Ndakaita

Ndakaita is a Shona verb form meaning “I did” or “I have done.” It is the first-person singular past tense form of the verb kuita, which means to do or to make. In Shona, tense and subject are expressed through prefixes attached to the verb, and ndak- marks the speaker as the subject in the past tense.

The form is widely used in both everyday speech and written text to describe completed actions. It functions as a simple past or present perfect in English, depending on context. Ndakaita can introduce a statement about something the speaker has completed, or recount a past event in narration.

Common usage examples include:

- Ndakaita chikafu. “I cooked food.”

- Ndakaita basa racho. “I did that work.”

- Ndakaita zvikanganiso. “I made mistakes.”

Ndakaita can be combined with other elements to add detail, such as objects, places, or time markers, to specify what was done and when. It remains a foundational form for expressing past actions in Shona and appears across various dialects and registers.