Otjiherero grammar

Otjiherero grammar is the grammar of the Herero language (Otjiherero), a Bantu language spoken primarily in Namibia. It includes several hallmarks of Bantu languages such as a large number of noun classes and the use of subject concords.
Nouns.
Otjiherero includes the standard six personal pronouns, twenty-one noun classes for general nouns and three prepositions that can exhibit nominal properties.
General nouns.
Nearly every noun belongs to a noun class. Nine main noun classes and one rare noun class are present. Each has a subclass for singular nouns and plural nouns. Each noun class has its own demonstrative, object pronoun, object concord, relative concords, possessive prefix and pronoun.
A noun's class can be determined by its first few letters. This is the noun-class prefix, while the rest of the word is the noun stem. Singular and plural nouns have distinct noun-class prefixes. This differs from many western languages, which typically pluralize words by changing the end sounds—for example, by adding a sibilant ("s").
Some prefixes occur in multiple classes, such as "omu" and "oma". Knowing which noun class that words with these prefixes belong to can often be guessed based on the type of word, but this is not always true.
Noun classes tend to have loose themes. These are not strict and any type of word may find itself in any noun class. The only noun class that strictly adheres to its theme is "sing", which all refer to a person or people.
An exception to the two-subclass system occurs in the "oo"- subclass. This subclass is the pluralization of nouns that do not have a noun-class prefix, which is rare. Examples of this include the pluralization of "mama" ("mom") into "oomama", "tate" ("father") into "ootate", or the pluralization of a name to refer to the person and those associated with them, such as "Ukutura" into "ooUkutura". It is an alternative to "ova", because it generally is used for people.
Most noun-class prefixes begin with the letter "o", including a noun class with just "o". This class encompasses all nouns that begin with "o" that do not belong to any other noun class.
One should note that Otjiherero has no articles.
Prepositional pronouns.
The prepositions "pu", "ku", and "mu" can sometimes be the subject of a sentence, and have their own subject concords similar to other noun classes. They can be thought of as the 11th, 12th and 13th noun classes. The division between "pu" and "ku" is sometimes indistinct, but some guidelines are included.
Personal pronouns.
Otjiherero personal pronouns are delineated into six pronouns based on person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and plurality (singular, plural). 
Impersonal pronouns.
Each noun class has a corresponding pronoun. From the perspective of an English speaker, for general nouns all of these are equivalent to "it" for singular subjects and "they" for plural subjects. For the prepositional noun classes, the pronouns are related to "here", "there", and "inside". Additionally, each class has demonstrative pronouns, comparable to "this/these one(s)", "that/those one(s)", and "that/those one(s) over there" in English.
Examples 
Verbs.
Like most languages, verbs conjugate to denote tense, aspect and modality. However, to know the correct tense, aspect, and modality of the sentence, the combination of the verb and the subject concord must be considered. Unlike English, verbs do not conjugate differently for different subjects.
Regular verbs have 3 main conjugations for tense:
Infinitive conjugation.
All verbs in their infinitive conjugation begin with "oku-" and end with the letter "-a". "Oku-" is the verb prefix, and the rest of the verb is the verb stem.
Examples:
Verbs can be used as nouns by treating them as nouns with the "oku-" noun-class prefix.
Example: "Okutona kwoye eputi" Your hitting is a problem
Verb stem conjugation.
In some tenses, the verb conjugates by dropping the verb prefix
Examples
Main alternative conjugation.
All verbs have a main alternative conjugation. This alternative relates to the verb stem in one of four ways. The alternative conjugation is either:
Examples:
Other conjugations.
Other conjugations occur for location, voice, reflection, benefaction, and causation, as described below.
Location.
When an action occurs somewhere else, the directive particle "ka" is used. In non-command, non-infinitive cases, the verb is in verb stem form with a "ka-" prefix.
Examples:
When used in a command, "ka-" is a prefix to the verb stem, but the last letter of the verb stem changes to "-e" (regardless of whether or not this is the verb's main alternative conjugation).
