Chapter 29

	Chapter 29 - Possession

1. THE CONNECTIVE PARTICLE "-A" :

The English possessive case "'s", which is often equivalent to "of" when it marks possession, is translated in Swahili by a particle whose root is -A. The connective particle -A agrees in class with the noun of the thing (or person) possessed.

Class	Connective	Example	Translation
Cl 1	WA	Mwana wa baba.	Father's child.
Cl 2	WA	Wana wa baba.	Father's children.
Cl 3	WA	Mti wa baba.	Father's tree.
Cl 4	YA	Miti ya baba.	Father's trees.
Cl 5	LA	Gari la baba.	Father's car.
Cl 6	YA	Magari ya baba.	Father's cars.
Cl 7	CHA	Kiti cha baba.	Father's chair.
Cl 8	VYA	Viti vya baba.	Father's chairs.
Cl 9	YA	Nguo ya baba.	Father's garment.
Cl 10	ZA	Nguo za baba.	Father's clothes.
Cl 11/14	WA	Uso wa baba.	Father's face.

WORD ORDER AND EXAMPLES :

The word order in the Swahili sentence is the same as in English, when possession is conveyed by "of". The only difference is that the adjective must follow the noun it qualifies.

Mtoto mdogo wa mama. The small child of Mother.

Mikono mikubwa ya mtoto mdogo. The large hands of the small child.

Viatu vichafu vya mtoto. The dirty shoes of the child.

Gari jipya la baba. The new car of Father.

2. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS :

Possessive adjectives and pronouns agree in class with the noun of the possessed object / person. The class prefixes, identical to those of the connective particle, are affixed to the following possessive markers :

-ANGU my mine

-AKO your yours

-AKE his, her his, hers

-ETU our ours

-ENU your yours

-AO their theirs

NOTE :

When the possessor is not a human being but a thing, we use the marker -AKE, both in singular and plural :

Nyumba na mlango wake The house and its door

Gari na milango yake The car and its doors

Mti na matunda yake The tree and its fruit

Miti na matunda yake The trees and their fruit

1. WITH NOUNS OF THE M-/WA- GENDER (Classes 1 / 2) :

Mwana wangu my child Wana wangu my children

Mwana wako your child Wana wako your children

Mwana wake his / her child Wana wake his / her children

Mwana wetu our child Wana wetu our children

Mwana wenu your child Wana wenu your children

Mwana wao their child Wana wao their children

2. WITH NOUNS OF THE M-/MI- GENDER (Classes 3 / 4) :

Mti wangu my tree Miti yangu my trees

Mti wako your tree Miti yako your trees

Mti wake his / her tree Miti yake his / her trees

Mti wetu our tree Miti yetu our trees

Mti wenu your tree (plur) Miti yenu your trees (plur)

Mti wao their tree Miti yao their trees

3. WITH NOUNS OF THE JI-/MA- GENDER (Classes 5 / 6) :

Gari langu my car Magari yangu my cars

Gari lako your car Magari yako you cars

Gari lake his / her car Magari yake his / her cars

Gari letu our car Magari yetu our cars

Gari lenu your car (plur) Magari yenu your cars (plur)

Gari lao their car Magari yao their cars

4. WITH NOUNS OF THE KI-/VI- GENDER (Classes 7 / 8) :

Kiti changu my chair Viti vyangu my chairs

Kiti chako your chair Viti vyako your chairs

Kiti chake his / her chair Viti vyake his / her chairs

Kiti chetu our chair Viti vyetu our chairs

Kiti chenu your chair (plur) Viti vyenu your chairs (plur)

Kiti chao their chair Viti vyao their chairs

5. WITH NOUNS OF THE N- GENDER (Classes 9 / 10) :

Nguo yangu my garment Nguo zangu my clothes

Nguo yako your garment Nguo zako your clothes

Nguo yake his / her garment Nguo zake his / her clothes

Nguo yetu our garment Nguo zetu our clothes

Nguo yenu your garment (plur) Nguo zenu your clothes (plur)

Nguo yao their garment Nguo zao their clothes

6. WITH NOUNS OF THE U- GENDER (Classes 11, 14 / 10) :

Uso wangu my face Nyuso zangu my faces

Uso wako your face Nyuso zako your faces

Uso wake his / her face Nyuso zake his / her faces

Uso wetu our face Nyuso zetu our faces

Uso wenu your face Nyuso zenu your faces

Uso wao their face Nyuso zao their faces

3. CONTRACTED FORMS : PERSON + POSSESSIVE ADJ. :

Baba yangu -> Babangu = my father

Baba yako -> Babako = your father

Baba yake -> Babake = his / her father

Mama yangu -> Mamangu = my mother

Mama yako -> Mamako = your mother

Mama yake -> Mamake = his / her mother

Mke wako -> Mkeo = your wife

Mke wake -> Mkewe = his wife

Mume wako -> Mumeo = your husband

Mume wake -> Mumewe = her husband

Mwana wangu -> Mwanangu = my child

Mwana wako -> Mwanao = your child

Mwana wake -> Mwanawe = his / her child

Mwenzi wangu -> Mwenzangu = my comrade

Mwenzi wako -> Mwenzako / -zio = your comrade

Mwenzi wake -> Mwenzake / -zie = his / her comrade

Mwenzi wetu -> Mwenzetu = our comrade

Mwenzi wenu -> Mwenzenu = your comrade (plur)

