-na-

Usage notes

 * To indicate the recent past, the high tone is shifted off the tense marker to the next syllable. Prescriptive grammars state that only the form -na- can be used this way, not -da-.
 * Among most speakers, -na- and -da- are in free variation. The form -da- is most common in Malawi's Central Region, and was formerly designated as the standard.

Etymology
From, a stem of.

Usage notes
This marker can be used in both nonrelative and relative verbs.