Having with -na

01

The Forms

• nina - I have
• una - you have
• ana - he, she has
• tuna - we have
• mna - you all have
• wana - they have

• Nina mbwa na paka. Ni marafiki.

  I have a dog and a cat. They are friends.

• Ninyi mna furaha. Wao hawana furaha.

  You are happy. They are not happy.

• Una mwavuli?

  Do you have an umbrella?

02

The Negative

The negative subject prefixes go in front, and the result is short and very common.

• sina - I do not have
• huna - you do not have
• hana - he, she does not have

• Nataka kuoka keki, lakini sina mayai.

  I want to bake a cake, but I have no eggs.

• Yeye si mwalimu. Hana kazi.

  She is not a teacher. She has no job.

• Sina pesa nyingi.

  I do not have much money.

03

Things Can Have Things Too

With a class prefix rather than a person, the same construction says what something contains or is equipped with.

• Una nyumba nzuri sana. Ina umri gani?

  You have a very nice house. How old is it?

• Bisi hizi zina chumvi.

  This popcorn has salt in it.

ina and zina are the same -na with a class prefix in front instead of a person.

04

Other Tenses Need kuwa

Because -na is not a verb, it cannot carry a tense by itself. The past and future put the verb kuwa to be in front of it.

• Muwe na siku njema.

  Have a good day.

• nilikuwa na - I had
• nitakuwa na - I will have

05

Age, Hunger and Feelings

A great deal that English expresses with be is expressed in Swahili with have.

• Wazazi wangu wana umri mmoja.

  My parents are the same age.

• Nina njaa, nina kiu na nimechoka.

  I am hungry, thirsty and tired.

• Sina huzuni.

  I am not sad.

Literally these are my parents have one age, I have hunger and I do not have sadness.