Forming Activities and Tasks from the Base Forms of Swahili Verbs
Understanding Swahili verbs is your key to unlocking a wealth of vocabulary words
5/19/20246 min read
Understanding Swahili verbs is your key to unlocking a wealth of vocabulary words.
FORMING ACTIVITIES AND TASKS FROM THE BASE FORMS OF SWAHILI VERBS
Why Swahili Verbs Matter.
Understanding Swahili verbs is your key to unlocking a wealth of vocabulary words. By adding a few letters to the base form of a verb, you can create various words related to performers, activities, tasks, and processes. These words can also be transformed into adverbs, adjectives, and even expressions. In this guide, we will closely examine how Swahili verbs can be transformed into activities and tasks, equipping you with the tools to speak Swahili clearly and confidently in your conversations.
The decision to learn with or without "ku" is a personal one. Some learners find "ku" helpful, especially when distinguishing verbs from other word types, such as nouns and adjectives. They also argue that it aids in understanding and remembering irregular verbs, a group often referred to as monosyllabic verbs, which already include "ku" as part of their base form - a point I wholeheartedly agree with.
However, others find it distracting and believe it requires extra effort to remember to remove the "ku" from the verbs when conjugating and using them in sentences. They also argue that not all Swahili words starting with "ku" are verbs; some are nouns like "kushoto" (left-hand side), "kulia" (right-hand side), "kutwa" (daytime), "Kusini" (South), and many more. Therefore, relying on "ku" to identify and distinguish verbs from nouns and adjectives is not always very helpful.
Regarding the irregular verb argument, those that prefer learning just the base form argue that all Swahili verbs are regular, except for eight irregular ones. Instead of grappling with "ku" for every verb, they concentrate on mastering these eight irregular verbs, deeming "ku" irrelevant for this purpose.
In reality, there are no conventional rules or standards for how you should learn Swahili verbs. You should go with the approach that helps you master them best. If learning them with "ku," as in "kulala" (to sleep), "kuishi" (to live), and "kujaribu" (to try), suits you, go for it. If you prefer learning just the base forms like "lala" (sleep), "ishi" (live), or "jaribu" (try), and then adding “ku” before the verb to indicate “to,” that's a valid choice too. Ultimately, the best approach may be to try learning verbs both ways and determine what works best for you. They say there's nothing better than experiencing it for yourself.
In contrast, Swahili offers you a choice. You can choose to learn just the base form, such as "andika" (write), or you can learn it with "ku" as "kuandika" (to write), with the "ku" meaning "to" in this context.
Understanding the Base Form
Swahili verbs are similar to English verbs in that they both have base forms that can stand alone, separate from the conjunction "to." This sets them apart from languages like Spanish and French, where verbs are always connected to "to." For instance, in Spanish and French, there's no way to express the non-imperative "write" as a base form. Learners of these languages must always learn verbs beginning with "to," like "escribir" in Spanish and "écrire" in French, both meaning "to write."
Turning Verbs’ Base Forms into Activities and Tasks
In both Swahili and English, you can convert the base forms of verbs into activities or tasks. Take, for instance, the English verb "read," which translates to "soma" in Swahili. When you add the suffix "ing" to "read," it becomes "reading." So, when someone says they "read," the activity or task they're doing is "reading." "Reading" is now a noun, just like "a person" or "work," and it represents something you can do or be occupied with. This is why, in English, verbs ending in "ing," like "reading," "running," or "cooking," usually represent activities or tasks (in other words, nouns).
In Swahili, you convert the base forms of verbs into activities or tasks by adding the prefix "ku" to the beginning. For example, "soma" (read) turns into "kusoma" (reading), "pika" (cook) changes to "kupika" (cooking), and "ongea" (speak, talk) becomes "kuongea" (speaking, talking). So, when someone "soma" (reads), they are engaging in the activity of "kusoma."
Does “Kusoma” mean both “To read” and “Reading”?
