Photo by Photos By Beks on Unsplash
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 Li-Ya noun class includes nouns with a few different singular/plural prefix pairs: ji-ma-, ji-me-, je-ma-, and ∅-ma-, where ∅ means “zero” or no prefix. This noun class includes things that are manufactured or built, places, as well as certain body parts.
- jina, majina (name, names)
- jiko, majiko (stove, stoves)
- jino, meno (tooth, teeth)
- jiko, meko (fireplace, fireplaces)
- jengo, majengo (building, buildings)
- jembe, majembe (hoe, hoes)
- dawati, madawati (desk, desks)
- soko, masoko (market, markets)
Agreement Markers
| adjective | possessive | subject | object | demonstratives | relatives |
| –∅ /ma- | l-/y- | li-/ya- | li-/ya- | hili, haya hiyo, hayo lile, yale | lo-/yo- |
Adjective Agreement
The adjective agreement prefixes for the Li-Ya class are ∅- in the singular and ma– in the plural. However, notice that ji- appears on –pya (new), because otherwise it would only have one syllable; this is a slight irregularity, but since –pya (new) is a common adjective, we’ll include it as an example.
- gari zee, magari mazee (an old car, old cars)
- jino kubwa, meno makubwa (a big tooth, big teeth)
- jiko jipya, majiko mapya (a new stove, new stoves)
- jiko zuri, jiko mazuri (a good stove, good stoves)
Possessive Agreement
The possessive prefix for the Li-Ya class is l-, in singular and y- in the plural.
- darasa langu, madarasa yangu (my class, my classes)
- dawati letu, madawati yetu (our desk, our desks)
- jembe lako, majembe yako (your hoe, your hoes)
Verbal Subject Agreement
The verbal subject agreement prefixes for the Li-Ya class are the same as its name, li- in the singular and ya– in the plural.
- Jino linauma.
The tooth is hurting. - Dawati limevunjika.
The desk is broken. - Jedwali limechorwa.
The table has been drawn. - Soko limetengenezwa.
The market has been repaired.
Locatives
The prefixes li-/ya– are used on the locatives –ko, –po, and –mo.
- Dawati liko wapi? Dawati yako darasani.
Where is the desk? The desk is inside the classroom. - Magari yako wapi? Magari yako kituoni.
Where are the cars? The cars are at the station.
Object Infixes
The object infixes for the Li-Ya class are li- in the singular, and ya– in the plural.
- Jiwe? Ninaliona.
The stone? I see it. - Madaraja? Ninayaona.
The bridges? I see them.
Demonstratives
The demonstratives for the Li-Ya class are hili (this), haya (these), hilo (that), hayo (those), lile (that over there), yale (those over there).
- gitaa hili (this guitar)
- madaftari haya (these notebooks)
- kabati lile (that cupboard)
- makabati yale (those cupboards)
- magari hayo (that car)
Relatives
The relative agreement infixes for the Li-Ya noun class are lo– in the singular and yo- in the plural. They can appear as infixes in the verb of the clause (lililopotea) or as suffixes on amba (ambalo).
- gari lililopotea…/ gari ambalo lilipotea… (the car that was lost…)
- madaftari yaliyoraruka…/ madaftari ambayo yaliraruka… (the notebooks that were torn…)
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