User:Janadume/sandbox/Swahili Verbs

Verbs Like nouns, verbs are formed by adding prefixes to a basic stem. However, unlike the prefixes of nouns, verbal prefixes are not a fixed part of the verb, but indicate subject, object, tense, aspect, mood and other inflectional categories. Normally, verbs are cited in dictionaries in the stem form, often with a hyphen to indicate that prefixes are added, such as -sema "say", -andika "to write", -la "to eat". It is also possible to use the infinitive/gerund form which begins with ku- or, for a couple of verbs only, kw-, such as kusema "to say", kuandika "to write", kula "to eat".

Overview of verb structure

Prefixes are always attached in a fixed order; the object prefix always comes last, immediately before the verb stem, while the subject prefix comes before the object prefix. Most of the time, a tense, aspect, mood or polarity prefix may intervene between the subject and object prefix, or be placed before the subject prefix. A common mnemonic used by learners of Swahili for the order of parts of a verb is STROVE.

• Subject prefix
• TAM prefix (or usually Tense prefix)
• Relative prefix
• Object prefix
• Verb stem
• Extension(s) (meaning "derivative suffix(es)"), or, more broadly Ending (including also the inflectional suffixes -i and -e).

In learner materials, all types of prefixes other than the subject prefixes are frequently, erroneously referred to as infixes. It should, however, be noted that the term infix, as used by linguists, refers only to a morpheme (≈ part of a word) that is inserted within another morpheme, not simply in between other morphemes within a word. Under the strict definition of the word, Swahili does not make use of infixes.

Here is an example of a verb with all slots filled:

nilipokupikia
S	T	R	O	V	E
ni-	-li-	-po-	-ku-	-pik(a)*	-i(a)*
1S-	-PST-	-CL16.REL-	-2S-	-cook	-APPL
"I"	"earlier"	"when"	"you"	"cook"	"for"
"when I cooked for you"

* This "(a)" appears when this is the final element of the word and is otherwise dropped.

Most of the time, verbs will not have all slots filled. Here are some other examples.

anakupenda
S	T	R	O	V	E
a-	-na-	—	-ku-	-pend(a)	—
3S-	-PRS-	—	-2S-	-love	—
"s/he"	"now"	—	"you"	"love"	—
"s/he loves you"

nipe
S	T	R	O	V	E
—	—	—	-ni-	-p(a)*	-e
—	—	—	-2S-	-give-	-SBJV
—	—	—	"me"	"give"	"should/must"
"give me"

hatuwezi
S	T	R	O	V	E
hatu-	—	—	—	-wez(a)	-i
NEG.1P-	—	—	—	-be.able	-NEG.PRES
"we cannot" / "we are unable"
"not we"	—	—	—	"can"	"not now"

hawalishwi
S	T	R	O	V	E	E	E
hawa-	—	—	—	-l(a)	-ish(a)	-w(a)	-i
NEG.3P-	—	—	—	-eat	-CAUS	-PASS	-NEG.PRES
"not they"	—	—	—	"eat"	"make"	"be done"	"not now"
"they do not get fed"

There are a number of derivational suffixes (frequently termed 'extensions') which can be added to the end of verbs to derive new meanings, some of which have been shown above.

Inflection groups

There are three basic inflection groups which differ only very slightly from one another:

1. common verbs
2. short verbs
3. Loan verbs

Common verbs are the largest group of verbs in Swahili. In their infinitive form, they consist of three or more syllables and end with -a. All verbs of native Bantu origin end with -a, including the short verbs mentioned below. Some examples of common verbs are kuanguka "to fall", kufanya "to do, to make", kuona "to see", kuwaza "to think", kusaidia "to help". The final -a is replaced with another vowel in certain grammatical contexts, becoming -i in the present negative, and -e in the subjunctive and imperative forms involving an object prefix. The plural address marker -ni also triggers this final -a to become -e.

Short verbs are those which, in their infinitive form, consist of only two syllables, such as kula "to eat", kunywa "to drink", kuja "to come", kupa "to give". The verbs kwenda "to go" and kwisha "to finish" may belong to this group, although it is also common for these verbs to be conjugated as common verbs (as kuenda and kuisha). Because the stems of most of these verbs, once the infinitive prefix ku- is removed, are monosyllabic, these are frequently termed monosyllabic verbs, however this is problematic as the final -a of Bantu verbs is often not considered to be part of the root (meaning that roots of many of these verbs consists of only a single consonant or consonant cluster, such as -p- "give"). Furthermore, when the final -a is considered part of the stem, this excludes -enda and -isha, which generally conjugate in a similar way to the other short verbs. The short verbs are all native Bantu verbs ending in -a and undergo the same -i and -e alterations as the common verbs. Additionally, they are characterised by the insertion (or retention) of the syllable -ku- in certain verb forms. This intrusive -ku- (which may be glossed as EXT for "extension") prevents the penultimate stress from falling on certain TAM prefixes (-na-, -me-, -li-, -ta-, -sha-, -nge-, -ngeli-) and relative prefixes, which are inherently unable be stressed. This -ku- disappears in verb forms where the stress is allowed to fall on a subject or object prefix, or on certain other TAM prefixes (-a-, hu-, -ki-, -ka-, -ku-, -si-). (The TAM prefix -ja- can be regarded as belonging to either group, depending on the speaker.) Because the initial stem vowel of -enda and -isha takes the stress, this explanation does not sufficiently fit, however it should suffice to say that the distribution of their -kw- extension, among speakers who use it, is identical to that of the -ku- extension in other short verbs.

The Loan verbs, also frequently called "Arabic" verbs, are those which do not end in -a in the infinitive. Not all verbs, from Arabic are in this group, however, such as kusaidia, which is an Arabic loan which happens to end in -a and is thus declined as a common verb. Likewise, not all Loan verbs come from Arabic, such as kukisi "to kiss" and kuripoti "to report", which are from English. What these verbs share in common is that they are all loan-words and none of them end in -a. The consequence of this is that they do not take the suffixes -e and -i that the verbs ending in -a do, which occasionally results in ambiguity, such as in si-ku-sahau-Ø which could either mean "I did not forget" (NEG.1S-NEG.PST-forget-Ø) or "I do not forget you" (NEG.1s-2s-forget-PRES.NEG).

Subject and object concords

Both the subject and, when applicable, the object of the verb are indicated by prefixes or concords attached to the verb stem. Swahili is a pro-drop language: explicit personal pronouns are only used for emphasis, or with verb forms that do not indicate subject or object. When a noun is used as the subject or object, then the concord must match its class. Animate nouns (referring to a person or animal) are an exception and these occur with concords of the noun classes 1 (singular) or 2 (plural). The subject concord must always be present, except in the infinitive, habitual and imperative forms. The object concord is generally optional; although some sources maintain that it must always be used with animate objects, this appears not to be the case as counter-examples are commonplace. Whether it is used or not appears to have to do with animacy, specificity and definiteness as well as pragmatic considerations of emphasis.

Six different forms of verbal concord exist.

For the subject, there are both negative and positive forms, while there are only positive forms for objects. The negative subject concords are formed by prefixing the syllable ha- to the beginning, except for the irregular forms si- (instead of *hani-), hu- (instead of *hau-) and ha- (instead of *haa-) which are used, respectively, for first, second and third person singular animate subjects.

Additionally, in (the third person singular of) noun class 1, the prefix yu- is used instead of a- as the subject of a locative copula. (This yu- can also be seen in the demonstratives.) The negative form of yu- is formed regularly, by appending the prefix ha-.

Before the present 'indefinite' marker -a-, subject concords are shortened to just a consonant or consonant cluster in a similar manner to the prefix which occur on the genitive preposition -a.

Object concords are generally the same as the positive subject concord, although there are a few exceptions for instances involving animate referents; 2nd person singular and plural, as well as 3rd person singular (class 1) all have different forms for subject and object concord.

	Positive				Negative
Person / Class	Subject Verb	Subject Locative	Object	Subject before -a-	Subject Verb	Subject Locative
1st sing.	ni-			n-	si-
2nd sing.	u-		ku-	w-	hu-
1st plur.	tu-			tw-	hatu-
2nd plur.	m(w)-		wa-	mw-	ham-
1	a-	yu-	m(w)-	—	ha-	hayu-
2	wa-			w-	hawa-
3	u-			w-	hau-
4	i-			y-	hai-
5	li-			l-	hali-
6	ya-			y-	haya-
7	ki-			ch-	haki-
8	vi-			vy-	havi-
9	i-			y-	hai-
10	zi-			z-	hazi-
11	u-			w-	hau-
14	u-			w-	hau-
15	ku-			kw-	haku-
16	pa-			p-	hapa-
17	ku-			kw-	haku-
18	m(u)-			mw-	ham(u)-
reflexive	—		ji-	—	—

Examples:

• Tunakwenda sasa. "We are going now."
• Sisi tunakwenda sasa. "We are going now." (with emphasis)
• Ninamwona. "I see him/her."
• Ninamwona yeye. "I see him/her." (with emphasis)
• Ninampa zawadi. "I give him/her a gift."

Because the 2nd person plural object prefix -wa- is the same as the object prefix for class 2 (3rd person plural object), a word such as ninawaona may ambiguously mean "I see you all" or "I see them." These two possibilities may be disambiguated by placing the pronoun after the verb: ninawaona ninyi / wao. Very frequently, however, the suffix -eni is appended to the verb to indicate that the second person plural is meant: ninawaoneni "I see you all." This suffix causes the final a of Bantu verbs to shift to e. On loan verbs, this suffix is simply -ni. Some speakers use the prefix -ku- (otherwise indicating 2nd person singular) with the suffix -(e)ni, as in ninakuoneni "I see you all."

