Image by Nina Stock from Pixabay
This post is part of a series on Swahili noun classes. For an overview, see this post. To learn about each noun class in depth, check out these posts: The A-Wa Class, the Ki-Vi Class, the Li-Ya Class, the U-I Class, the I-I Class, the U-Zi Class, the I-Zi Class, the Ya-Ya Class, the Ku-Ku Class, the PaKuMu-PoKoMo Class.
Overview
The nouns in this class typically start with ku– and are nouns derived from verbs, similar to reading or to read in English. They do not have a plural form.
- kusoma (to read, reading)
- kuimba (to sing, singing)
- kucheza (to play, playing)
- kuinama (to bend, bending)
Summary of Agreement
| adjective | possessive | subject | object | demonstratives | relatives |
| ku- | kw- | ku- | ku- | huku huko kule | ko- |
Adjective Agreement
The agreement prefix for the Ku-Ku class is ku-.
- kuimba kubaya (bad singing, singing badly)
- kucheza kuzuri (playing well)
- kusoma kuzuri (reading well)
Possessives
The possessive prefix for the Ku-Ku class is kw-.
- kuimba kwangu (my singing, how I sing)
- kucheza kwetu (our playing, how we play)
- kuimba kwako (your singing, how you sing)
Verbal Agreement
The verbal subject agreement prefix for the Ku-Ku class is the same as its name, ku-.
- Kusoma kunafurahisha.
Reading is fun. - Kuimba kunatuliza.
Singing helps to relax. - Kukimba kuna faida
Running has benefits.
Object Infixes
The object infix for the Ku-Ku class are ku- in the singular, and in plural.
- Kusoma? Ninakuona.
To read? I see it. - Kuimba? Ninakuona.
To sing? I see it.
Demonstratives
The demonstratives for the Ku-Ku class are huku (this), kule (that), and huko (that, previously mentioned).
- kusoma huku (this way of reading)
- kuimba huko (that way of singing)
- kucheza kule (that way of playing)
Relatives
The relative agreement infixes for the Ku-Ku noun class is ko-, which can appear as an infix in the verb of the relative clause or as a suffixes on amba.
- kusoma kulikoisha…/ kusoma ambako kumeisha… (the reading that has just ended…)
- kucheza kulikomtuliza…/ kucheza ambako kulimtuliza… (the playing that relaxed him...)
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