Examples:
When used in an infinitive, "-ka-" is an infix between the verb prefix and the verb stem.
Examples:
Passive voice.
Passive voice conjugations are formed by putting a "-w-" before the final "-a" of the verb stem (regardless of tense). Irregular verbs may use a form similar to their main alternative conjugation.
Examples:
To specify an acting object, the passive particle "i" comes before the object.
Examples:
Reflection.
The reflective particle "ri" expresses a subject doing something to itself. This same effect is achieved in English by adding "-self/-selves" to the object, such as in "herself" or "themselves". The reflective particle appears exactly as does the directive particle (see "Location" above). In the case that a verb uses both a reflective particle and a directive particle, the directive precedes the reflective. Unlike the directive, the reflective does not cause verbs to switch to verb stem form regardless of tense.
The reflective particle affects preceding concords and directive particles. If any of these parts of speech end with an "-a", the "-a" changes to an "-e".
In the final example the reflective particle influenced both the subject concord and the directive particle.
Benefactive.
When an action is done for or on behalf of someone/something else, a benefactive suffix is sometimes used. The four benefactive suffixes are:
The suffix depends on the end of the verb stem. 
The benefactive suffix replaces the "-a" of the verb stem. In tenses where using the main alternative verb form, the final "-a" of the benefactive suffix becomes an "-e" (regardless of the final letter of the main alternative verb form for that verb).
Examples:
Causation.
In the case that the subject causes the object to do the action, a causatory suffix is added to the verb. The most common suffix is to replace the final "-a" of the verb with "-isa". However, verbs ending in "-uka" can sometimes change the "-uka" to "-ura" and achieve a similar effect.
When forming passive voice with causatory verbs, an "-iwa" is added rather than a "-wa"
Examples:
Subject concords (and tense construction).
Unlike English, every verb (except commands or infinitives) is preceded by a part of speech called a subject concord. Subject concords are similar to helping (auxiliary) verbs in English, except that they have no meaning without an accompanying verb, whereas helping verbs such as "was" could be used as a verb in certain sentences. Subject concords inflect to denote tense, aspect and modality, but unlike Otjiherero verbs, subject concords also inflect to show subject. Often the subject concord implies the subject with little or no ambiguity, such that subject nouns and pronouns are often omitted.
The concepts of "verb stem conjugation" and "main alternative conjugation" succinctly describe verb conjugation in many cases. Since subject concords vary depending by subject, some noun notation is also used.
Subject concords carry the negation sentences. In other words, verbs that "didn't happen" use a different subject concord. Note that some tenses exist only positively or only negatively.
Present and future tenses.
Otjiherero has five tenses that occur in the present or future time frames. 
Present habitual tense.
The present habitual tense is used for actions that occur regularly, emphasizing the ongoing recurrence of the action rather than any specific occurrence.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + present habitual subject concord + verb stem conjugation
Examples:
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative present habitual subject concord + main alternative conjugation
Examples:
Copulative/associative present tense.
Otjiherero includes two special words that have unique parts of speech: the copula, "ri", and the associative, "na". These correlate with the English verbs "to be" and "to have"/"to be with", respectively (but "ri" and "na" are not considered verbs).
Regardless of whether these are used in present progressive situations or habitual situations, they always use the habitual subject concord when used in the present tense. This is similar to English, where "I am happy." and "I have a pencil." are much more common than "I'm being happy." and "I'm having a pencil.", even when used in a present progressive context.
"Ri" finds its main uses in present tense when used to
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
Examples:
When used with the interrogative "pi", the "ri" is sometimes omitted as a contraction.
Examples:
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative habitual subject concord + "ri" + adverb OR preposition+location
Examples:
"Na" is generally used to show association or possession. The associative usually prefixes the noun, almost always dropping the "a" if the noun begins with a vowel.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
Examples:
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
Examples:
Present progressive/near future tense.