Mwenzi wao -> Mwenzao = their comrade

Likewise in plural : -> Wenzangu
-> Wenzako / -zio
-> Wenzake / -zie
-> Wenzetu
-> Wenzenu
-> Wenzao = my comrades
= your comrades
= his / her comrades
= our comrades
= your comrades (plur)
= their comrades

Ndugu yako -> Nduguyo = your friend

Ndugu yake -> Nduguye = his / her friend

Ndugu zako -> Nduguzo = your friends

Ndugu zake -> Nduguze = their friends

4. TWO PARTICULAR POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES / PRONOUNS :

The connective particle ZA- linked to possessive markers conveys the meaning "away" and produces the following series of possessive pronouns :

Ninakwenda ZANGU I go away

Unakwenda ZAKO You go away

Anakwenda ZAKE He / she goes away

Tunakwenda ZETU We go away

Mnakwenda ZENU You go away (plur)

Wanakwenda ZAO They go away
The locative particles PA-, KU-, MU- linked to possessive markers convey the meaning "at home" and produce the following series of possessive adjectives / pronouns :

PANGU KWANGU MWANGU at my home

PAKO KWAKO MWAKO at your home

PAKE KWAKE MWAKE at his / her home

PETU KWETU MWETU at our home

PENU KWENU MWENU at your home (plur)

PAO KWAO MWAO at their home

NOTE 1 :

These are the possessives we use after nouns suffixed in -NI (= at, in, on, by) which, in a way, have left their native noun class to join the locative classes :

Nyumbani kwangu at my home Nyumbani kwetu at our home

Nyumbani kwako at your home Nyumbani kwenu at your home (plur)

Nyumbani kwake at his / her home Nyumbani kwao at their home

EXAMPLES :

Bwana hayumo chumbani mwake The master is not in his room

Anarudi kisiwani kwake katika ziwa He goes back to his island on the lac

Wamo nyumbani mwao They are in their house

Kwenu ku wapi ? Where is your place ?

Wamekwenda zao They have gone away

Kwetu hakuna mahindi mengi At our place there is not much corn

Mkoba huu ni wa nani ? - Ni wa kwangu Whose bag is it ? - It's (of) mine

NOTE 2 :

The plural KWAO (= their) is most often used for a collective place (like a house, an office, etc.), even when the possessor is singular :

EXAMPLES :

Mtoto hayuko skuli, amekwenda kwao The child is not at school, he has gone back home (to their place)

Maskini hana kwao The poor man has no home (at their's)

Ngoja niulize ofisini kwao Wait that I ask at his office (at their office)

EXERCISES

EXERCISE 1 : Translate into Swahili :

Father's child, Mother's children, my mother's bag, my parents' house, the child's ball, the children's plates, my sister's ustensils, my brother's garment, the pupils' food, his father's car, my mother's drugs, my comrade's face, my comrades' faces, a village of fishermen, a charcoal bag, a 4 gallon can of onions, a kilo of meat, the way to the house, the well of the village, Swahili lessons.
My child, my children, my car, my house, my work, your village, your uncle, your friends, your father, your bag, your dog, her husband, his wife, her comrades, his shop, his money, our comrades, our house, our school, our city, our ministers, your country (plur), your car (plur), your children (plur), your songs (plur), your pupils (plur), their clothes, their house, their faces, their comrades.
Mine (bag), mine (mother), yours (ball), mine (pupils), his (field), yours (chickens), ours (car), hers (sheets), ours (clothes), yours (village), yours (plur) (cows), theirs (hospital), theirs (crops), his (blanket), hers (cups).

EXERCISE 2 : Translate into English :

Ninakwenda zangu.

Mama hayumo jikoni mwake.

Kwenu ku wapi ?

Mtoto hayuko skuli, amerudi kwao.

Mtu huyo mkorofi amechukua mkoba wangu.

Kwetu kuna mahindi mengi.

Mkoba huo wa nani ? - Ni wa kwangu.

Twende zetu haraka !

Huyo maskini hana kwao.

Uko peke yako ? - Ndiyo, wenzangu wamekwenda zao.

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