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Present

Tenses are a grammatical concept used to express time. They are used to indicate when an action, state, or event occurs in time - in the past, the present, or the future. They are typically expressed through the use of verbs or auxiliary verbs in a sentence. It's important to note that the concept of tenses, and the way they are expressed, can vary greatly from language to language. In addition, English and many other languages use different forms of each tense to express various degrees of completeness or continuity, such as "I am eating an apple" (present continuous) or "I have eaten an apple" (present perfect). Some languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, do not express tenses in the same way as languages like English or Spanish do. Instead, they may use context or other words in a sentence to indicate time. So, while "tense" is a universal concept related to the expression of time in language, the ways in which different languages express tense can vary quite a bit.

Present
Present tense tells us about things happening now or currently. Here is example of present tense:

Acholi	English
En mato kongo.	He/she is drinking Alcohol.
En camo madwong.	He is eating a lot.
En Kwano totwal oweko en riek.	He is studying often that is why he is smart.

Continue

Things that continue for a short time

Acholi	English
An abedo ki lo rema wang ma a nongo ka bedo na.	I’m living with some friends until I find a place of my own.
I tiyo ma tek tin.	You’re working hard today.

Present continuous
Present continuous tense tells us about things happening all the time or something that loops or repeat itself. In English, the present continuous is determine by do or s at the end of the word. In Acholi, the word tie ka indicates that it is present continues.

Acholi	English
En tie ka dwar.	He/she hunts.
En tie ka cam madwuong.	He eats a lot.
En tie ka kwan jwi pi man en riek	He studies often that is why he's is smart.

Continue

Things that continue for a short time.

Acholi	English
Okello kome pe wac. En tie ka tic ma tek i cawa weng.	Okello isn’t lazy. He works hard most of the time.
Lo nyodo na gi bedo i Gulu. Gin gi bedo kuca/kunu pi kare ma lac.	My parents live in Gulu. They have lived there all their lives.

Present simple (I do)
using plural in present perfect.

Plural(English)	example(English)	example(Acholi)
They, we, I, You	look, herd, work etc	Gin gi neno, wan wa lego, an a tiyo ki tic, etc

Constructing a sentence

Acholi	English
In pwuonyo i Lokang	You teach at Lokang
An a tiyo i Lokang	I work at Lokang
Gin gi neno lotino	they look after the babies
Wan wa lego dwegi	We herd the goats

Singular
using singular in present perfect.

singular(English)	example(English)	Example(Acholi)
He, She, It	works, teaches, herds etc	Tiyo, Pwuonyo, timo etc

Constructing a sentence

Acholi	English
Lokang pwuonyo i Lokang	Lokang teaches at Lokang
Ent tiyo i Lokang	He works at Lokang
En lego dyegi	He herds the goats

We use do/does to make questions and negative sentences:
Plural

	Example(English)	Example(Acholi)
do/don't	I/we/you/they work? drive?	an/wan/gin tiyo? dwayo?

Constructing a sentence

Acholi	English
i a ki kany?	Where do you come from?
An pe a kato woko kare ducu?	I don't go away very often?

Singular

	Example(English)	Example(Acholi)
does/doesn't	he/she/it drive?	en/ni tiyo? dwayo?

constructing a sentence

Acholi	English
Tyen lok ni waco ni ngo?	What does this word mean?
Ruc pe dongo i ka ma ngic	Rice doesn’t grow in cold climates

We use the present simple to say how often we do things:

Acholi	English
A aa malo 7:00 odiko jwi.	I get up at 7:00 o’clock every morning.
I neno la tic i lak awene jwi?	How often do you go to the dentist?
Lokang pe mato chai jwi.	Lokang doesn’t drink tea very often.
Okello jwi cito woko ki la cawa ariyo nyo a dek i kare weng/ducu.	Okello usually goes away two or three times a year.

I promise / I apologise etc.
Sometimes we do things by saying something. For example, when you promise to do something,you can say ‘I promise …’; when you suggest something, you can say ‘I suggest …’:

Acholi	English
akwongo pe a bi ok kwe.	I promise I won’t be late.
I tamo ni a tim ngo? Atamo ni myero i pwuony leb Luo.	What do you suggest I do? I suggest that you learn Luo languages.
akwongo Acholi language niyabo kati woko in mwoka 2030.	I promise Acholi language book will be out be 2030.
atamo ni myero ater ye cawa mapol ka coyo ne.	I suggest that I will do more work to finish the work.
A kwayo kica pe abi ok kwe.	I apologise i will not be late.

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