Verbs for events that are happening in the current moment are usually conjugated in this tense, though some verbs are conjugated in the recent past tense. Verbs for events that take place in the arbitrarily "near" future are conjugated in this tense.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + present progressive / near future subject concord + main alternative conjugation
Examples:
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative present progressive / near future subject concord U verb stem conjugation
Examples:
Indefinite future tense.
Actions that take place in some indefinitely distant future are generally conjugated in this tense.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + indefinite future subject concord + main alternative conjugation
Examples:
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative indefinite future subject concord + main alternative conjugation
Examples:
Present perfect.
This tense is only strictly defined for negations. It can be interpreted in English as "haven't/hasn't" or "still haven't/hasn't"
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative present perfect subject concord + verb stem conjugation
Examples:
Past tenses.
In Otjiherero, the majority of tenses occur in the past. These include
Recent past.
The recent past tense includes most verbs that were performed earlier in the same day.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + general past subject concord + main alternative conjugation
Examples:
Some verbs that are still occurring use the recent past tense. This tense captures an initiation or transition occurring at the beginning of the action, and that the action is grammatically understood to still be taking place; however, similar verbs are not always conjugated in the same tense.
Examples:
yet some similar verbs are conjugated in the present progressive tense
There is no negation for this tense, as negations will either migrate into the present perfect or yesterday's / completed past tense.
Yesterday/completed past.
Events of a day or a few days ago usually use verbs conjugated in this tense.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
Some irregular verbs, such as okurya, do not use the verb stem conjugation. Behalvatory suffixes are used instead.
Examples:
Verbs that use the recent past conjugation to indicate that they are presently occurring use yesterday's/completed past to show completion, even if they happened in the current day.
Examples:
This tense has no negation,This tense has no negation, as negations for non-recent past use the "general non-recent past" tense.
Intermediately distant past.
Actions not performed yesterday-ish but not distantly past fall in this intermediate category.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + general past subject concord + verb stem conjugation
Examples:
This tense has no negation, as negations for non-recent past use the "general non-recent past" tense.
Very distant past.
This tense represents the greatest possible emphasis on a distant time. The formation of this tense is exactly the same as that of yesterday's past, but the verbs have an up-accent on the final vowel. This tense has no negation, as negations for non-recent past use the "general non-recent past" tense.
General non-recent past.
This tense is used only in the negative and encompasses the negations of the "Yesterday/completed past", "Intermediately distant past", and "Verb distant past" tenses.
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
(!) Some irregular verbs, such as okurya, do not use the verb stem conjugation. 
Examples:
Past continuous.
To emphasize the extended duration of an action in the past, the past continuous tense is used. This is the same as saying "I was playing." instead of "I played."
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + general past subject concord + ri + ("a-" + the subject concord you'd use if you were doing the action right now. Thus usually the present progressive subject concord, but for some verbs this would be the general past subject concord.) + main alternative conjugation
Examples:
This tense is especially useful for saying that something happened while something else was happening.
Examples:
For the third person singular, certain contractions may be used.
The conjunction "ngunda" ("while") is also used in the past continuous tense.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + "ngunda" + ("a-" + the subject concord you'd use if you were doing the action right now. Thus usually the present progressive subject concord, but for some verbs this would be the general past subject concord.) + main alternative conjugation
In other words, "ngunda" can replace the general past subject concord and the "ri".
Examples:
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + past copulative subject concord + ri + ("a-" + the subject concord you'd use if you were doing the action right now. Thus usually the present progressive subject concord, but for some verbs this would be the general past subject concord.) + main alternative conjugation
Examples:
Past habitual.
Actions that once took place habitually but no longer take do so adopt the past habitual tense. This can be compared to "used to" in English.
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + past habitual subject concord + verb stem conjugation
Examples:
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
(optional pronoun/name/noun) + negative past habitual subject concord + verb stem conjugation
Examples:
Copulative/associative past.
