Subject Prefixes on the Verb

01

The People Prefixes

• ni- I
• u- you
• a- he, she
• tu- we
• m- you, more than one
• wa- they

• Tunakula chakula cha mchana.

  We are eating lunch.

• tu- we
• -na- happening now
• kula eat

• Mnafanya nini sasa hivi?

  What are you all doing right now?

• Watoto wanapanda basi.

  The children are getting on the bus.

Those verbs differ only at the front, and the front alone is what changes who is speaking or acting.

02

The Pronoun Is Optional

The subject is already inside the verb, so a separate pronoun is not needed. Adding one puts weight on it, much as English raises its voice.

• Mwanamume anakula.

  The man is eating.

• Mimi ni mwalimu wa Kiingereza.

  I am an English teacher.

The second uses mimi I because it is making a point of who the teacher is.

03

Things Take Their Class Instead

When the subject is not a person, the prefix is the agreement of that noun's class, and there are as many possibilities as there are classes.

• class 1 a-, class 2 wa-
• class 3 u-, class 4 i-
• class 5 li-, class 6 ya-
• class 7 ki-, class 8 vi-
• class 9 i-, class 10 zi-

• Basi limechelewa.

  The bus is late.

• Tunasoma kitabu. Kinavutia.

  We are reading a book. It is interesting.

• Mabasi yanafika kituoni.

  The buses are arriving at the stop.

04

The Prefix Is Never Dropped

There is no bare verb in a statement. Even where English would use a plain one, Swahili puts a prefix on it, and a verb without one is not a sentence.

• Haiya, mvua inanyesha!

  Oh no, it is raining!

• Jua linamulika ndani ya darasa.

  The sun is shining into the classroom.

English needs the word it in the first sentence. Swahili has the class 9 i- inside the verb and needs nothing more.

05

The Negative Set Is Different

Negation adds no word. It swaps the subject prefix for a negative one, and those have to be learned as a set.

• si- I do not
• hu- you do not
• ha- he, she does not
• hatu- we do not
• ham- you all do not
• hawa- they do not

• Sina huzuni.

  I am not sad.

• Hana kazi.

  She has no job.

Set those beside nina I have and ana she has and the pattern is plain: the stem never moves, only the front of the word.

06

What Else Fits Inside

The subject prefix is the first of several slots. After it comes the tense marker, then an optional object, then the stem. A verb with all four is a whole sentence.

• Nitakupa aspirini.

  I will give you aspirin.

• ni- I
• -ta- will
• -ku- you, as the object
• pa give

Four pieces, one word, and no pronoun anywhere in it.