LOCATIVES [Describing Locations]

We describe locations in three ways; specific, general or inside.

When responding to the question ‘where are you/where is it?’

	Specific	General	Inside
Here	hapa	huku	humu
There	hapo	huko	humo
There (far away)	pale	kule	mle

 

Describing location starting with ‘I am at...’ Or ‘It is at…’

(Responding to “Uko wapi/Iko wapi?” [where are you/where is it?], “Uko” is a combination of the subject prefix “u-” (second person singular) and the locative suffix “-ko”.)

-PO: Specific;      Nipo          [I am at (specific location)]

-KO: General;      Niko         [I am at (general location)]

-MO: Inside;        Nimo        [I am at (inside a place)]

 

Nipo hapa nyumbani            [I’m here at home]

Niko huku Mombasa            [I’m here in Mombasa]

Nimo humu chumbani         [I’m inside the room]

Mama yupo nyumbani.        [Mom is at home.]

Mama yuko mjini.                 [Mom is in town.]

Mama yumo chumbani.       [Mom is in the room.]

When describing locations, we turn nouns into “places” in two ways;

     i.          Attaching the suffix “-ni” to the end of the noun e.g. shambani, sokoni, nyumbani.

    ii.     Using the modifer kwenye, katika or kwa to turn those nouns into locations e.g. kwa shamba, kwenye gari, kwa nyumba.

 

Kwa mfano;

Mama yuko kwa shamba. / Mama yuko shambani. [Mom is at the farm.]

Kitabu kimo kwenye mfuko. / Kitabu kimo mfukoni. [The book is in the bag.]

Vitu vipo kwa kabati. / Vitu vipo kabatini. [The things are in the cupboard.]

Mifano katika mistari

a.     Kitabu kiko wapi.             [Where is the book?]

b.    Kitabu kipo hapa.             [The book is right here.]

c.     Wewe uko wapi?              [Where are you?]

d.    Mimi niko sokoni.            [I am at the market.]

e.     Amina na Kadzo wako mjini.          [Amina and Kadzo are in town.]

f.       Hela imo mfukoni.            [The money is in the pocket.]

g.     Kalamu iko wapi?             [Where is the pen?]

h.    Kalamu imo maktabani.      [The pen is in the library.]

i.       Basi liko wapi?                  [Where is the bus?]

j.       Basi liko kituoni.               [The bus is at the station.]

 

Using Locatives in Other Tenses

To express location in the past and future tenses, we insert -likuwa- for past tense and –takuwa- for future tense.

Past	Present	Future
Ulikuwako	Uko	Utakuwako
Kilikuwapo	Kipo	Kitakuwapo
Lilikuwapo	Lipo	litakuwapo

 

Zingatia [note]: When speaking, we sometimes drop the suffixes –ko, -po and –mo in the past and future tenses.

 

Exercise 1

Translate: The trees are in the field

• Miti iko shamba
• Miti niko shambani
• Miti nina shamba
• Miti iko shambani

Translate: Where is Leila?

• Leila yuko wapi?
• Leila ni wapi?
• Leila ana wapi?
• Leila yuko nini?

Translate: The pen is on the table

• Kalamu ako mezani
• Kalamu ipo mezani
• kalamu ni mezani
• Kalamu ana mezani

Gari ___________ nje ya nyumba.

• ni
• ana
• limo
• lipo

Translate: Your book is here.

• Kitabu kipo hapa.
• Kitabu chako kipo hapa.
• Kitabu chako ni hapa.
• Kitabu chako kipo pale.

Which of the following is not a locative?

• Hapa
• Pale
• Huyu
• Ndani

Exercise 2: Convert the following sentences into past and future tenses.

a)    Kitabu kiko wapi.             

b)    Kitabu kipo hapa.        

c)     Wewe uko wapi?          

d)     Mimi niko sokoni.       

e)    Amina na Kadzo wako mjini.         

f)     Hela imo mfukoni.       

g)    Kalamu iko wapi?        

h)   Kalamu imo mfukoni.

i)    Basi liko wapi?             

j)     Basi liko kituoni.