To use the Otjiherero copula "ri" in the past tense, the copulative past conjugation is used (unless in the past habitual). This is required when:
The following formula describes the formation of this tense:
Examples:
The following formula describes the negation of this tense:
Examples:
In the case of the copula "ri" in a past habitual tense, the conjugation proceeds in the habitual tense style.
Examples:
Object Concords.
Other than when used in possessive determiners, pronouns are rarely used as objects. Instead, Otjiherero speakers use object concords, which replace object pronouns with no change in meaning. Each personal pronoun and noun class has its own object concord
These are the same as the present habitual subject concords for each noun class respectively, as well as some impersonal pronouns. The excepted noun class is class 1s, where the object concord corresponds with that of the third person singular personal pronoun, "eye".
Unless involved in a sentence with a verb in the infinitive form, object concords situate themselves directly before the verb. When the verb is in the infinitive form, the object concord is infixed between the "oku-" and the verb stem. If a directive particle is also being used, the object concord is infixed between the directive particle and the verb stem.
Object concords are one of several grammatical constructs that cause "-as of preceding parts of speech to change into "-es. They are able to affect subject concords, directive particles and relative concords.
Examples:
Ambiguity is created in the third example by the inclusion of an object concord. It is possible that native speakers could determine the exact meaning of the sentence by the tone of "me" and "mu". For non-native speakers or written Otjiherero, including pronouns can clarify neaning.
Examples:
Relative Concords.
Relative concords cause a verb or verb phrase to act as an adjective. They are comparable to "that", "which" and "who" in English. They come after the subject and replace the subject concord of the verb phrase.
Basic.
Basic relative concords come after the subject and replace the subject concord of the verb phrase. With a copula "ri", associative "na" or both, they come after the relative concord.
Compare:
Examples:
Different subject.
If the subject of the action in the relative verb phrase is different from the original subject, the following formula is used:
[First word of the present progressive relative concord] + [tense-appropriate subject concord for the relative subject]
Compare:
Examples:
Negation.
To negate the present habitual, the negatory particle "ha" follows the habitual relative concord. The verb is conjugated in the main alternative form.
To negate in the present progressive, replace the second word of the present progressive relative concord with "hi naku-". The verb is conjugated in the verb stem form.
To negate with "na" or "ri" in the present, insert "he" between the habitual relative concord and the "na" or "ri".
Examples:
Adjectives.
Similar to nouns, all standard adjectives have a noun-class prefix and an adjective stem. Unlike nouns, adjectives do not have invariable prefixes that are essential to their meaning. Instead, adjectives inherit the noun-class prefix of the noun they describe. Thus, since a part of an adjective depends on the subject it is modifying, standard adjectives cannot be written without implying a subject (or a possible set of subjects). However, since the adjective stem remains the same regardless of subject, it is useful to use adjective stems as a way to record adjectives.
Standard Adjectives.
Standard adjectives usually come after nouns, and consist of a noun-class prefix and an adjective stem.
Examples:
Comparatives.
Adjectives are not declined to show comparison, such as "big" becoming "bigger". Instead, the preposition "pu" is added as a prefix to the noun to which the initial noun is compared. "Pu" almost always omits the "u" when prefixed to a noun beginning with a vowel, which most do. Exceptions include loanwords that are proper nouns.
Examples:
Superlatives.
Superlatives can be formed in two ways. The first is to double the last two syllables of the adjective stem, or in the case of single syllable adjective stems, double the adjective stem
Examples:
The other approach to superlatives is formed like comparatives, except "tjinene" is added after the adjective, and a form of "all" is placed after the compared group. While these may arguably be comparatives, the addition of "tjinene" indicates a unique form.
Examples:
Using relative concords.
Otjiherero has few adjectives compared to English. Similar to English, relative concords are used to modify a noun when the adjective doesn't exist.
Compare:
Adverbs.
Otjiherero has no formula for changing adjectives to adverbs. English converts many adjectives to adverbs by adding "-ly".
Extended adverbs.
