Unit 2

A.  Cardinal Numbers

B.  Contractions

C.  The Future Tense

D.  Agreement With Numbers

E.  The Subjunctive and the Prepositional verb

F.  Possessive ‘of’

G.  The Infinitive

H.  Negative Present Tense

I.  The Habitual ‘hu’ Tense

J.  Ordinal Numbers

K. The verb kuwa ‘to be’ in the future and past tenses 

L.  Interrogative Pronouns

A. Cardinal numbers

When counting 1-10 in Kiswahili we use the cardinal numbers.

When counting from ten, one adds the number to ten.  For example:

More cardinal numbers;

101 mia moja na moja  ‘one hundred and one’               
201 mia mbili na moja  ‘two hundred and one’
311 mia tatu kumi na moja ‘three hundred and eleven’
430 mia nne thelathini  ‘four hundred and thirty’
1,996 = elfu moja mia tisa tisini na sita ‘one thousand, nine hundred and ninety six’

More examples

elfu moja  ‘one thousand’
elfu kumi  ‘ten thousand
elfu hamsini  ‘fifty thousand’
mia moja elfu  ‘one hundred thousand (also elfu mia moja)’
laki moja  ‘one hundred thousand’
mia tisa elfu  ‘nine hundred thousand (also elfu mia tisa)’
milioni moja  ‘one million’ 

B.  Contractions

In the reading text you came across the word nawe ‘with/and you’. This word is a contaction form of na wewe (literally ‘and/with you’). 

C. The Future tense and the Past tense

The future tense marker is ta:

a.  U-ta-kwenda wapi wakati wa kiangazi?

   You-will-go where time of summer

   ‘Where will you go in the summer?’ 

b.  Utakaa ‘ you will stay’

c.  Nitazungumza ‘I will speak’  

The past tense is represented by -li- which, like the present –na- or the future tense –ta-, appears immediately after the subject marker. Sample examples from the reading text include:

Ulizaliwa mwaka gani?  ‘when were you born?’

Alizaliwa mwaka 1985  ‘He was born in 1985. 

 D. Agreement with numbers

Agreement with numbers operates in the same way as agreement with adjectives in Unit 1.

Numbers 3, 4, 5, and 8 follow this pattern.

Numbers 6, 7, 9 and 10 does not follow the noun prefix agreement system.

miti sita ‘six trees’

matunda saba ‘seven fruits

watoto tisa ‘nine children’

kaka kumi ‘ten brothers’

E. The Subjunctive and the Prepositional verb

Review grammar notes in unit 1 on the imperatives for a revision on the subjunctive mood.

ukae  you sit   (karibu ukae  welcome, (you) have a sit)

mkae  you all sit

In this lesson we used: nipe  ‘give me’  (base verb –pa ‘give’)

niandikie  ‘write to me’ (base verb –andika ‘write’) 

Note that in addition to the subjunctive form –e- in the forms:  nipe and niandikie,

there is an applied suffix whose function is similar to that of a preposition in English.  In the case of niandikie the –i- before the final –e translates to the English preposition (deleted material) ‘to’. In the case of nipe the applied –i- has combined with the final –a to form –e.

The shape of the applied suffix depends on the vowel in the verb root. A verb root is the part of the verb without the final vowel. For example andik-a. The preposition form for this verb is therefore –i- because the verb root has the vowel –i-. Other vowels that would condition the applied –i- form are –a- and –u-.

Examples:

pata ‘get’ = nipatie ‘get for me’

vuta ‘pull’ = nivutie ‘pull for/towards me’ 

andika ‘write’ = niandikie ‘write to me or for me’

Supposing we have the verb soma ‘read’. The verb root has the vowel o. In that case the prepositional form will be –e-. Thus: nisomee ‘read to/for me’ Other verbs that would be affected similarly are those with the vowel e. For example: leta ‘bring’ = niletee.  