The reflexive prefix only occurs as an object, and refers back to the subject of the sentence. It is equivalent to English forms like myself, yourself, himself and so on.

• ninajitetea "I defend myself"
• anajiona "he sees himself" (idiomatically, may mean: "he is conceited")

Infinitive

The infinitive is a verbal noun, and belongs to class 15, which is reserved specifically for infinitives. It is marked by the prefix ku-. It may occur in the same contexts as other nouns and may, occasionally, even be derived into the locative classes by means of attaching the suffix -ni, as in kuangukani "in falling" (i.e. "while falling"). It corresponds to the English infinitive or gerund. Infinitives cannot take subject, relative or TAM prefixes, but they may take object prefixes.

Formation of the infinitive

	common verbs	short verbs	Loan verb
Affirmative	ku___a	ku___a	ku___
	ku[OBJ]___a	ku[OBJ]___a	ku[OBJ]___
Negative	kuto(ku)___a	kutoku___a	kuto(ku)___
	kuto(ku)[OBJ]___a	kuto(ku)[OBJ]___a	kuto(ku)[OBJ]___

The negative infinitive is derived from the verb kutoa "to subtract", "to not do", although it is rarely encountered in its full form for this use. The additional -ku- in brackets is the infinitive marker of the original verb, although it may be omitted as long as stress rules allow.

Examples

Verb	Affirmative infinitive	Negative infinitive
-wa	kuwa "to be, being"	kutokuwa "not to be, to not be, not being"
-nywa	kunywa "to drink, drinking"	kutokunywa "not to drink, to not drink, not drinking"
-nywa	kuyanywa "to drink it, drinking it" (class 6)	kuto(ku)yanywa "not to drink it, to not drink it, not drinking it"
-ona	kuona "to see, seeing"	kuto(ku)ona "not to see, to not see, not seeing"
-ona	kumwona "to see her/him"	kuto(ku)mwona "not to see, to not see, not seeing her/him"
-fanya	kufanya "to do/make"	kuto(ku)fanya "not to do/make, to not do/make, not doing/making"
-sahau	kusahau "to forget"	kuto(ku)sahau "not to forget, to not forget, not forgetting"

Tenses, aspects and moods

For the sake of simplicity, the following verb forms may be referred to as "tenses" as they often are in learner materials, but it should be remembered that many of these are not grammatical tenses in the technical sense but may instead be aspects or moods. All together, Tense, Aspect and Mood may be abbreviated as TAM.

The following table shows a summary of TAM forms which will be discussed in further depth below. Brackets indicate optional elements and slashes indicate alternative elements of which either (but not both) may fill the same slot in the verb. The column labelled 'final vowel' is only relevant for "short" and "common verbs", with "loan verbs" remaining invariable here with the exception of the -ni suffix added to indicate 2nd person plural address. In any TAM form, when the object is 2nd person plural, this -(e)ni prefix may also occur, but this is not shown in this table.

Summary of TAM forms

	Tense, Aspect, Mood	Subject	TAM	Relative	Object / Extention	Verb STEM	Final Vowel	2P	Relative
Indicative Basic Tenses	Past	SUB	-li-	(REL)	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Past Negative	NEG.SUB	-ku-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-a	—	—
	Perfect	SUB	-me-	—	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Perfect Negative	NEG.SUB	-ja-	—	(OBJ) / (EXT)	STEM	-a	—	—
	Present 'Definite'	SUB	-na-	(REL)	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Present 'Indefinite'	SUB*	-a-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-a	—	—
	Present Habitual	—	hu-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-a	—	—
	Present Negative	NEG.SUB	—	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-i	—	—
	Future	SUB	-ta-	(-ka-REL)	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Future Negative	NEG.SUB	-ta- / -to-	—	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
Relative Forms	Tenseless Relative	SUB	—	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-a-	—	REL
	Tenseless Negative Relative	SUB	-si-	REL	(OBJ)	STEM	-a	—	—
Contextual Tenses	Situational	SUB	-ki-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-a	—	—
	Consecutive	SUB	-ka-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-a	—	—
Irrealis	Irrealis Present	SUB	-nge-	—	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Irrealis Present Negative 1	SUB	-singe-	—	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Irrealis Present Negative 2	NEG.SUB	-nge-	—	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Irrealis Past	SUB	-ngali-	—	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Irrealis Past Negative 1	SUB	-singali-	—	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Irrealis Past Negative 2	NEG.SUB	-ngali-	—	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
Imperatives and Subjunctives	Imperative Singular (- OBJ)	—	—	—	— / EXT	STEM	-a	—	—
	Imperative Singular + OBJ	—	—	—	OBJ	STEM	-e	—	—
	Imperative Plural	—	—	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-e-	-ni	—
	Subjunctive	SUB	—	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-e	—	—
	Subjunctive Negative	SUB	-si-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-e	—	—
Expeditive Imperatives and Subjunctives	Expeditive Subjunctive	SUB	-ka-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-e	—	—
	Exp. Imperative Singular	—	ka-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-e	—	—
	Exp. Imperative Plural	—	ka-	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-e-	-ni	—

* Note that the 'indefinite' present -a- causes the form of the subject marker to change as outlined above.

Imperative

The imperative mood is used to issue direct commands. It can occur either alone or with an object prefix. The presence of an object prefix (including the reflexive ji-) causes the final -a of Bantu verbs to become -e. Note that the ji- prefix of reflexive verbs is an object prefix, meaning, for example, that the imperative of -jifunza "to learn" is jifunze "learn!" and not *jifunza.

Formation of the imperative

	Common verbs	Short verbs	Loan verb
Singular	___a	ku___a	___
	[OBJ]___e	[OBJ]___e	[OBJ]___
Plural	___eni	ku___eni	___ni
	[OBJ]___eni	[OBJ]___eni	[OBJ]___ni

The plural form, with the suffix -ni, is used when addressing multiple people.

The following verbs have irregular imperatives, regular forms may be heard, particularly by non-native speakers and particularly in Kenya, and regular forms may be interpreted as less polite:

• kuja "to come": njoo (pl. njooni)
• kwenda "to go" : nenda (pl. nendeni)
• kuleta "to bring": lete (pl. leteni)

The verb -acha may informally be given the imperative form wacha (pl. wacheni).

Additionally, the verb kuwa "to be" has an irregular imperative form: iwe (pl. iweni), although this is rarely used and more frequently replaced by a regular imperative form kuwa (pl. kuweni) or used in the subjunctive ("polite imperative") form: uwe (pl. mwe).

Examples (singular then plural)

Verb	Alone	With object
-nywa	Kunywa! Kunyweni! "Drink!"	Yanywe! Yanyweni! "Drink it!" (class 6)
-angalia	Angalia! Angalieni! "Look!"	Mwangalie! Mwangalieni! "Look at her!"
-saidia	Saidia! Saidieni! "Help!"	Nisaidie! Nisaidieni! "Help me!"
-jibu	Jibu! Jibuni! "Answer!"	Nijibu! Nijibuni! "Answer me!"
-jifunza	N/A	Jifunze! Jifunzeni! "Learn!"

There is no actual negative imperative form. The equivalent is achieved with the negative subjunctive. The formation of this is outlined below, but for the sake of completeness the negative equivalents of the above examples are given here.

Examples (singular then plural)

Verb	Alone	With object
-nywa	Usinywe! Msinywe! "Don't drink!"	Usiyanywe! Msiyanywe! "Don't drink it!" (class 6)
-angalia	Usiangalie! Msiangalie! "Don't look!"	Usimwangalie! Msimwangalie! "Don't look at her!"
-saidia	Usisaidie! Msisaidie! "Don't help!"	Usinisaidie! Msinisaidie! "Don't help me!"
-jibu	Usijibu! Msijibu! "Don't answer!"	Usinijibu! Msinijibu! "Don't answer me!"
-jifunza	N/A	Usijifunze! Msijifunze! "Don't learn!"

Present tenses

There are two present tenses in Swahili. These are sometimes termed the "definite present" (with -na-) and the "indefinite present" (with -a-). In modern, standard Swahili, however, there is no great difference in meaning between these two forms as the "indefinite present" is more or less obsolete and rarely used other than its frequent appearance in media headlines. A distinction between these two forms is not made in the negative, with both forms being negated the same way.

Formation of the present tense

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
"definite present"	[SUBJ]na___a	[SUBJ]naku___a	[SUBJ]na___
	[SUBJ]na[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]na[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]na[OBJ]___
"indefinite present" (almost obsolete)	[SUBJ*]a___a	[SUBJ*]a___a	[SUBJ*]a___
	[SUBJ*]a[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ*]a[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ*]a[OBJ]___
negative present	[NEG.SUBJ]___i	[NEG.SUBJ]___i	[NEG.SUBJ]___
	[NEG.SUBJ][OBJ]___i	[NEG.SUBJ][OBJ]___i	[NEG.SUBJ][OBJ]___

* Although rarely used, the "indefinite present" adds a small complication to the presentation of Swahili grammar as the -a- marking the tense causes the subject concords to undergo reduction in the same manner as the prefixes of the genitive preposition -a. This is outlined above.

