Greetings my fellow Kiswahili learners
Karibu…….Welcome again. Let us quickly revise Greetings, as we greet each other and meet again! Our #LanguageRevolution. Journey of the millineum!
http://exploremotherlandafrica.com/the-languagerevolution-learn-kiswahili-with-joseph-sarimbo-1/
Our second Kiswahili lesson plan touches on grammar and noun classes, a crucial component in Kiswahili #THELANGUAGEREVOLUTION…..let us delve my fellow warriors #SHUJAA
Learn Kiswahili #THELANGUAGEREVOLUTION… at your doorstep with Joseph Sarimbo…! Lesson One
COMMAND SIMPLE IMPERATIVE (command or an instruction, telling someone what to do or influencing behaviour). To make command simple imperative you will need to drop infinitive KU for the non-monosyllabic verb and keep infinitive KU for the monosyllabic verb.
Let us view some examples to get the gist of it……….
Kupika: To cook Pika chakula Cook food
Kusoma: To read Soma kitabu Read a book.
Kuimba: To sing Imba wimbo Sing a song.
Kuchukua : To take Chukua kitabu Take a book
Kula :To eat Kula chakula Eat food
Kunywa: To drink Kunywa chai Drink tea.
VERB “TO BE” IN PRESENT
“To be” is expressed with monosyllabic KUWA ( to be) in other tenses, But in present is expressed with:
Positive: NI Negative: SI
Mti ni mrefu The tree is tall.
Mti si mrefu tree The tree is not tall.
Mtoto ni mdogo The child is small.
Mtoto si mdogo The child is not small.
Kitabu ni kizuri The book is good
Kitabu si kizuri The book is not good
The core of sentence construction all essentially relates to the noun class. For example in the case of possessive pronouns, it takes a subject prefix depending on the noun class. In our agreement charts, we have a noun prefix and a subject prefix. Noun prefix are used with adjectives
Subject prefixes are used with possessive pronouns and also during verb constructions
There are 15 NOUN CLASSES in Kiswahili
They are grouped into characteristics and vowel harmony
Every noun class has both singular and plural. Class one and two are animate classes. All the animate( living things)take prefixes from these classes.
This noun class consist of the following nouns
- People M- singular and WA- plural
People nouns
Class 1: Animate which start with M or M(W)
Class 2: Animate which start with WA.
(1&2) are singular & plural.
Example:
mtoto/watoto [child/children] mgeni/wageni [visitor/visitors] mfaransa/wafaransa [French person/French people] mjomba/wajomba [uncle/uncles] mke/wake [wife/wives] mkulima/wakulima [farmer/farmers] mpishi/wapishi [cook/cooks] msichana/wasichana [girl/girls] mtu/watu [person/people] mume/waume [husband/husbands] mvulana/wavulana [boy/boys] mzee/wazee [elder/elders] mzungu/wazungu [white man/woman/white men/women] mjerumani/wajerumani [German person/German people] mwanamume/wanaume [man/men] mwanamke/wanawake [woman/women] mwalimu/walimu [teacher/teachers] mwanafunzi/wanafunzi [student/students] mwafrika/waafrika [African person/African people]
When forming sentences and using a verb, it will be –a, in singular if you use third person singular and –wa , in plural
But when you use relative class for class 9/10 with possessive you will use the prefix of the same classes.
Examples
Rafiki yangu alikuja nyumbani. [My friend came home.]
Rafiki zangu walikuja nyumbani. [ My Friends came home.]
Mama yangu anapika kuku. [My mother is cooking chicken.]
Mama wanapika kuku. [Mothers are cooking chicken.]
Class 3/4 are for nouns (things) which start with M and plural start MI
This noun class has the following nouns:
1. majina ya miti [names of trees]
2. majina ya mimea [names of plants]
3. sehemu za mwili [body parts]
nouns that take M- in singular and MI- in plural, radicals that start with a vowel:
nouns that take MW- in singular and MI- in plural
particular cases: singular prefix MU-
Majina ya miti _Names of trees.
