| bararima | 'they cultivate' | [IMPERF.] |
| sinuumviise | 'I don‘t understand' | [PERF.] |
Notice that the English equivalent of a perfective form may or may not sound as though it refers to a completed action or process.
Dimension 5: Tone Class. Virtually all verbs in Kirundi fall into one of two tone classes. The overt difference between the two is found in the presence of a high tone in certain forms of one verb, and the absence of high tone in the corresponding forms of other Verbs. Only 13 sets are committed with respect to this dimension, 8 of which are the affirmative and negative inceptives. The difference is completely without grammatical meaning.
Given below are three forms of a high verb, and the corresponding forms of a low verb. State which verb is in the HIGH tone class, and which is in the LOW tone class.
| naboonye | 'I saw (today)' | |
| kubóna | 'to see' | [HIGH] |
| baboná | '...who see' | |
| narimye | 'I cultivated (today)' | |
| kurima | 'to cultivate' | [LOW] |
| barimá | '...who cultivate' |
Do the same for the two verbs /-taangura/ and /—goroora/:
| abatáangura | 'those who begin' |
| twaagoroorá | 'we ironed (today)' |
| bazóotáangura | '...who will begin' |
| twaatáanguye | 'we began (today)' |
| abagóroora | 'those who iron' |
| bazóogóroora | '...who will iron' |
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