In informal Swahili, it is very common for the first person singular concord ni- to collapse into the -na- of the definite present tense marker and become inaudible (and unwritten). The distinction between the "definite" and "indefinite" present tense forms appears to vanish in the first person as both begin with a na-, however short verbs retain their -ku- extension in the -na- tense and lose it in the -a- tense, allowing this distinction to still be felt, such as in (ni)nakula "I eat", in the -na- present tense, versus nala "I eat", in the -a- present tense.

Examples ("definite", "indefinite, negative)

Verb	Example	Notes
-enda	Anakwenda. "She goes" / "She's going."	(Anaenda is also used.)
	Aenda. "She goes."
	Haendi. "She doesn't go." / "She isn't going."
-la	(Ni)nakula. "I eat." / "I am eating."	Short verb: -ku- prevents -na- from being stressed
	Nala. "I eat."	Short verb: -a- has no problem taking stress.
	Sili. "I'm not eating." / "I don't eat."	Short verb: si-, like all subject/object prefixes, can take stress
-andika	Unaandika. "You write." / "You are writing."
	Waandika. "You write."	May also mean "They write." U- + a- = wa-; wa- + -a- = wa-
	Huandiki. "You don't write." / "You aren't writing."
-sahau	Tunajibu. "We answer" / "We are answering."
	Twajibu. "We answer."
	Hatujibu. "We don't answer." / "We are not answering."	Loan verb, no -a suffix to be changed to -i.

Habitual

The habitual verb form is unusual in that it does not allow subject prefixes to appear on it. The prefix hu- is added to the beginning of the verb and short verbs do not need their -ku- extension.

Formation of the habitual

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive future	hu([OBJ])___a	hu([OBJ])___a	hu([OBJ])___

The habitual indicates repeated, habitual occurrence of an action (habitual aspect) or something occurring as a timeless general rule (gnomic aspect). Because subject prefixes are absent, personal pronouns are very frequently used to indicate the subject.

Ng'ombe hula nyasi.
ng'ombe	hu-l(a)	nyasi
head(s).of.cattle(CL9/10)	HAB-eat	grass(CL10)
"cow(s)"	"eat(s), as a rule"	"grass"
"Cows eat grass." / "A cow eats grass."

Sisi hunywa pombe kila wikendi.
sisi	hu-nyw(a)	bia	kila	wikendi
1P	HAB-drink	beer(CL9/10)	every	weekend(CL9)
"we"	"drink(s), as a rule"	"beer"	"every"	"weekend"
"We drink beer every weekend."

The habitual aspect with hu- is often replaced by the present with -na- in everyday use, the sisi hunywa of the above example then being replaced with tunakunywa. Some speakers instead use the non-standard habitual suffix -ga or -nga which has entered Swahili from other Bantu languages spoken in East Africa, giving tunakunywaga or tunakunywanga. The habitual aspect with hu- is, however, very commonly used in proverbs dealing with eternal truisms.

Haba na haba hujaza kibaba.
haba	na	haba	hu-ja(a)-z(a)	kibaba
insignificant	COM	insignificant	HAB-become.full-CAUS	1.56.litre.container(CL7)
"little"	"and"	"little"	"fills, as a rule"	"container"
"Little by little, a cup is filled."
(Roughly equivalent to "Slow and steady wins the race," or "A penny saved is a penny earned.")

Past

The past tense is used in Swahili to talk about actions or states in the past, whether in the near or the distant past. It is formed with the prefix -li-. Its negative equivalent is formed with the negative subject prefix plus -ku-. The positive tense marker -li- cannot take stress and triggers the use of the extension -ku- (or -kw-) where necessary. The negative tense marker -ku- can take stress, meaning that an additional -ku- extension is not needed.

Formation of the past tense

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive past	[SUBJ]li___a	[SUBJ]liku___a	[SUBJ]li___
	[SUBJ]li[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]li[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]li[OBJ]___
negative past	[NEG.SUBJ]ku___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ku___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ku___
	[NEG.SUBJ]ku[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ku[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ku[OBJ]___

Examples

Verb	Example	Notes
-enda	Alikwenda. "She went."	Alienda is also used.
	Hakwenda. "She didn't go."	The -kw- marks the negative past and cannot be dropped. Hakuenda may also be encountered.
-la	Nilikula. "I ate."	Short verb: -ku- prevents -li- from being stressed
	Sikula. "I didn't eat."	The -ku- marks the negative past and cannot be dropped.
-andika	Uliandika. "You wrote."
	Hukuandika. "You didn't write."
-jibu	Tulijibu. "We answered."
	Hatukujibu. "We didn't answer."

Perfect

The perfect indicates an action or situation which occurred in the past, similarly to the past tense, however the focus of the utterance is on the relevance of this past action to the present moment. For example, the word nimepika "I have cooked" describes a past action with present relevance (i.e. the food is ready now) whereas nilipika "I cooked" describes a past action with no implication of any relevance to the present (the food may have been eaten long ago, or not).

The perfect is formed in the positive with the prefix -me-. The negative is formed with the negative subject prefix plus -ja-. As with the present and past tenses, the positive present marker -me- cannot take the word stress and triggers the appearance of the -ku- extension in short verbs, but the negative marker -ja- is able to be stressed. Some speakers may use the extension -ku- with -ja-.

Some sources describe the -ja- form as containing more of an implication of "not yet" than a simple negation of the -me- form, however the word bado "still", "not yet" may be used to indicate this explicitly where necessary.

Formation of the perfect tense

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive perfect	[SUBJ]me___a	[SUBJ]meku___a	[SUBJ]me___
	[SUBJ]me[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]me[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]me[OBJ]___
negative perfect	[NEG.SUBJ]ja___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ja(ku)___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ja___
	[NEG.SUBJ]ja[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ja[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ja[OBJ]___

Examples

Verb	Example	Notes
-enda	Amekwenda. "She has gone/been."	Ameenda is also used.
	Hajaenda. "She hasn't gone/been."
-la	Nimekula. "I have eaten."	Short verb: -ku- prevents -me- from being stressed
	Sijala. "I haven't eaten."	Sijakula may also be encountered.
-andika	Umeandika. "You have written."
	Hujaandika. "You haven't written."
-jibu	Tumejibu. "We have answered."
	Hatujajibu. "We haven't answered."

Inchoative verbs, such as kuchoka "to get tired", which describe the entering of a state, are used in the perfect to indicate being in the state in question. Compare for example: ninachoka "I am becoming tired"; nimechoka "I have become tired", i.e. "I am tired." For more information and examples, see the section on inchoative verbs below.

Some speakers may replace the sequence of prefixes a-me- with ka- with more or less the same meaning. This may derive from the consecutive tense marker.

Paka wangu amepotea.			↔	Paka wangu kapotea.
paka	w-angu	a-me-pote(a)		paka	w-angu	ka-pote(a)
(CL9)cat(s)	CL1-GEN.1S	CL1-PRF-get.lost		(CL9)cat(s)	CL1-GEN.1S	CL1.PRF-get.lost
"cat"	"my"	"s/he-has-gotten-lost"		"cat"	"my"	"s/he-has-gotten-lost"
"My cat is lost."				"My cat is lost."

Anterior -sha-

The anterior marker -sha- (or sometimes -kwisha-) is a relatively new TAM marker that derives diachronically from the verb kwisha "to finish, to run out". It is most commonly (and perhaps least controversially) used directly after the perfect marker -me-. It often imparts the meaning of "already", emphasising the completeness of the action.

Asante, nimeshakula.
asante	ni-me-sha-ku-l(a)
thank.you	1S-PRF-ANT-EXT-eat
"thank you"	"I have already eaten"
"No thank you, I have already eaten."

The anterior marker -sha- is also used with other TAM markers, simply sitting after them within the TAM slot. It may also on occasion be used on its own, with a function more or less equivalent to the perfect -me-. These uses may not be regarded as standard Swahili. It is frequently used with the situational marker -ki- where it indicates a situation in which the action has been completed.

Ukishapata kazi, utakuwa na pesa za kutosha.
u-ki-sha-pat(a)	kazi	u-ta-ku-w(a)	na	pesa	z-a	ku-tosh(a)
2S-SITU-ANT-get	work(CL9)	2S-FUT-EXT-be	COM	money(CL10)	CL10-GEN	INF(CL15)-suffice
"once you get"	"work"	"you will be"	"with"	"money"	"of"	"to suffice"
"Once you get a job, you will have enough money."

Future

The future tense is formed in Swahili with the prefix -ta-. The negative form is indicated simply by using the negative subject prefix, with -ta- being used here as well. A number of speakers, however, use -to- in the negative future. This may be derived by analogy from the -to- of the negative infinitive, and may also disambiguate between positive and negative where the only difference otherwise would be an h- at the beginning of the negative word. For example atakuja "s/he will come" vs. hatakuja "s/he will not come" (or hatokuja). Because second language speakers in many areas have trouble with pronouncing and distinguishing /h/, the optional change from -ta- to -to- in the negative can provide a failsafe indication when a negative meaning is intended.

-Ta- (and likewise -to-) cannot take the word stress whether in positive or negative and thus causes the appearance of the -ku- extension in short verbs.

