McGrath Donovan and Marten Lutz - Colloquial Swahili: The Complete Course for Beginners

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

h a ku fa hakufa

he/she did not die

ha wa ku nywa hawakunywa

they did not drink

The past tense of the copula is formed with the verb kuwa, to be,

in the past tense:

Mimi ni mwanafunzi. I am a student (present).

Nilikuwa mwanafunzi. I was a student (past).

Sometimes the copula ni is used together with kuwa:

Walikuwa ni wagonjwa. They were sick people.

The negation of the preceding sentiment is formed usually with

the past tense plus negative copula:

Walikuwa si wagonjwa. They were not sick people.

However, the negative past tense of kuwa is also possible:

Hawakuwa wagonjwa. They were not sick people.

The verb kuwa is also used when the copula is used in any other

tense:

Watakuwa wagonjwa. They will be sick people.

Wasiwe wagonjwa. They shouldn’t be sick people.

Exercise 3

Fill in the word or letters which have been left out in the pyra-

mids below:

mwanafunzi

mwanafunzi mgonjwa

mwanafunzi ________ aliﬁka

mwanafunzi mgonjwa ________ ﬁka hospitali

mwanafunzi mgonjwa ________ hospitali kubwa

mwanafunzi mgonjwa aliﬁka ________ kubwa mapema

mwanafunzi mgonjwa aliﬁka hospitali ________ mapema sana

120

wanafunzi

wanafunzi wagonjwa

wanafunzi ________ hawakuﬁka

wanafunzi wagonjwa ________ hospitali

wanafunzi wagonjwa ________ﬁka hospitali kubwa

wanafunzi wagonjwa hawakuﬁka ________ kubwa mapema

wanafunzi wagonjwa hawakuﬁka hospitali ________ mapema sana

Exercise 4

Write these sentences in Swahili:

1 Yesterday I was sick.

2 And Leo was sick.

3 But Subira wasn’t sick.

4 The patients did not arrive yesterday.

5 The doctor arrived early.

6 When did you reach the hospital?

7 I arrived yesterday.

8 You (pl.) didn’t arrive early.

9 The patient didn’t arrive early.

Exercise 5

Habari zako?

Write some short sentences in Swahili about things you did or

didn’t do in the past. (An example is given in the exercise key.)

Dialogue 2

The next patient has very different symptoms

1 What are these symptoms?

2 What was the test result?

3 What form of medication was prescribed for the patient?

GONJWA

: Jana nilikuwa mgonjwa sana. Sikuweza kuﬁka hapa

zahanati.

AKTARI

: Ulipatwa na nini?

1111

4211

121

GONJWA

: Nilipatwa na homa kali na kichwa kiliuma sana. Tena

mwili ulitetemeka usiku kucha.

AKTARI

: Unaona vipi leo?

GONJWA

: Leo nimepata nafuu kidogo lakini naumwa tumbo.

Siwezi kula sana.

AKTARI

: Inaonekana umepatwa na malaria. Inabidi uende chini

ili upimwe na mwuguzi.

(Later on . . .)

AKTARI

: Nimepata matokeo ya upimaji wako; bila shaka

umepatwa na malaria. Nimekuandikia maelezo ya

matumizi ya dawa. Meza vidonge hivi vinne, na baada

ya masaa sita umeze vidonge viwili vingine. Halafu

meza vidonge viwili kila siku kwa wiki nzima. Rudi

hapa kama hujapata nafuu.

GONJWA

: Asante! Nashukuru sana. Kwaheri!

AKTARI

: Kwaheri ya kuonana!

ATIENT

: Yesterday I was very sick. I couldn’t get to the dispen-

sary.

OCTOR

: What did you come down with?

ATIENT

: I had a severe fever and my head hurt me a lot. Also

my body trembled all night long.

OCTOR

: How do you feel today?

ATIENT

: Today I feel a little better but my stomach hurts. I can’t

eat much.

OCTOR

: It seems you’ve come down with malaria. You must go

downstairs so that you can be tested by the nurse.

(Later on . . .)

OCTOR

: I have your test results; without doubt you have malaria.

I’ve written you a prescription. Swallow these four

tablets, and after six hours take another two. Then

swallow two tablets each day for a whole week. Come

back here if you don’t feel any improvement.

ATIENT

: Thanks. I’m very grateful. Goodbye.

OCTOR

: Goodbye, see you again!

122

Vocabulary

zahanati dispensary

-patwa na come down with, be stricken with

homa fever

-tetemeka tremble, shake, vibrate

nafuu improvement

usiku kucha all night long

-bidi be necesarry (inabidi, it is necessary)

chini down, downstairs (under, below)

-pimwa be tested, examined, assessed

mwuguzi nurse (pl. wauguzi)

matokeo results/outcome

upimaji assessment

-meza swallow something

vidonge pills, tablets (sing. kidonge)

kama if

-shukuru be grateful/thankful

Language structure

The passive form of the verb

The dialogue above contains a number of verbs in the so-called

‘passive form’. The passive form is generally formed by inserting

a -w- just before the ﬁnal vowel. The passive form can be used to

highlight who did what to whom, as in the second example below:

Mwuguzi alipima mgonjwa.

