The Swahili Past Tense with -li-

In this post we’ll learn about the Swahili simple past tense. First, we’ll start with a reminder of the Swahili tense system, including the important concept of tense infixes. After that we’ll look at some simple sentences with verbs in the Swahili past tense. Next, we’ll turn to negation in the past. Finally, we’ll look at more complex sentences

Summary of the Swahili Tense System

Swahili verbs are built from several parts, including a verb root, surrounded by other grammatical markers. The typical order is:

Subject Prefix + Tense Marker + (Object Infix) + Verb Root + Final Vowel

Here’s a typical example:

• Ninamwona.
  ni-na-mw-ona
  I see him/her.

Let’s break that down and look at what each of those parts means:

• ni- = I subject prefix
• -na- = present tense marker
• -mw- = him/her (object infix)
• -on- = see
• -a = final vowel (default for most affirmative Bantu verbs)

To change tense in a Swahili verb, simply change the tense marker. For example, f you change the present tense marker –na– to the past tense marker –li-, you have:

• Nilimwona.
  ni-li-mw-ona
  I saw him/her.

Swahili Subject Prefixes: Humans

Subject prefixes are typically the first element in Swahili verbs. They are determined by the noun class of the subject. If the subject is a person, you use one of the following prefixes from the A-Wa class:

Pronoun	Subject prefix	English
mimi	ni-	I
wewe	u-	you (singular)
yeye	a-	he, she
sisi	tu-	we
nyinyi	m-	you (plural)
wao	wa-	they

Swahili Subject Prefixes: Non-Humans

If the subject isn’t a person, you need to use the correct singular or plural subject prefix for the noun class. For example, animals belonging to the A-Wa noun class take a- in the singular and wa- in the plural, just like the yeye and wao forms above.

The other noun classes are named after their subject prefixes, at least according to the newer syntactic grouping of Swahili Noun Classes.

Noun Class	Singular Subject Prefix	Plural Subject Prefix
Ki-Vi	ki-	vi-
I-Zi	i-	zi-
Li-Ya	li-	ya-
U-I	u-	i-
I-I	i-	(i-) *usually no plurals
U-Zi	u-	zi-
Ya-Ya	ya-	ya- *same singular & plural
Ku	ku-	(no plurals)
Locative Classes	pa- ku- m-	pa- ku- m-

For more information on Swahili Noun Classes, including the more traditional M-Wa, M-Mi classifications, check out this post on noun classes. For information on each class, follow the links to the specific noun classes themselves.

Swahili Simple Past Tense

The tense marker -li- expresses a straightforward completed past action. It usually corresponds to the English simple past, for example I ate, you went, she worked, they bought.

As you’ve seen, the basic structure of the verb is:

Subject Prefix + -li- + Verb Root + -final vowel

We’ll get into the nature of the final vowel below.

Swahili Simple Past Tense with Human Subjects

Remember that the final vowel is typically -a.

• Nilikwenda kazini.
  I went to work.
• Alikula chakula cha asubuhi.
  He ate /She ate breakfast.
• Tulichelewa leo.
  We were late today.
• Mlisoma kitabu?
  Did you (plural) read a book?
• Walinunua mboga sokoni.
  They bought vegetables at the market.

However, some verbs, especially ones borrowed from Arabic, may end in -i, –u, or –e.

• Maria alisafiri kwenda Kenya mwaka jana.
  Maria traveled to Kenya last year.
• Tulijaribu kupika chakula cha Kichina.
  We tried to cook Chinese food.
• Amina alimsamehe rafiki yake.
  Amina forgave her friend.

Swahili Simple Past Tense with Non-Human Subjects

Now let’s look at some examples with non-human subjects. Remember that animals belong to the same A-Wa class as humans. Inanimate nouns belong to the other classes.

• Mbwa alilala chini ya mti.
  The dog slept under the tree.
  (A-Wa class, singular)
• Ndege waliruka juu ya nyumba.
  The birds flew over the house.
  (A-Wa class, plural)
• Barua ilifika jana.
  The letter arrived yesterday.
  (I-Zi class, singular)
• Vitabu vilianguka kutoka mezani.
  The books fell off the table.
  (Ki-Vi class, plural)
• Miti ilikua haraka.
  The trees grew quickly.
  (U-I class, plural)
• Magari yalisimama mbele ya nyumba.
  The cars stopped in front of the house.
  (Li-Ya class, plural)

