Swahili Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Swahili grammar. We will first learn about prepositionsnegationquestions,adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Swahili andEnglish the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Swahili and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Swahili.
PrepositionsSwahili
andna Audio
abovejuu Audio
underchini ya Audio
beforekabla Audio
afterbaada ya Audio
in front ofmbele ya Audio
behindnyuma Audio
far frommbali na Audio
nearkaribu Audio
inkatika Audio
insidendani Audio
outsidenje Audio
withna Audio
withoutbila Audio
aboutkuhusu Audio
betweenkati ya Audio
butlakini Audio
forkwa Audio
fromkutoka Audio
tokwa Audio


Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
Prepositions + RulesSwahili
I eat without a knife
[preposition + noun]
mimi hula bila kisu Audio
she lives near the church
[verb + preposition]
yeye anaishi karibu na kanisa Audio
he is taller than her
[adjective + preposition]
yeye ni mirefu kumliko Audio
he came with his small dog
[preposition + pronoun]
alikuja na mbwa wake mdogo Audio
can you come with me?
[preposition + pronoun]
unaweza kuja na mimi? Audio

Negation in Swahili
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying noI can'tI don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
Negation + RulesSwahili
I understand you
[affirmative form]
ninaelewa Audio
don't understand you
[negation + verb]
siekuelewi Audio
this is not the correct word
[negation + adjective]
hili si neno sahihi Audio
don't leave me
[imperative negation]
usiniache Audio
no problem
[negation + noun]
hakuna shida Audio

Negative SentencesSwahili
I don't speak French
[negation + present tense]
sielewi kifaransa Audio
she didn't visit Germany
[negation + past tense]
yeye hakuenda ziara ya ujerumani Audio
he cannot see us
[negative modal verb]
hawezi kutuona Audio
can't she play chess?
[interrogative negation]
hawezi kucheza saratanji? Audio
we will not come late
[negation + future tense]
je sisi si kuja mwishoni mwa Audio

Questions in Swahili
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: whatwhycan you ...? Here are some common examples:
EnglishSwahili
how?aje? Audio
what?nini? Audio
who?nani? Audio
why?kwa nini? Audio
where?wapi? Audio

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
Questions + RulesSwahili
where do you live?
[interrogative + verb]
unaishi wapi? Audio
does she speak Chinese?
[interrogative verb]
yeye huelewa kichina? Audio
how much is this?
[interrogative preposition]
ni kiasi gani hii? Audio
can I help you?
[interrogative modal verb]
ninaweza kukusaidia? Audio
what is your name?
[interrogative preposition]
jina lako ni nani? Audio

Adverbs in Swahili
It's time to learn the adverbs in Swahili. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
AdverbsSwahili
nowsasa Audio
yesterdayjana Audio
todayleo Audio
tonightusiku wa leo Audio
tomorrowkesho Audio
soonhivi karibuni Audio
quicklyharaka Audio
slowlypolepole Audio
togetherpamoja Audio
verysana Audio
almostkaribu Audio
alwayskawaida Audio
usuallykawaida Audio
sometimesmara kwa mara Audio
rarelymara chache Audio
neverkamwe Audio

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
Adverbs + RulesSwahili
do you understand me now?
[pronoun + adverb]
mnanielewa sasa? Audio
I need help immediately
[noun + adverb]
ninahitaji usaidizi mara moja Audio
she is very intelligent
[adverb + adjective]
yeye ni mwerevu sana Audio
I will always love you
[verb + adverb]
nitakupenda daima Audio
can we learn German together?
[adverb in a question]
tunaweza kujifunza kijerumani pamoja? Audio

Pronouns in Swahili
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Swahili. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
Personal PronounsSwahili
Imimi Audio
youwewe Audio
heyeye Audio
sheyeye Audio
wesisi Audio
theywao Audio

Object PronounsSwahili
memimi Audio
youwewe Audio
himyeye Audio
heryeye Audio
ussisi Audio
themwao Audio

Possessive PronounsSwahili
myyangu Audio
youryako Audio
hisyake Audio
heryeye Audio
ouryetu Audio
theiryao Audio

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
Personal PronounsSwahili
I am your friend
[1st pronoun + verb]
mimi ni rafiki yako Audio
you speak very fast
[2nd pronoun + adverb]
unaongea haraka sana Audio
he has three dogs
[3rd pronoun + verb]
ana mbwa watatu Audio
she can speak German
[3rd pronoun + verb]
anaweza kuonge kijerumani Audio
we will not come late
[1st plural pronoun]
hatutachelewa Audio
they bought milk and bread
[3rd plural pronoun]
walinunua maziwa na mkate Audio

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
Object PronounsSwahili
can you tell me your name?
[1st object pronoun]
unaweza kuniambia jina lako? Audio
I will give you money
[2nd object pronoun]
nitakupa fedha Audio
she wrote him a letter
[3rd object pronoun]
alimwandikia barua Audio
they visited her yesterday
[3rd object pronoun]
walienda kwake jana Audio
can she help us?
[1st pl. object pronoun]
anaweza kutusaidia? Audio
he gave them food
[3rd pl. object pronoun]
aliwapa chakula Audio

Possessive PronounsSwahili
my name is Maya
[1st possessive pronoun]
jina langu ni maya Audio
your brother lives here
[2nd possessive pronoun]
ndugu yako anaishi hapa Audio
her mother cooks for us
[3rd possessive pronoun]
mama yake hutupikia Audio
his hobby is reading books
[3rd possessive pronoun]
starehe yake ni kusoma vitabu Audio
our dream is to visit Paris
[1st pl. possessive pronoun]
tungependelea sana kuzuru paris Audio
their house is not far
[3rd pl. possessive pronoun]
nyumba yao ni mbali Audio
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
Demonstrative PronounsSwahili
this is my househii ni nyumba yangu Audio
that restaurant is farmkahawa huo uko mbali Audio
these apples are delicioushaya tofaa ni matamu Audio
those stars are shinyhaya nyota yang'aa Audio
Source: www.learn101.org

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