Unit 13: Desturi za Harusi

A. Review of the -a of association (preposition)
B. Review of the Preposition kwa
C. Review of the marker -ka-
D. Review of the -po (location in time (also endapo, iwapo)
E. The -me- tense
F. Review of the marker -ki (Continuous tense)
G. Review of Relativization
H. Use of ili

A. Review of the -a of association (preposition)
The a of association also known from English grammar as the prepositional form.

za as in habari za safari; picha za familia (class 10)
ya as in familia ya bwana Ahmedi (class 9)
wa as in mtoto wa kwanza; mtoto wa pili; baba wa baba (class 1)
mbwa wa familia. (class 1 or 2)

class	preposition	example	literal translation
1	wa	mtoto wa Abdul	'child of Abdul'
2	wa	watoto wa Abdul	'children of Abdul'
3	wa	mji wa Dar es Salaam	'Dar es Salaam city'
4	ya	miji ya Tanzania	'Tanzania cities'
5	la	jimbo la Georgia	'state of Georgia'
6	ya	mambo ya maisha	'matters of life'
7	cha	chakula cha asubuhi	'food for the morning'
8	vya	vyakula vya siku	'foods for the day'
9	ya	chai ya asubuhi	'tea for the morning'
10	za	shughuli za nyumbani	'activities of the home'
15	kwa	kusoma kwa watoto	'the reading by children'
16	pa	mezani pa mama	'on mother's table'
18	mwa	nyumbani mwa Ayub	'in the home of Ayub'

B. Review of the Preposition kwa

There is no specific meaning for kwa, it largely depends on the context. Its general meaning and functions are prepositional.

For example:

Wanakula kwa mikono.

'They are eating by hand/with their hands.

When the meaning implies instrument the English translation is often 'by' or 'with.' It can also be used to mean 'on', 'at' 'for' and 'in' as in:

1. Anakwenda kwa miguu. 'She is going on foot.'
2. Anakaa kwa mwalimu wake. 'She is staying at her teacher's (house).'
3. Ameishi kwa miaka kumi.. 'He has lived for ten years.'
4. Anasema kwa sauti kubwa. 'He is speaking in a loud voice.'
5. Unalia kwa sababu gani? 'You are crying for what reason(s)?
'Why are you crying?'

C. Review of the marker -ka-

The -ka- is considered more of an aspect marker than a tense marker because it does not have a specific time reference like, for example, the past tense which indicates an action done in the past. An aspect marker infers its time reference from the surrounding time of the action. The -ka- form is used to express a subsequent action, state, or a connective idea. It is mostly used in narrated stories or accounts, as is the case in this unit. As such, it occurs after sequence of actions or states which have been introduced in a verb containing the past tense marker -li-. In some case, the past time reference is inferred from the context and the need for the past tense marker to introduce the sequence is eliminated. The following examples are instructive.

The following example is one that can be found in children's story book.

(1) Simba aliamka, akajinyoosha, akasimama, halafu akaondoka.
'The lion woke up, stretched himself, stood up, and then left.'

From a historical account:

(2) Baadaye, mwili wake ukakaushwa na ukasafirishwa kwenda Uingereza.
'Thereafter, his body was dried and then transported to England.'

Baadaye signals a past event.

The aspect -ka- may appear in non-narrative sequence as in the following example.

(3) Mama karudi sokoni mapema.
'Mother returned from the market early.'

The use of -ka- in karudi does not follow from any sequence of action or state like in (1) or in (2). The translation of this sentence does not include 'then' even though the interpretation include a prior event (i.e. going to the market). Often ku- can be used to mark the last clause in a sequence of actions or events especially when the conjunction na 'and is used. For example:

(i) Baadaye mwili wake ukakaushwa na kusafirishwa Ulaya.
'Thereafter his body was dried and sent to Europe.'
(ii) Simba aliamka, akajinyoosha, akasimama, na kuondoka.
'The lion woke up, stretched, stood up, and then left.'

D. Review of the -po (location in time (also endapo, iwapo)

The 'adverbial relative' -po-, is one of three adverbial relatives (the others being -ko-
-mo-). It has a functional interpretation of a verb 'to be in location.' It is also used in connection with relativization and it can be used as a relative pronoun that is attached to amba-.

