 | Chapter 27 - Emphatics |
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DEFINITION :
An emphatic is a word used to stress or reinforce an element in the speech. One can roughly translate the Swahili emphatic by the words "indeed" or "the very" in English.
The Swahili emphatic is a word whose root is NDI- and whose termination changes according to the noun to which it agrees.
1. SIMPLE EMPHATICS :
| GENDERS / Classes | EMPHATICS | |
| Singular | Plural | |
| M-/WA- (Classes 1 / 2) | ndiye | ndio |
| M-/MI- (Classes 3 / 4) | ndio | ndiyo |
| JI-/MA- (Classes 5 / 6) | ndilo | ndiyo |
| KI-/VI- (Classes 7 / 8) | ndicho | ndivyo |
| N- (Classes 9 / 10) | ndiyo | ndizo |
| U- (Classes 11, 14 / 10) | ndio | ndizo |
| PA (Locative Class 16) | ndipo | |
| KU (Locative Class 17) | ndiko | |
| MU (Locative Class 18) | ndimo | |
EXAMPLES :
| Mpishi yule ndiye hodari | That cook is indeed gifted |
| Hawa ndio watu walioniiba mizigo yangu | They are the very people who stole us our luggage |
| Huu ndio mkoba wangu | It's indeed my bag |
| Hicho ndicho kitu nilichokitafuta | This is the very thing I was looking for |
| Dawa hii ndiyo nzuri sana | This medicine is indeed very good. |
| Saa moja ndipo alipofika | He arrived actually at 7 o'clock |
| NOTE : | One often comes across verbs with the relative (walioniiba, nilichokitafuta, alipofika) in this type of speech. Several lessons will be devoted to the relative tenses further on. (See : Chapter 52 et Chapter 53.) |
2. THE NEGATIVE FORM :
The emphatics possess a negative form. In order to achieve this, the affirmative root NDI- is replaced by the negative root SI- : it's actually the negative form of the verb KUWA (= to be) in the present tense.
| GENDERS / Classes | EMPHATICS | |
| Singular | Plural | |
| M-/WA- (Classes 1 / 2) | siye | sio |
| M-/MI- (Classes 3 / 4) | sio | siyo |
| JI-/MA- (Classes 5 / 6) | silo | siyo |
| KI-/VI- (Classes 7 / 8) | sicho | sivyo |
| N- (Classes 9 / 10) | siyo | sizo |
| U- (Classes 11, 14 / 10) | sio | sizo |
| PA (Locative Class 16) | sipo | |
| KU (Locative Class 17) | siko | |
| MU (Locative Class 18) | simo | |
EXAMPLES :
| Huyu siye mtu aliyeniiba saa yangu | This is not the person who stole me my watch |
| Sivyo nilivyosema | This is not what I said |
| Nani alichukua fedha zangu ? - Sio mimi | Who took my money ? - Not me |
3. EMPHATIC PRONOUNS :
The autonomous subject pronouns possess emphatic forms. The three persons singular are often contracted, the three persons plural more rarely so.
| Full form | Contracted form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ndiye mimi | Ndimi | It's me |
| Ndiye wewe | Ndiwe | It's you |
| Ndiye yeye | Ndiye | It's him / her |
| Ndio sisi | (Ndisi) | It's us |
| Ndio ninyi | (Ndinyi) | It's you (Plur) |
| Ndio wao | (Ndio) | It's them |
EXAMPLES :
| Nani atakwenda mjini ? - Ndimi | Who will go to town ? - That's me |
| Nani amevunja kioo hicho ? - Ndiye, Mama | Who has broken this mirror ? - It's him, Mum |
Emphatic pronouns in the third person singular and plural possess a contracted negative form :
| Full form | Contracted form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Si yeye | Siye | It's not him / her |
| Si wao | Sio | It's not them |
4. "NDIYO" & "SIYO" :
The emphatics NDIYO and SIYO have given the words "yes" and "no".
- Ukupata fedha zako ? - Ndiyo Bwana. You haven't got your money (have you ?) ? - Yes, Sir.
It should be noted that if someone answers Ndiyo to a negative question, he / she implicitly agrees with what has been said. In the present case, the answer Ndiyo Bwana means "what you say is true", i.e. : "Indeed, I didn't get it". That would normally correspond to "No, I didn't" in English !
OTHER EXEMPLES :
- Ninunue mkate ? - Ndiyo, nunua ! - Should I buy bread ? - Yes, buy some ! - Ninunue mkate ? - Siyo, usinunue ! - Should I buy bread ? - No, don't ! - Nisinunue mkate ? - Ndiyo, usinunue ! - Shouldn't I buy bread ? - Yes (No), don't ! - Nisinunue mkate ? - Siyo, nunua ! - Shouldn't I buy bread ? ? - No (Yes) buy some !
VOCABULARY
| Ku-chinja | to kill, to sacrifice | Ku-tafuna | to chew |
| Ku-kataa | to refuse | Ku-ua | to kill |
| Ku-kubali | to agree | Ku-uma | to hurt |
| Ku-nawa | to wash one's hands | Ku-winda | to hunt |
| Ku-pumzika | to rest | Ku-zima | to extinguish |
| Ku-saidia | to help | Ku-zungumza | to speak |
EXERCISES
EXERCISE 1 : Translate into Swahili :
- This pupil is very lazy.
- But this one is very clever.
- These people are indeed robbers.
- This wine is indeed very good.
- We do come at nine o'clock.
- This piece of luggage is indeed mine.
- It IS the bus to Mombasa.
- It's the very thing I was looking for.
- This is not the thief.
- It's not what I said.
- Who goes to the post-office today ? - That's me.
- Tell me who broke that window ? - That's him.
EXERCISE 2 : Translate into English :
- Ninunue nyama ? - Ndiyo, nunua kilo moja.
- Hii ndiyo nyama ya mbuzi.
- Siyo nyama ya nguruwe.
- Hukupata mshahara wako ? - ndiyo bwana.
- Nani anachinja mbuzi ? - Ndiye Musa.
- Nani aliiba mkoba wangu ? - Sio mimi.
- Gari hili ndilo gari langu.
- Mchuzi huu ndio mtamu sana.
- Huyu ndiye mtu aliyenisaidia.
- Wanafunzi hawa sio wajinga.
- Kitabu hiki sicho nitakacho.
- Mimi ndiye mwanao, baba. Huyu siye.
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