For situations where a verb, adjective, or adverb must be modified in a way that no existing adverb allows, an extended adverb may be created by using the following formula:
verb + "a-" + [subject concord and verb modifying the original verb]
This is comparable to "while" in English. Note that verbs that normally use recent past subject concords to describe the present tense use a recent past concord. All other verbs use present progressive subject concords.
Examples:
Conjunctive adverbs.
One important conjunctive adverb is "nu", meaning "then" or "and then". If followed by a word that starts with a vowel, the "nu" is often dropped, and the "n-" becomesa prefix to the word. If followed by "wa" or "we", the past subject concord for third person singular personal nouns/pronouns, the "u" and "w" are dropped, and the words combine to "na" or "ne"
Examples:
Determiners.
Otjiherero makes use of the following determiners:
Most notably omitted when compared to English are articles, which are compensated for by context or demonstratives
Demonstratives.
Each noun class has its own demonstratives, and the demonstrative corresponds to the noun class of the noun it refers to. Some noun classes have multiple demonstratives in use due to generational or regional differences. These are represented by fields with multiple entries. The "oru-" and "otu-" classes specifically have a wide range of demonstratives in use, and not all possibilities are listed.
Demonstratives can be positioned before or after their corresponding noun. When positioned after, they are used exactly as in the table. When written before the noun, an "i-" is prefixed to the demonstrative.
Examples:
A common usage of demonstratives involves placing them directly after a corresponding pronoun. This creates a new meaning, along the lines of "Here it is / There it is / There it is over there" or "It's this one here / It's that one there / It's that one over there"
Examples:
Demonstratives can stand alone as demonstrative pronouns.
Possessives.
Possessive determiners are composed of two parts: a possessive concord that is prefixed to a possessive suffix. Possessive concords correspond to the noun class of the noun being possessed, while the possessive suffix corresponds to the noun class of the possessor.
Exception: "omuṱena" (opposite-sex sibling) has an irregular possessive concord, using "kwa-" instead of "wa-"
The possessive suffix can take four different forms, creating four different classes of possessive determiners
Personal pronoun possessive determiners.
Personal pronoun possessive determiners are possessive determiners with a personal pronoun (or noun from the first noun class) doing the possessing. For these, the suffix is a personal possessive pronoun.
The final "a" of the possessive concord is dropped when the possessive determiner is formed. Also note that possessors in the first noun class, "omu/ova" are treated as "eye/ova" respectively.
Examples:
Proper noun possessive determiners.
When a proper noun is possessing, the possessive concord is prefixed to the proper noun. Two types of inflection are possible:
Examples:
Common noun possessive determiners.
When a common noun is the possessor, the "-a" of the possessive concord is dropped.
Example:
Impersonal pronoun possessive determiners.
When an impersonal pronoun is the possessor, the "-o" of the impersonal pronoun is dropped.
Example:
Quantifiers.
Important quantifiers include "tjiva" (some), "-arwe" (other, another, different), "-kwao" (another), "o- -ngi" (many, most) and "a- -he" (all).
Some.
"Tjiva" expresses the idea of "some". "Tjiva" appears after the noun like a standard adjective, but does not inflect.
Example:
Other, another, different.
"-arwe" expresses the idea of "other", "another" or "different". "-arwe" is prefixed with the possessive prefix of its noun, with the "a-" of the possessive prefix dropped. "-arwe" is similar to "-kwao", but "-arwe" can imply difference, while "-kwao" almost always means "another".
Examples:
Another.
"-kwao" means "another". It inflects as a standard adjective. "-arwe" is similar to "-kwao", but "-arwe" can be used to imply difference, while "-kwao" almost always means "another".
"-arwe" and "-kwao" can be confusing to English speakers because they often use "another" for two different ideas. One use involves addition, while another involves replacement.
Compare:
Many, most.
"o- -ngi" expresses the idea of "many" (and sometimes "most"). It does not inflect as a standard adjective; rather, the present habitual subject concord of the modified noun is infixed between the "o-" and the "-ngi".