The following are a few examples with -po- that may translate to 'when', 'point of time', or 'going on in time'.

(i) Alipofika, alikula chamshakinywa.
'When he arrived, he ate breakfast.'

(ii) Nilikuwa nikisoma alipofika.
'I was reading when (point of time) he arrived.'

(iii) Aliniona nilipokuwa nikisoma.
'He saw me when (going on in time) I was reading.'

When it appears with enda (go) as in endapo and -wa (be) as in iwapo, it translates to 'when/if the times comes' and 'when/should it happen as expected' For example:

(iv) Endapo atakuja, atamkuta mzee akimsubiri. When/if he comes he will find the old man waiting.

(v) Iwapo atakuja, atamkuta mzee akimsubiri. When/should he arrive, he will find the old man waiting.'

Another instructive example is (vi) below that carries the same meaning as (iv & v) above.

(vi) Wageni, familia, na marafiki wanapofika, wanakaribishwa.
'On arrival (point of time) guests, family and friends are received.'

E. The -me- tense is often referred to in some grammars as the perfect tense. It indicates an action that has been completed and has resulted in the present state of affairs. Consider the following example.

(i) Babu na wajukuu wake wamevaa kanzu nyeupe.
'Grandpa and his grandchildren are wearing/dressed in white robes.'

The act of putting on the white robes took place before the present state which is the act of observing grandpa and his grandchildren dressed in or wearing white robes.

The negative of the -me- tense, -ja- is introduced. Thus the negative of (i) above is:

(ii) Babu na wajukuu wake hawajavaa kanzu nyeupe.
'Grandpa and his grandchildren are not wearing white robes.'

F. Review of the marker -ki (Continuous tense)

The -ki- marker has various functions. In one sense it is known as the 'simultaneous or continuous' tense when it is used to express an on-going action. Other functions include marking a condition (see unit 16).

The following examples exemplify the continuous/simultaneous interpretation.

(i) Nilimwona akipika maandazi. 'I saw her making donuts.'

(ii) Tuliwasikia wakiimba. 'We heard them singing.'

As used in these examples, its function is interchangeable with that of the -na- tense. In other words, -ki- can be substituted for by -na- without a loss in meaning of the statement.

(i) Nilimwona anapika maandazi. 'I saw her making donuts.'

(ii) Tuliwasikia wanaimba. 'We heard them singing'

It is important to point out that although speakers use them interchangeably, they are consistent in using -ki- if the event being reported was in the remote past. If it was in the near past (i.e. closer to the time of speech), speakers tend to use -na-.

G. Review of Relativization
Relativization in Kiswahili takes two forms, a pronominal and a relative particle. The pronominal form, which appears as a prefix on the verb will be discussed here.

As a start, we will cite the example.

Kama nchi nyingi zinazoendelea, Tanzania haiwezi kuwapa wananchi wote mafunzo ya juu.
'Like many developing countries [which/that are developing], Tanzania cannot give all its citizens higher education.'

The relative marker -zo- 'which' makes reference to nchi 'country.' This is one of the many forms that are determined by the class of the noun. Below is the full list of forms based on the noun classes already introduced in this book.

class form example gloss

1 ye mtoto aliyesoma 'a child who read'
2 o watoto waliosoma 'the children who read'
3 o mti ulioanguka 'the tree which/that fell'
4 yo miti iliyoanguka 'trees which/that fell'
5 lo tunda lililoanguka 'a fruit which/that fell'
6 yo matunda yaliyoanguka 'the fruits which/that fell'
7 cho kiti kilichoanguka 'the chair which/that fell'
8 vyo viti vilivyoanguka 'chairs which/that fell'
9 yo nyumba iliyoanguka 'a house which/that fell'
10 zo nyumba zilizoanguka 'the houses which/that fell'
11 o ukuta ulioanguka 'the wall which/that fell'
10 zo kuta zilizoanguka 'the walls which/that fell.'
14 o uhuru uliotolewa 'the freedom (which/that) granted'
15 ko kusoma kulikoanzwa 'the reading which/that was started'
16 po mahali panapofaa 'a place which is suitable'
17 ko nyumbani kunakofaa 'at home where it is suitable'
18 mo nyumbani mlimokaa watu 'the home in which people are'

The relative is also known as the -o- of reference. Notice also that here we have the relativized noun functioning as also the subject of the phrase. Needless to say, the relativized noun can also be the object of the verb. In that case, the subject of the verb will not match the class of the relative pronoun. Let's take class 3 & 4 for example. The example above shows the subject markers u and zi matching the class of the relative pronoun. Now compare with the following phrases:

class relative form example gloss

3 o mti alionunua 'the tree which he bought'

4 yo miti aliyonunua 'trees which he bought'

In the examples above, we have used two tense markers, na and li. The only other tense which allows the relative pronoun is the future tense ta.

