If you're trying to learn Swahili Pronouns which is also called Kiswahili, check our courses about Personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns, reciprocal or reflexive pronouns... to help you with your Swahili grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and notice the pattern that occurs each time the word changes its place. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Swahili. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!
Learning the Swahili Pronouns displayed below is vital to the language. Swahili pronouns include personal pronouns (refer to the persons speaking, the persons spoken to, or the persons or things spoken about), indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns (connect parts of sentences) and reciprocal or reflexive pronouns (in which the object of a verb is being acted on by verb's subject).
In English personal pronouns are (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they), and (me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them), In Swahili, the personal pronouns are:
Mimi (I), wewe… (you), yeye… (he/she),
sisi… (we), ninyi/nyinyi (you) wao… (they masc/fem.)
Examples: mimi husoma(I learn), wewe husoma(you learn), yeye husoma (he/she learns), ninyi/nyinyi husoma (you learn ), sisi husoma (we learn),), wao husoma (they learn),
1st person- Mimi (singular) –sisi ( plural)
2nd Person – wewe(singular) –ninyi/nyonyi( plural)
3rd person- yeye( singular)- wao(plural)
The above are called free pronouns.
There are bound/indirect pronouns as used in the section of negation for the same.
1st Peson- ni/tu for example – ninaenda (I am going), tunaenda (we are going)
2nd Person u/m for example – unaenda (you are going), mnaenda (you (plural) are going)
3rd person a/wa for example – anaenda(she/he is going), wanaenda( they are going)
· The above examples are in present tense. You can do the same for the past and future tense
Possessive Pronouns:
The possessive pronouns in Swahili have no feminine or masculine aspect. They depend mainly on the pronouns and the noun class.
The roots are
1st person: -angu((mine-singular),- etu ((ours-plural) For example: yangu ni hii(this is mine), yetu ni hii(this ours) This is in the class of I-ZI
Changu ni hiki (this is mine), chetu ni hiki( this ours). This is in the class of KI-VI
2nd person:ako( yours)(singular),- enu(yours-prulal) For example: yako ni hii( this is yours), yenu ni hii( these are yours-prulal)
Chako ni hiki(this is yours), chenu ni hiki(this is yours-prulal)
3rd person: -ake( hers/his), -ao(theirs) For example: yake ni hii( this is hers/his) yao ni hii( these are theirs)
Chake ni hiki( this is hers), Chao ni hiki( this is theirs)
Note: in Swahili the possessive pronouns are used without the nouns. If you use them together with the nouns they become adjectives.
For example: Yangu ni hii(this is mine) Yangu is a possessive pronoun here
Nyumba yangu ni hii(this is my house) Yangu is a possessive adjective
Here are some examples:
| English Pronouns | Swahili Pronouns |
|---|---|
| Pronouns | Viwakilishi |
| I | mimi |
| you | wewe |
| he | yeye |
| she | yeye |
| we | sisi |
| they | wao |
| me | mimi |
| you | wewe |
| him | yeye |
| her | yeye |
| us | sisi |
| them | wao |
| my | yangu |
| your | yako |
| his | yake |
| her | yeye |
| our | yetu |
| their | yao |
| mine | yangu |
| yours | yako |
| his | yake |
| hers | yake |
| ours | yetu |
| theirs | yao |
Notice the structure of the Pronouns in Swahili.
Below is a list of the Personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns, reciprocal or reflexive pronouns in Swahili placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Swahili vocabulary.
| English Pronouns | Swahili Pronouns |
|---|---|
| I speak | ninasema |
| you speak | unasema |
| he speaks | anasema |
| she speaks | anasema |
| we speak | tunasema |
| they speak | wanasema |
| give me | nipe |
| give you | upewe |
| give him | mpe |
| give her | mpe |
| give us | tupe |
| give them | wape |
| my book | kitabu changu |
| your book | kitabu chako |
| his book | kitabu chake |
| her book | kitabu chake |
| our book | kitabu chetu |
| their book | kitabu chao |
Personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns, reciprocal or reflexive pronouns have a very important role in Swahili. Once you're done with the Kiswahili Pronouns, you might want to check the rest of our Swahili lessons here: Learn Swahili. Don't forget to bookmark this page.
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