Formation of the future tense

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive future	[SUBJ]ta___a	[SUBJ]taku___a	[SUBJ]ta___
	[SUBJ]ta(OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]ta[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]ta[OBJ]___
negative future (usual)	[NEG.SUBJ]ta___a	[NEG.SUBJ]taku___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ta___
	[NEG.SUBJ]ta[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ta[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ta[OBJ]___
negative future (variant)	[NEG.SUBJ]to___a	[NEG.SUBJ]toku___a	[NEG.SUBJ]to___
	[NEG.SUBJ]to[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]to[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]to[OBJ]___

Examples

Verb	Example	Notes
-enda	Atakwenda. "She will go."	Ataenda is also used.
	Hatakwenda. "She won't go."	Hataenda is also used.
-la	Nitakula. "I will eat."	Short verb: -ku- prevents -ta- from being stressed
	Sitakula. "I won't eat."	Short verb: -ku- prevents -ta- from being stressed
-andika	Utaandika. "You will write."
	Hutaandika. "You won't write."
-jibu	Tutajibu. "We will answer."
	Hatutajibu. "We won't answer."

Subjunctive

The subjunctive (sometimes referred to as an optative) expresses hypothetical situations, wishes and requests. It is also used as a complement to certain auxiliary verbs and conjunctions. The subjunctive is indicated by the lack of any Tense-Aspect-Mood prefix and the change of the final -a, where present, to -e-. The so-called "Arabic verbs" do not undergo this change and the subjunctive form is made simply by omitting any tense marker. The negative subjunctive is indicated by adding the syllable -si- into the tense slot, with the positive subject prefix being used rather than the negative.

Formation of the subjunctive

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive subjunctive	[SUBJ]___e	[SUBJ]___e	[SUBJ]___
	[SUBJ][OBJ]___e	[SUBJ][OBJ]___e	[SUBJ][OBJ]___
negative subjunctive	[SUBJ]si___e	[SUBJ]si___e	[SUBJ]si___
	[SUBJ]si[OBJ]___e	[SUBJ]si[OBJ]___e	[SUBJ]si[OBJ]___

Examples

Verb	Example
-enda	Aende. "He should go." / "... him to go" / "... that he go"
	Asiende. "He shouldn't go." / "... him not to go" / "... that he not go"
-la	Nile. "I should eat." / "... me to eat" / "... that I eat"
	Nisile. "I shouldn't eat." / "... me not to eat" / "... that I not eat"
-andika	Uandike. "You should write." / "... you to write" / "... that you write"
	Usiandike. "Don't write!" / "You shouldn't write." / "... you not to write" / "... that you not write"
-sahau	Tusahau. "Let's forget!" / "We should forget." / "... us to forget" / "... that we forget"
	Tusisahau. "Let's not forget." / "We shouldn't forget." / "... us not to forget" / "... that we not forget"

The subjunctive is frequently used following the equivalents of modal verbs, verbs indicating wishes, suggestions, recommendations and other constructions.

Nilimwambia aende.		↔	Nilimwambia asiende.
ni-li-mw-ambi(a)	a-end(a)-e		ni-li-mw-ambi(a)	a-si-end(a)-e
1S.SBJ-PST-3S.ANIM.OBJ-tell	3S.ANIM.SBJ-go-SBJV		1S.SBJ-PST-3S.ANIM.OBJ-tell	3S.ANIM.SBJ-NEG-go-SBJV
"I told her to go." / "I told her she should go." "I told him to go." / "I told him he should go."			"I told her not to go." / "I told her she should not go." "I told him not to go." / "I told him he should not go."

Tutawaomba wakae.		↔	Tutawaomba wasikae.
tu-ta-wa-omb(a)	wa-ka(a)-e		tu-ta-wa-omb(a)	wa-si-ka(a)-e
1P.SBJ-FUT-3P.ANIM.OBJ-request	3P.ANIM-sit-SBJV		1P.SBJ-FUT-3P.ANIM.OBJ-request	3P.ANIM-NEG-sit-SBJV
"We will ask them to sit."			"We will ask them not to sit."

Ninataka uje.		↔	Sitaki uje.		↔	Ninataka usije.
ni-na-tak(a)	u-j(a)-e		si-tak(a)-i	u-j(a)-e		ni-na-tak(a)	u-si-j(a)-e
1P.SBJ-PRES-want	2S.SBJ-come-SBJV		NEG.1P.SBJ-want-NEG.PRES	2S.SBJ-come-SBJV		1P.SBJ-PRES-want	2S.SBJ-NEG-come-SBJV
"I want you to come."			"I don't want you to come."			"I want you not to come."

An equivalent of "must" or "have to" is formed with ni lazima "it is necessary", or simply lazima "necessarily" followed by the subjunctive.

(Ni) lazima ulale			↔	Si lazima ulale			↔	(Ni) lazima usilale
(ni)	lazima	u-lal-e		si	lazima	u-lal-e		(ni)	lazima	u-si-lal-e
(COP)	necessary	2S.SBJ-sleep-SBJV		NEG.COP	necessarily	2S.SBJ-sleep-SBJV		(COP)	necessary	2S.SBJ-NEG-sleep-SBJV
"You must sleep." "It is necessary that you sleep."				"You don't have to sleep." "It is not necessary that you sleep."				"You must not sleep." "It is necessary that you not sleep."

The subjunctive may be used on its own with a second person subject as a more polite alternative to an imperative. As there is no negative imperative, forms beginning with usi- and msi- may also be interpreted as such.

Toka.	↔	Utoke.	↔	Usitoke.
Ø-tok(a)-Ø		u-tok(a)-e		u-si-tok(a)-e
IMP-got.out-2S.SBJ		2S.SBJ-go.out-SBJV		2S.SBJ-not-go.out-SBJV
"Go away." "Get lost."		"You should go away!" "Can you (please) go away!"		"Don't go away!" "You should not go away!"

Situational

The situational, simultaneous or conditional tense is formed with the TAM prefix -ki-. This prefix may take stress and thus the extension -ku- does not appear with short verbs in the situational verb form.

There is, strictly speaking, no negative form of the situational, however, in conditional sentences, the relative verb form using -sipo- is quite close in meaning to a negative equivalent of -ki- and it will be given here as it may prove helpful. Note that the -ku- extension does appear with -sipo- as the -po-, like all relative syllables, is unable to be stressed.

Formation of the situational

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive situational	[SUBJ]ki___a	[SUBJ]ki___a	[SUBJ]ki___
	[SUBJ]ki[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]ki[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]ki[OBJ]___
negative situational (conditional only)	[SUBJ]sipo___a	[SUBJ]sipoku___a	[SUBJ]sipo___
	[SUBJ]sipo[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]sipo[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]sipo[OBJ]___

The situational verb form is used to indicate a simultaneous action or situation of subordinate importance that provides the temporal or contextual background for the main verb in the sentence. It is somewhat equivalent to the English conjunctions "if" and "when", but it also forms the equivalent of adverbial participle clauses. If needed for clarity or emphasis, a word meaning if, such as kama, ikiwa or endapo may be added to the beginning of the clause (which allows the speaker to choose a different TAM marker). The word ikiwa is itself the situational form of the verb -wa "to be", with the class 9 subject prefix i-, literally meaning on its own essentially "if it is".

(Kama) ukitaka kuja, utapaswa kulipa.
(kama)	u-ki-tak(a)	ku-j(a)	u-ta-pas(a)-w(a)	ku-lip(a)
(if)	2S.SBJ-SITU-want	INF(CL15)-come	2S.SBJ-FUT-behoove-PASS	INF(CL15)-pay
("if")	"if you want"	"to come"	"you will be behooved"	"to pay"
"If you want to come, you will have to pay."

(Kama) usipotaka kuja, hutapaswa kulipa.
(kama)	u-si-po-tak(a)	ku-j(a)	hu-ta-pas(a)-w(a)	ku-lip(a)
(if)	2S.SBJ-NEG-CL16.REL-want	INF(CL15)-come	NEG.2S.SBJ-FUT-behoove-PASS	INF(CL15)-pay
("if")	"if you don't want"	"to come"	"you will not be behooved"	"to pay"
"If you don't want to come, you will not have to pay."

Wanajeshi wawili walikuja wakikimbia, wote wawili wakibeba upanga.
wanajeshi	wa-wili	wa-li-ku-j(a)	wa-ki-kimbia	w-ote	wa-wili	wa-ki-beb(a)	upanga
soldiers(CL2)	CL2-two	CL2.SBJ-PST-EXT-come	CL2.SBJ-SITU-run	CL2-all	CL2-two	CL2.SBJ-SITU-carry	machete(CL11)
"soldiers"	"two"	"they came"	"(they) running"	"all"	"two"	"(they) carrying"	"machete"
"Two soldiers came running, both of them carrying a machete."

The situational may appear in compound progressive tenses.

Tulipofika, alikuwa akila kwa pupa haraka iwezekanavyo.
tu-li-po-fik(a)	a-li-ku-w(a)	a-ki-l(a)	kwa	pupa	haraka	i-wezekan(a)-vyo
1P.SBJ-PST-CL16.REL-arrive	CL1.SBJ-PST-EXT-be	CL2.SBJ-SITU-eat	INST	greed(CL9)	quickly	CL9.SBJ-be.possible-CL8.REL
"when we arrived"	"he was"	"(he) eating"	"with"	"greed"	"quickly"	"as it is possible"
"When we arrived, he was (in the middle of) eating greedily as quickly as possible."

Consecutive

The consecutive or narrative tense is formed with the TAM prefix -ka-. This prefix may take stress and thus the extension -ku- does not appear with short verbs in this form.