Examples:
All.
"a- -he" expresses the idea of "all". It does not inflect as a standard adjective; rather, the present habitual subject concord of the modified noun is infixed between the "a-" and the "-he".
Examples
Cardinal numbers.
1 through 5.
For numbers 1 through 5, cardinal numbers work as standard adjectives, except number stems are prefixed with the present habitual subject concord of the noun they modify instead of the noun-class prefix.
The "ozo-" class inflects differently. Instead of accepting prefixes, the number stem stands alone. Moreover, number stems starting with "v-" change to "mb-" and number stems starting with "t-" change to "nd-".
The number 4 has a few irregular inflections:
When using numbers in and of and themselves (not as modifiers), they are treated as if modifying a word in the "ozo-" class, except an "i-" is always prefixed (even beyond 5).
Examples:
6 through 10.
Numbers 6 through 10 do not inflect. Numbers 6 through 8 are simply 1 through 3 as if inflected for the "ozo-" noun class, with "hambo-" prefixed.
Examples:
11 through 19.
Numbers 11 through 19 are formed through conjunction. For example, 15 is "ten and five". The number in the unit's place inflects normally as if it stood alone.
Examples:
20 through 99.
Numbers 20 through 99 are also formed through conjunction. Multiples of 10 are created by treating 10 as a noun, and modifying it with a number 1 through 9.
Examples:
100 and beyond.
Numbers 100 and beyond are formed through conjunction, with each place value modified as a noun to create its multiples. Like English, place values of "thousand" and beyond are modified up to hundreds in order to create three places (example: thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands; millions, ten millions, hundred millions)
Examples:
Ordinal numbers.
The following formula converts cardinal numbers to ordinal numbers
"o" + [present habitual concord of ordered noun] + "tja" + [number stem]
The exceptions are "first" and "last". These are constructed as standard adjectives, with "-tenga" as the adjective stem for "first", and "-senina" as the adjective stem for "last".
Examples:
Other prefixes and particles.
Negative prefix.
The prefix "ka-" can be used with nouns, adjectives and verbs in the infinitive form. It functions similar to "not" or "it's not a". When prefixed onto a work, the first vowel of the original is dropped if it began with a vowel. No ambiguity affects the directive prefix "ka-" because the directive prefix is only prefixed to verb stems, whereas the negative prefix prefixes to the beginning of the infinitive verb.
Examples:
Negative particle.
The negative particle "ha" adds negation. It can be thought of as similar to "Not" "Non-" "Un-" "In-". It is normally used as an infix in adjectives and their derivatives (placed between the noun-class prefix and the noun stem) or as a particle before verbs in sentences asking "why" or with relative concords.
Compare:
Examples:
Nominal prefix.
The nominal prefix "o-" can be added to words to make them more independent. Main uses occur with personal pronouns, personal and impersonal noun-class possessives, relative concords and interrogatives. This works in 2 ways. 
Compare:
Compare:
Compare:
Examples:
Copulative particle.
The copula is "ri". It functions similarly to "be/is/am/are" in English, although it is not a verb. Common uses include identifying with adverbs, querying location and specifying location. It can identify two nouns in the past. It comes up in the past continuous tense.
Examples:
Associative particle.
The associative is "na". It functions similar to "have" in English, thought it is not a verb. It is generally prefixed to a following noun, and drops its "a-" if the following noun begins with a vowel.
Examples:
Conjunctions.
Non-contrasting.
The non-contrasting conjunction is "na", similar to "and" in English.
If the following word begins with a vowel, the "u" is often dropped and the "n-" prefixed to the following word. Alternatively, sometimes the vowel of the following word is dropped, and the "na-" is prefixed to the word.
Examples:
Contrasting.
The fundamental contrasting conjunction is "posi ya" or "posi ya kutja", meaning "but". Other forms include "mara" (loan word from Afrikaans); "nungwari", which is more similar to "however"; and "nangwari", which is similar to "however"/"actually".
