Verb extensions
There are a few situations where you modify a verb’s ending. We met one of these earlier with object prefixes.
“I’ll wake you up”: adding sh or z to cause someone to do something.
You can modify verbs to make them “causative”, making someone do something.
Rules
- Add an -ish- or an -esh- before the last vowel of a word
- Basically, consider the new verb an independent verb
- Irregulars: some change the final consonant to sh or z. The most common of these are
- amka (to wake up) –> amsha (to wake somebody up)
- kumbuka (remember) –> kumbusha (to remind)
- chemka (to boil) –> chemsha (to boil something)
- jaa (to be full) –> jaza (to fill)
- jua (to sleep) –> julisha (to introduce)/ inform
Examples of the causative
| English sentence | Verb | Causative verb | Swahili sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| I will charge you a fee | -lipa (pay) | -lipisha | Nitakulipisha |
| The teacher made the children read./ The teacher taught the children | -soma (read) | -somesha | Mwalimu aliwasomesha watoto. |
| I woke her up early. | -amka (to wake up) | -amsha | Nimemwamsha mapema. |
| Please clean the floor. | -safi (clean) | -safisha (to clean) | Tafadhali safisha sakafu. |
| I need to confirm something. | -hakika (certainty) | -hakikisha | Nahitaji kuhakikisha kitu. |
| Remind me later! | -kumbuka (remember) | -kumbusha (remind) | Nikumbushe baadae! |
| I drive (a car) every day. | -enda (to go) | -endesha (to drive) | Ninaendesha gari kila siku. |
“The pizza was cooked by me”: Passive Voice “wa” extension
Passive voice is like changing the active sentence “the child cooks pizza” to the passive sentence “the pizza is cooked by the child”.
In Swahiili, you do this by adding a suffix to the verb: -wa, -liwa, and lewa and using the word na for by. The one you use depends on the root of the verb. (Note: It’s similar to object prefixes.)
Here are the rules for passive voice:
| Root verb last syllable | Example verbs | Base of last syllable | Passive voice ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| consonant + vowel | pata (-ta) penda (-da) | (any) | -wa |
| Ending in two vowels | tumia (-ia) | i, a, u | -liwa |
| oa (-oa) | e, o | -lewa |
Examples:
| Verb | Active sentence + meaning | Passive verb | Passive sentence + meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -uza (to sell) | Watauza ticketi asubuhi. (They will sell the tickets in the morning.) | -uzwa (to be sold) | Tiketi zitauzwa asubuhi. (The tickets will be sold in the morning.) |
| pima (to test) | Mwuguzi alipima mgonjwa. (The nurse tested the patient.) | -pimwa (to be tested) | Mgonjwa alipimwa na mwuguzi. The patient was tested by the nurse. |
| nunua (to buy) | Mwanafunzi alinunua vitambaa. (The student bought the cloth) | -nunuliwa (to be bought) | Vitambaa vilinunuliwa na mwanafunzi. The cloth was bought by the student. |
| oa (to marry) | Mvulana alioa msichana. (The boy married the girl.) Note: In Swahili culture and language, to “marry” is done by a male, to a woman. | -olewa (to be married) | Msichana aliolewa na mvulana. The girl was married by the boy. |
| fungua (to open) | Muuzaji atafungua duka. (The shopkeeper will open the shop.) | -funguliwa (to be opened) | Duka litafunguliwa. The shop will open (be opened). |
| funga (to close) | Watafunga bekari karibuni. (They’re going to close the bakery soon.) | -fungwa (to be closed) | Bekari itafungwa karibuni. |
For example:
- Active: The child cooks pizza = mtoto anapika piza.
- Passive: The pizza is cooked by the child = piza unapikwa na mtoto
“With each other”: the -na suffix
Some verbs can take a -na suffix to modify them to mean “with each other”.
| Original verb | Modified verb with -na ending | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| -ona (to see) | kuonana (to see each other) | Tutaonana kesho! (We’ll see each other tomorrow!) |
| -oa (to marry) | kuoana (to marry each other) | Walitaka kuonana. (They wanted to get married.) |
| -badilisha (to change something) | -badilishana (to exchange) | Umebadilishana pesa na watu wengi? (Did you exchange money with many people?) |