Language/Swati/Grammar/Adjectives

Swati Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Swati learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on adjectives in Swati grammar. Adjectives are essential in any language, as they describe nouns, and allow you to express yourself in a more detailed and precise manner.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: Pronouns, How to Use Have & How to Use Be.

What are adjectives in Swati?

In Swati, adjectives are words that are used to describe, modify, or quantify a noun or a pronoun. Unlike in English, adjectives in Swati usually come after the noun they describe.

For example:

Swati	Pronunciation	English
indlovu enamandla	in-tlo-vu e-na-man-dla	strong elephant
inkomo embili	in-ko-mo em-bi-li	beautiful cow
indoda eqotho	in-do-da e-qo-tho	lazy man

In these examples, the adjectives "amandla" (strong), "embili" (beautiful), and "eqotho" (lazy) describe the nouns "indlovu" (elephant), "inkomo" (cow), and "indoda" (man). As you can see, the adjective comes after the noun in Swati.

Types of adjectives

There are several types of adjectives in Swati, and each type is used to describe a different aspect of a noun.

Descriptive adjectives

Descriptive adjectives are the most common type of adjective in Swati. They describe the physical or emotional state of a noun.

For example:

Swati	Pronunciation	English
umfana olungile	um-fa-na o-lun-gi-le	good boy
inkhawabheka emhlophe	in-kha-wa-bhe-ka em-hlo-phe	white scarf
umangoye omuhle	u-man-go-ye o-mu-hle	pretty girl

In these examples, the adjectives "olungile" (good), "emhlophe" (white), and "omuhle" (pretty) describe the nouns "umfana" (boy), "inkhawabheka" (scarf), and "umangoye" (girl).

Quantitative adjectives

Quantitative adjectives are used to describe the quantity or amount of a noun.

For example:

Swati	Pronunciation	English
emabhodini angu	e-ma-bho-di-ni a-ngu	my two houses
iminyaka elishumi	i-mi-nya-ka e-li-shu-mi	ten years
amagumbi ayisithupha	a-ma-gum-bi a-yi-si-thu-pha	six books

In these examples, the adjectives "angu" (my), "elishumi" (ten), and "ayisithupha" (six) describe the quantity of the nouns "emabhodini" (houses), "iminyaka" (years), and "amagumbi" (books).

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are used to indicate possession of a noun. They usually come before the noun they describe.

For example:

Swati	Pronunciation	English
intombi yami	in-tom-bi ya-mi	my girl
ikhanda lakho	i-khan-da la-kho	your head
esandleni sakhe	e-san-dle-ni sa-khe	in his/her hand

In these examples, the possessive adjectives "yami" (my), "lakho" (your), and "sakhe" (in his/her) describe the nouns "intombi" (girl), "ikhanda" (head), and "esandleni" (hand).

Comparison of adjectives

In Swati, there are several ways to compare adjectives. One way is to use the word "kakhulu" (very), followed by the adjective.

For example:

Swati	Pronunciation	English
umfana okhulu	um-fa-na o-khu-lu	very good boy
inkhawabheka emhlophe kakhulu	in-kha-wa-bhe-ka em-hlo-phe ka-khu-lu	very white scarf
umangoye omuhle kakhulu	u-man-go-ye o-mu-hle ka-khu-lu	very pretty girl

Another way to compare adjectives is to add the suffix "-kulu" (big) or "-nhle" (beautiful) to the adjective.

For example:

Swati	Pronunciation	English
umfana olungakulu	um-fa-na o-lun-qa-khu-lu	very good boy
inkhawabheka embilikulu	in-kha-wa-bhe-ka em-bi-li-khu-lu	very beautiful scarf
umangoye omuhlenhle	u-man-go-ye o-mu-hle-nhle	very pretty girl

Practice exercise

Create five sentences using adjectives in Swati. You can use the adjectives from the examples in this lesson, or create your own.

Dialogue

Here is a dialogue between two friends, using adjectives in Swati.

• Nhlanhla: Sawubona, Themba! (Hello, Themba!)
• Themba: Yebo, sawubona Nhlanhla! Unjani? (Yes, hello Nhlanhla! How are you?)
• Nhlanhla: Ngikhona kakhulu, ngiyabonga. Wena, unjani? (I'm very well, thank you. And you, how are you?)
• Themba: Ngiphilile njalo, ngiyabonga. Uqhawe kakhulu kanjani? (I'm doing well too, thank you. How is your brother?)
• Nhlanhla: Uqhawe wami ungumakhulu kakhulu kakhulu, uyaphila njalo. (My brother is very big and is doing well all the time.)
• Themba: Uyathandoza noma umengameli kakhulu kanjani? (Is he busy, or is he a big boss?)
• Nhlanhla: Kuyathandoza kakhulu, akunamengameli. (He is very busy, he is not a big boss.)

In this dialogue, the adjectives "kakhulu" (very/big) and "njalo" (always) are used to describe the character of Nhlanhla's brother.

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➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Negation
• Give your Opinion
• Pronouns
• Future Tense
• Questions
• How to Use Be
• Plurals
• How to Use Have
• Conditional Mood

Sources

• Swati Hasija, English teacher | SlideShare