Verbs: Positive Construction

Verbs in Kiswahili are made of three basic parts:

Pronoun Prefix + Tense Infix + Verb Stem

Pronouns Prefixes:

Ni: I

U: You (singular)

A: He/She

Tu: We

M: You (plural)

Wa: They

Tense Infixes:

Na: Present

Ta: Future

Li: Past (simple)

Me: Past (perfect)

Mesha: Past (already)

Ki: Conditional

Ki: While

Ka: Narrative ("and then")

For Example:

Ni-na-enda (I am going/I go)

U-ta-soma (You will read)

A-li-andika (She wrote)

Tu-me-amka (We have woken up)

M-mesha-oga (You have already washed)

Wa-ki-zugumza (If they chat...)

Ni-ki-hesabu (While I count)

U-ka-kopa (Then you borrowed)