User:Janadume/sandbox/Swahili Grammar

Swahili Grammar is typical for a Bantu language, including a rich array of noun classes and agglutinativity, especially on its verbs. Swahili is, nevertheless, somewhat simpler than many other Bantu languages, possibly as a result of its former and continued use as a lingua franca.

Note on glossing

Glossing within this article is as per the Leipzig Glossing Rules with some additions.

• EXT "extention" refers to a verbal stem extention (ku- or kw-) which occurs in some situations with short verb stems.
• FV "final vowel" refers to the final vowel -a present in all native Bantu verbs, which on its own means nothing specific but can be swapped with other vowels to indicate changes in tense, voice, polarity etc.
• [+] "positive"
• [-] "negative"

Note that the hyphens in the glossed examples are for the purpose of glossing only and are not used when writing Swahili. For example, "freedom of speech" is written uhuru wa kusema, and not *uhuru w-a ku-sema as given below.

Nouns

As with other Bantu languages, Swahili nouns are grouped into noun classes (which may also be referred to as grammatical genders). Noun classes generally share many semantic features in common, although this is not a reliable means of determining to which class a noun belongs. A noun's class can frequently be identified by its prefix although nouns in a few classes frequently lack an identifying prefix. In other cases, a word may look like it belongs to one class when actually it belongs to another, such as mbwa 'dog', which may be mistaken for a class 1 noun (which would mean its plural would be in class 2 as *wabwa) but is actually a class 9 noun with the identical class 10 plural mbwa, or chembe 'particle', which looks like it may be a class 7 noun with the class 8 plural *vyembe although it too, is a class 9 noun with an identical plural.

In the following table, the number given to each noun class comes from the standard numbering of reconstructed proto-Bantu noun classes. This means that the noun classes given here can be directly compared with the noun classes of other Bantu languages. It also means that there are some missing numbers where Swahili lacks classes found in other Bantu languages.

