Originally posted by: machieng https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/37158662
Hi all! This is another installment of extra notes for you! This is a lot of information, and will probably make more sense to learners more advanced in the course; if you're just starting out, this may be a bit difficult to follow. If you're not comfortable with verb tenses and how they change in the negative, I recommend reviewing this post first. I also recommend taking your time when reviewing this
Transitive verbs -nywa (drink), -la (eat), -pa (give)
A prefix/infix is always needed for it to make sense, i.e. they never stand on their own (e.g. 'tumela' or 'tumenywa' do not exist). This prefix/infix will be one of 2 things; either '-ku-' or an object infix.
- If the object is a person/living being (applies to kupa), the verb prefix/infix will always be the object infix (see example 3 below). For the other transitive verbs (-la, -nywa), object infixes are mostly used to reference a particular object(s), so for general objects, 'ku' is more commonly used
- if the object is in the 2nd person, singular (wewe), the object infix it's still '-ku-' (see example 4)
- for imperative commands, the prefix 'Ku-' is retained e.g. \"Kula!\" (\"Eat!\"), \"Kunyweni!\" (\"Drink!\")
Subject | Object (Concord singular/plural) | With -ku- | With object infix | Translation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sisi | Chai (I/I) | Tunakunywa chai | Tunainywa chai | We are drinking (the) tea |
Yeye | Mayai (Li/Ya) | Anakula mayai | Anayala mayai | She/he is eating (the) eggs |
Wewe | Sisi (Ni/Tu) | Does not apply | Umetupa maji | You have given us water |
Mimi | Wewe (Ku/Wa) | Does not apply | Nitakupa zawadi | I will give you a gift |
Nyinyi | Keki (I/Zi) | Kuleni keki! | Does not apply | Eat (the) cake(s)! |
The same rules apply for -mesha, -nge, -singe and the relatives -o and -ye
- Tumeshakunywa chai: We have already drunk tea (OR Tumeshainywa chai)
- Tungekunywa chai tungechelewa: If we we were to drink tea we would be late (OR Tungeinywa chai)
- Tusingekunywa chai tusingechelewa: If we weren't to drink tea we wouldn't be late (OR Tusingeinywa chai tusingechelewa)
- Chai anayokunywa ni moto: The tea that she/he is drinking is hot (OR Chai anayoinywa ni moto)
- Anayekunywa chai ni mgeni: The person/one who is drinking tea is a guest (OR Anayeinywa chai ni mgeni)
The -ku- may or may not be dropped for the tenses in the sentences below. It's more common to drop the '-ku-', though, especially for negative past tense in the 3rd person, where ordinarily the 'ku' would show up twice (see example 3)
Condition | Sentence | Translation |
---|---|---|
Negative present | Hatunywi/Hatukunywi chai | We are not drinking tea |
Negative immediate past | Hatujanywa/Hatujakunywa chai | We have not drunk tea |
Negative past | Haku nywa chai* | She/she didn't drink tea |
Subjunctive present | Tunywe/Tukunywe chai | We should drink tea |
Conditional present -ki- | Tukinywa/Tukikunywa chai | If we drink tea (or while we drink tea) |
Habitual present | (Sisi) hunywa/hukunywa chai | We (usually) drink tea |
Narrative -ka- | Tulikunywa kahawa, kisha tukanywa/tukakunywa chai | We drank coffee, then we drank tea |
the -ku-
here is the marker for the negative past. You can say 'hakukunywa, but it's uncommon.
Intransitive verbs: -fa (die), -ja (come), -wa (be)
These verbs typically don't involve objects, and as such will never carry an object prefix/infix.
Things to note that apply to all the monosyllabic verbs:
- For present tense (-na-), you can exclude 'ku' and only have the subject prefix and the verb stem. Like before, if you choose to exclude 'ku' you must also exclude the present tense infix (see example 1 below); \"wanaja\" does not exist
- If your sentence is not in present tense and you want to exclude 'ku', an auxiliary verb is needed. In example 4 below, 'alikuwa' is the auxiliary verb. Otherwise, past or future tenses will retain 'ku' (See example 5)
- Alternatively, you can still retain the infix \u2018-ku-\u2019.
Subject | With -ku- | Without \u2018-ku-\u2019 | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
Wao | Wageni wanakuja kesho | Wageni waja kesho | The guests are coming tomorrow |
Yeye | Atakuja kesho | Does not apply | She/He will come tomorrow |
Wao | Wanyama wanakufa zizini | Wanyama wafa zizini | Animals are dying in the pen |
Yeye | Yesu alikuwa akufe kisha afufuke | Yesu alikuwa afe kisha afufuke | Jesus was to die, then resurrect |
Yeye | Jirani yao alikufa mwezi uliopita | Does not apply | Their neighbour died last month |
Yeye | Mwajiriwa hukuja saa moja | Mwajiriwa huja saa moja | The employee comes (in) at seven o'clock |
This is also true for negative present tense:
(these are the above sentences, negated)
With -ku- | Without '-ku-' |
---|---|
Wageni hawakuji kesho | Wageni hawaji kesho |
Hatakuja kesho | Does not apply |
Wanyama hawakufi zizini | Wanyama hawafi zizini |
Yesu hakuwa akufe kisha afufuke | Yesu hakuwa afe kisha afufuke |
Jirani yao hakukufa mwezi uliopita | Jirani yao hakufa mwezi uliopita |
Mwajiriwa hakuji saa moja | Mwajiriwa haji saa moja |
Again, the 'ku' is the marker for negative past in example 5
The verbs \"kuwa\" (to be) and \"kuwa na\" (to have) are covered in [this post]