mti/miti [tree/trees] mnazi/minazi [coconut tree/coconut trees] mchungwa/michungwa [orange tree/orange trees] mwembe/miembe [mango tree/mango trees] mtofaa/mitofaa [apple tree/apple trees] mpapai/mipapai [papaya tree/papaya trees] mndimu/mindimu [lime tree/lime trees] mpera/mipera [guava tree/guava trees] mgomba/migomba [banana tree/banana trees]
Sehemu za mwili _Body parts
mdomo/midomo [mouth/mouths] mkono/mikono [hand/hands] mguu/miguu [leg/legs] mfupa/mifupa [bone/bones] mgongo/migongo [back/backs] moyo/mioyo [heart/hearts] mwili/miili [body/bodies
Nouns that take M- in singular and MI- in plural
mfano/mifano [example/examples] mji/miji [city/cities] mkoba/mikoba [bag/bags] mfuko/mifuko [bag/bags] mlango/milango [door/doors] mtihani/mitihani [exam/exams]/tests] mlima/milima [mountain/mountains] mpira/mipira [ball/balls] mkate/mikate [bread/breads] mto/mito [river/rivers] mungu/miungu [god/gods] mchezo/michezo [game/games] moto/mioto [fire/fires] msikiti/misikiti [mosque/mosques] msitu/misitu [forest/forests] mswaki/miswaki [toothbrush/toothbrushes] mto/mito [river/rivers, pillow/pillows]
Nouns that take MW- in singular and MI- in plural
mwaka/miaka [year/years] mwavuli/miavuli [umbrella/umbrellas] mwezi/miezi [month/months] mwiba/miiba [thorn/thorns] mwisho/miisho [end/ ends]
Particular cases: singular prefix
MU- muhindi/mihindi [corn] muhogo/mihogo [cassava/cassavas] muwa/miwa [sugarcane]
1. Mti ulianguka. [The tree fell.] Miti ilianguka. [The trees fell.] 2. Mkono unauma. [The hand hurts.] Mikono inauma. [The hands hurt.] 3. Mkoba umeoshwa. [The bag has been washed.] Mikoba imeoshwa. [The bags have been washed.]
Class 5/6
This is for nouns which plural start with MA. Singular can start with any Noun but plural must start with MA.Nouns in this class can start with any letter in their singular form but their plural forms must take MA-.
This noun class has the following nouns:
A). manufactured products, natural or built places, abstract or concrete
concepts
B). sehemu za mwili [parts of the body]
C). matunda na vitu vya kawaida [fruits and natural objects]
D). majina ya vitu ambavyo havihesabiki [These nouns exist only in the plural
form and are things which cannot be counted. They take MA- in both
singular and plural form]
E) majina ya watu few names of people.
A). Manufactured products, natural or built places,
abstract or concrete concepts
1. Manufactured products:
blanketi/mablanketi [blanket/blankets] dirisha/madirisha [window/windows] gari/magari [car/cars] gazeti/magazeti [newspaper/newspapers] godoro/magodoro [mattress/mattresses] sanduku/masanduku [box/boxes] jiko/meko/majiko [gas cooker/gas cookers]
2. Natural or Built places:
daraja/madaraja [bridge/bridges] duka/maduka [shop/shops] shamba/mashamba [farm/farms] soko/masoko [market/markets] ziwa/maziwa [lake/lakes] jimbo/majimbo [state/states]
3. Abstract or Concrete concepts:
jina/majina [name/names] kosa/makosa [mistake/mistakes] neno/maneno [word/words] jambo/mambo [issue/issues] jiwe/mawe [stone/stones] somo/masomo [subject/subjects; lesson/lessons] wazo/mawazo [thought/thoughts] jibu/majibu swali/maswali jukumu/majukumu [responsibility/responsibilities] juma/majuma [week/weeks
B). Sehemu za mwili [parts of the body]
jicho/macho [eye/eyes] jino/meno [tooth/teeth] bega/mabega [shoulder/shoulders] goti/magoti [knee/knees] sikio/masikio [ear/ears] tumbo/matumbo [stomach/bowels] paja/mapaja [thigh/thighs]
C). Matunda na vitu vya kawaida [fruits and natural objects]
1.Fruits:
chungwa/machungwa [orange/oranges] embe/maembe [mango/mangoes] limau/malimau [lemon/lemons] nanasi/mananasi [pineapple/pineapples] papai/mapapai [pawpaw/pawpaws] dafu/madafu [coconut/coconuts (with milk)] tofaa/matofaa [apple/apples]
2. Natural Objects:
jani/majani [leaf/leaves] yai/mayai [egg/eggs] rinda/marinda [dress/dresses]
3. Majina ya vitu ambavyo havihesabiki [nouns of things that cannot be counted, whichexist only in the plural form
maji [water] mafuta [oil] mali [wealth] maafa [misfortune]
Zingatia [Note]
When using a verb, this noun class uses LI- in singular and YA- in
plural for sentence formation.
Sentence Formation
Mifano:Example
1. Chungwa limenunuliwa. [The orange has been bought.] Machungwa yamenunuliwa. [The oranges have been bought.] 2. Gari limefika. [The car has arrived.] Magari yamefika. [The cars have arrived.] 3. Jicho linauma. [The eye hurts.] Macho yanauma. [The eyes hurt.] 4. Maji yamemwagika. [The water has been poured.]
