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.