#	Prefix	Suffix	Examples	Semantic tendencies
1	m-, mw-, mu-	-	mtu 'person', mwalimu 'teacher', mtoto 'child', mnyama 'animal', mdudu 'insect'	people, a few animals
2	wa-, w-	-	watu 'people', walimu 'teachers', watoto 'children', wanyama 'animals', wadudu 'insects'	Plural of class 1
3	m-, mw-, mu-	-	mti 'tree', mto 'river' , mkono 'hand/arm', mguu 'foot/leg', mwaka 'year', mwezi 'moon/month', mchana 'afternoon(s)/daytime(s)', musuli 'muscle', mwitu 'forest',mtama 'millet', mkeka 'mat', mkate 'bread', mjusi 'lizard', mkunga 'eel', moto 'fire', moshi 'smoke', moyo 'heart', mlima 'mountain', mlango 'door', mji 'town', mzinga 'beehive/cannon', mwavuli 'umbrella', msumari '(metal) nail', mfuo 'metal forging', mlio 'sound/cry', mpaka 'border', mwendo 'journey'	trees, plants, long thin things, time frames
4	mi-	-	miti 'trees', mito 'rivers', mikono 'hands/arms', miguu 'feet/legs', miaka 'years', miezi 'moons/months', misuli 'muscles', miitu 'forests', mikeka 'mats', mikate 'loaves of bread', mijusi 'lizards', mikunga 'eels', mioto 'fire', mioyo 'hearts', milima 'mountains', milango 'door', miji 'towns', mizinga 'beehives/cannons', miavuli 'umbrellas', misumari '(metal) nails', milio 'sounds/cries', mipaka 'borders', miendo 'journeys'	Plural of class 3
5	Ø-, ji-, j-	-	neno 'word', jicho 'eye', jino 'tooth', jiwe 'stone', jambo 'matter/affair', joka 'serpent/big snake'dragon, bwana 'sir', shangazi 'aunt', fundi 'craftsman', daktari 'doctor', kadhi 'judge', dirisha 'window', ziwa 'lake/bosom', bonde 'valley', taifa 'nation', anga 'sky/space', kundi 'group', kabila 'language/ethnic group/tribe', kaa 'charcoal', jongoo, jeshi 'army', daraja 'stairs/bridge', tawi 'branch', ua 'flower', tunda 'fruit', yai 'egg', tumbo 'stomach', bawa 'wing', wazo 'thought/idea', pigo 'stroke/blow', gomvi 'quarrel', shauri 'advice', penzi 'love', jibu 'answer', agano 'promise', gonjwa 'disease', nyoya 'animal hair/feather', pacha 'twin'	miscellaneous, augmentatives, fruit, loanwords
6	ma-, me-	-	maneno 'words', macho 'eyes', meno 'teeth', mawe 'stones', mambo 'matters/affairs', majoka 'serpents/big snakes/dragons', mabwana 'sirs', mashangazi 'aunts', mafundi 'craftsmen', madaktari 'doctors', makadhi 'judges', madirisha 'windows', maziwa 'lakes/milk', mabonde 'valleys', mataifa 'nations', makundi 'groups', makabila 'language/ethnic groups/tribes', majongoo 'millipedes', majeshi 'armies', madaraja 'bridges', matawi 'branches', maua 'flowers', matunda 'fruit', mayai 'eggs', matumbo 'stomachs', mabawa 'wings', mawazo 'thoughts/ideas', mapigo 'strokes/blows/hits', magomvi 'quarrels', mashauri 'advice', mapenzi 'love', majibu 'answers', maagano 'promises', mazungumzo 'conversation(s)', magonjwa 'diseases', manyoya 'fur/plumage', mapesa 'small change', marimba 'xylophone/marimba', mapacha 'twins', mali 'wealth', maridhawa 'abundance', malipo 'payment', maji 'water',	Plural of class 5, liquids and miscellaneous, collectives, plural of class 14 (rare)
7	ki-, ch-	-	kitabu 'book', kitu 'thing', kiti 'chair', kitoto 'infant', kivuli 'shadow', chumba 'room', chombo 'vessel', kifo 'death', kiota 'nest', chakula 'food/meal', kiatu 'shoe', chura 'frog/toad', kiziwi 'deaf person', kipofu 'blind person', kifaru 'rhinoceros', kiboko 'hippopotamus', kingugwa 'spotted hyena'	tools, diminutives
8	vi-, vy-	-	vitabu 'books', vitu 'things', viti 'chairs', vitoto 'infants', vivuli 'shadows', vyumba 'rooms',vyombo 'vessels', vifo 'deaths', viota 'nests', vyakula 'foods/meals', viatu 'shoes', vyura 'frogs/toads', viziwi 'deaf people', vipofu 'blind people', vifaru 'rhinoceroses', viboko 'hippopotamuses', vingugwa 'spotted hyenas'	Plural of class 7
9	Ø-, ny-, n-, m-	-	nyumba 'house', ndege 'bird/aeroplane', samaki 'fish', mbuzi 'goat', mama 'mother'	animals, kinship terms, loanwords
10		-	nyumba 'houses', ndege 'birds/aeroplanes', samaki 'fish', mbuzi 'goats', mama 'mothers', pesa 'money', nyuso 'faces', ndevu 'beard (hairs)', nyimbo 'songs', kuta 'walls', kucha 'fingernails', pande 'sides', nyavu 'nets', nyayo 'soles/footprints', nyua 'fences', teo 'winnowing baskets', tambi 'wicks/noodles', tepe 'stripes', nyuta 'bows', mbavu 'ribs', nyufa 'cracks', nywele '(mass of) hair'	Plural of class 9, plural of class 11
11	u-, w-, uw-	-	uso 'face', udevu 'beard hair', wimbo 'song', wali '(cooked) rice', ukuta 'wall', ukucha 'fingernail', upande 'side', wavu 'net', wayo 'sole/footprint', ua 'fence/yard', uteo 'winnowing basket', utambi 'wick', utepe 'stripe', uta 'bow', ubavu 'rib', ufa 'crack', unywele '(single) hair', unyoya 'feather', uvumbi 'grain of dust', ushanga 'bead'	uncountable, broad things, long things
14	u-, w-, uw-	-	ugonjwa 'sickness/disease', utu 'humanity', uhuru 'freedom', utoto 'childhood'	abstract nouns, "-ness"
15	ku-, kw-	-	kula 'to eat', kuandika 'to write', kwenda 'to go'	verbal nouns (infinitive/gerund)
16	-	-ni, -Ø	mahali/pahali/mahala/pahala '(at) a place'	LOCATION: exact
17			nyumbani '(at/from) home', Tanzania 'to/in/from Tanzania	LOCATION: approximate, path
18			chumbani 'into/in/out of a room', mikononi 'into/in/out of hands'	LOCATION: interior

Classes

Swahili noun classes are frequently described by their prefixes they take in singular and plural. For example, mtu 'person' has the plural form watu 'people', thus belonging with other nouns of this pattern to the "M-WA" class. Kitu 'thing' and its plural form vitu, likewise belong to the "KI-VI" class. While these class names are very easy for learners to remember, a more linguistically useful strategy is to use the numbering system for noun classes in Bantu languages which was devised by linguist Carl Meinhof. This system takes into account nouns with plural and singular forms in unexpected classes and can also be used to compare cross-linguistically with other Bantu languages. Proto-Bantu, the language from which all Bantu languages are descended, is believed to have had 22 noun classes, although no modern Bantu language preserves all of these. In standard Swahili, classes 12 and 13 are no longer present. Neither are those above 18. Classes 11 and 14 are now all but indistinguishable from one another.