Formation of the consecutive

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive consecutive	[SUBJ]ka___a	[SUBJ]ka___a	[SUBJ]ka___
	[SUBJ]ka[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]ka[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]ka[OBJ]___

The consecutive tense is mainly used with the past tense -li- in narrating a sequence of events whereby -li- is used for the first verb and -ka- for subsequent verbs. It roughly carries the meaning "and then" and makes the use of na "and" or halafu / kisha "then" essentially redundant. Where context is clearly past, a narrative may also be begun with -ka-.

Alipomwona nyoka, alivua shati akalitupa juu ya nyoka akamkanyaga.
a-li-po-mw-on(a)	nyoka	a-li-vua	shati	a-ka-li-tup(a)	juu	y-a	nyoka	a-ka-m-kanyag(a)
CL1-PST-CL.16.REL-CL.1-see	snake(CL9)	CL1-PST-take.off	shirt(CL5)	CL1-CNSC-CL5-throw	top(CL9)	CL9-GEN	snake(CL9)	CL1-CNSC-CL1-trample
"when he saw it"	"snake"	"he took off"	"shirt"	"he then threw it (the shirt)"	"on top"	"of"	"snake"	"he then trampled it (the snake)"
"Upon seeing the snake, he took off his shirt, threw it over the snake and then trampled on it."

There is, strictly speaking, no negative form of the situational, however the negative subjunctive may occasionally be used for this purpose.

Niliduwaa, nisiwe na la kusema.
ni-li-duwa(a)	ni-si-w(a)-e	na	l-a	ku-sem(a)
1S-PST-be.dumbfounded	1S-NEG-be-SBJV	COM	CL5-GEN	INF(CL15)-say
"I was dumbfounded"	"and then was not"	"with"	"(word) of"	"to say"
"I was dumbfounded and (then) didn't have anything to say."

Expeditous

The consecutive marker -ka- may combine with the final -e of the subjunctive mood to form the expeditous.

Formation of the expeditous

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive expeditous	[SUBJ]ka___e	[SUBJ]ka___e	[SUBJ]ka___
	[SUBJ]ka[OBJ]___e	[SUBJ]ka[OBJ]___e	[SUBJ]ka[OBJ]___

The expeditous verb form is essentially the same as the subjunctive in meaning except with the added meaning of "and" or "then" introduced by the consecutive marker -ka-.

Tulimpeleka kule Misri akawe balozi wetu katika nchi hiyo.
tu-li-m-pelek(a)	kule	Misri	a-ka-w(a)-e	balozi	w-etu	katika	nchi	hiyo
1P-PST-CL1-send	DEM.CL17.DIST	Egypt	CL1-CNSC-be-SBJV	ambassador(CL5)	CL1-GEN.1P	in	country(CL9)	DEM.CL9.MED
"we sent him"	"there"	"Egypt"	"that he then become"	"ambassador"	"our"	"in"	"country"	"that aforementioned"
"We sent him to Egypt (for him) to be our ambassador in that country."

The word akawe in the above sentence could also be replaced with ili awe "in order that he be" or simply the subjunctive awe "that he be" (or "(for him) to be" in more natural contemporary English), but the -ka- added to this word emphasises his becoming an ambassador immediately following his being dispatched.

The expeditous verb form is frequently used with imperatives (and "polite imperatives" in the subjunctive), again indicating roughly "and then".

Uende mbele yangu ukawe mkamilifu.
u-end(a)-e	mbele	y-angu	u-ka-w(a)-e	m-kamilifu
2S.SBJ-go-SBJV	front.side(CL9)	CL9-GEN.1S	2S.SBJ-CNSC-be-SBJV	CL1-perfect
"go"	"in front"	"of me"	"and be"	"perfect"
"Go in front of me and be perfect."

The subject prefix may be dropped when used with the imperative.

Nenda kamwambie ukweli.
nenda	(u-)ka-mw-ambi(a)-e	ukweli
go.IMP.2S	(2S.SUBJ-)CNSC-CL1.OBJ-tell-SBJV	truth(CL14)
"go"	"and tell her"	"truth"
"Go and tell her the truth!"

Irrealis

There are two irrealis verb forms, one which may be called "present irrealis" (marked by -nge-) and one which may be called "past irrealis" (marked by -ngali-). The standard means of forming the negative is to use -si- in the TAM slot, forming -singe- and -singali-. Some speakers, however, particularly in speech influenced by southern dialects, negate the irrealis verb forms instead by using the negative subject concords.

Formation of the present irrealis

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive present irrealis	[SUBJ]nge___a	[SUBJ]ngeku___a	[SUBJ]nge___
	[SUBJ]nge[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]nge[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]nge[OBJ]___
negative present irrealis	[SUBJ]singe___a	[SUBJ]singeku___a	[SUBJ]singe___
	[SUBJ]singe[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]singe[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]singe[OBJ]___
negative present irrealis (variant)	[NEG.SUBJ]nge___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ngeku___a	[NEG.SUBJ]nge___
	[NEG.SUBJ]nge[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]nge[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]nge[OBJ]___

Formation of the past irrealis

	Common Verb	Short Verb	Loan verb
positive past irrealis	[SUBJ]ngali___a	[SUBJ]ngaliku___a	[SUBJ]ngali___
	[SUBJ]ngali[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]ngali[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]ngali[OBJ]___
negative past irrealis	[SUBJ]singali___a	[SUBJ]singaliku___a	[SUBJ]singali___
	[SUBJ]singali[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]singali[OBJ]___a	[SUBJ]singali[OBJ]___
negative past irrealis (variant)	[NEG.SUBJ]ngali___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ngaliku___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ngali___
	[NEG.SUBJ]ngali[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ngali[OBJ]___a	[NEG.SUBJ]ngali[OBJ]___

Both the irrealis forms are used to discuss hypothetical situations, generally within conditional sentences. Both the protasis (if-clause) and apodosis (then-clause) may have an identical structure with the protasis appearing first. In order to disambiguate or emphasise, such as if the clauses are in the reverse order, a word for "if" (kama, ikiwa, endapo) may precede the protasis.

Ningependa kukuona tena.
ni-nge-pend(a)	ku-ku-on(a)	tena
1S.SBJ-IRR-like/love	INF(CL15)-2S.OBJ-see	again
"I would like"	"to see you"	"again"
"I would like to see you again"

(Ikiwa) ningekuwa ndege, ningekunyea kichwa.
(i-ki-w(a))	ni-nge-ku-w(a)	ndege	ni-nge-ku-ny(a)-e(a)	kichwa
(CL9-SITU-be)	1S-IRR-EXT-be	bird(CL9)	1S.SUBJ-IRR-2S.OBJ-defecate-APPL	head(CL7)
"if (it is)"	"if I were"	"bird"	"I would defecate on you"	"head"
"If I were a bird, I would defecate on your head."

(Kama) ningalijua hiyo, nisingalikuja hapa.
(kama)	ni-ngali-ju(a)	hiyo	ni-si-ngali-ku-j(a)	hapa
(if)	1S-IRR.PST-know	DEM.CL9.MED	1S-NEG-IRR.PST-EXT-know	DEM.CL16.PROX
("if")	"if I had known"	"that aforementioned"	"I would not have come"	"here"
"If I had known that, I would not have come here!"

In the usage of many speakers, the distinction between the present and past irrealis forms is somewhat blurred so that the final example above may commonly be spoken as "(Kama) ningejua hiyo, nisingekuja hapa." which, speaking strictly, could be interpreted as "If I knew that I would not come here."

Relative verb forms

There are five verb templates which can be used to create relative clauses. The three simple tenses PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE may only be relativised in their positive sense. In addition to these, there is a tenseless positive form and a tenseless negative form. For all other verb forms, relative clauses must be formed by a periphrastic relative using amba-.

The following table shows the structure of the verb templates, notably the positioning of the relative morpheme, here labelled "REL". Note in the following table that the marker for the future tense is -taka- with a following relative morpheme, rather than the simple -ta- which occurs otherwise.

	Tense, Aspect, Mood	Subject	TAM	Relative	Object / Extention	Verb STEM	Final Vowel	Relative
Indicative Basic Tenses	Past	SUB	-li-	REL	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—
	Present	SUB	-na-	REL	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—
	Future	SUB	-taka-	REL	(OBJ) / EXT	STEM	-a	—
Relative Forms	Tenseless Relative	SUB	—	—	(OBJ)	STEM	-a-	REL
	Tenseless Negative Relative	SUB	-si-	REL	(OBJ)	STEM	-a	—

The relative morpheme takes one of many forms to indicate the class of its referent. The relative morpheme for each class is identical to its combining pronominal form which appears with na- and ndi-. Aside from class 1, the form of each can be achieved by placing o (the so-called "o of reference")

Class	Relative Morpheme
1	-ye
2	-o
3	-o
4	-yo
5	-lo
6	-yo
7	-cho
8	-vyo
9	-yo
10	-zo
11	-o
14	-o
15	-ko
16	-po
17	-ko
18	-mo

'To be'

In most languages with a verbal copula, the equivalent of the verb 'to be', it is this verb that exhibits the most irregularity and the most diversity of form. Swahili is no exception. Outside of the present tense, the Swahili verb -wa (infinitive kuwa) is almost entirely regular, inflecting as other short verbs do. In the present tense, however, there is a distinction made between a copular of essence versus a copula of state or location. This is similar to the distinction between ser and estar in Spanish and Portuguese, however, in Swahili, this distinction largely vanishes outside of the present tense. There are also irregular relativised forms for the present tense as well as an irregular unique continuative form.

Essence

Invariable copula

The invariable copula ni is used, in the present tense, to express that two noun phrases (the subject and complement) refer to one and the same referent:

• Mimi ni Bahati. "I am Bahati."
• Dunia ni sayari tunapoishi. "Earth is the planet we live on."

It is also used to express membership of a class (a subset relationship):

• Wao ni wanasayansi. "They are scientists."
• Jua ni nyota. "The sun is a star."
• Miti ni mimea mikubwa. "Trees are large plants."

It may also introduce an adjective or equivalent phrase describing a relatively permanent characteristic.

• Babake ni mrefu sana. "Her father is very tall."
• Mji huyu ni mdogo. "This town is small."
• Misuli yako ni kama chuma. Your muscles are like steel.

The negative form si can be used in all the same situations with a negative meaning:

• Wewe si Bahati. "You are not Bahati."
• Jua si sayari. "The sun is not a planet."
• Pomboo si wadogo. "Dolphins are not small."

Because ni and si do not provide any information about the subject, personal pronouns, usually only necessary for emphasis, frequently appear. Compare the typical use of irregular present tense with that of the entirely regular past tense where the subject prefixes make personal pronouns redundant and used only for emphasis.

		Present		Past
Number	Person	Positive	Negative	Positive	Negative
Singular	1st	mimi ni	mimi si	nilikuwa	sikuwa
		I am	I am not	I was	I was not
	2nd	wewe ni	wewe si	ulikuwa	hukuwa
		you are	you are not	you were	you were not
	3rd	yeye ni	yeye si	alikuwa	hakuwa
		s/he is	s/he is not	s/he was	s/he was not
Plural	1st	sisi ni	sisi si	tulikuwa	hatukuwa
		we are	we are not	we were	we were not
	2nd	nyinyi ni	nyinyi si	mlikuwa	hamkuwa
		you are	you are not	you were	you were not
	3rd	wao ni	wao si	walikuwa	hawakuwa
		they are	they are not	they were	they were not

A sentence begun with ni or si without an overtly marked pronoun is typically translated with the subject "it" in English. With plural context, "they" may be meant.

• Ni asubuhi sasa. "It's morning now."
• Ni vigumu kulala. "It's difficult to fall asleep."
• Ni wanene sana. "They're very fat."

On occasion, the invariable copula may follow regular forms of kuwa in other tenses. In the following example, the ni could also be left out.

Kwa kweli, huyo alikuwa ni kondoo wa kukodiwa.
kwa	kweli	huyo	a-li-ku-w(a)	ni	kondoo	w-a	ku-kodi-iw(a)
INST	true	DEM.MED.CL1	CL1-PST-EXT-be	COP	sheep(CL9)	CL1-GEN	INF(CL15)-rent-PASS
"by"	"true"	"that, aforementioned"	"s/he was"	"is"	"sheep"	"of"	"being rented"
"In truth, that was a rented sheep."

Emphatic copula

The emphatic or focusing copula ndi- places its subject in focus, emphasising that it is that particular referent and not another. The emphatic copula takes suffixes matching the person and noun class of the referent. These suffixes are the same as those which combine with na. In the first and second persons, the third person suffixes are frequently used.

Person / Class	Positive	Negative	Translation
1st sing.	ndimi, ndiye	simi, siye	"it is (not) I"
2nd sing.	ndiwe, ndiye	siwe, siye	"it is (not) you"
1st plur.	ndisi, ndio	sio, (sisi)*	"it is (not) we"
2nd plur.	ndinyi, ndio	sinyi, sio	"it is (not) you"
1	ndiye	siye	"it is (not) s/he"
2	ndio	sio	"it is (not) they"
3	ndio	sio	"it is (not) it"
4	ndiyo	siyo	"it is (not) they"
5	ndilo	silo	"it is (not) it"
6	ndiyo	siyo	"it is (not) they"
7	ndicho	sicho	"it is (not) it"
8	ndivyo	sivyo	"it is (not) they", "it is (not) so"
9	ndiyo	siyo	"it is (not) it"
10	ndizo	sizo	"it is (not) they"
11	ndio	sio	"it is (not) it"
14	ndio	sio	"it is (not) it"
15	ndiko	siko	"it is (not) it"
16	ndipo	sipo	"it is (not) (t)here"
17	ndiko	siko	"it is (not) around (t)here"
18	ndimo	simo	"it is (not) in (t)here"

* The form sisi "it is not us" is not frequently used as it is identical to the pronoun sisi "we", "us". Instead it is virtually always replaced with sio.

Forms of the emphatic copula are frequently equivalent to a definite phrase in translation and are followed by relative verb forms as in the following example:

Mimi ndiye niliyewaona kwanza.
mimi	ndi-ye	ni-li-ye-wa-on(a)	kwanza
1S	FOC.COP-CL1	1S-PST-REL.CL1-CL2-see	first
"I"	"am the one"	"(I) who saw them"	"first"
"I'm the one who saw them first."

Compare the above with the non-emphatic version of the same sentence:

Niliyewaona kwanza.
ni-li-wa-on(a)	kwanza
1S-PST-CL2-see	first
"I saw them"	"first"
"I saw them first."

Location

Location is indicated in the present tense by prefixing the subject concord to one of the locative clitics -po, -ko and -mo. The class 1 subject concord a- (negative: ha-) is however replaced with yu- (negative: hayu-).

The three clitics, -po, -ko and -mo correspond to the locative classes 16, 17 and 18 respectively and indicate "definite", "indefinite" and "internal" location respectively. For example, wapo means essentially "they are here/there", wako means "they are around here/there" and wamo means "they are in here/there".

	Positive			Negative
Person / Class	Definite	Indefinite	Internal	Definite	Indefinite	Internal
1st sing.	nipo	niko	nimo	sipo	siko	simo
2nd sing.	upo	uko	umo	hupo	huko	humo
1st plur.	tupo	tuko	tumo	hatupo	hatuko	hatumo
2nd plur.	mpo	mko	mmo	hampo	hamko	hammo
1	yupo	yuko	yumo	hayupo	hayuko	hayumo
2	wapo	wako	wamo	hawapo	hawako	hawamo
3	upo	uko	umo	haupo	hauko	haumo
4	ipo	iko	imo	haipo	haiko	haimo
5	lipo	liko	limo	halipo	haliko	halimo
6	yapo	yako	yamo	hayapo	hayako	hayamo
7	kipo	kiko	kimo	hakipo	hakiko	hakimo
8	vipo	viko	vimo	havipo	haviko	havimo
9	ipo	iko	imo	haipo	haiko	haimo
10	zipo	ziko	zimo	hazipo	haziko	hazimo
11	upo	uko	umo	haupo	hauko	haumo
14	upo	uko	umo	haupo	hauko	haumo
15	kupo	kuko	kumo	hakupo	hakuko	hakumo
16	papo	pako	pamo	hapapo	hapako	hapamo
17	kupo	kuko	kumo	hakupo	hakuko	hakumo
18	mpo	mko	mmo	hampo	hamko	hammo

Under a very strict prescriptive viewpoint, the classes should not be mixed, for instance nipo hapa "I am here" is regarded as correct but niko hapa "I am here" is regarded as incorrect. There is, however, a broad tendency for many speakers to prefer forms with -ko over the other forms, such that niko hapa is very common.

Inchoative verbs

A large number of Swahili verbs indicate the process of entering a state. For example, the verbs kulewa ("to get drunk"), kuchoka ("to become tired") and kuchelewa ("to become late") describe the respective changes to state from "not drunk" to "drunk", from "not tired" to "tired" and from "not late" to "late". These may be regarded as inherently inchoative verbs. There is, however, no equivalent stative verb for each one that would describe being in the state of having completed that process, i.e. "to be [state]". Stative meanings such as "be drunk", "be tired" and "be late" are formed by using these inchoative verbs with the perfect marker -me- (or, in the negative, -ja-). Many words which are present in English as adjectives have no corresponding adjective in Swahili and are expressed by means of inchoative verbs.

Examples

Base verb	Inchoative	Stative
-fa	Anakufa. "He dies / is dying."	Amekufa. "He is dead." (= "He has died.")
-choka	Ninachoka. "I become / am becoming tired."	Nimechoka. "I am tired." (= "I have become tired.")
-vaa	Tunavaa viatu. "We put / are putting on shoes."	Tumevaa viatu. "We are wearing shoes." (= "We have put on shoes.")
-kasirikia	Ananikasirikia. "He gets / is getting angry with me."	Amenikasirikia. "He is angry with me." (= "He has become angry with me.")
-jaa	Bafu inajaa. "The bath fills / is filling up."	Bafu imejaa. "The bath is full." (= "The bath has filled up.")
-funguliwa	Mlango unafunguliwa. "The door is (being) opened."	Mlango umefunguliwa. "The door is open." (= "The door has been opened.")
-iva	Chakula kinaiva. "The food cooks / is cooking."	Chakula kimeiva. "The food is cooked."
-simama	Wanasimama. "They get / stand / are getting up."	Wamesimama. "They are standing up / on their feet." (= "They have stood up.")
-keti	Anaketi. "She sits / is (in the process of) sitting down."	Ameketi. "She is sitting down / seated." (= "She has sat down.")

When using inchoative verbs, compound tenses must be used to talk about states occurring at times other than the present.

Base verb	Inchoative	Stative
-lala	Wanalala "They fall / are falling asleep."	Wamelala. "They are asleep / sleeping." (= "They have fallen asleep.")
	Walilala. "They fell asleep."	Walikuwa wamelala. "They were asleep / sleeping." (= "They had fallen asleep.")
	Watalala. "They will fall asleep."	Watakuwa wamelala. "They will be asleep / sleeping." (= "They will have fallen asleep.")
-amka	Ninaamka "I wake / am waking up."	Nimeamka. "I am awake." (= "I have woken up.")
	Niliamka. "I woke up."	Nilikuwa nimeamka. "I was awake." (= "I had woken up.")
	Nitaamka. "I will wake up."	Nitakuwa nimeamka. "I will be awake." (= "I will have woken up.")
-fa	Wanakufa "They die / are dying."	Wamekufa. "They are dead." (= "They have died.")
	Walikufa. "They died."	Walikuwa wamekufa. "They were dead." (= "They had died.")
	Watakufa. "They will die."	Watakuwa wamekufa. "They will be dead." (= "They will have died.")

Derived verbs

New verbs are readily created from simple verbs by attaching various suffixes (often called extensions) to the stem to get different shades of meaning by altering grammatical voice. Note that the final -a of common and short verbs only appears at the very end of the verb and is dropped before any suffixes.

Reciprocal

The reciprocal suffix -ana adds the meaning "each other" to the verb.

• -penda "to love" → -pendana "to love each other"
• -andikia "to write to" → -andikiana "to write to each other"
• -pata "to get, receive" → -patana "to reconcile"
• -piga "to hit" → -pigana "to fight", "to hit each other"

The subject of a reciprocal verb is generally plural, however a singular subject may be used, often followed by na and an additional referent.

Wanaume walipigana mitaani.
wanaume	wa-li-pig(a)-an(a)	mitaa-ni
neighbours(CL2)	CL2-PST-hit-RECIP	streets-LOC(CL16/17/18)
"men"	"they fought each other"	"on the streets"
"The men fought (each other) on the streets."

Nilipokuwa mvulana, nilipigana na yeyote aliyenikasirisha
ni-li-po-ku-w(a)	mvulana	ni-li-pig(a)-an(a)	na	ye-y-ote	a-li-ye-ni-kasirish(a)
1S-PST-CL16.REL-EXT-be	boy(CL1)	CL2-PST-hit-RECIP	COM	CL1.REL-CL1-ALL	CL1-PST-CL1.REL-1S-make.angry
"when I was"	"boy/young man"	"I fought (each other)"	"with"	"anyone"	"who made me angry"
"When I was a young man, I got in fights with anyone who made me angry."

Applicative

The applicative suffix, frequently called the 'prepositional extension' in learning resources, adds one of various meanings to a verb usually represented by a preposition in English such as "to", "for", "in", "with" or even "from". The form of the applicative suffix varies, depending on vowel harmony and the reappearance of the /l/ which disappeared from an older stage of Swahili between the final two vowels.

Applicative suffix on common verbs:

	Consonant-final root (Consonant + -a)	Vowel-final root (Vowel + -a)
Preceding syllable has /a/, /i/, /u/ or /m̩/	-ia	-lia
Preceding syllable has /e/ or /o/	-ea	-lea

• -andika "to write" → -andikia "to write to"
• -zungumza "to converse" → -zungumzia "to converse about", "to discuss"
• -nunua "to buy" → -nunulia "to buy for"
• -soma "to read" → -somea "to read to/for"
• -kojoa "to urinate" → -kojolea "to urinate on/in/against"

Loan verbs usually form their applicative forms by removing their final vowel and replacing it with either -ia or -ea according to the same rules.

• -rudi "to return" → -rudia "to return to"
• -samehe "to forgive" → -samehea "to forgive (sb.) for (sb.)"
• -hesabu "to count", "to consider" → -hesabia "to count for", "to ascribe"

Causative

The causative suffix is added to verbs to indicate a person or thing causing another person or thing to perform the action of the original verb. There are a few ways in which causatives are formed. The most common and productive causative suffix is -isha, which follows the same rules of vowel harmony as the applicative suffix.

Applicative suffix on common verbs:

	Consonant-final root (Consonant + -a)	Vowel-final root (Vowel + -a)
Preceding syllable has /a/, /i/, /u/ or /m̩/	-isha	-lisha
Preceding syllable has /e/ or /o/	-esha	-lesha

• -hama "to move (away)" → -hamisha "to banish; transfer; displace"
• -chelewa "to be late" → -chelewesha "to delay; make late"
• -soma "to read; study" → -somesha "to teach"
• -kopa "to borrow" → -kopesha "to lend"
• -weza "to be able" → -wezesha "to enable"
• -enda "to go" → -endesha "to make go; drive (a vehicle)"
• -vaa "to put on (clothes); dress (oneself)" → -valisha "to dress (somebody else)"
• -ongea "to speak" → -ongelesha "to make speak"

Short verbs have no preceding vowel so have to be learnt individually.

• -fa "to die" → -fisha "to put to death; kill; destroy"; cf. the underived verb -ua "to kill"
• -la "to eat" → -lisha "to feed (someone/something)"
• -nywa "to drink" → -nywesha "to give (someone/something) water to drink"

Loan verbs, except those ending in -au, remove their final vowel before adding these suffixes.

• -fahamu "to understand" → -fahamisha "to make understand"
• -rudi "to return; go back; come back" → -rudisha "to return (something); give back; bring back"
• -tii "to obey" → -tiisha "to make obey; subdue; dominate; subjugate"
• -furahi "to become happy" → -furahisha "to make happy; gladden"
• -starehe "to relax" → -starehesha "to entertain; put at ease"
• -sahau "to forget" → -sahaulisha "to make forget"

These suffixes may also be added to verbs and nouns to create causative verbs from them.

• imara "strong" (adjective) → -imarisha "to strengthen (something); fortify"
• -fupi "short" (adjective) → -fupisha "to shorten (something)"
• tayari "ready" (adjective) → -tayarisha "to prepare (something); to make ready"
• bora "better" (adjective) → -boresha "to improve (something); to make better"
• safi "clean" (adjective) → -safisha "to clean (something)"
• sababu "cause; reason" (noun) → -sababisha "to cause"
• lazima "obligation" (noun) → -lazimisha "to force; compel"
• orodha "list" (noun) → -orodhesha "to list; to make a list"
• huzuni "sadness" (noun) → -huzunisha "to make sad; sadden"
• hakika "certainty" (noun) → -hakikisha "to make sure; make certain; assure"

There is a less common causative suffix -iza or -eza which appears with some words. Often there is more than derivation from the same word, sometimes with different meanings.

• -penda "to like; love" → -pendeza "to please; be nice; be attractive"; cf. -pendesha "to cause to like/love"
• -lipa "to pay" → -lipiza "to take vengeance/revenge on; to make (somebody) pay (figuratively)"; cf. -lipisha "to charge a fee; to make (somebody) pay (literally)"

There is another means of deriving causative verbs and which results from an earlier -y- in the language. This -y- suffix combined with consonants and changed their pronunciation, palatalising or "softening" them. The following table outlines the common sound changes.

consonant	becomes:
-t-	-sh-
-k-
-l-	-z-
-n-	-ny-
-p-	-fy-
-w-	-vy-

In many cases, more than one of these suffixes may be used to derive different verbs from a single verb, formed by various means. In some cases, such as with -onyesha "to show", two causative suffixes may appear together.

• -ona "to see" → -onya "to warn"; cf. -onyesha "to show" (also: -onesha)
• -ogopa "to fear; be afraid/scared of" → -ogofya "to frighten; to be scary"; cf. -ogopesha "to frighten; to be scary" (no difference in meaning)
• -pona "to heal; to get better; to recover" (intransitive) → -ponya "to heal (somebody); to make recover"; cf. -ponyesha "to heal (somebody); to make recover" (no difference in meaning)
• -pita "to pass" → -pisha "to give way; make room for; allow to pass"; cf. -pitisha "to make pass"
• -lala "to lie down; fall asleep" → -laza "to house; provide with accommodation; lay sb. down; admit (somebody to hospital)"; cf. -lalisha "to put (somebody) to bed"
• -lewa "to get drunk/inebriated" → -levya "to intoxicate" (of a drug); cf. -lewesha "to get (somebody) drunk"

Verbs that end with -ka very frequently exchange this to -sha to form the causative, however this is much less common when the preceding syllable contains e or i.

• -amka "to wake up" (oneself) → -amsha "to wake (somebody) up"
• -chemka "to boil" (intransitive) → -chemsha "to boil (something); to make boil" (the m in this word is syllabic, derived from earlier "-mu-", so the e does not belong to the preceding syllable)
• -waka "to shine, to catch fire" → -washa "to set on fire; light; switch on; start (e.g. a car)"
• -choka "to become tired" → -chosha "to tire; be tiring; be tiresome; be boring"
• -kumbuka "to remember" → -kumbusha "to remind"
• -andika "to write" → -andikisha "to make write"
• -cheka "to laugh" → -chekesha "to make laugh; amuse; be funny"

Because most of the word-final sequences of more than one vowel come from the deletion of an l that was present in an earlier stage of the language (and often preserved in many dialects and related languages), many verbs which today end in a sequence of two vowels are made by (removing the final -a) and adding -za. This -z- results from the palatalisation ("softening") process outlined above. which was applied to the -l- in these verbs. The -l- was subsequently lost but the -z- was not.

• -tangaa "to become widely known" → -tangaza "to announce; proclaim; publicise"
• -kataa "to refuse" → -kataza "to forbid"; cf. -katalisha "to make (somebody) refuse"
• -tembea "to (go for a) walk" → -tembeza "to take for a walk; to walk (e.g. a dog)"
• -kimbia "to run (away from)" → -kimbiza "to chase (away); pursue"
• -jaa "to fill; become full" → -jaza "to fill; make full"

Passive

The passive suffix is generally -wa.

• -jenga "to build" (whence Jenga) → -jengwa "to be built"
• -sema "to say" → -semwa "to be said"
• -danganya "to deceive" → -danganywa "to be deceived"

Verb stems that end with l or either of the semivowels w or y (but not ny as that is a single consonant written with two letters, as illustrated by -danganywa above) take a suffix -iwa; if the preceding syllable contains e or o, it will be -ewa instead.

• -pwaya "to pound" → -pwayiwa "to be pounded"
• -chovya "to immerse" → -chovyewa "to be immersed"
• -doya "to investigate" → -doyewa "to be investigated"
• -gawa "to share; divide" → -gawiwa "to be shared; be divided"
• -tawala "to govern; rule" → -tawaliwa "to be governed; be ruled"

Verbs whose ending in one of the front vowels plus a, (ie. the sequences -ea and -ia) usually simply add -wa.

• -ambia "to tell (someone)" → -ambiwa "to be told" (of someone)
• -tegemea "to rely on" → -tegemewa "to be relied on"
• -zuia "to prevent" → -zuiwa "to be prevented"

A few words of this group, however, add -lewa (after an e) or -liwa (after i), resulting from the earlier .

• -tia "to put in" → -tiliwa "to be put in"
• -lea "to bring up; raise" → -lelewa "to be brought up, raised"
• -pokea "to receive" → -pokewa / -pokelewa "to be received" (both alternatives possible)

As Swahili does not distinguish between the sequences /ua/ and /uwa/ or /oa/ and /owa/, the passive ending -wa would be inaudible on verbs, so the -liwa and -lewa endings are used instead.

• -oa "to get married" (of a man) → -olewa "to get married" (of a woman)
• -toa "to emit; publish; add; subtract; remove" → -tolewa "to be emitted; be published; be added; be subtracted; removed" (These verbs are auto-antonyms!)
• -nunua "to buy" → -nunuliwa "to be bought"

Note that the verb -ua "to kill" has an irregular passive form: -uawa, although the regular -uliwa is occasionally used.

The Kiunguja dialect, specifically the variant of it spoken in Zanzibar City, which has been made the standard dialect, goes a step further than many other dialects, requiring also that all verbs ending in -aa be passivised with the suffix -liwa even though the difference between /ɑɑ/ and /ɑwɑ/ is perfectly distinct.

• -zaa "to give birth to; sire" → -zaliwa "to be born" (dialectically also -zawa)
• -vaa "to put on (clothing)" → -valiwa "to be put on"
• -kaa "to sit; stay; reside" → -kaliwa "to be inhabited; be occupied; be settled; be sat upon; be stayed in"

The short verbs have passive forms that must be learnt separately. In each case, the passive form is one syllable longer and falls into the category of common verbs and thus does not receive the extention -ku- anywhere in its conjugation.

• -la "to eat" → -liwa "to be eaten"
• -nywa "to drink" → -nywewa "to be drunk"
• -pa "to give to" → -pewa "to be given; to receive"
• -nya "to shit; drop (rain)" → -nyewa "to be shat; be dropped"
• -cha "to fear; revere" → -chiwa "to be feared; revered"

Most loan-verbs simply add -wa.

• -hitaji "to need" → -hitajiwa "to be needed"
• -kodi "to rent; hire" → -kodiwa "to be rented; be hired"
• -samehe "to forgive" → -samehewa "to be forgiven"
• -dai "to claim" → -daiwa "to be claimed"

If a loan-verb ends with a consonant followed by -u, this u becomes an i

• -laumu "to blame" → -laumiwa "to be blamed"
• -jaribu "to try" → -jaribiwa "to be tried"

Loan-verbs which end in -au add -liwa

• -sahau "to forget" → -sahauliwa "to be forgotten"

Verbs ending in -uu lose one u and replace it with -liwa.

• -nukuu "to copy; transcribe; transliterate" → -nuku-liwa "to be copied; be transcribed; be transliterated"

The agent in a sentence with a passive verb does not need to be included in the sentence. The passive verb, however, does explicitly allude to the existence of an agent, in contrast to the mediopassive below. When the agent is included in the sentence, it is introduced by the preposition na, which is here the equivalent of the English "by", although in other contexts it is more usually equivalent to "and" or "with".

Mediopassive

The mediopassive suffix is added to a transitive verb in order to promote its object to the role of subject without the implication of an agent. The form of the suffix involves ends in -ka and generally the harmonic i or e before it, although this may be dropped in verbs with a vowel final root; alternatively, the lost l of final vowel combinations may reappear and act as a buffer for the harmonic i or e.

Mediopassive suffix on common verbs

	Consonant-final root (Consonant + -a)	Vowel-final root (Vowel + -a)
Preceding syllable has /a/, /i/, /u/ or /m̩/	-ika	-ka, -lika
Preceding syllable has /e/ or /o/	-eka	-ka, -leka

• -vunja "to break (something)" → -vunjika "to break" (intransitive)
• -pika "to cook (something)" → -pikika "to cook" (intransitive)
• -elewa "to understand (something)" → -eleweka "to be understood"
• -sikia "to hear" → -sikika "to be heard; be audible"
• -kaa "to sit; stay; inhabit" → -kalika "to be inhabited; be inhabitable"
• -zoea "to get used to; grow accustomed to" → -zoelika "to become customary"

As with the other derivational suffixes (or "extensions"), loan verbs generally lose their final vowel before adding -ika or -eka according to vowel harmony rules, The exceptions are those ending in -au which use -lika'.

• -haribu "to spoil (something); ruin; destroy" → -haribika "to spoil; get spoiled; get ruined; get destroyed"
• -sahau "to forget" → -sahaulika "to cook" (intransitive)
• -kebehi "to ridicule; make fun of" → -kebehika "to get ridiculed; get made fun of"

In learner materials, the mediopassive suffix generally erroneously described as the "stative extension" despite the fact that the resulting verbs do not generally fulfil the requirements stative: namely that they describe unchanging states. For example, the mediopassive verb -vunjika "to break; go to pieces" contrasts with its source verb -vunja "to break; make go to pieces", not in the quality of being either stative or dynamic — both are dynamic, describing a process that changes over time — but in that the subject of -vunjika is equivalent to the object of -vunja, and the subject of -vunja is completely absent from a clause with -vunjika. In this respect, mediopassive verbs are the same as passive verbs, however they are distinguished by their incompatibility with any mention of an agent. Compare the following examples.

	Active	Passive	Mediopassive
	Juma alivunja dirisha.	Dirisha lilivunjwa (na Juma).	Dirisha lilivunjika.
	"Juma broke the window."	"The window was broken (by Juma)."	"The window broke."
	Polisi walikata umeme.	Umeme ulikatwa (na Polisi).	Umeme ulikatika.
	"The police cut the power."	"The power was cut (by the police)."	"The power cut/went out."

Active transitive verb (dynamic):
Juma alivunja dirisha.
Juma	a-li-vunj(a)	dirisha
[male name]	CL1-PST-break(TR)	(CL5)window
"Juma"	"s/he broke"	"window"
"Juma broke the window."

Passive transitive verb (dynamic):
Dirisha lilivunjwa (na Juma).
dirisha	li-li-vunj(a)-w(a)	(na Juma)
(CL5)window	CL5-PST-break(TR)-PASS	(COM [male name])
"window"	"it was broken"	("by Juma")
"The window was broken (by Juma)."

Mediopassive verb (dynamic):
Dirisha lilivunjika.
dirisha	li-li-vunj(a)-ik(a)
(CL5)window	CL5-PST-break(TR)-MEDIOPASS
"window"	"it broke"
"The window broke."

Mediopassive verbs often have the appearance of being stative when used in the perfect. However, this is a function of the perfect, which focuses on the present relevance of a past action, rather than a function of the mediopassive itself. For example, the sentence "Dirisha limevunjika," means either "The window has broken," or "The window is broken." What is being said is that the window broke in the past, but that the effects of this action are still relevant in the present. The verb itself, -vunjika, does not describe the state of being broken, but rather the dynamic process of changing from "whole; in tact" to "broken; in pieces". The perfect -me- here indicates that we are concerned with the state after the dynamic process.

Suffix stacking

Suffixes can be stacked upon each other to make quite long verb stems with specific meanings. The passive suffix must always be last in Swahili.

• -andika "to write" → -andikwa "to be written"
• -andika "to write" → -andikisha "to cause to write" → -andikishwa "to be caused to write"
• -andika "to write" → -andikia "to write to" → -andikiwa "to be written to"
• -andika "to write" → -andikia "to write to" → -andikiana "to write to each other" → -andikianisha "to cause to write to each other" → -andikianishwa "to be caused to write to each other"

Here is another rather more implausible example:

• -la "to eat"

→ -lika "to be edible"

→ -likia "to be edible to"

→ -likiana "to be edible to each other"

→ -likianisha "to cause to be edible to each other"

→ -likianishwa "to be caused to be edible to each other"