e- (li/ma) school, cf. soma, somera.

mbadde) v.i. be. In certain tenses ba is replaced by -li, Both may be used as primary verbs or as auxiliaries in compound tenses. bwe tuba mu ssomero, when we are in school. Yabadde anzise. He nearly killed me. Tuli mu kisenge. We are in the room. Twali tuli mu kisenge. We were in the room, ba and -li may be followed by na (-na in the case of -li) to express possession. Tulina ensimbi. We have money. Twabadde n'ensimbi. We had money.

essomero erisulwamu.

for which see the grammars. The following usages are important for lexical purposes because the derivatives formed cannot all be included in the dictionary. 1) bu + la ~ negative infinitive, often equivalent to an English noun which is not an infinitive in form. okumanya, to know; obutamanya, not to know; ingnorance. 2) bu + stem of a noun from another class often produc es an adverb which must be rendered by a phrase in English, enkofu, guinea fowl; bukofu, like a guinea fowl, kukaabya bukofu, to make cry like a guinea fowl, i.e., to cause to suffer. 3) bu + reduplicated stem of a noun of another class indicates plurality with the added notions of indefiniteness, scattered state or even contemp t. essomero, school; obusomerosomero, small, scattered schools which are inferior in quality. 4) normal verb form + bu + verb stem + i. Abalala bagamba nti... others say that; Abalala bagamba bugambi nti... others just/ simply/only say that.

a- (ka/bu) very small fragment of pottery; tile. Essomero lyaseresebwa bugyo. The school was roofed with tiles. cf. oluggyo.

e- (ki/bi) mixture; jumble, hodgepodge. as an adv. confusedly, with the -a of rel. mixed, essomero ery'ekintabuli, a coeducational school; a multiracial school. Omwana wa kintabuli. The child is of mixed parentage, cf. tabula.

up to the waist, as far as the waist. Nfukiramu caayi okukomya mu makkati. Pour out some tea for me up to the middle of the glass. Yankomya ku ssomero. He accompanied me to school, gye -komya + inf... gye -komya + inf., the more...the more. Gye tukomya okuyiga ennyo gye tu- komya n'okufuna obubonero obulungi. The more we concentrate on our studies the better our grades will be. \bamu gye baakomyanga okutendereza omwami naye gye yakomya n'okwenyumiriza. The more some people praised the chief, the prouder he became.

hatch (eggs); incubate; extend over, spread over, cover. Twalengedde olufu nga lumaamidde ekiwonvu kyonna. We saw that the fog had spread over the entire valley. Yali akyamaamidde ku bukulu bw'essomero. He was still the principal of the school, lit. covering the head position. Eggaali emaamidde. The bicycle has a flat tire, kumaumira ga butembetembe, to remain in a place without budging.

essomero, ejjigirizo, essukuulu.

stay overnight with (sometimes implying inconvenience to the usual in habitants); spend the night preoccupied with (a present concern or future plan). Ku olwo iwasulirira kyayi. That night all we had to consume was tea. Yasulirira ku- keera kukima muwala we mu ssomero. He went to bed last night with the firm intention of getting up early and getting his daughter at the school.

improve, okubennanya ng'olutta ow'etlulu, to be simple, be a snap (like killing a one-eyed man). Ttiimu ya Ssemakula bwe yazze ewaffe okuzannya omupiira okugigoba twabennanyizza bubennanya. When Ssemakula's team came to our place, it was the easiest thing in the world to beat them. Essomero libennanya bubennanya amagezi g'omuntu. School just sharpens a person's wits.

olusoma, olusomisomi,omusomi, omusomo, essomo, essomero.

okuweerera omuntu mu ssomero, to pay school fees for a person, okuweerera embwa, to urge a dog on (e.g., to catch something), okuweerera ebisa, to bear down (in labor).

O- less frequently muku- lembezi (mu/ba) leader; guide; one who goes first, cf. kuletnbera. man; head, superior, person in charge; older brother; older sister, omukulu w'essomero, school principal. Omukulu w'Amatwale, colonial secretary. Lugaba mukulu. God is great (said after something unusually good happens), cf. kula, -kulu.