Noun classes in Swahili up to 10 can be regarded as pairs, with the even numbers representing the plural class of the preceding odd number. Thus, class 2 forms the plural of class 1, class 8 forms the plural of class 7 etc. Classes with numbers higher than 10 are a little more irregular and may have no plural form, a plural form from a lower class, or may indicate gerunds or locations.

1 and 2 (M-WA)

Classes 1 and 2 are made up almost exclusively by nouns for people.

mtu	person	watu	people
mtoto	child	watoto	children
msichana	girl, young woman	wasichana	girls, young women
mvulana	boy, young man	wavulana	boys, young men
mgeni	guest, stranger, foreigner	wageni	guests, strangers, foreigners
mke	wife	wake	wives

There is a very small number of nouns for animals in this class:

mnyama	animal	wanyama	animals
mdudu	insect	wadudu	insects

Many nouns in this class are derived from another noun or a verb.

mpishi	cook	wapishi	cooks	from -pika 'to cook'
mwindaji	hunter	wawindaji	hunters	from -winda 'to hunt'
Mtanzania	Tanzanian person	Watanzania	Tanzanian people	from Tanzania 'Tanzania'
mkulima	farmer	wakulima	farmers	from -lima 'to cultivate'

When the stem of a noun begins with a vowel, the class one prefix is mw-. In the class 2 plural form, the m- is frequently simply dropped. This applies to all nouns beginning with mwana, which on its own means 'offspring' but when compounded essentially means person.

mwalimu	teacher	walimu	teachers
mwenzi	colleague, partner, friend	wenzi	colleagues, partners, friends
mwanafunzi	student, pupil, apprentice	wanafunzi	students, pupils, apprentices
mwanamke	woman	wanawake	women
mwanamume mwanaume	man	wanamume wanaume	men

Note that the plural form of mwanamke is wanawake, containing the plural form of mke 'wife'.

In other cases, the mw- is dropped and wa- added. Many of these cases derive from verbs.

mwokozi	saviour	waokozi	saviours	from -okoa 'to save'
Mwafrika	African person	Waafrika	African people	from Afrika 'Africa'
mwandishi	writer	waandishi	writers	from -andika 'to write'
mwangalifu	attentive person	waangalifu	attentive people	from -angalia 'to look'
mwimbaji	singer	waimbaji	singers	from -imba 'to sing'

Nouns whose stems begin with u may often be written with either mw- or mu-.

mwuguzi muuguzi	nurse	wauguzi	nurses
mwuaji muuaji	murderer	wauaji	murderers
mume	husband	waume	husbands

Genitive

The genitive, sometimes called "possessive" or "associative" is a construction involving two nouns in which the first noun, the "possessum" is indicated as being either owned by or in some way associated with the second noun, "the possessor". The possessor is introduced by the preposition -a, roughly equivalent to 'of', which takes a consonant prefix which agrees (i.e. changes according to) the noun class and animacy of the possessum. With the sole exception of class 1, these prefixes are identical to the verbal prefixes which occur before the aorist -a- prefix.

