The Passive
Given the long lessons, I thought I would toss in a short one. The passive voice in Swahili is created by a verb extension, much like the applicative. The passive extension is <-w->, or sometimes <-liw-> or <-lew-> in verbs where the applicative would take a similar form. The <-w-> comes before the final vowel, the Bantu indicative <-a>.
Examples:
<Ninaona> “I see”
<Ninaonwa> “I am seen”
<Hujalinda> “You have yet to guard”
<Hujalindwa> “You have yet to be guarded”
<Hapendi> “S/he doesn’t love”
<Hapendwi> “S/he is not loved”
Agents in passive constructions are marked by either <na> or <kwa>. If the agent is human or animal, it gets <na>, if the agent is inanimate it gets <kwa>.
Examples:
<Nilionwa na paka> “I was seen by the large cat”
<Hamlindwi na mtoto> “You all are not guarded by the child”
<Msichana hakulindwa kwa mti> “The young woman wasn’t guarded by the tree”
<Hupendwi kwa majisu> “You are not loved by large knives”
The passive of <kupa> is <kupewa>. This is because the passive form doesn’t take an object infix, and the root <-p-> is too small to stress on its own. In ditransitive sentences, the direct object comes after the verb, before the agent.
Example:
<Nilipewa sanduku na paka> “I was given a box by the large cat”
<Msichana hatapewa mkate na mganga> “The young woman will not be given bread by the doctor”
When it comes to CL1 and CL2 pronouns as agents <na + pronoun> is acceptable, but instead they often contract. Here’s an example, then a chart:
<Huonwi na mimi> “You are not seen by me”
<Huonwi nami> “You are not seen by me”
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Na + mimi = nami na + sisi = nasi
Na + wewe = nawe na + nyinyi = nanyi
Na + yeye = naye na + wao = nao
So:
<Unaonwa nami> “You are seen by me”
But also:
<Ulienda nami> “You went with me”
The Habitual
The habitual differs from other Swahili verbs in that there is only one form and no concord.
When a verb is habitual, add <hu-> to the indicative root. The habitual <hu-> can be stressed, so the infinitive is not used in monosyllabic verbs.
<Mimi husoma> “I always read”
<Yeye hulinda> “S/he always guards”
<Wao hula> “They always eat”
<Sisi hufanya> “We always do, make”
(<kufanya> “to do”)
The negative form of the habitual is the present tense indicative negative form of the verb.