Present
Present tense tells us about things happening now or currently.
| English | Dholuo |
| He/she is drinking Alcohol. | En omadho kong'o. |
| He is eating a lot. | En ochiemo mang'eny. |
| He is studying often that is why he is smart. | En osomo ahinya emomiyo oriek |
Things that continue for a short time
| English | Dholuo |
|---|---|
| I’m living with some friends until I find a place of my own. | An adak gi osiepena nyaka ayud kara kenda |
| You’re working hard today. | In itiyo matek kawuono |
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 Dholuo the word tie ka indicates that it is present continues.
| English | Dholuo |
| He/she hunts. | En odwar |
| He eats a lot. | En ochiemo mang'eny |
| He studies often that is why he's is smart. | En osomo ahinya emomiyo oriek |
Things that continue for a short time.
| English | Dholuo |
| Okello is not lazy. He works hard most of the time. | Okello oknyap. Otiyo matek seche te |
| My parents live in Gulu. They have lived there all their lives. | Jonyuolna odak Gulu. Gisedak kono ngima duto. |
Present simple (I do)
using plural in present perfect.
| Plural(English) | example(Dholuo) |
|---|---|
| They work | Gin gitiyo |
| We harvest | Wan wakeye |
| You fish | Un ulupo |
Constructing a sentence
| English | Dholuo |
|---|---|
| You teach at Lokang | In pwuojo e Lokang' |
| I work at Lokang | An atiyo e Lokang' |
| they look after the babies | Gin girito nyindo |
| We herd the goats | Wan wakwayo diek. |
using singular in present perfect.
| singular(English) | example(English) | Example(Dholuo) |
|---|---|---|
| He, She, It | works, teaches, works etc | Tiyo, Pwonj, tich etc |
| English | Dholuo |
| He works | Otiyo |
| She works | Otiyo |
| It works | Otiyo |
Constructing a sentence
| English | Dholuo |
|---|---|
| Lokang teaches at Lokang | Lokang pwuonjo e Lokang' |
| He works at Lokang | En otiyo e Lokang |
| He herds the goats | En okwayo diek |
We use do/does to make questions and negative sentences:
plural
| Example(English) | Example(Dholuo) | |
|---|---|---|
| do/don't | I/we/you/they work? drive? | an/wan/in/gin tich? dwaro? |
constructing a sentence
| English | Dholuo |
|---|---|
| Where do you come from? | in iwuok kanye? |
| I don't go away very often? | An okadhi kamora amora seche te. |
singular
| Example(English) | Example(Dholuo) | |
|---|---|---|
| does/doesn't | he/she/it drive? | en/ni tiyo? Riembo? |
constructing a sentence
| English | Dholuo |
|---|---|
| What does this word mean? | Wachni nyiso ang'o? |
| Rice doesn’t grow in cold climates | ochele oktwi e ng'ch |
We use the present simple to say how often we do things:
| English | Dholuo |
|---|---|
| I get up at 7:00 o’clock every morning. | An achiew ga sa 7.00 okinyi pile |
| How often do you go to the dentist? | In idhi ga ka janak didi? |
| Lokang doesn’t drink tea very often. | Lokang okmadhga chai seçhe te |
| Okello usually goes away two or three times a year. | Okello dhiga oko diriyo kata didek e higa. |
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 …’:
| English | Dholuo |
|---|---|
| I promise I won’t be late. | Akwong'ora okabi lewo. |
| What do you suggest I do? I suggest that you learn Luo languages | In ineno ni atim ang'o? An aneno ni ipuonj Dholuo |
| English | Dholuo |
|---|---|
| This time last year I was living in Panyikwara. | E seche ma kama higa mokadho ne adak ei panyikwara. |
| What were you doing at 10 o’clock last night? | Ne itimo ang'o saa ang'wen otieno? |
| I waved to Awino, but she wasn’t seeng. | Ne afwayo me Awino, to ne ok onen. |