Originally posted by: machieng https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/37396011
This is part 2 of the 'KU' notes (here)
-wa (be)
Here are the forms of the verb in different tenses:
- this verb is a state of being, so present continuous tense does not apply
- in present simple tense, the verb is just ni
e.g. Yeye ni mwalimu - She/He is a teacher
This is typically the translation for am (I am - Mimi ni), is (She is - Yeye ni) and are (They are - Wao ni). Because the verb in this form has no subject prefix, you must include the subject pronoun. This also applies in present habitual tense.
- in the negative, 'ni' becomes 'si'
- in present habitual tense, the verb is just huwa i.e.
Wao huwa wavivu - They are (usually) lazy.
- in the negative, 'huwa' changes format, where the prefix 'hu-' is replaced by the subject prefix in the negative, and '-wa' becomes '-wi'. Note that because it takes on the subject prefix, unlike in the affirmative form, the subject pronoun is excluded:
Mimi-Sisi | Wewe-Nyinyi | Yeye-Wao |
---|---|---|
Siwi mvivu - Hatuwi wavivu | Huwi mvivu-Hamwi wavivu | Hawi mvivu-Hawawi wavivu |
- in past tense, the verb is formatted as
subject prefix-past tense infix-*kuwa*
i.e.
Mama alikuwa sokoni - Mother was at the market
Wao walikuwa wanafunzi wangu - They were my students
- in the negative, they adopt the same subject prefixes as any other verb in the negative e.g.
Wao hawakuwa wanafunzi wangu - They were not my students
- in future tense, the verb is similarly formatted as
subject prefix-future tense infix-*kuwa*
i.e.
Anna atakuwa mwimbaji - Anna will be a musician
Nitakuwa Mombasa kesho - I will be in Mombasa tomorrow
- again, in the negative, the same prefixes as any other verb in the negative apply
-wa na (have)
- again, present continuous tense does not apply
- in present simple tense, the verb stem is simply '-na', and the formatting is
subject prefix-*na*
i.e.
Nina - I have, Una - You have, Wana - they have
- in the negative, the only thing that changes is the subject prefix - it switches to subject prefixes in the negative i.e.
Sina - I don't have, Huna - You don't have, etc
- in present habitual tense, the verb is just huwa na e.g.
Watoto wake huwa na vitabu vingi - Her/His children (usually) have many books
- in past and future tense, it's the exact same format as 'to be', with the addition of na, i.e.
subject prefix-tense infix-*kuwa na*
e.g.
Tutakuwa na wageni - We will have guests
Tulikuwa na wageni - We had guests
- the negatives in the present habitual, past and future tenses are all the same as '-wa', just add 'na'
the formats above generally apply to different situations e.g. -ngali-, -singali-