The Swahili Language. Verbs
Swahili verbs are often given in the stem form in dictionaries.
Two examples of verb stems are 'lala' meaning 'sleep' and 'sema' meaning speak. Various markers are then added or prefixed to the verb stem to change the meaning. One such prefix is ku which is equivalent to the english infinitive or 'to' form of the verb.
So:
ku + verb stem gives the infinitive.
'kulala' means to sleep
'kusema' meas'to speak'
Verbs in Swahili must end in a suffix and this is shown with the verb 'kujua' meaning to know (verb stem 'jua').
ku (verb prefix)
ju (verb stem)
a (suffix)
The suffix isn't always 'a' and verbs of Arabic origin (see History of Swahili) end in 'e', 'i' or 'u'.
Different verb prefixes alter the meaning of the verb in different ways - for example by changing the tense. For example,
me + verb stem gives the idea of a perfect tense.
It is important to be aware that there is not an exact correlation between tenses in English and Swahili).
na + verb stem gives the present continuous and an example using the Swahili word 'nuana' meaning to buy is ninanuana.
Subject of the Sentence
Swahili has a very elegant system used to indicate the Subject (and Object) of a sentence. This is carried out using Subject Prefix's or markers which are attached (prefixed) to the verb - Swahili is an Agglutinative Language.
The M/Wa noun class is used as an example to illustrate this in practice. The Subject Prefix's for this class are as follows (these differ from noun class to noun class):
ninanuana
unanuana
ananuana
The Subject Prefix is attached to the verb stem. 'nuana' is the Swahili word for 'buy' :
Subject Prefix
Ni
U
A
Tu
M
Wa
I
You (Singular)
He/She
We
You (Plural)
They
I buy
You buy
He/She buys
In other words:
Subject Prefix | Tense Marker | Verb Stem.
There are also separate personal pronouns.
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