Noun Class	Genitive Prefix	Example			Meaning
		possessum	"of"	possessor
1)	w-	mwalimu	w-a	mtoto	the child's teacher
		teacher(1)	1-GEN	child(1)	("teacher of child")
2)	w-	walimu	w-a	mtoto	the child's teachers
		teachers(2)	2-GEN	child(1)	("teachers of child")
3)	w-	mguu	w-a	mwanaume	the man's foot
		foot(3)	3-GEN	man(1)	("foot of man")
4)	y-	miguu	y-a	mwanaume	the man's feet
		feet(4)	4-GEN	man(1)	("feet of man")
5)	l-	jina	l-a	mwanamke	the woman's name
		name(5)	5-GEN	woman(1)	("name of woman")
6)	y-	majina	y-a	wanawake	the women's names
		names(6)	6-GEN	women(2)	("names of women")
7)	ch-	chumba	ch-a	mazoezi	gym
		room(7)	7-GEN	exercise/s(6)	("room of exercise")
8)	vy-	vyumba	vy-a	mazoezi	gyms
		rooms(8)	8-GEN	exercise/s(6)	("rooms of exercise")
9)	y-	nyumba	y-a	dawa	pharmacy
		house/s(9/10)	9-GEN	medicine/s(9/10)	("house of medicine")
10)	z-	nyumba	z-a	dawa	pharmacies
		house/s(9/10)	10-GEN	medicine/s(9/10)	("houses of medicine")
11)	w-	wimbo	w-a	taifa	national anthem
		song(11)	11-GEN	nation(5)	("song of nation")
14)	w-	uhuru	w-a	ku-sema	freedom of speech
		freedom(14)	14-GEN	INF(15)-speak/say	("freedom of speaking")
15)	kw-	ku-soma	kw-a	bidii	diligent study / to study diligently
		INF(15)-study/read	14-GEN	diligence(9/10)	("studying of diligence")
16)	p-	miguuni	p-a	mwanaume	at the man's feet
		feet.place(16/17/18)	16-GEN	man(1)	("foot-place of man")
17)	kw-	nyumbani	kw-a	mwanamke	at the woman's house
		house.place(16/17/18)	17-GEN	woman(1)	("house-place of woman")
18)	mw-	chumbani	mw-a	msichana	in the girl's room
		room.place(16/17/18)	18-GEN	girl(1)	("room-place of girl")

Genitive with animate possessum

When the possessum in a genitive construction is an animate noun (referring to a person or an animal), the genitive prefix w- is generally used. This follows the trend in the rest of the language whereby animate nouns, regardless of their noun class, are handled syntactically as though they belonged to the class 1/2.

A notable exception is with the animate nouns of the class 9/10, which have a plural form which is identical to the singular. In genitive constructions, these nouns usually retain the y- and z- forms associated with their own noun class which results in fewer cases where there is ambiguity as to whether the noun is singular or plural. When these nouns refer to animals, they may use w- in the singular and z- in the plural.

Noun Class	Expected Prefix	Actual Prefix		Example			Meaning
				possessum	"of"	possessor
3)	w-	w-		mjusi	w-a	msituni	forest lizard
				lizard(3)	1-GEN	forest-place(16/17/18)	("lizard of forest-place")
4)	y-	w-		mijusi	w-a	msituni	lizards of the forest
				lizards(4)	2-GEN	forest-place(16/17/18)	("lizards of forest-place")
5)	l-	w-		daktari	w-a	wanawake	gynaecologist
				doctor(5)	1-GEN	women(2)	("doctor of women")
6)	y-	w-		madaktari	w-a	wanawake	gynaecologists
				doctors(6)	2-GEN	women(2)	("doctors of women")
7)	ch-	w-		kiongozi	w-a	chama	party leader
				leader(7)	1-GEN	party(7)	("leader of party")
8)	vy-	w-		viongozi	w-a	vyama	party leaders
				leaders(8)	2-GEN	parties(8)	("leaders of parties")
9)	y-	y-		mama	y-a	mvulana	the boy's mother
				mother(9/10)	9-GEN	boy(1)	("mother of boy")
10)	z-	z-		mama	z-a	mvulana	the boy's mothers
				mother(9/10)	10-GEN	boy(1)	("mothers of boy")

Genitive of personal pronouns

The personal pronouns have special genitive stems which are used with the same set of prefixes as the genitive preposition -a. For example:

	mama	y-angu	my mother
	mother(9/10)	9-GEN.1s	"mother of-me"
	viatu	vy-ako	your (sg.) shoes
	shoes(8)	8-GEN.2s	"shoes of-you"
	nyumba	z-ake	her/his houses
	house(9/10)	10-GEN.1s	"houses of-him/her"
	chumbani	mw-etu	in our room
	room.place(16/17/18)	18-GEN.1p	"room.place of-us"
	gari	l-enu	your (pl.) car
	car(5)	5-GEN.2p	"car of-you(pl.)"
	wazazi	w-ao	their parents
	parents(2)	2-GEN.3s	"parents Sof-them"

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns mark for person and number but not gender. Aside from wao 'they', all the full forms of personal pronouns involve a syllable reduplication. In the case of the second person plural, nyinyi, the variant ninyi is common. In certain circumstances, generally in informal speech when pronouns are unstressed, this reduplication is dropped. There are also notable variations present, such as mie for standard mimi.

With certain particles such as na 'and', 'with', when unstressed, a short form of the pronoun may be tacked onto the end causing the na to take the word stress.