The nurse tested the patient.

Mgonjwa alipimwa (na mwuguzi).

The patient was tested (by the nurse).

In the sentences above, -pima is the base (or ‘active’) form of the

verb, from which the passive form -pimwa is derived by inserting

a -w- (the ‘passive extension’). In these examples, the passive form

is used to say that it was the patient who was tested without neces-

sarily saying that it was the nurse who did the testing. In gram-

matical terms, we can say that the function of the passive is to

make the object of the base form into the subject of the passive

form. Other examples are:

1111

4211

123

Active Passive

-kata cut -katwa be cut

-ita call -itwa be called

-pata get -patwa be got

-penda love, like -pendwa be loved

-panda plant -pandwa be planted

-lima cultivate -limwa be cultivated

-tumia use -tumiwa be used

Verbs ending in two vowels (especially those ending in -aa, -ua, or

-oa) are often an exception to the rule of passive formation, since

they insert -liw- or -lew-, rather than simply -w-, before the ﬁnal

vowel, e.g. -nunua ‘buy’, -nunuliwa ‘be bought’:

Mwanafunzi alinunua vitambaa.

The student bought the cloth.

Vitambaa vilinunuliwa na mwanafunzi.

The cloth was bought by the student.

The choice of the vowel (-lew- with e, or -liw- with i) depends on

the vowel of the base form, and is governed by the rules of vowel

harmony: -lew- is chosen for verbs whose stem vowel is either e

or o, while -liw- is chosen for all others, that is those whose stem

vowel is a, i, or u. We sometimes write ‘I’ to mean ‘either e or i’,

so that the long passive extension can be described as -lIw- as

shorthand for ‘either -liw- or -lew-’.

Another example of the passive can be seen in Unit 3 (Dialogue

1) in the different expressions used by men and women to say that

they are married:

-oa marry (active – used when referring to a man)

-olewa be married (passive

– used when referring to a

woman)

Another class of exceptional verbs are those whose ﬁnal vowel is

not -a (these are verbs of Arabic origin ending in -i, -u, or -e),

which take -iwa and -ewa instead of the ﬁnal vowel:

-jibu ask -jibiwa be asked

-samehe forgive -samehewa be forgiven

Monosyllabic verbs also take either -iwa or -ewa:

-pa give -pewa be given

-la eat -liwa be eaten

-nywa drink -nywewa be drunk

124

The passive form of the verb is just one of a number of verb forms

which are derived by combining base forms with an extension.

Other extensions which we will encounter in the course of following

units include the ‘Causative’ and the ‘Applicative’ extension.

Exercise 6

Change these passive sentences into their active counterpart:

E.g. Wauzaji walipewa pesa na mwanafunzi.

to Mwanafunzi aliwapa wauzaji pesa.

1 Wagonjwa walipewa maelezo na daktari.

2 Maelezo ya matumizi dawa yalitolewa na daktari.

3 Chakula kililiwa na wanafunzi.

4 Pesa zilitolewa na wagonjwa.

5 Mgonjwa alipatwa na homa kali.

Exercise 7

Give the passive forms of these sentences:

E.g. Mwuguzi alimpima mgonjwa.

to Mgonjwa alipimwa na mwuguzi.

1 Mwanafunzi alinunua vitambaa.

2 Mwanafunzi alitumia sabuni usoni.

3 Daktari aliandika maelezo ya matumizi ya dawa.

4 Mgonjwa alimeza vidonge viwili.

5 Mgonjwa alimpa daktari pesa.

Exercise 8

Translate the paragraph below into English:

Jana nilikuwa mgonjwa sana. Niliumwa tumbo na kichwa.

Nilikwenda hospitali kumwona daktari. Baada ya kupimwa na

daktari huyo, nilipewa dawa. Niliambiwa na daktari huyo

kumeza vidonge viwili kila siku kwa muda wa wiki moja. Leo

naona nafuu kidogo.

1111

4211

125

Dialogue 3

Amos and Leo discuss ailments they have each suffered in the past

1 What was Amos unable to do when he became ill?

2 What was he prevented from doing after he was admitted to

hospital?

3 What was Leo warned against doing prior to his accident?

MOS

: Zamani nilikuwa na taabu kooni. Sikuweza kumeza

chochote.

: Ulisumbuliwa na nini?

MOS

: Nilisumbuliwa na ﬁndo, zilivimba sana. Daktari alisema

lazima zikatwe. Basi niliﬁka hospitali nikalazwa kitandani.

Nilikatazwa nisile chochote wala nisinywe chochote.

Halafu nilipasuliwa na daktari mpasuaji.

: Uliogopa?

MOS

: Ndiyo, niliogopa. Lakini operesheni hiyo haikuwa ya

muda mrefu.