Class 7/8
Class 7 & 8 is for nouns which start with KI or CH / VI or VY
This noun class has the following nouns:
A). nouns that take KI- in singular and VI- in plural
B). nouns that take CH- in singular and VY- in plural
C). body parts [sehemu za mwili]
D). names of languages [majina ya lugha]
E) some few animates
A). Nouns that take KI- in singular and VI- in plural
kiti/viti [chair/chairs]
kitabu/vitabu [book/books] kiatu/viatu [shoe/shoes] kisu/visu [knife/knives] kikombe/vikombe [cup/cups] kilima/vilima [hill/hills] kisiwa/visiwa [island/islands] kiazi/viazi [potato/potatoes] kitunguu/vitunguu [onion/onions] kitu/vitu [thing/things] kitanda/vitanda [bed/beds] kioo/vioo [mirror/mirrors] kiberiti/viberiti [match/matches]
B). Nouns that take CH- in singular and VY- in plural
chuo/vyuo [school/schools; college/colleges] choo/vyoo [restroom/restrooms] chakula/vyakula [food/foods] chumba/vyumba [room/rooms] cheti/vyeti [certificate/certificates] chama/vyama [party/parties; association/associations] chuma/vyuma [iron/irons] chombo/vyombo [container/containers; utensil/utensils] cheo/vyeo [rank/ranks]
C). Body Parts [sehemu za mwili]
kichwa/vichwa [head/heads] kiuno/viuno [waist/waists] kifua/vifua [chest/chests] kidole/vidole [finger/fingers]
D). Names of Languages [majina ya lugha]
Kiarabu [Arabic] Kifaransa [French] Kiingereza [English] Kichina [Chinese] Kijapani [Japanese]
Kichwa kinauma. [The head is hurting.] Vichwa vinauma. [The heads are hurting.] 2. Kiti kilivunjwa na mtoto. [The chair was broken by a child] Viti vilivunjwa. [The chairs were broken.] 3. Chuo kimefungwa. [The college has been closed.] Vyuo vimefungwa. [The college have been closed.] 4. Chakula kitapikwa. [The food will be cooked.] Vyakula vitapikwa. [The foods will be cooked.]
Class 9/10 : These is nouns which singular and plural are the same.
Example: Habari/habari. News barua/barua [letter/letters] chupa/chupa [bottle/bottles] dawa/dawa [drug/drugs; medicine/medicines] kalamu/kalamu [pen/pens] karatasi/karatasi [paper/papers] ngoma/ngoma [drum/drums] sabuni/sabuni [soap/soaps] sahani/sahani [plate/plates] sufuria/sufuria [pan/pans] suruali/suruali [trouser/trousers] chaki/chaki [chalk/chalk] dola/dola [dollar/dollars] kompyuta/kompyuta [computer/computers] nguo/nguo [cloth/cloths] soksi/soksi [sock/socks] shilingi/shilingi [shilling/shillings] meza/meza [table/tables] taa/taa [light/lights] senti/senti [cent/cents] nyumba/nyumba [house/houses]
Nature:
ardhi/ardhi [earth; ground] bahari/bahari [sea] baridi/baridi [cold] barafu/barafu [ice] hewa/hewa [air; atmosphere] nuru/nuru [light] mvua/mvua [rain] njia/njia [way] bandari/bandari [harbor] barabara/barabara [road] nchi/nchi [country]
Abstract concepts:
ajali/ajali [accident/accidents] bahati/bahati [luck/lucks] furaha/furaha [joy/joys] hasara/hasara [loss/losses] hatari/hatari [danger/dangers] huzuni/huzuni [sadness/sadnesses] nguvu/nguvu [strength/strengths] shida/shida [problem/problems] thamani/thamani [value/values] dakika/dakika [minute/minutes] sifa/sifa [praise/praises; reputation/reputations] ndoto/ndoto [dream/dreams] shughuli/shughuli [business/businesses]
B). Foods, fruits, and vegetables
chai/chai [tea/teas] chumvi/chumvi [salt/salts] kahawa/kahawa [coffee/coffees] mboga/mboga [vegetable/vegetables] nazi/nazi [coconut/coconuts] ndizi/ndizi [banana/bananas] nyama/nyama [meat/meats] pilipili/pilipili [pepper/[peppers] siagi/siagi [butter; margarine] sukari/sukari [sugar/sugars] njugu/njugu [groundnut/groundnuts]
Zingatia [Note]
mbwa/mbwa [dog/dogs] paka/paka [cat/cats] ng’ombe/ng’ombe [cow/cows] simba/simba [lion/lions] ndovu/ndovu [elephant/elephants] Ndege/ndege [birds] kuku/kuku [hen/hens] kasuku/kasuku [parrot/parrots] tai/tai [eagle/eagles] bata mzinga/bata mzinga turkey/turkeys]
Wadudu [insects]
nyuki/nyuki [bee/bees]
mbu/mbu [mosquito/mosquitoes]
nzi/nzi [fly/flies]
When using a verb, this noun class uses I- in singular and ZI- in plural
for sentence formation.