The genitive forms require a prefix that agrees with the preceding noun, as outlined above in the section on the genitive construction.

The following table outlines the forms.

	Full form	"all of __"	Combined with na	Genitive
1st sg.	mimi	-	nami	-angu
2nd sg.	wewe	-	nawe	-ako
3rd sg.	yeye	-	naye	-ake
1st pl.	sisi	sote	nasi	-etu
2nd pl.	nyinyi / ninyi	nyote	nanyi	-enu
3rd pl.	wao	wote	nao	-ao

Swahili is a pro-drop language, with verbal slots for subject and object, meaning that, in situations where the pronoun does not need to be emphasised, it is simply omitted and the information it conveys left up to the verb. There are, however, some verbal constructions (such as the present tense copula ni, the present tense negative copula si and the habitual verb form with hu-) which do not allow subject marking and in these instances, pronouns appear.

In the first of the following examples, the verb does not indicate the grammatical person or number, necessitating the pronoun. In the second, the verb indicates the grammatical person and number, meaning that the pronoun is only used in order to emphasise "we".

	Sisi	ni	walimu.
	1p	COP	teachers(2)
	We are teachers.

	(Sisi)	tu-li-ku-w-a	walimu.
	1p	1p-PST-EXT-be-FV	teachers(2)
	We (we!) were teachers.

Demonstrative pronouns

Swahili's demonstrative pronouns come in three types, termed here "proximate", "medial" and "distal" although there is some controversy about what conditions their use, particularly that of the "medial" demonstratives. Some authors describe it as a three way distance distinction, with the proximate demonstratives being close to the speaker, the medial demonstratives being close to the listener and the distal demonstratives being far from both. Other authors describe the "medial" set as "referential", not specifying distance but referring back to something previously mentioned.

Noun class	Proximate	Medial	Distal
1 + animate sg.	huyu	huyo	yule
2 + animate pl.	hawa	hao	wale
3	huu	huo	ule
4	hii	hiyo	ile
5	hili	hilo	lile
6	haya	hiyo	yale
7	hiki	hicho	kile
8	hivi	hivyo	vile
9	hii	hiyo	ile
10	hizi	hizo	zile
11	huu	huo	ule
14	huu	huo	ule
15	huku	huko	kule
16	hapa	hupo	pale
17	huku	huko	kule
18	humu	humo	mule / mle

Verbs

Verb Types

Swahili verbs come in essentially three types which inflect slightly differently:

1. Long Bantu verbs
2. Short Bantu verbs
3. Foreign verbs

The long Bantu verbs are the largest group. They all end in -a which, in certain forms, changes to an -e (subjunctive) or an -i (present negative). Some examples of this group are -penda 'love/like', '-tazama 'watch' and -fundisha 'teach'.

Short Bantu verbs are a small group of verbs with a monosyllabic stem, such as -la 'eat', -nywa 'drink', -ja 'come' and -wa 'be'. Because they all end in the Bantu verbal suffix -a, the stem of each of these verbs is generally a single consonant, such as -l- 'eat'. The stem of drink is -nyw-, consisting of two consonants ('ny' + 'w' is /ɲw/). These verbs are extended with a prefixed -ku- in certain situations.

The group called 'foreign verbs' are recognisable because they do not end in -a. They are largely, but not exclusively of Arabic origin. Examples include -sahau 'forget', -ishi 'live' and -ripoti 'report', the latter of which comes from English, not Arabic. These verbs, lacking the -a suffix, do not have anything that can undergo the change to -i or -e that the other verbs have.

Additionally, there are the verbs -enda 'go' and -isha 'stop/finish' which are a somewhat borderline case. Although they are longer than the other short Bantu verbs and contain a vowel, they may behave as the short verbs, optionally taking the extention prefix -kw- in the same situations as the other short verbs take -ku-.

Infinitive

The infinitive of all Swahili verbs begins with ku- or, with a handful of verbs, kw-. For example: kuwa 'to be', kula 'to eat', kwenda 'to go' (or kuenda), kwanza 'to begin' (or kuanza), kwisha 'to end' (or kuisha), 'to stop', kuandika 'to write', kupika 'to cook', kupenda 'to like', 'to love'.

The negative form of the infinitive is formed with kuto-, for example kutopika 'not to cook'. This -to- cannot be stAoristThe aorist and thus triggers the extention morphemes appearance in the short verbs, such as kutokula 'not to eat', kutokuwa 'not to be' and kuto(kw)enda 'not to go'.