: Mwaka 1983 niligongwa na gari. Mamangu alinionya

nisicheze barabarani lakini sikumsikiliza, na kwa sababu

ya ujinga, nilipata majeraha mengi. Mguu ulivunjika,

mkono na bega vilevile. Nililazwa kitandani kwa muda wa

miezi mitatu hivi. Kwa sababu ya matibabu mazuri sana,

nilipona kabisa.

MOS

: A long time ago I had trouble with my throat. I couldn’t

swallow anything.

: What were you troubled with?

MOS

: I was troubled by my tonsils, they were very swollen. The

doctor said that they had to be removed. So I went to the

hospital and was put in bed. I was forbidden to eat or drink

anything. Then I was operated on by a surgeon.

: Were you afraid?

MOS

: Yes, I was afraid. But the operation didn’t take very long.

: In 1983 I was hit by a car. My mum warned me not to

play in the street, but I didn’t listen, and out of foolishness,

I suffered many injuries. My leg was broken, as was my

arm and my shoulder. I had to stay in bed for about three

months. Due to very good treatment, I was completely

healed.

126

Vocabulary

zamani some time/a long time ago

taabu trouble, distress, difﬁculty(-ies)

ﬁndo tonsil(s)

-katwa be cut (passive of kata, cut)

-lazwa be laid (passive of laza, lay down, put down)

-pasuliwa be split, torn open; operated on

(passive of pasua, split)

daktari mpasuaji surgeon

-ogopa be afraid

-gongwa be hit, rammed into (passive of -gonga, hit, knock)

-onya warn

-sikiliza listen to

ujinga foolishness, ignorance, inexperience

majeraha injuries (sing. jeraha)

-vunjika be broken

matibabu medical treatment

-pona be cured, get well, recover (escape harm)

kabisa deﬁnitely, absolutely

Language point

Warnings and prohibitions

In this dialogue you can see some typical examples of how to

express warnings and prohibitions, as for example when Leo’s

mother warns him not to play on the road, or when Amos in

hospital is not allowed to eat or drink anything. Prohibitions like

these are formed in Swahili with the negative optative (see Unit

5, Dialogue 1) following verbs expressing warning, prevention,

prohibition etc.:

Nilikatazwa nisitumie sabuni mpya.

I was forbidden to use new soap.

Walionywa wasinunue vitambaa vingi.

They were warned not to buy (too) much cloth.

Tulimzuia asiﬁke hapa.

We prevented him/her from arriving here.

1111

4211

127

Typical verbs used in this construction are:

-onya warn

-kataza forbid

-zuia prevent

-komesha stop, prevent

Language structure

U-class nouns

In this dialogue we ﬁnd a number of nouns which belong to yet

another noun class, namely the U class. U-class nouns begin with

u- (or sometimes with w-), and can roughly be divided into two

groups:

1 those nouns which refer to abstract ideas such as ‘beauty’ or

‘truth’, including also names for countries; these do not form a

plural, and

2 those nouns which denote concrete, often long or mass objects;

these often have a corresponding plural form of the N class.

Some examples are:

ugonjwa illness (cf. mgonjwa, sick person)

ujinga foolishness

Ufaransa France

Uholanzi Holland

uzuri beauty (from the adjective -zuri,

beautiful)

ukweli truth (from the adjective kweli, true)

uzazi parenthood (cf. wazazi, parents, and -zaa,

bear, give birth)

U-class nouns with corresponding N-class plural (see Unit 4 on the

N class for the changes of the preﬁx):

ubao board mbao boards

ulimi tongue ndimi tongues (note that

here l becomes

d after the

nasal preﬁx)

ukuta wall kuta walls

128

ufagio broom fagio brooms

ufunguo key funguo keys

upanga sword panga swords

upande side pande sides

U-class nouns beginning with w- make their plural in ny-:

wembe razor nyembe razors

wakati time nyakati times

wimbo song nyimbo songs

Monosyllabic stems keep their u- preﬁx and make a plural in ny-:

uso face nyuso faces

ua courtyard nyua courtyards

The agreement for the U class is easy to learn: U-class nouns take

the same agreement marker as the singular of the M-MI class:

Upanga wangu mkubwa umeanguka.

My big sword has fallen.

Uzuri wake ulipendeza.

Her beauty was pleasing.

The plural U-class nouns take plural N-class agreements:

Panga zangu kubwa zimeanguka.

My big swords have fallen.

Exercise 9

Replace the word written in English with the appropriate Swahili

noun.

Daktari aliuangalia (face) wa mgonjwa. Halafu aliuangalia

(tongue) wake. Baadaye kidogo wagonjwa wengi zaidi

wameﬁka kwa daktari. Daktari vilevile aliziangalia (faces) zao

na (tongues). Mgonjwa mmoja alisema kwamba (face) wake

ulikatwa kwa (sword). Mgonjwa mwingine alisema kwamba

(tongue) wake ulikatwa kwa (razor). Nje ya hospitali watu

wengi wanakaa (on a wall). Wanasubiri kumwona daktari.

Watu hawa vilevile walikatwa kwa (swords) (on faces) na kwa

(razors) (on tongues).

1111

4211

129