Examples:

soma ‘read’ = nisomee ‘read for me’

leta ‘bring’ = niletee ‘bring for me’

Note that the prepositional form remains constant regardless of the mood (i.e. indicative negative, or subjunctive). The examples given here are all in the subjunctive mood.  We will come back to this and other prepositional forms in later units. Here are a few start-up examples with the verb in the indicative mood:

More examples”

[a, i, u] verb-roots

anz-a ‘start’  > anz-i-a  ‘start for/on behalf of/at/in/on’

pik-a ‘cook’  > pik-i-a  ‘cook for/on behalf of/at/in/on’

uz-a ‘sell’  > uz-i-a  ‘sell for/on behalf of/at/in/on’

nunu-a ‘buy’  > nunu-li-a  ‘buy for/on behalf of/at/in/on’

[e, o] verb-roots

let-a  ‘bring’ > let-e-a  ‘bring for/on behalf of/at/in/on’

tok-a ‘appear’ > tok-e-a ‘appear for/on behalf of/at/in/on’

to-a  ‘give’ > to-le-a ‘give for/on behalf of/at/in/on’

F.  Preposition –a ‘of’ or -a of Association

The shape of this form depends on the noun (singular/plural) and its class. For example in the text you just read, we have: safari ya; anwani ya; sanduku la. The two first nouns belong to the same noun clas and therefore share the sme preposition form. The remaining noun belongs to a different noun class (go to more--- for additional examples). We will designate this –a of association ‘a preposition’ 

G.   The infinitive

The infinitive form is formed by adding the prefix ku- to a verb stem as in

ku-niandikia ‘to write to me’, kutumia ‘to use’ kwenda (kuenda) ‘to go’ 

kuandika ‘to write’

kunywa  ‘to drink’

kuzaliwa ‘to be born’

It can be used after a conjugated verb:

Ninapenda kusoma.  ‘I like to read/study.’

Ninataka kusoma.  ‘I want to read.’

Ninaweza kusoma. ‘I can/am able to read.’

Ninajisikia kula  ‘I feel like eating (something).’

The infinitive may also be used to translate as a gerund (verbal noun or the –ing form of the nominalized and falls under Noun Class 15). This may be used as in: Kufundisha watoto ni kazi ya mama . ‘Teaching children is a mother’s job’ 

H.   Negative present tense

Mimi sifundishi Kiswahili ‘I do not teach Kiswahili / I am not teaching Kiswahili’ 

Sifundishi is the negative form of ninafundisha ‘I teach/am teachng Kiswahili.’

There are three simple steps necessary for the formation of a negative present tense statement.

a.  Replace the positive subject prefix with a negative prefix.

b. Delete the -na- tense marker.

c. Change the final vowel from -a to -i 

Thus:  ni - na - soma  ‘I am reading’

Si - Ø  - somi  ‘I am not reading’

More examples

Positive

1. Ninapenda chai.    ‘I like tea

2. Unapika chamshakinywa. ‘You are cooking breakfast’

3. Anasoma Kiswahili  ‘He reads/is studying Kiswahili

4. Tunaenda Tanzania.  ‘We are going to Tanzania 

5. Mnanunua chakula.  ‘You all are buying food.’ 

Negative

1. Sipendi chai.    ‘I do not like tea.’ 

2. Hupiki chamshakinywa.  ‘You are not cooking breakfast.’

3. Hasomi Kiswahili   ‘He/she does not read/is not reading Kiswahili.’

4. Hatuendi Tanzania  ‘We are not going to Tanzania’

5. Hamnunui chakula.  ‘You all are not buying food.’

I.   The Habitual hu-tense 

The hu- tense is also called the ‘habitual tense’ and it is used to express a habitual or recurrent action. The interpretation may be: ‘generally’, ‘usually’, or ‘always.’ These have no specific reference to time. When this tense is used, the subject can be expressed as a noun or an independent pronoun and never as a dependent pronoun in the form of a subject prefix. Click for examples:  

Mimi hupika chamshakinywa   ‘I usually cook breakfast.’