Dictionaries of Swahili generally list verbs using only the stem, with or without a preceding hyphen, so that all the verbs of the language are not arranged together according to alphabetical order. For example: -wa 'be', -la 'eat', -enda 'go', -anza 'begin', -isha 'end, stop', -andika 'write', -pika 'cook', -penda 'like, love'. Confusingly, however, some dictionaries and learning materials list the short verbs with their extention morpheme and a hyphen, such as -kula.

Verbal concord

Finite verb forms (with the exception of the infinitive and habitual forms) include a prefix indicating the subject of the verb by referencing, if animate, its number and person, or if inanimate, its noun class. There are also prefixes for objects which, in most situations, are not obligatory. Additional affixes can be used to turn the verb into a relative clause and these also depend on noun class and animacy. The forms are indicated in the following tables.

Verbal concord for animate participants

Person and number	Positive Subject [+]S	Pos. S. with loc. [+]SLOC	S. with Aorist SAOR	Negative Subject [-]S	Neg. Subj. with locative [-]SLOC	Object O	Relative syllable REL
1st singular	ni-		na-	si-		-ni-	-ye
2nd singular	u-		wa-	hu-		-ku-
3rd singular	a-	yu-	a-	ha-	hayu-	-m(w)-
1st plural	tu-		twa-	hatu-		-tu-	-o
2nd plural	m(w)-		mwa-	ham-		-wa- -(e)ni
3rd plural	wa-		wa-	hawa-		-wa-
Reflexive	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-ji-	N/A

Verbal concord by noun class

Noun Class	Positive Subj. / Obj. [+]S / O	S. with Aorist SAOR	Negative Subject [-]S	Relative syllable REL	Animacy
1 (3rd p.)	a- / m(w)-	a-	ha-	-ye	Animate
2 (3rd p.)	wa-	wa-	hawa-	-o
3	u-	wa-	hau-	-o	Inanimate
4	i-	ya-	hai-	-yo
5	li-	la-	hali-	-lo
6	ya-	ya-	haya-	-yo
7	ki-	cha-	haki-	-cho
8	vi	vya-	havi-	-vyo
9	i-	ya-	hai-	-yo
10	zi-	za-	hazi-	-zo
11	u-	wa-	hau-	-o
14
15	ku-	kwa-	haku-	-ko
16	pa-	pa-	hapa-	-po
17	ku-	kwa-	haku-	-ko
18	mu-, m-	mw-	hamu-, ham-	-mo

Tense, Aspect, Mood

Tense, aspect and mood (TAM) markers appear primarily in a slot after the subject and before any relative marker or object. A commonly used mnemonic is S-T-R-O-V-E, standing for Subject - Tense - Relative - Object - Verb - Extention. There is a large amount of interplay between TAM and polarity (positive or negative) and the marking of TAM may also extend to a changing of the final -a. Verbs which are loanwords from other languages, however, which are mostly from Arabic, may not end in -a and when this is the case, the ending does not change. The term tense will henceforth be used for simplicity to describe TAM combinations for the sake of simplicity, although it should be remembered that these are varying mixes of tense, aspect and mood.

Habitual

The habitual form of verbs HAB indicates a repeated or habitual action. It is formed with the prefix hu- which does not allow a preceding subject concord. For this reason, pronouns are needed to indicate the subject when this is not done by a noun. The syllable hu- is able to receive the word stress and thus the stem extention -ku- does not appear with short verbs.

There is no negative form of this TAM combination, however a fairly similar meaning can be achieved if necessary by preceding a present negative verb with huwa, which is the habitual form of -wa 'be'.

Positive	Negative
PRON hu-(O)-STEM-(a)	huwa [-]S-(O)-STEM-(i)
mimi hu(i)pika I cook (it) (habitually)	huwa si(i)piki as a rule, I don't cook (it)
wewe hu(i)la you eat (it) (habitually)	huwa hu(i)li as a rule, you don't eat (it)
wao hu(ni)sahau they forget (me) (habitually)	huwa hawa(ni)sahau as a rule, they don't forget (me)

Aorist

The following table shows the main verbal structures in regard to TAM-marking and other verbal forms. In the table, an initial hyphen shows where the subject concord appears. The negative marker ha- shown here interacts with the singular, animate subject concords (ha- + ni- = si-, ha- + u- = hu-, ha- + a- = ha-) the form of the final vowel is indicated. For verbs not ending in -a in the infinitive, this is absent. The underlined vowels in the table cannot be stressed and where they appear before a short verb stem, they trigger the stem extention -ku- to appear, which takes the stress.

