Class 10: The Invisible Plural (n-)

01

The Noun Stays Put

• simu - phone, phones
• nyumba - house, houses
• ndizi - banana, bananas
• saa - hour, hours

• Nina magari mawili, baiskeli mbili, na pikipiki tatu.

  I have two cars, two bicycles, and three motorbikes.

baiskeli and pikipiki are unchanged from their singular shape; only the numbers mbili and tatu tell you there is more than one of each.

02

The Verb Prefix Is zi-

This is the clearest marker of the class, and often the only one there is.

• Kuna kazi nyingi zinazopatikana.

  There are many jobs available.

• zi- they, the class 10 subject
• -na- happening now
• -zo- which
• patikana be available

• Bisi hizi zina chumvi.

  This popcorn has salt in it.

03

The Linking Word Is za

• Habari za asubuhi Anna.

  Good morning, Anna.

• Nina tiketi za tamasha mwezi Septemba.

  I have tickets for a concert in September.

• Kalamu zangu ni za zamani sana.

  My pens are very old.

In that last one zangu and za both carry z-, and they are the only sign that kalamu means more than one pen.

04

It Serves Two Singulars

Class 10 is the plural not only of class 9 but of class 11 as well, so a class 11 noun crosses into it when there is more than one.

• Nazijua nyimbo zao zote.

  I know all their songs.

The singular of nyimbo songs is wimbo, which is class 11; in the plural it takes the class 10 possessive zao.

05

Pointing at a Class 10 Noun

The words for this, that and that over there all take z-.

• hizi - these
• hizo - those, the ones just mentioned
• zile - those over there

• Suruali hizi ni ndefu kiasi gani?

  How long are these trousers?

• Mashua zile ni ghali sana.

  Those boats over there are very expensive.

06

The Object Marker Is -zi-

When a class 10 noun is the object, -zi- goes inside the verb and the noun itself can vanish.

• Sizioni miwani yangu.

  I cannot see my glasses.

• si- I do not
• -zi- them, the class 10 object
• oni see

The glasses are named after the verb has already pointed at them, which is how Swahili commonly marks an object twice.