Learn about Swahili tenses
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Intro |
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| Antoni: How many tenses are there in Swahili? In Swahili, tenses is referred to as wakati/njeo |
| Gertrude: And how do they work? |
| Antoni: At SwahiliPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Sasha Lee is confused about the number of tenses in Swahili. She asks a befriended teacher, Jane Wathinja, |
| "How many tenses are there in Swahili?" |
| Sasha Lee: Kuna nyakati ngapi katika Kiswahili? |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha Lee: Kuna nyakati ngapi katika Swahili |
| Jane Wathinja: Kuna nyakati 3 kuu. |
| Antoni: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha Lee: Kuna nyakati ngapi katika Kiswahili? |
| Antoni: "How many tenses are there in Swahili?" |
| Jane Wathinja: Kuna nyakati 3 kuu. |
| Antoni: "There are 3 main tenses." |
Lesson focus |
| Antoni: There are three main tenses in the English language, and these are the past, present, and future tenses. When we speak of tense, we refer to the time an action has been performed. In Swahili, we have the same main tenses: The present, |
| Gertrude: Wakati Uliopo |
| Antoni: the past, |
| Gertrude: Wakati Uliopita |
| Antoni: and the future. |
| Gertrude: Wakati Ujao |
| Antoni: In English grammar, we conjugate verbs by attaching affixes to the basic form of the verb, or, in the case of irregular verbs, changing the spelling of the root word. In Swahili, each of the three primary tenses is represented by a marker attached to the verb. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Antoni: Let’s take a closer look at the dialogue to understand how tenses in Swahili work. |
| Do you remember how Sasha Lee asks "How many tenses are there in Swahili?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Gertrude: Kuna nyakati ngapi katika Swahili? |
| [Recall 2] |
| Antoni: And do you remember how Jane Wathinja answers "There are 3 main tenses." |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Gertrude: Kuna nyakati 3 kuu. |
| Antoni: As mentioned, each of the three main tenses in Swahili are represented by markers. The best way to remember each of these markers is by using the name “Natali.” The first syllable |
| Gertrude: na |
| Antoni: represents the marker for the Present Tense. The second syllable, |
| Gertrude: ta, |
| Antoni: represents the marker for the Future Tense. And the third syllable, |
| Gertrude: li, |
| Antoni: represents the market for the Past Tense. As an example, let’s use the word “study,” or |
| Gertrude: kusoma |
| Antoni: To conjugate this word to its simple present tense, we say, |
| Gertrude: ninasoma |
| . |
| Antoni: or “I am studying.” Notice how the affix is added right after the subject marker, |
| Gertrude: ni |
| Antoni: or “I.” Now, let’s conjugate this in the future tense. |
| Gertrude: nitasoma |
| Antoni: or “I will study.” This time, you will see the affix |
| Gertrude: ta |
| Antoni: coming right after the subject marker. And, finally, let’s conjugate the word to its past tense: |
| Gertrude: nilisoma |
| Antoni: or “I studied.” In this case, the affix or tense marker has been changed to |
| Gertrude: li |
| Antoni: to indicate that the action has already been completed. |
| [Summary] |
| Antoni: In this lesson, we learned that, in Swahili, there are three main tenses: The present, |
| Gertrude: Wakati Uliopo |
| Antoni: the past, |
| Gertrude: Wakati Uliopita |
| Antoni: and the future. |
| Gertrude: Wakati Ujao |
| Antoni: Each of these tenses is represented by a tense marker. To form the right tense of the verb, we simply attach the appropriate tense marker before the root verb. |
| Expansion/Contrast (Optional) |
| Antoni: Swahili has other tenses that you should learn. One of them is the present perfect tense, or |
| Gertrude: Wakati Timilifu |
| Antoni: This tense is represented by the tense marker, |
| Gertrude: me |
| Antoni: This tense marker is always used with positive verbs, which could either be passive or active. Passive verbs describe the current state of something, such as when you say, |
| Gertrude: Amechelewa |
| Antoni: or “He is late.” It’s like saying “He is currently in the state of being late.” Meanwhile, when used with passive verbs, the tense marker in question forms verbs in the Past Perfect tense, such as when you say, |
| Gertrude: Imefanywa |
| Antoni: or “It is done.” An extension of this tense is the one represented by the tense marker, |
| Gertrude: mesha |
| Antoni: This is very similar to the previous tense, only that, in this tense, the action has already taken place. So, from “It is done,” we get “It has already been done,” or |
| Gertrude: Imeshafanywa |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Antoni: The present perfect tense has an opposite tense. By opposite, we mean that the verbs are in the negative form, and are marked with the tense marker, |
| Gertrude: ja |
| Antoni: If “I have arrived” in Swahili is |
| Gertrude: Nimewasili |
| Antoni: marked with the tense marker, |
| Gertrude: me |
| Antoni: the opposite of that would be “I have not arrived,” or |
| Gertrude: Sijafika |
| Antoni: marked with the tense marker, |
| Gertrude: ja |
Outro |
| Antoni: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Gertrude: Nitakuona hivi karibuni! |
| Antoni: See you soon! |
| Credits: Gertrude (Swahili, Kenya), Antoni (English, synthetic voice) |
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