1.6: Grammar - Future Tense

Expressing the Future Tense with Tse'

You express the future tense with the future particle tse'. Tse' comes after the verb and the pronoun. With the right intonation, you can use these sentences as polite commands, although they can also be used as predictions about the future. Sentences with tse' must have a second person pronoun, ch or tseep, in them if they are to be interpreted as commands.


Hwts'e'nutsum ch tse'. "You will sit down."
'Ulhtun tseep tse'. "You (pl.) will eat."
Qwal ch tse'. "You will speak."
T'ilum tseep tse'. "You (pl.) will sing."

In future tense sentences with m'i 'ewu, tse' comes between the pronoun and 'ewu.


M'i ch tse' 'ewu. "You will come here."
M'i tseep tse' 'ewu. "You (pl.) will come here."