Wewe hupika chamshakinywa  ‘You usually cook breakfast.’‘     

Yeye hupika chamshakinywa   ‘He usually cooks breakfast.’

Sisi hupika chamshakinywa   ‘We usually cook breakfast’

Ninyi hupika chamshakinywa   ‘You all usually cook breakfast.’

Wao hupika chamshakinywa   ‘They make breakfast.’ 

 Although there is no time reference, the interpretation may be in view of the present tense. Thus, the negative of the hu- tense is the same as the negative of the present tense.

Note: Mimi hupika chamshakinywa => Mimi sipiki chamshakinywa  

 J.   Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal numbers are expressed with the a- of association.

mtoto wa kwanza ‘first child’

mtoto wa pili ‘second child’

mtoto wa tatu ‘third child’:

dada wa nne ‘fourth sister’

kaka wa tano ‘fifth brother’ 

In the lesson we have the noun mwezi ‘month’.  This noun belongs to a class know as m-mi (or 3-4) where m- = singular and mi- = plural  The a- of association 9deleted material) wa marks the singular while ya marks the plural.

mwezi wa kumi ‘tenth month’

miezi ya kwanza ‘first months’ 

mlima wa kwanza ‘first mountain’

milima ya kwanza ‘first mountains’

mmea wa pili ‘second plant’

Miezi ya mwaka

mwezi wa kwanza  Januari  ‘January’
mwezi wa pili   Februari ‘February’
mwezi wa tatu   Machi  ‘March’
mwezi wa nne   Aprili  ‘April’
mwezi wa tano  Mei  ‘May’
mwezi wa sita   Juni  ‘June’
mwezi wa saba  Julai  ‘July’
mwezi wa nane  Agosti  ‘August’
mwezi wa tisa   Septemba ‘September’
mwezi wa kumi  Oktoba  ‘October’
mwezi wa kumi na moja Novemba ‘November’
mwezi wa kumi na mbili Desemba ‘December’

 K. The verb kuwa ‘to be’ in the future and past tenses 

We saw unit 1 that the verb ‘to be’ in the present is ni as in: 

Mimi ni mwalimu.  ‘I am a teacher.’

Wewe ni mwanafunzi.  ‘You are a student.’ 

Ayubu na Mariamu ni wazazi wa Hadija.

‘Ayubu and Mariamu are Hadija’s parents. 

In the past and future the appropriate tenses are used with kuwa ‘to be’.

Past –li- with -kuwa

Mimi nilikuwa mwalimu.  ‘I was a teacher.’

Wewe ulikuwa mwanafunzi.  ‘You were a student.’ 

Ayubu na Mariamu walikuwa wazazi wa Hadija.

‘Ayubu and Mariamu were Hadija’s parents. 

Future -ta- with -kuwa

Mimi nitakuwa mwalimu.  ‘I will be a teacher.’

Wewe utakuwa mwanafunzi.  ‘You will be a student.’ 

Ayubu na Mariamu watakuwa wazazi wa Hadija.

‘Ayubu and Mariamu will be Hadija’s parents. 

L.  The interrogative Pronoun

There are several forms that one can use when asking questions.  In this unit, six of these forms have been used as shown in the following examples:

a.  Utakaa huko siku ngapi? How many days will you be there?

b.  Unarudi kutoka Tanzania mwezi gani? Which/what kind month will you return

from Tanzania?

c.   Utafanya nini baada ya kumaliza masomo yako? What will you do when you finish

your studies?

d.   Watoto wako wanasoma wapi? Where do you children go to school?

e.  Gilbert atarudi Tanzania lini? When will Gilbert return from Tanzanai?

f.  Namba ya simu ya Bakari ni ipi? Which is Bakari’s telephone number? 

Others include: Other interrogative pronouns which will come up in other lessons and units include: nani’ ‘who’.

g.  Nani anasema Kiswahili? Who speaks Kiswahili? 

–pi in Example f translates as ‘which’ and the prefix i-agrees with the noun simu ‘telephone’ which is a noun in class 9 (singular).  Use of –pi with other noun classes:

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