Examples:
Alternative.
The conjunction for alternative is "poo", meaning "or".
Example:
Consequential.
The consequential conjunction is "okutja", meaning "so"/"therefore".
Example:
Prepositions.
Otjiherero contains an assortment of prepositions. The most important are "pu", "ku", and "mu".
"Pu", "Ku", and "Mu".
"Pu", "ku", and "mu" have special applications. The formal difference between "pu" and "ku" is obscure and the provided definitions do not always hold.
"Pu", "ku", and "mu" can behave like quasi-nouns. When used this way, they are able to have subject concords, demonstratives, relative concords and conditional concords.
These create situations similar to "there are" or "here is" in English
Examples:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Interrogatives.
Otjiherero contains an assortment of interrogatives. "Ongwaye" (why) is the most unusual.
"Ongwaye".
Ongwaye has two uses. The first is a stand-alone word asking "what?", which could mean, for example, "what did you say?" or "what are you laughing at?". The second use is to ask "why?" questions. In these circumstances, it is always paired with "tji". If the subject noun or pronoun is included in the sentence, it comes between "ongwaye" and "tji". These constructions vary greatly between a positive question and a negative question.
Positive.
Positive constructions begin with "ongwaye" and "tji". For the personal third person, the recent past subject concord "wa" combines with "tji" to form "tja", and the habitual subject concord "u" will combine with "tji" to form "tje".
Examples:
Negative.
Negatives in the recent past use the following formula:
"ongwaye" + [optional noun/pronoun] + "tji" + [habitual subject concord] + "hi ya" + [verb in "verb-stem" conjugation]
Example:
Negatives in the non-recent past use the following formula:
"ongwaye" + [optional noun/pronoun] + "tji" + [negative particle "ha"] + [verb in "yesterdays past" conjugation]
Example:
Negatives in the habitual tense use the following formula:
"ongwaye" + [optional noun/pronoun] + "tji" + [habitual subject concord] + [negative particle "ha"] + [verb in "main alternative" conjugation]
Example:
Negatives in the present progressive tense use the following formula:
"ongwaye" + [optional noun/pronoun] + "tji" + [habitual subject concord] + "hi naku–"
Examples:
Other Moods.
Otjiherero includes a variety of grammatical moods to express the speaker's attitude:
Conditional mood.
The conditional mood can be subdivided into three subtypes. These can all be constructed with "if" in English.
Factual predictive.
The factual and predictive conditional indicator is "tji". It functions as "if/when" in English. Whether it functions more strongly as an "if" or a "when" is determined through context. Sentences are constructed similarly to English, except that if a noun/pronoun is included in the conditional statement, "tji" comes directly after the noun and before the subject concord. Negative forms take the grammatical structure of "why" questions formed with the interrogative "ongwaye" + "tji".
Examples:
Speculative.
Speculative moods (speculating as to how things would be or would have been) are formed through a form of "andakuzu" and a conditional concord. As such, the speculated condition is always in the past or present tense, though the consequence could be in any tense
A less common, older style of positive conditional concords replaces the initial vowel with "i-". For example, "etje" becomes "itje", "otjo" becomes "itjo", etc.
Examples:
Sometimes andakuzu gets used twice, without the use of a conditional concord.
The conditional concord does not change with tense. Thus, the tense of the consequence must be determined through context. The following examples illustrate this. In these examples, the tense of the consequence is unknown unless it was previously established that the conversation took place.
Dubitative.
The dubitative mood indicates doubt. This mood is constructed by beginning the clause with "ndovazu", "ndaazu", "ndeeri", or "tjinangara". They are all nearly equivalent, with "ndeeri" sounding more childish and "tjinangara" sounding more poetic.
Examples:
Subjunctive.
The subjunctive mood is used to compose phrases such as "let us", "let it", "may it", or "it should". The subjunctive mood is constructed by simply replacing the subject concord with a subjunctive concord. The verb uses a special conjugation, using the verb stem conjugation with the final "-a" replaced with "-e".
