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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

This is not a very common noun class, but there are a few important and common nouns that belong to it. The nouns in this class do not change from singular to plural, and they usually start with ma-.

• maji (water)
• mafuta (oil)
• marashi (perfume)
• magonjwa (diseases)
• maziwa (milk)
• mate (saliva)

Summary of Agreement

Adjectives

The adjective agreement prefix for the Ya-Ya class is ma– in both the singular and plural.

• maziwa mabaya  (bad milk)
• manukato matamu (sweet fragrance)
• mate machungu  (bitter saliva)

Possessives

The possessive prefix for the Ya-Ya class is y- in both the singular and plural.

• mate yangu,  (my saliva)
• marashi yetu  (our perfume)
• maziwa yako (your milk)

Verbal Agreement

The verbal subject agreement prefix for the Ya-Ya class is the same as its name, ya- in both the singular and plural.

• Marashi yananukia.
  The perfume smells nice.
• Maziwa yamechemka.
  The milk has boiled.
• Mate yana madini.
  Saliva has minerals.

Locatives

The prefixes ya- is used on the locatives –ko, –po, and –mo.

• Maziwa yako wapi? Maziwa yako jikoni.
  Where is the milk? The milk is in the kitchen.
• Manukato yako wapi? Manukato yako jijini.
  Where is the perfume? The perfume is in the city .

Object Infixes

The object infix for the Ya-Ya class is ya-.

• Marashi? Ninayaona.
  The perfume? I see it.
• Mate? Ninayaona.
  The saliva? I see it.
• Unayaona.
  You see it.
• Tunayaona.
  We see it.

Demonstratives

The demonstratives for the Ya-Ya class are haya (this/these), hayo (that/those), and yale (that/those over there).

• mapishi haya (this cooking)
• manukato yale (that perfume)
• maziwa hayo (that milk)

Relatives

The relative agreement infixes for the Ya-Ya noun class are yo– in the singular and in the plural. They can appear as infixes in the verb of the relative clause or as suffixes on amba.

• maziwa yaliyotumika…/ maziwa ambayo yalitumika… (the milk that was used…)
• magonjwa yaliyomwua…/ magonjwa ambayo yalimwua… (the diseases that killed him.)

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