Sentence Formation
Mifano:
1. Kalamu imeanguka. [The pen has fallen.]
Kalamu zimeanguka. [The pens have fallen.]
2. Njia imefungwa. [The way has been closed.]
Njia zimefungwa. [The ways have been closed.]
Class 9/10 is a relative class. All relative nouns belong to class 9/10.
Examples
baba/baba [father/fathers] babu/babu [grandfather/grandfathers] dada/dada [sister/sisters] kaka/kaka [brother/brothers] mama/mama [mother/mothers] Bibi/bibi [grandmother/grandmothers] rafiki/rafiki [friend/friends] shangazi/shangazi [aunt/aunts]
Class 11
This class noun can start with U or WA
This class is a singular class. If the noun need plural will borrow class 10 or class 6
U – U [U – ZI]
U – U [U – U]
This noun class has the following nouns:
A). concrete nouns with various plurals
B). uncountable nouns, with no plural form
C). nouns that are mostly formed from adjectives, nominals, or verbal roots
D). names of countries
A). Concrete nouns with various plurals
U – NY:
uso/nyuso [face/faces] uzi/nyuzi [thread/threads] ua/nyua [courtyard/courtyards] ufa/nyufa [crack/cracks] uma/nyuma [fork/forks]
U – ND:
ulimi/ndimi [tongue/tongues] udevu/ndevu [beard/beards]
U – MB:
ubao/mbao [board/boards] ubavu/mbavu [rib/ribs] ubawa/mbawa [wing/wings]
U – Ø:
unywele/nywele [one hair/hair] ufunguo/funguo [key/keys] ukuta/kuta [wall/walls] upande/pande [side/sides] uvumbi/vumbi [grain of dust/dust] upanga/panga [machete/machetes] upepo/pepo [wind/winds]
W – NY:
wakati/nyakati [time/times] wembe/nyembe [razor blade/razor blades] wimbo/nyimbo [song/songs]
B). Uncountable nouns, with no plural form .Nouns in this category doesn’t have plural sentence formation when using a verb(s).
udongo [soil; ground] ugali [corn paste] uji [porridge] ulimwengu [world] umeme [electricity] umri [age] unga [flour] usingizi [sleep] uwongo [a lie]
C). Nouns that are mostly formed from adjectives, nominals, or verbal roots
Nouns in this category doesn’t have plural when using a
verb(s). Nominal roots: NOUN – NOUN
jamaa – ujamaa [group of people – community] kijana – ujana [young person – young age] mzee – uzee [old person – old age] maskini – umaskini [poor person – poverty] mchawi – uchawi [witch – witchcraft] mfalme – ufalme [king – kingdom] mtoto – utoto [child – childhood] Verbal roots: VERB – NOUN kuiba – uwizi [to steal – theft] kukosa – ukosefu [to miss – deficiency] kupenda – upendo [to love – love] kuweza – uwezo [to be able – capacity] kusahau – usahaulifu [to forget – forgetfulness]
D). Names of countries
Ufaransa [France] Uganda [Uganda] Uingereza [England] Ujerumani [Germany] Ureno [Portugal] Urusi [Russia]
Zingatia [Note]
When using a verb, this noun class uses U- in singular and ZI or YA in plural depending in class
for sentence formation. However, uncountable nouns and nouns that are
formed from adjectival, nominal, or verbal roots only use U-.
Sentence Formation
Mifano: 1. Ulimi unauma. [The tongue hurts.] Ndimi zinauma. [The tongues hurt.] 2. Ufunguo umepotea. [The key has been lost.] Funguo zimepotea. [The keys have been lost.] 3. Ubavu umevunjika. [The rib has broken.] Mbavu zimevunjika. [The ribs have broken.] 4. Ugali umepikwa. [The cornmeal has been cooked.] 5. Upendo wao umesifika. [Their love has been praised.]
Class 15
This class is for all verbs change to become a noun.
Example Kusoma, kuimba ,kucheza.
Class 16,17,18 we call them location class
Noun class Subject prefix 1. Mtoto 2.watoto 3.mkate U 4.mikate i 5.Tunda li 6. Matunda ya 7. Kitabu ki 8.vitabu vi 9.habari i 10. Habari zi 11. Usiku u 15. Kusoma ku 16. Mahali pa 17. Mjini ku 18.mwilini M(u)
Mtoto wangu My child Watoto wangu My children Mtoto wako Your child Kitabu chake His/Her book Usiku wetu Our night Mkate wenu Your bread Maisha yao Their life