	Positive	Negative
Infinitive	ku-a	kuto-a
Habitual	hu-a	huwa ha-/-i	The habitual prefix hu- cannot be preceded by a subject concord. It is thus frequently accompanied by pronouns.
Aorist	-a-	ha-/-i	The aorist prefix -a- causes collapse of the subject concord tu- > tw-, ki- > ch-, u- > w- etc.
Present Continuous	-na-a
Past	-li-a	ha-ku-a
Present Perfect	-me-a
Present Perfect Unexpected	-mesha-a	ha-ja-a
Future	-ta-a	ha-ta-a
Situational	-ki-a	-sipo-a
Consecutive	-ka-a	-
Irrealis present	-nge-	-singe-
Irrealis past	-ngali-	-singali-
Optative (Subjunctive)	-/-e	-si-e
Imperative (sg.)	-a
Imperative (pl.)	-eni

	Positive	Negative	Notes
Infinitive	ku-(O)-STEM-(a)	kuto-(O)-STEM-(a)
	ku(i)pika to cook (it)	kuto(i)pika not to cook (it)
	ku(i)la to eat (it)	kuto(i)la not to eat (it)
	ku(ni)sahau to forget (me)	kuto(ni)sahau not to forget (me)
Habitual	PRON hu-(O)-STEM-(a)	huwa [-]S-(O)-STEM-(i)	The negative habitual is replaced by a composed tense made up of the habitual of kuwa plus the present of the main verb.
	mimi hu(i)pika I cook (it) (habitually)	huwa si(i)piki as a rule, I don't cook (it)
	wewe hu(i)la you eat (it) (habitually)	huwa hu(i)li as a rule, you don't eat (it)
	wao hu(ni)sahau they forget (me) (habitually)	huwa hawa(ni)sahau as a rule, they don't forget (me)
Aorist	SAOR-(O)-STEM-(a)	[-]S-(O)-STEM-(i)	The aorist and present are not distinguished in the negative. ___ In the first person singular, in informal speech, the ni- prefix is often dropped from the present tense, causing it to be identical to the aorist.
	na(i)pika I cook (it) (at an indefinite time)	si(i)piki I don't cook (it)
	(wewe) wa(i)la you eat (it) (at an indefinite time)	hu(i)li You don't eat (it)
	(wao) wa(ni)sahau they forget (me) (at an indefinite time)	hawa(ni)sahau You don't forget (me)
Present (Progressive)	[+]S-na-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	[-]S-(O)-STEM-(i)
	nina(i)pika I cook (it)	si(i)piki I don't cook (it)
	unakula / unaila you eat / you eat it	hu(i)li You don't eat (it)
	wana(ni)sahau they forget (me)	hawa(ni)sahau You don't forget (me)
Past	[+]S-li-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	[-]S-ku-(O)-STEM-(a)
	nili(i)pika I cooked (it)	siku(i)pika I didn't cook (it)
	ulikula / uliila you ate / you ate it	huku(i)la you didn't eat (it)
	wali(ni)sahau they forgot (me)	hawaku(ni)sahau they didn't forget (me)
Future	[+]S-ta-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	[-]S-ta-(O)-STEM-(a)	In the negative form, -ta- may be replaced with -to- for some speakers.
	nita(i)pika I will cook (it)	sita(i)pika I won't cook it
	utakula / utaila you will eat / you will eat it	huta(i)la you won't eat (it)
	wata(ni)sahau they will forget (me)	hawata(ni)sahau they won't forget (me)
Perfect	[+]S-me-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	[-]S-ja-(O)/(EXT)-STEM-(a)	-ja- is not an exact counterpart to -me-, being more akin to "not yet". The simple past -ku- may be used where this is unintended. ___ The verbal stem extention -ku- is optional with -ja-.
	nime(i)pika I have cooked (it)	sija(i)pika I haven't cooked it (yet)
	umekula / umeila you have eaten / you have eaten it	huja(ku)la / hujaila you haven't eaten (yet)
	wame(ni)sahau you have forgotten (me)	hawaku(ni)sahau they haven't forgotten (me) (yet)
Unexpected Perfect	[+]S-mesha-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	[-]S-ja-(O)/(EXT)-STEM-a
	nimesha(i)pika I have already cooked (it)	sija(i)pika I haven't cooked (it) (yet)
	umeshakula / umeshaila you have already eaten / ... it	huja(ku)la / hujaila you haven't eaten (yet) / ... (it)
	wamesha(ni)sahau you have forgotten (me)	hawaja(ni)sahau they haven't forgotten (me) (yet)