Negation of the Swahili Simple Past Tense

Now let’s look at how to form negative sentences in the Swahili simple past tense. There are a few changes that happen in the negative:

• Unlike the present tense negative, the final vowel of the verb does not change. Verbs ending in -a keep that ending. For example, the verb root -sema (speak) remains -sema.
• Verbs ending in other vowels also keep those vowels. For example, the verb roots -jibu (answer) and -safiri (travel) stay the same.
• The affirmative past tense infix -li- is replaced by -ku- in the negative.
• You use the same set of negative subject prefixes as in the present tense, which mostly begin with h-, except for the mimi form. (see below)

The structure is:

negative subject prefix + -ku- + verb root + final vowel

Negative Subject Prefixes

The negative simple past tense uses the same prefixes as the negative present tense. Let’s review them all:

Pronoun	Affirmative	Negative Prefix	Negative
mimi	nilisema	si-	sikusema
wewe	ulisema	hu-	hukusema
yeye	alisema	ha-	hakusema
sisi	tulisema	hatu-	hatukusema
nyinyi	mlisema	ham-	hamkusema
wao	walisema	hawa-	hawakusema

Swahili Negative Simple Past Tense with Human Subjects

Let’s see some examples of negative simple past sentences with human subjects.

• Sikula chakula cha mchana jana.
  I didn’t eat lunch yesterday.
• Hukusafiri kwenda Kenya mwaka jana.
  You didn’t travel to Kenya last year.
• Maria hakujibu swali.
  Maria didn’t answer the question.
• Hatukujaribu kupika chakula cha Kichina.
  We didn’t try to cook Chinese food.
• Hamkusoma kitabu hicho.
  You didn’t read that book.
• Hawakufika kwa wakati.
  They didn’t arrive on time.

Swahili Negative Simple Past Tense with Non-Human Subjects

Now let’s turn to some examples of negative simple past sentences with non- human subjects.

• Mbwa hakulala chini ya mti.
  The dog didn’t sleep under the tree.
  (A-Wa, singular)
• Ndege hawakuruka juu ya nyumba.
  The birds didn’t fly over the house.
  (A-Wa, plural)
• Barua haikufika jana.
  The letter didn’t arrive yesterday.
  (I-Zi, singular)
• Vitabu havikuanguka kutoka mezani.
  The books didn’t fall off the table.
  (Ki-Vi, plural)
• Miti haikukua haraka.
  The trees didn’t grow quickly.
  (U-I, plural)
• Magari hayakusimama mbele ya nyumba.
  The cars didn’t stop in front of the house.
  (Li-Ya, plural)

More Complex Verbal Constructions in the Swahili Simple Past Tense

To close, let’s look at some examples that include one more important element: object infixes. You’ve already seen that subjects are coded onto Swahili verbs with subject prefixes. Objects are also coded onto verbs, and the structure is:

subject prefix + tense marker + object marker + verb stem + final vowel

The object prefixes for people are:

me	-ni-	us	-tu-
you (sing)	-ku-	you (pl)	-wa-
him, her	-m-, -mw-	them	-wa-

The difference between –m– and –mw– in the third person singular is:

• –m– is used before consonants
• –mw– is used before vowels

The object prefixes for animals are –m– in the singular and –wa– in the plural. The object prefixes for other noun classes are typically the same as the subject prefixes. Let’s see just a few quick examples.

• Nilimwona.
  I saw him/her.
• Nilikisoma.
  I read it. (referring to kitabu, book)
• Nililinunua.
  I bought it. (referring to gari, car)
• Niliwaona.
  I saw them. (referring to people or animals)

If the object is a specific, definite human, Swahili requires the object infix even when the object noun appears in the sentence.

• Nilimwona rafiki yangu.
  I saw my friend.
• Alimsaidia mama yake.
  He helped /She helped his/her mother.
• Tuliwasikia watoto wakicheka.
  We heard the children laughing.

Get on the road to speaking Swahili with the Language Garage!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the Swahili Simple Past Tense. If you’d like to learn more:

• Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Twitter, Threads, Instagram, or Pinterest. We publish lots of Swahili vocabulary, grammar, and culture notes, so it’s a great way to pick up some new vocabulary and practice.
• Check out our other posts on Swahili language, culture, and more.
• Enroll in affordable, flexible, and personalized private online Swahili lessons or sign up for a small group online Swahili class.
• Create a free Language Garage account to access tons of Swahili vocabulary, grammar, and culture.

Photo by David Cashbaugh on Unsplash