Common tenses: imperative, and “usually”
“I just got here” tense: -me, the perfect tense
This is the verb to express “I have done this”, or “I did this”. It’s always positive, never to express not having done, which is covered below.
For active verbs, it’s like having done something. For example, with “-soma”, to study:
| Tense | Swahili | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | ninasoma | I am studying. |
| Past | nilisoma | I studied. |
| Future | nitasoma | I will study. |
| Perfect | nimesoma | I have studied. |
“I’m wearing a hat”: The perfect “-me” tense as a state
The perfect tense is used to describe a state with some verbs. You read this as “I am” or “she is” rather than “I have”.
Examples of using the -me tense as a state:
| Verb | Present tense meaning | Perfect tense meaning |
|---|---|---|
| -vaa (to wear) | Anavaa kofia = He is putting on a hat | Amevaa kofia = He is wearing a hat |
| -simama (to stand) | Anasimama = She is (in the process of) standing up | Amesimama = She is standing |
| -kaa (to sit) | Ninakaa = I’m sitting, I’m staying | Nimekaa = I am seated |
| -vunjika | Kinavunjika = It breaks easily | Kimevunjika = it’s broken |
| -lala (to sleep) | Analala = She is falling asleep | Amelala = she is asleep |
| -potea (to be lost) | Ninapotea = we’re getting lost | Nimepotea = I’m lost |
“He was driving fast, but he won’t be driving again”: Perfect tense in the past or future.
You can combine kuwa (to be) and a verb to describe a past or future state,
Rules
- Use -ki- for past or future continuous, e.g.
- You can use -na- as well instead of -ki-. But -ki- is more common.
- Negate kuwa in the normal way.
| Sentence | Verb | Tense | Perfect tense meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| He was driving very fast | -endesha | Past continuous | Alikuwa akiendesha |
| They were gone | -kwenda | Past state | Walikuwa wamekwenda |
| I was seated | -kaa | Past state | Nilikuwa nimekaa. |
| Next year I will be studying in Nairobi. | -soma | Future continuous | Mwaka ujao nitakuwa nikisoma Nairobi. |
| If you call me at 11 o’clock, maybe I will be asleep. | -lala | Future state | Ukinipigia simu saa tano usiku pengine nitakuwa nimelala. |
| Next week I will be travelling | -safiri | Future continuous | Wiki ijayo nitakuwa nikisafiri. |
| He was not driving. | -endesha | Past continuous (negative) | Hakuwa akiendesha. |
| We will not be asleep | -lala | Future state. | Hatutakuwa tumelala. |
“I haven’t arrived (yet)” tense: -ja
This the negative perfect tense. It can also be read as “not yet”.
You use it to say something hasn’t taken place, or something hasn’t been done yet.
It’s often used with bado, which means still or yet.
For example, with -fika (to arrive):
| Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|
| mimi | sijafika | I have not arrived (yet). |
| wewe | hujafika | You have not arrived (yet). |
| yeye | hajafika | He has not arrived (yet). |
| sisi | hatujafika | We have not arrived (yet). |
| ninyi | hamjafika | You all have not arrived (yet). |
| wao | hawajafika | They have not arrived (yet). |
For monosyllabic verbs, you drop the ku. This is different to most other conjugations, where they keep it.
E.g. for negative perfect monosyllabic:
| Swahili | English |
|---|---|
| Bado sijala | I have not yet eaten |
| Bado hukuja | You haven’t come yet. |
| Bado hajafa. | He’s not dead (yet). |
“Come here”: The imperative tense
The imperative is used to command people to do things. Sit! Eat! etc.
The same tense is used to say things like “must”, “should” etc.
Rules
- When addressing many people, you add a ni on to the end, and if the last vowel was an a, change it to an e.
- For irregular, monosyllabic verbs, keep the ku stem (don’t remove it)
- When using an object concord, change the final a to an e.
- Three verbs have an irregular form: kuja, kwenda and kuleta. (all below)
Examples of the imperative tense in Swahili:
| English command | Verb | Imperative (sing.) | Imperative (pural) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read it! | -soma (to read) | isome! | Isomeni! |
| Go home! | -enda (to go) | Nenda nyumbani! (note: irregular) | Nendeni nyumbani! |
| Come to school! | -ja (to come) *monosyllabic | Njoo/kuja shuleni! (note: irregular) | Njoni/kujeni shuleni! |
| Take them! | -chukua (to take) | Zichukue! | Zichukueni! |
| Bring it! | -leta | lete! (note: irregular) | leteni! |
| Sit here! | -kaa (to sit) | Kaa hapa! | Kaeni hapa! |
| Eat a little! | -la (to eat) *monosyllabic | Kula kidogo! (note: keeps the stem ku) | Kuleni kidogo! |
| Remember! | -kumbuka (to remember) | Kumbuka! | Kumbukeni! |
“You should go now”: The optative/subjunctive
The optative works like the subjunctive in French or Spanish. It is used in phrases like “So that we could” or “It’s necessary that” — connecting two phrases, where the verb subject changes.
It has the same rules as the imperative, but with one difference: for monosyllabic verbs (like kuja, to come), you remove the stem marker (ku).
Examples of the optative/subjunctive:
| English phrase | Swahili verb transformation | Swahili |
|---|---|---|
| Please (lit. “I request that you”) open the door for me | fungua –> fungulie | Naomba unifungulie mlango |
| Please read the menu. | soma –> usome | Tafadhali usome orodha. |
| Call them so I may study with them. | -ita (to call) –> ite -soma (to study) –> some | Waite nisome nao |
| They gave us tickets so we could go in. | ingia (to enter) –> ingie | Walitupa tiketi tuingie. |
| He told me to come. | kuja –> je | Aliniambia nije. |
| Did they tell us to go today? | twenda –> twende | Je, walisema twende leo? |
To say “must” or “should” you use a modifier word, then this conjugation.
Examples of “must” or “should” using the optative:
| English concept | Swahili modifier | English example | Swahili example |
|---|---|---|---|
| “It’s better that” | Afadhali | It’s better that we go by bus. | Afadhali twende kwa basi. |
| “Must” or “Need to” | Lazima | They must go home. | Lazima waende nyumbani. |
| “I’d better” | Heri | I’d better go now. | Heri niende sasa. |
| “Have to” | Inabidi | We have to buy tickets. | Inabidi tukate tiketi. |
“You shouldn’t” or “Don’t”: The negative imperative/optative/subjunctive
Based on the optative above, but with a si in it.
- Place a -si- after the participant marker/subject concord.
Examples of the negative optative:
| Phrase | Verb | Positive |
|---|---|---|
| You should go | -enda | Uende |
| You shouldn’t go | -enda | Usiende |
| Don’t forget! (pl) | -sahau | Musisahau! |
| Don’t forget me! | -sahau | Usinisahau! |
| Don’t eat my bread, eat yours! | -kula | Usile mkate wangu, kula wako! |
| Tell them not to go! | -ambia, -enda | Waambia wasiende! |
“I usually wake up early”: Describing what you habitually do with “hu”
There’s a special tense for describing what you normally do. It’s actually one of the simplest tenses, because it doesn’t have a subject prefix.
Rules
- You have to use the subject pronoun, but not the marker.
- Put hu in front of the verb stem.
- Monosyllabic verbs: Remove the ku. This is the opposite of what usually happens for monosyllabic verbs.
| Verb/phrase | Swahili |
|---|---|
| -lala (to sleep) I sleep at 10 | Mimi hulala saa nne kila siku. |
| -nywa (note: monosyllabic) I drink coffee every morning | mimi hunywa kahawa kila asubuhi |