Class 1: People (m-)

01

The Nouns

• mtoto - child
• mwalimu - teacher
• mwanafunzi - student
• mgeni - guest
• mpishi - cook

Many of them are built out of a verb: m- goes on the front, and the ending changes as well. mpishi cook comes from kupika to cook, with -pika turning into -pishi; mchezaji player comes from kucheza to play, with -cheza turning into -chezaji.

02

The Agreement Is a-, Not m-

Here is the one trap in class 1. The noun begins with m-, but the verb begins with a-. They look nothing alike, and copying the noun's prefix onto the verb is the commonest beginner's mistake.

• Mwanamume anakula.

  The man is eating.

• a- he or she, the class 1 subject
• -na- happening now
• kula eat

• Mwana wetu hana kazi.

  Our son has no job.

03

What Else Agrees

An adjective takes m- or mw-, matching the noun rather than the verb. The word for of is wa, and the possessives begin with w-: wangu my, wako your, wake his, her.

• Mpishi mzuri hutumia kisu chenye ncha kali.

  A good cook uses a knife with a sharp point.

• Yeye ni mchezaji mzuri wa gitaa.

  He is a good guitar player.

04

People Who Hide Their Prefix

Plenty of words for people show no m- at all, usually because they were borrowed. rafiki friend, daktari doctor, dereva driver, baba father and mama mother all look like nouns of some other class. They take class 1 agreement anyway, because they name people.

• Shikamoo Daktari.

  My respects, doctor.

• Rafiki yangu anafanya kazi ofisini.

  My friend works in an office.

The verb is what gives it away. rafiki looks nothing like mtoto, yet it takes a- exactly as mtoto would.

05

Pointing at a Person

• huyu - this one
• huyo - that one, the one just mentioned
• yule - that one over there

• Huyu ni rafiki yangu, Anna.

  This is my friend, Anna.

• Mwanamke yule anatembea na mbwa wake.

  That woman is walking with her dog.

06

The Object Marker Is -m-

Where the subject prefix is a-, the object marker is -m-, sitting inside the verb between the tense and the stem. With a person it is not optional.

• Anamsomea mwanawe kitabu.

  She is reading her child a book.

• a- she
• -na- now
• -m- him, her, the class 1 object
• somea read to

07

Animals Come Here Too

A creature takes class 1 agreement whatever its own prefix looks like, because Swahili treats the living apart from the inert.

• Mbwa wake mdogo anapendeza sana.

  Her little dog is very sweet.

mbwa dog carries no m-, yet it takes mdogo and anapendeza, both of them class 1 forms.