In Swahili, "kusoma" can mean both "to read" and "reading." The "ku" before the base form of the verb can be compared to the "to" before English verbs or the "ing" at the end of English verbs. It all depends on the context. When you use "kusoma" to refer to an activity, especially at the start of a sentence, it means "reading," like in "kusoma kunasaidia" (reading helps). When you use it after verbs like "taka" (want), "kusoma" means "to read," as in "ninataka kusoma" (I want to read). A similar thing can happen in English when "reading" can either refer to an activity such as in “Reading helps me relax,” or be used in progressive tenses such as in the present progressive tense “I am reading,” which indicates that the speaker is reading something as they speak. Therefore, context helps you understand the meaning.
Using the Right Verb Pronoun for Activities and Tasks
In Swahili, the activities and tasks formed from verbs by adding the prefix ‘ku’ to their base form use ‘KU’ as their verb pronoun when they function as either doers or receivers in sentences. Think of "KU" as similar to other verb pronouns like "NI" for "Mimi" (I). For istance, in sentences like:
● Kupika kunasaidia = Cooking helps.
● Kufanya kazi kunahitaji nidhamu = Working needs discipline.
● Kusafiri na kusoma kunanifurahisha = Traveling and reading make me happy.
Now, you can explore many verbs and turn them into activities or tasks by simply adding the prefix "ku" to their base forms. Then, describe what these activities and tasks do: do they help, annoy, need, improve, or simply exist? Which activities do you enjoy, dislike, or do regularly?
The following are examples of activities and tasks that we regularly engage in, whether for enjoyment, survival, at work, school, or as chores:
For Fun or Enjoyment:
Kuangalia TV - Watching TV
Kuimba - Singing
Kusikiliza muziki - Listening to music
Kucheza muziki - Dancing [to the music]
Kucheza mpira [wa miguu] - Playing soccer [football]
Kucheza gemu kwenye kompyuta au simu - Playing video games on the computer or phone
Kusafiri - Traveling
Kutembelea - Visiting
Kuongea na marafiki - Speaking or talking with friends
Kusoma vitabu - Reading books
Kufurahi - Being happy or Having fun
Kucheka - Laughing
Kutabasamu - Smiling
Kupumzika - Relaxing or resting
As Chores (at home):
Kupika - Cooking
Kupiga mswaki - Brushing teeth
Kuoga - Taking a shower
Kuosha vyombo - Washing/doing the dishes
Kunawa mikono - Washing hands
Kufua - Doing laundry
Kusafisha nyumba au chumba - Cleaning the house or room
Kuvaa nguo - Getting dressed or Wearing clothes or Putting on clothes
Kuvua nguo - Taking off clothes
Kununua vitu sokoni au dukani - Buying things at the market or store/shop
For Survival:
Kula chakula - Eating food
Kunywa maji - Drinking water
Kulala - Sleeping
Kuamka - Waking up
Kufanya mazoezi - Exercising or Working out or Practicing
Kutembea - Walking
Kukimbia - Running
For or at Work:
Kuendesha gari au baiskeli - Driving a car or bicycle
Kupanda basi au treni - Taking a bus or train or Getting on the bus or train
Kushuka basi au treni - Getting off the bus or train
Kwenda kazini - Going to work
Kufanya - Doing or Making
Kufanya kazi - Working [Doing work]
Kupiga simu au kuwapigia watu simu - Making phone calls or Making phone calls to people
Kukutana na ___ - Meeting with ___
Kufanya vikao au mikutano - Holding meetings
Kujadili - Discussing
Kutengeneza - Making or Creating or Fixing
Kuuza bidhaa au vitu - Selling goods or items
Kurudia - Repeating
Kurudi nyumbani baada ya kazi - Returning home after work
For or at School or University:
Kwenda shule au chuo - Going to school or the college
Kuandika - Writing
Kusoma - Reading or Studying
Kujifunza - Learning
Kuuliza maswali - Asking questions
Kujibu maswali - Answering questions
Kuchora - Drawing
Kufanya mitihani - Taking exams
9. Kucheza michezo - Playing sports