Swahili Made Easy: A Beginner's Complete Course

LESSON 20. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

66 SWAHILI MADE EASY LESSON 20 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS In Swahili the possessive pronouns are treated like adjectives.They take nominal prefixes, as shown below: -angu, my, mine -etu, our, ours -ako, your, yours -enu, your, yours -ake, his, her, hers -ao their, theirs The following are the class prefixes: NOUN CLASS M/WA, W mtoto wangu, my child watoto wangu, my children M/MI, W/Y mkono wake, her hand N/N, Y/Z mikono yake, her hands kitabu chako, your book V/N, W/Z vitabu vyako, your books PA , P nyumba yetu, our house KU, KW nyumba zetu, our house Jina langu, my name ØMA, L/Y majina yangu, my names U ufunguo wake, their keys funguo zao, their keys PA, P Pahali pake, your place KU, KW Kusoma kwake, his reading PART ONE 67 The same prefixes are used to express “of” – a: For the m/wa class, “of” is denoted by wa for both singular and plural. e.g. mtoto wa mwalimu, the teacher’s child watoto wa mwalimu,the teacher’s children for the ki/vi class, you have: kitabu cha mwalimu, the teacher’s book. vitabu vya mwalimu. the teacher’s books Once you know that “of” is -a in Swahili, you can use it with the prefixes given above without any difficulty. EXERCISE 25 Supply the right prefixes: 1. Je, nani ameona vitabu -a mwalimu leo? 2. Wageni wameleta mizigo -ao. 3. Walikuwa na mizigo -ingi sana na -zito. 4. Nyumba -etu ni kubwa na nzuri, ina milango -wili. 5. Wape funguo -ao, funguo -ako ziko wapi? 6. Majina -a watoto hawa ni rnagumu lakini mazuri. 7. Miguu -ake ni mizuri kuliko miguu -a dada yake. 8. Kusoma -ake si kuzuri lakini kuandika -ake ni kuzuri. 9. Mkono -a mtoto mdogo ni -dogo, na kichwa -ake ni -dogo pia. 10. Je, umemwona mtoto -angu? Alikuwa na (with) watoto -ako. 68 SWAHILI MADE EASY EXERCISE 26 Translate into Swahili: 1. His children are not going to school today. 2. Our teacher does not eat at school, he eats at home. 3. Where do you go to eat? I do not eat here. 4. Their cook is not coming today. 5. Tell him to come the day after tomorrow. 6. Where are our books? Where are our clothes? 7. I heard people shout: Thief! Thief! There goes the thief! 8. Who is that man? That man is our guest. 9. Whose child is this? This child is hers. 10. Who are those people? Those people are our guests. 11. Bring me that child (near you), I want to see him. 12. May I go now? I have no work. Go and do not come again to bother me. ...