nouns in many Bantu languages (useful when telling 'an ogre' vs 'ogres')?
Many Bantu languages mark human nouns with class prefixes m-/mu- (singular) and wa- (plural) (e.g., mtu -> watu), so pluralising human characters in stories follows these class patterns.
22. Which Kiswahili question word would you use to ask 'Who did the ogre frighten?'
'Nani' is the Kiswahili interrogative for 'who' and is used to ask about people (e.g., 'Aliwaogopesha nani?' = 'Who did he frighten?').
23. When linking verbs to show that one action follows another in Kiswahili storytelling, which conjunction is most natural for 'and then'?
'Kisha' functions as 'then'/'after that' in Kiswahili, so it is grammatically appropriate to link consecutive actions in a narration.
24. How do adjectives agree with nouns when describing the ogre in many Bantu languages (e.g., 'big ogre' vs 'big ogres')?
In Bantu languages adjectives agree with the noun by taking concord prefixes matching the noun class (e.g., 'jitu kubwa' (singular) vs 'majitu makubwa' (plural) with appropriate agreement).
25. Which grammatical device is used to mark emphasis on the subject (e.g., 'It was the ogre who ate the drum') in many Kenyan languages?
Cleft or focus constructions (fronting the focused element and using a copula or relative structure) are common grammatical ways to emphasise a part of the sentence (e.g., 'It was the ogre that...').
26. When reporting a quoted utterance of the ogre in a narrative, which punctuation or grammatical strategy is commonly used in spoken storytelling?
In spoken storytelling, reported speech is signalled by a reporting verb plus a complementiser like 'kwamba'/'kuwa' and by changes in intonation; written quotation marks are a writing convention, not a spoken grammatical device.