Animate Nouns Take Class 1 Agreement — Swahili Grammar

Swahili sorts its nouns into classes, and the class decides the shape of almost every word that agrees with the noun. Class 9 is the class with no visible prefix, and a great many words for living beings sit in it: friend, grandmother, daughter, boss, driver, dog, cat.

These nouns break the usual arrangement. They are filed in class 9, but the words around them do not take class 9 forms. Because what they name is alive, they are treated as class 1 in the singular and class 2 in the plural, the classes used for people. Being alive outranks the class the noun is filed under.

The Verb Agrees as Class 1

A verb begins with a prefix naming its subject, and with a living thing that prefix is the class 1 a-, never the class 9 i-. For more than one it is the class 2 wa-.

Rafiki yangu anafanya kazi ofisini.
My friend works in an office.

a- he or she, the class 1 subject
-na- happening now
do

Binti yetu anaenda chuo kikuu.
Our daughter goes to university.
Mbwa wake mdogo anapendeza sana.
Her little dog is very sweet.

Were treated by its own class, that verb would begin i- and read inapendeza. It does not, because a dog is alive.

Adjectives and Demonstratives Follow

The same holds for an adjective describing the noun and for the word pointing at it. little above carries the class 1 m-, and this and that are the class 1 pointing words, used of a dog exactly as they would be of a person.

Huyu ni rafiki yangu, Anna.
This is my friend, Anna.
Mwanamke yule anatembea na mbwa wake.
That woman is walking with her dog.

In the Plural

Several living things take the class 2 forms, the ones used for groups of people. The noun itself usually does not change, since class 9 and class 10 look alike, so the agreement is the only thing telling you more than one is meant.

Kuna samaki wengi baharini.
There are many fish in the sea.
Ninaishi kijijini chenye ng'ombe wengi.
I live in a village with many cattle.

many is the class 2 form. The class 9 form would be , and it is not used of anything alive.

A Word on Possessives

Possessives are the one place where usage varies. Both the class 1 form in w- and the class 9 form in y- are heard, and both are ordinary: her dog beside my friend. The verb, the adjective and the pointing word never vary like this — those are reliably class 1.

Bosi wangu mjinga ana kashfa nami.
My stupid boss has a grudge against me.
Huyu ni rafiki yako wa dhati?
Is this a true friend of yours?

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Swahili course

52 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Animate Nouns Take Class 1 Agreement” is about in bold:

Huyu ni rafiki yangu, Anna. Yeye ni mwanafunzi.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
Shikamoo Daktari. Nina tatizo.
Hello, Doctor. I have a problem.
Lesson 91
Nina wadogo zangu wa kike wawili na dada wawili.
I have two younger sisters and two older sisters.
Lesson 138

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