However, it behaves differently in that it incorporates the form ka as the following examples show.

mti utakaoanguka 'the tree which will fall'
miti itakayoanguka 'the trees which will fall'

It is believed that this -taka- form is a verb that marks a future event and whose meaning is 'to be on the point of...' In the simple future it is shortened to -ta- but in the relative future the full form taka is retained.

Relativization in Kiswahili takes two forms, a pronominal and a relative particle. We have, in the examples given above, made use of the pronominal form. Below are examples that make use of the relative particle amba- + onto which the pronominal form is attached.

For example:

mradi ambao unapendwa sana na wanavijiji
'a project which is very much liked by the villagers.'

Compare with: mradi unaopendwa sana na wanavijiji

'a project which is very much liked by the villagers'

The relative particle is the only means by which relativization can be achieved when the tense markers are: me 'the past perfect', hu 'the habitual tense' and all negative tenses. The following examples are enlightening.

(i) Mtoto ambaye anasoma 'a child who is reading'

(ii) Miti ambayo ilianguka 'trees which fell'

(iii) Vyuo ambavyo vimeanzishwa 'colleges which have been started'

(iv) Matunda ambayo atauza 'fruits which he will sell'

(v) Nyumba ambazo huuzwa 'houses which are sold(habitually)'

(vi) Miti ambayo haikuanguka 'trees which did not fall'

(vii) Mtoto ambaye hasomi 'a child who is not reading'

(viii) Vyuo ambavyo havijaanzishwa 'colleges which have not been started'

(ix) Matunda ambayo hatauza 'fruit which he will not sell

There is also a third strategy that is to attach the relative pronoun to the main verb but appearing as a suffix.

For example: asomaye = anayesoma 'the one reading/or habitually reads' Other examples include:

(i) Anawaongoza awatakao.
'He leads those (whom) he wants/cares for.'

This can be paraphrased as follows:

(ii) Anawaongoza anaowataka. 'He leads those (whom) he wants/cares for.'
(iii) Anawaongoza wale ambao anawataka. 'He leads those (who) he wants/cares for.'

While (i) through (iii) contain the same relative pronoun and mean the same, there is a structural change. (i) lacks tense marking and its relative pronoun appears as a suffix. This means that there is no specific time implied. Depending on the context, the interpretation may have a present, future, or habitual time reference. The examples (ii) and (iii) can be seen as having either the present time meaning or a habitual meaning. An example with a future meaning would be:

(iv) Atawapeleka waendako. 'He will take them where they are going.'

The indicator is the future tense marker in the preceding verb. It suffices to say that the time reference can be inferred from the environment in which the relativized (by suffixing) verb occurs. In the absence of another conjugated verb from which to infer the time reference, the relative verb will infer from the general meaning of the verb. For example:

(v) Kule aendako ni mjini. 'Where(the place) he will be going is the town.'

(vi) Hayo usemayo ni kweli. 'What you are saying is true.'

(vii) Vile upendavyo kufanya. 'The way you prefer to do (things).'

The distinction between present time and habitual time is not easy to make. However, speakers do not have difficulties in assigning one interpretation or the other. Attaching the relative pronoun as a suffix is often the preferred relativization strategy for verbs which have a stative interpretation.

H. Use of ili 'in order that' is used as a conjunction. It must be followed by the infinitive (example i) or the subjunctive form of the verb (example ii).

(i) Baada ya kurudi pwani, wavuvi wanampatia dalali samaki ili kunada.
'After returning from the sea, the fishermen give the fish to an auctioneer in order for him to do an auction.'
(ii) Baada ya kurudi pwani, wavuvi wanampatia dalali samaki ili anade.
'After returning from the sea, the fishermen give the fish to an auctioneer in order for him to do an auction.'