Language/Swahili-individual-language/Grammar/Plurals

Swahili (individual language) Grammar - Plurals

Hi Swahili (individual language) learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on plurals in Swahili (individual language) grammar. This is an intermediate level lesson, so make sure you have a basic understanding of the language before diving into this topic. We will use cultural information and interesting facts to make the lesson more fun and engaging. Don't forget to use grammar resources from Swahili (individual language) to improve your learning.

Understanding Swahili (individual language) Plurals

Swahili (individual language) is a Bantu language spoken in East Africa, mainly in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Swahili (individual language) uses different methods for making plurals. Unlike the English language, plurals in Swahili (individual language) may involve changing vowels and the overall structure of words. In most cases, changing the final vowel sound of a noun implies the plural form.

Swahili (individual language) nouns can be divided into classes or genders. Each class belongs to a specific pronoun or prefix. The plurals of these nouns depend on their classes. For some classes, you simply add a prefix to the singular form. In other cases, you adjust the word form by adding an infix or a suffix.

It is essential to study the different classes of Swahili (individual language) nouns to understand how nouns are pluralized in this language.

Swahili (individual language) Noun Classes

Swahili (individual language) has 18 noun classes. Although it may seem overwhelming to learn many classes, they make it easier to learn plurals in Swahili (individual language). Here is a table of Swahili (individual language) noun classes:

Class	Prefix	Example
1	M-	Mti (tree)
2	M-	Mbwa (dog)
3	M-	Mtu (person)
4	MI-	Mikono (hands)
5	JA-	Jicho (eye)
6	MA-	Maziwa (milk)
7	KI-	Kitabu (book)
8	VI-	Vitabu (books)
9	N-	Neno (word)
10	U-	Uji (porridge)
11	WA-	Watu (people)
12	ZI-	Zizi (hair)
13	M-	Mto (river)
14	MI-	Mitungi (jugs)
15	N-	Nguvu (power)
16	N-	Ndege (bird)
17	KI-	Kipepeo (butterfly)
18	U-	Uso (face)

Each noun class has a different prefix or pronoun, for instance, the singular form of person is mtu; in class 3, making class 3 plural would be to prefix it to the prefix of the noun class, which is w-. This means that people, in the plural form, is "watu".

Below are some examples of plural nouns classified according to the prefix rules:

Swahili (individual language)	Pronunciation	English
Jicho	jee-cho	eye (singular)
Macho	mah-cho	eyes (plural)
Kisu	kee-su	knife (singular)
Visu	vee-su	knives (plural)
Nyumba	nyoom-bah	house (singular)
Nyumba	nyoo-mbah	houses (plural)
Mti	mm-tee	tree (singular)
Miti	mm-tee	trees (plural)

Some classes use infixes or suffixes to form the plural form. For example, class 11, which is used for animate plural nouns, uses wa as a prefix to form the plural. The Swahili (individual language) word for 'person' is 'mtu.' The plural of the word 'person' is 'watu.'

Let's try to form plurals of different nouns belonging to different classes.

Plurals in Different Noun Classes

Class 1

Class one is for nouns beginning with M-, for example, "mti." To form a plural, M- is dropped and replaced by the prefix 'MI-.' Let's try to create a plural from a noun beginning with 'M-.'

Example:

• Person 1: Mti (tree)
• Person 2: Miti (trees)

Class 2

Class two is for nouns beginning with M-, for example, "mbwa." To form plurals in this class, M- is dropped and replaced with the prefix "WA-." Let's create a plural from a word beginning with "M-."

Example:

• Person 1: Mbwa (dog)
• Person 2: Mbwa (dogs)

Class 3

Class three is for nouns beginning with M-, for example, "mtu." To form a plural in class three, a prefix 'WA-' is used to replace prefix M-. Let's create a plural from a word beginning with "M-."

Example:

• Person 1: Mtu (person)
• Person 2: Watu (people)

Class 4

Class four is for nouns beginning with MI-, for example, "mikono." To form a plural, the prefix 'MI-' is replaced by 'MA-.' Let's create a plural from a word beginning with "MI-."

Example:

• Person 1: Mkono (hand)
• Person 2: Mikono (hands)

Class 5

Class five is for nouns beginning with J-, for example, "jicho." Plural formation in this class is irregular; the singular changes to plural without adding any prefix or suffix. Let's create a plural from a noun beginning with "J-."

Example:

• Person 1: Jicho (eye)
• Person 2: Macho (eyes)

Class 6

Class six is for nouns beginning with M-, for example, "maziwa". To form plural, replace 'MA-' with prefix "MI-." Let's create a plural from a word beginning with "MA-."

Example:

• Person 1: Maziwa (milk)
• Person 2: Mimaziwa (milks)

Class 7

Class seven is for nouns beginning with 'KI-,' for example, "kitabu." To form plural, 'KI-' is replaced with prefix 'VI-' in plural formation. Let's create a plural from a word beginning with "KI-."

Example:

• Person 1: Kitabu (book)
• Person 2: Vitabu (books)

Class 8

Class eight is for nouns beginning with 'VI-,' for example, "vitabu." Plural formation is irregular; there are no changes made in the singular word. Let's try to create a plural from a noun beginning with "VI-."

Example:

• Person 1: Kikombe (cup)
• Person 2: Vikombe (cups)

Conclusion

In conclusion, plurals in Swahili (individual language) depend on the class of a noun. Nouns are divided into 18 classes, with a specific prefix or pronoun used for every class. Understanding Swahili (individual language) plural formation requires memorizing noun classes and their prefixes, and suffixes to form the plural. Practice makes perfect, so exercise with the examples above as much as you can. To learn Swahili (individual language) proficiently, join linguaphile communities like Polyglot Club. Find native speakers and ask them any questions about Swahili (individual language) Grammar or anything related to this beautiful African language.

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Sources

• Swahili Language
• Swahili Language
• Introduction to Swahili language

Great work on completing this lesson! Take a moment to investigate these connected pages: Dependent Clauses, 0 to A1 Course, Future Tense & Swahili Dialects.

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