Situational	[+]S-ki-(O)-STEM-(a)	[+]S-sipo-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	The situational form means if and also indicates simultaneity. The negative form -sipo- is not a direct equivalent but is a
	niki(i)pika if I cook (it) ↔ while cooking (it)	nisipo(i)pika if I don't cook it (it) ↔ while not cooking it
	uki(i)la if you eat (it) ↔ while eating (it)	usipokula / usipoila if you don't eat ↔ while not eating / ... it
	waki(ni)sahau if they forget (me) ↔ forgetting (me)	wasipo(ni)sahau if they don't forget (me) ↔ not forgetting me
Narrative (Subsequent)	[+]S-ka-(O)-STEM-(a)	N/A	There is no negative equivalent to the narrative form.
	nika(i)pika and then I cooked (it)
	uka(i)la and then you ate (it)
	nika(ni)sahau and then they forgot (me)
Irrealis	[+]S-nge-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	[+]S-singe-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	Irrealis verb forms can be used for both the protasis (if-clause) and the apodosis (then- clause).
	ninge(i)pika if I cooked (it) ↔ I would cook (it)	nisinge(i)pika if I didn't cook (it) ↔ I wouldn't cook it
	ungekula / ungeila if you ate ↔ you'd eat / ... it	usingekula / usingeila if you didn't eat ↔ you wouldn't eat / ... it
	wange(ni)sahau if they forgot (me) ↔ they'd forget (me)	wasinge(ni)sahau if they didn't forget (me) ↔ they wouldn't have forgotten (me)
Irrealis past	[+]S-ngali-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)	[+]S-singali-(O)/EXT-STEM-(a)
	ningali(i)pika if I had cooked (it) / I'd have cooked it	nisingali(i)pika if I hadn't cooked (it) ↔ I wouldn't have cooked (it)
	ungalikula / ungaliila if you'd eaten ↔ you'd have eaten / ... it	usingalikula / usingaliila if you hadn't eaten ↔ you wouldn't have eaten / ... it
	wangali(ni)sahau if they'd forgotten (me) ↔ they'd've forgotten (me)	wasingali(ni)sahau if they didn't forget (me) ↔ they wouldn't have forgotten (me)
Subjunctive	[+]S-(O)-STEM-(e)	[+]S-si-(O)-STEM-(e)	The subjunctive form expresses wishes and desires such as Ninataka ule 'I want you to eat it'
	ni(i)pike I should cook (it) ↔ that I cook (it)	nisi(i)pike I should cook (it) ↔ that I cook (it)
	u(i)le you should eat (it) ↔ please eat (it)!	usi(i)le you shouldn't eat (it) ↔ please don't eat (it)!
	wa(ni)sahau they should forget (me) ↔ that they forget (me)	wasi(ni)sahau they shouldn't forget (me) ↔ that they don't forget (me)
Imperative (singular)	EXT-STEM-(a)	u-si-STEM-(e)	Negative imperative forms are identical to negative subjunctive forms with a second person subject. ___ Because the final vowel of Bantu verbs changes to -e in the positive singular imperative when there is an object, there can be ambiguity with any prefix that could either be subject or object. For example, nipende could either mean 'I should love' or 'Love me!'
	pika cook!	usipike don't cook! ↔ you shouldn't cook ↔ that you don't eat
	kula eat!	usile don't eat ↔ you shouldn't eat ↔ that you don't eat
	sahau forget!	usisahau don't forget! ↔ you shouldn't forget ↔ that you don't forget
Imperative (sg. with obj.)	O-STEM-(e)	u-si-O-STEM-(e)
	ipike cook it!	usiipike don't cook it! ↔ you shouldn't cook it ↔ that you don't cook it
	ile eat it!	usiile don't eat it! ↔ you shouldn't eat it ↔ that you don't eat it
	nisahau forget me!	usinisahau don't forget me! ↔ you shouldn't forget me ↔ that you don't ...
Imperative (plural)	(O)/EXT-STEM-(e)-ni	m-si-STEM-(e)
	(i)pikeni cook (it)!	msi(i)pike don't cook (it)! ↔ you shouldn't cook (it) ↔ that you don't ...
	kuleni / ileni cook / cook it!	msi(i)le don't eat (it)! ↔ you shouldn't eat (it) ↔ that you don't eat (it)
	(ni)sahauni forget (me)!	msi(ni)sahau don't forget (me)! ↔ you shouldn't forget (me) ↔ that you ...