The subjunctive for "ami" is usedmostly for questions. In these contexts, the meaning is similar to "can I?", "should I?" or "shall I?"
Examples:
Absolute negative.
The absolute negative mood is similar to "never" or "ever" in English. Two distinct formulas comnunicate the absolute negative mood:
Negative habitual subject concord + "na" + "pu" + positive past subject concord
Examples:
The second formula is
For personal pronouns or noun classes: Negative habitual subject concord+"naa" + positive past subject concord.
For non-personal noun classes: "kanaa" + positive past subject concord
Examples:
Intentional.
The intentional mood is similar to "so that" or "in order to" in English. The intentional phrase follows a statement, question, or command to expand on the intent.
The formula for positive intentional sentences is:
[Statement, question, or command] + [positive intentional concord] + [verb in verb stem form, with final "-a" replaced with "-e"]
The formula for negative intentional sentences is:
Statement, question, or command] + [negative intentional concord] + [negative particle "ha"] + [verb in verb main alternative form]
Excepting third person singular personal positive concords ("eye" and "omu" personal classes), the positive intentional concords are the same as their class's positive habitual subject concords. For all negative concords, the negative intentional concords are the same as their class's positive progressive subject concords, with the initial "m-" dropped.
"Kutja" or "kokutja" can be inserted before the intentional concord for additional emphasis.
Examples:
Subsequentory.
When narrating a series of actions, sometimes the subsequentory mood is used instead of the standard tense. This is constructed by using the progressive concord without the "m-" for all verbs after the first.
Examples:
Other grammatical occurrences.
Commonly implied nouns (through concords, adjectives, or determiners).
Often a noun is omitted, implying that the noun class of the concord, adjective, or determiner is enough to make a reasonable assumption about the noun. Commonly implied word for come noun classes:
Constructing nouns from verbs.
Many nouns are similar to the verb that activates them. An example in English would be the similarity between "jog" and "jogger". 
Verbs nominalized Into the "omu-, ova-, otji-, ovi-," or "ou" class.
Typically, verbs nominalized into these noun classes replace the "oku-" of the infinitive verb with the noun-class prefix of the specified noun class. The last letter changes from "-a" to "-e". People go into the "omu-" and "ova-" noun classes, concrete objects tend to be placed in the "otji-/ovi-" classes and more abstract nouns fall into the "ou-" class.
Examples:
Verbs nominalized Into the "oma-" or "o-" class.
Typically, verbs nominalized into these noun classes replace the "oku-" of the infinitive verb with the noun-class prefix of the specified noun class. Their last letter changes from "-a" to "-ero, -iro, -eno" or "-ino". The suffix is determined by the same procedure as in "Yesterday/completed past", except the last letter is "-o" instead of "-e". Many transitions to the "o-" class are effected by extra changes, as discussed in "Moving words to the "o-" and "ozo-" classes" below.
Examples:
Constructing verbs from adjectives ("verbing").
Although rare, some adjectives can become verbs by adding the "oku-" prefix and adding "-para" at the end.
Examples:
Constructing adjectives from verbs.
Adjectivizing verbs is widespread, constructed by removing the noun-class prefix and changing the final "-a" to an "-e".
Examples:
Moving words to the "o-" and "ozo-" classes.
When a noun stem, verb stem, or adjective stem beginning with "w-, t-, z-, k-, v-, p-, t-, y-," or "tj-" is used in the "o-" or "ozo-" noun class, the first letters of the stem change.
The reverse change can happen for words that originate from "o-" or "ozo-" noun class.
Examples:
Checking for knowledge/understanding.
The formula for asking if someone knows about something is:
[present habitual subject concord] + [object concord] + "i"
Examples:
Situations where the "-a" of a concord, directive prefix, or noun class becomes an "-e".
Some grammatical situations cause the ending "-a" of a concord, directive prefix, or noun class to become "-e". These situations are:
Examples: