Verbs: To Be, To Have
In Swahili the verb for “to be” is somewhat irregular, and the verb “to have” is an extension of “to be”. The verb “to be” is <kuwa> and the verb “to have” is <kuwa na> (if you recall, <na> above can mean “and”. It can also mean “with” or “too”; as well as “by means of” but that comes later)
Present tense
In the present tense, positive indicative, “to be” is <ni> in all concords.
So:
<Mimi ni> “I am”
<Yeye ni> “S/he is”
<Paka ni> “The large cat is”
In the present tense, negative indicative, “to be” is <si> in all concords.
So:
<Sisi si> “We are not”
<Wao si> “They are not”
<Jitu si> “The giant is not”
In the present, positive indicative <kuwa na> follows this pattern: concord+na. In CL1, the normal verb conjugations for the various persons is necessary.
So:
<Nina> “I have”
<Tuna> “We have”
<Paka lina> “The large cat has”
In the negative, the present tense for “to have” follows negative concord. The pattern is: NEG+concord+na
So:
<Sina> “I do not have”
<Hatuna> “We don’t have”
<Paka halina> “The big cat doesn’t have”
Swahili also has verbs for “in/at a place”. These verbs are also extensions of <kuwa>. There are three of them, and in the present tense they follow the same pattern as “to have” (there is one difference. I’ll go over it).
These verbs are: <kuwapo>, <kuwako> and <kuwamo>
<Kuwapo> means something along the lines of “to be here, there, be somewhere close and likely seeable”
<Kuwako> means something like “to be there, placed there, near, at, by, on”
<Kuwamo> means something akin to “to be inside a place, on top of something”
<Kuwapo> and <kuwako> both have a generalness to them, whereas <kuwamo> is much more definite. <Kuwako> refers to indefinite locations, and is also often used with questions.
Examples:
<Uko wapi?> “Where are you?”
<Upo msikitini> “You are at the Mosque”
<Umo msikitini> “You are inside the Mosque”
(
<wapi> “where”; <-ni> “locative form.” The locative form changes the CL to CL17, regardless of the original class. CL17 concord is <ku-/kw->)
CL1
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Nipo niko nimo / sipo siko simo
Upo uko umo / hupo huko humo
Yupo yuko yumo / hayupo hayuko hayumo
The 3ps is not
*apo etc. but
yupo. This change is most common in the present tense of the location verbs, but can pop up in other places (such as in the title these lessons). The other usage will be explained later.
CL2
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Tupo tuko tumo / hatupo hatuko hatumo
Mpo mko mmo / hampo hamko hammo
Wapo wako wamo / hawapo hawako hawamo
CL3 and 4
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Upo uko umo / haupo hauko haumo
Ipo iko imo / haipo haiko haimo
CL5 and 6
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Lipo liko limo / halipo haliko halimo
Yapo yako yamo / hayapo hayako hayamo
The Past
The past tense returns to the normal patterns we have already learned.
Examples:
<Nilikuwa> “I was”
<Nilikuwa na> “I had”
<Nilikuwapo> “I was here”
<Nilikuwako> “I was there”
<Nilikuwamo> “I was inside”
This is the same for the past negative. Remember that the negative past infix <-ku-> can be stressed, and therefore takes the place of the infinitive <ku->
<Sikuwa> “I wasn’t”
<Sikuwa na> “I didn’t have”
<Sikuwapo> “I wasn’t here”
<Sikuwako> “I wasn’t there”
<Sikuwamo> “I wasn’t in there”
The Future
Again, the future tense follows the same lines as the past, and as other verbs.
<Joka litakuwa> “The large snake will be”
<Joka litakuwa na> “The large snake will have”
<Joka litakuwapo> “The large snake will be here”
<Joka litakuwako> “The large snake will be there”
<Joka litakuwamo> “The large snake will be inside”
Because the infix <-ta-> cannot be stressed, even in the negative, the infinitive <ku-> is still necessary.
<Joka halitakuwa> “The large snake will not be”
<Joka halitakuwa na> “The large snake will not have”
<Joka halitakuwapo> “The large snake will not be here”
<Joka halitakuwako> “The large snake will not be there”
<Joka halitakuwamo> “The large snake will not be inside”
The Perfect
<Kuwa> follows the predictable pattern here as well.
<Mmekuwa> “You all have been”
<Mmekuwa na> “You all have had”
<Mmekuwapo> “You all have been here”
<Mmekuwako> “You all have been there”
<Mmekuwamo> “You all have been inside”
The negative infix <-ja-> can be stressed, so the infinitive <ku-> is not necessary.
<Hamjawa> “You all have not been yet”
<Hamjawa na> “You all have not had yet”
<Hamjawapo> “You all have not been here yet”
<Hamjawako> “You all have not been there yet”
<Hamjawamo> “You all have not been inside yet”
Note:
Some speakers of Swahili conjugate the placement verbs with an <-e-> in place of <-a-> before the placement suffix. So some people will say <nilikuweko> instead of <nilikuwako>. Largely this is up to the speaker’s preference. I learned it with the <-a->, so that’s what I stick with.
Also, some speakers retain the infinitive form in the negative perfect, example: <sijakuwa> instead of <sijawa>. Although the form without the infinitive is technically correct, this too is up to the individual speaker.