Verb 'to be' or 'to become': KUWA

The verb kuwa means 'to be' or 'to become.'

 In the present tense, the verb 'to be' is simply represented by 'ni'.

• Mimi ni Saida [I am Saida.]
• Wewe ni mwanafunzi is [You are a student.]

I am

you are

he/she is

Thus; ‘ni’:             we are

You (pl) are

they are

it is

 

The Verb kuwa and Tenses

 

Present tense:     -ni (is/are/am)

Past tense:           -likuwa (was)

Future tense:       -takuwa (will be)

 

Note: Just like all verbs in Kiswahili, the verb kuwa is used in the following structure in a simple sentence:

Subject prefix + Tense marker + Verb

 

Present tense (ni)	Past tense (-likuwa)	Future tense (-takuwa)
Yeye ni mrembo. [she is beautiful]	Yeye alikuwa mrembo [she was beautiful]	Yeye atakuwa mrembo [she will be beautiful]
Jabali ni mrefu.[Jabali is tall]	Jabali alikuwa mrefu. [Jabali was tall]	Jabali atakuwa mrefu. [Jabali will be tall]
Mtoto ni mzuri. [The child is good]	Mtoto alikuwa mzuri.[The child was good]	Mtoto atakuwa mzuri.[The child will be good]

 

Kujibu Maswali [Responding to questions]

Wewe ni mwanafunzi? [Are you a student?]

Hapana, mimi si mwanafunzi. [No, I am not a student.]

Huyu ni dadako? [Is this your sister?]

Ndio, ni dadangu. [Yes, this is my sister.]

Wao ni waalimu? [Are they teachers?]

Ndio, ni waalimu. [Yes, they are teachers.]

 

Kukanusha ‘ni’ [Negating the verb ‘to be’]

When negating the verb ‘to be’, you use ‘si’

Mimi si mzuri.	I am not good
Wewe si mgonjwa.	You are not sick
Yeye si mfupi.	He/she is not short
Sisi si waalimu.	We are not teachers
Yule si mamangu.	That is not my mother
Hiki si kiti, ni meza.	This is not a chair, it’s a table

 

Exercise 1

1. How do you say 'I am a student' in Kiswahili?

a. Yeye ni mwalimu.

b. Mimi ni mwalimu.

c. Mimi ni mwanafunzi.

d. Sisi ni wanafunzi.

2. Translate 'they are Kenyan' to Kiswahili

a. Mimi ni Mkenya

b. Wewe ni Mkenya

c. Yeye ni Mkenya

d. Wao ni Wakenya

3. Negate this sentence 'Mimi ni mwalimu'

a. Wewe ni mwalimu

b. Mimi si mwalimu

c. Mimi ni mwalimu

d. Yeye ni mwalimu

4. Translate 'we are not Eglish' to Kiswahili

a. Sisi ni Waingereza

b. Nyinyi si Waingereza

c. Wao si Waingereza

d. Sisi si Waingereza

5. Translate to Kiswahili: 'I was a teacher'

a. Mimi nilikuwa mwalimu

b. Mimi sikuwa mwalimu

c. Mimi nitakuwa mwalimu

d. Mimi si mwalimu

6. What is the Verb 'to be' in present tense in Kiswahili?

a. ni

b. si

c. kuwa

7. What is the structure of a basic Kiswahili sentence?

a. Subject+verb+object

b. Tense+ verb+ object

c. subject+ tense+ verb

d. Subject+verb

8. Translate to Kiswahili: 'He will be a doctor'

a. yeye atakuwa tabibu

b. Mimi nitakuwa tabibu

c. Yeye alikuwa tabibu

d. Yeye ni tabibu

9. What is being said: Nitakuwa mwalimu

a. You were a teacher

b. I was a teacher

c. We will be teachers

d. I will be a teacher

Exercise 2: Translate to Kiswahili

1.              Hamisi is a teacher, not a student.

2.             We are not sick.

3.             The food is tasty.

4.            He is a very good person.

5.             Kiswahili is not a difficult language.

6.            He/She was clever.

7.             You will become a teacher.

8.            The aunt was sick.

9.            My sister will become a doctor.

10.        The bus was ready to travel.