“Who”: The tensed relative/referential concords
Use these to say “The person who comes from Melbourne”.
- The person comes from Melbourne: Mtu anatoka Melbourne
- The person who comes from Melbourne: Mtu anayetoka Melbourne
- The person who came from Melbourne: Mtu ameyetoka Melbourne
That little “ye” is a referential concord.
Rules
- Put the referential concord after the tense marker
- You can use this for more complex tenses, like me (perfect)
- For negatives, the tense marker changes to si.
Here are the referential concords for the major classes:
| Class | M/Wa and people, animals | M/Mi | Ji/Ma | Ki/Vi | N | U |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concord | ye/o | o/yo | lo/yo | cho/vyo | yo/zo | o |
Examples of referential concords:
| English sentence | Noun | Class & concord | Swahili sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| The person who comes from Australia | mtu (person) | n-class, ye | Mtu anayetoka Australia |
| The coffee that you made | kahawa (coffee) | n, ye | Kahawa uliyotengeneza |