HomepageChapter 53 - The General Relative


The General Relative is a Present Indefinite Relative. It is used in sentences of the type :

  • "Farmers who cultivate plants."
  • "Cows which eat grass."


 1. AFFIRMATIVE FORM : 


This specialized relative tense does not have a tense marker. the subject prefix is directly followed by the verb radical, while a relative suffix (-O of reference) is attached at the end of the end of the verb. This relative suffix agrees in class to the noun it refers to. (See : Chapter 31 - The "-O" of Reference.)



 SUBJECT PREFIX + VERB RADICAL + O 

MODEL :   KUFANYA = to make, to do


NI-FANYA-YE  -> nifanyayeI who make
U-FANYA-YE  -> ufanyayeyou who make
A-FANYA-YE  -> afanyayehe / she who makes
TU-FANYA-O  -> tufanyaowe who make
M-FANYA-O  -> mfanyaoyou who make
WA-FANYA-O  -> wafanyaothey who make


OTHER MODELS :   KUFAA = TO BE CONVENIENT


GENDER / Classes EXAMPLES TRANSLATION
M- (Class 1)
WA- (Class 2)		 mtu afaaye
watu wafaao		 the person who is suitable
people who are suitable
M- (Class 3)
MI- (Class 4)		 mti ufaao
miti ifaayo		 a tree which is suitable
trees which are suitable
JI- (Class 5)
MA- (Class 6)		 gari lifaalo
magari yafaayo		 a car which is suitable
cars which are suitable
KI- (Class 7)
VI- (Class 8)		 kiti kifaacho
viti vifaavyo		 a chair which is suitable
chairs which are suitable
N- (Class 9)
N- (Class 10)		 nguo ifaayo
nguo zifaazo		 a garment which is suitable
clothes which are suitable
U- (Class 11)
plural (Cl 10)		 uma ufaao
nyuma zifaazo		 a fork which is suitable
forks which are suitable


NOTES :
  • Verbs of Arabic origin behave like ordinary verbs :
    Nifikiriye = I who think
    Ajibuye = he / she who answers
     
  • Monosyllabic verbs drop their infinitive prefix KU- :
    Nijaye = I who come
    Tulao = we who eat
    Siku zijazo = coming days
     

EXAMPLES :

Mwezi ujaoNext month
Mwaka ujaoNext year
Wiki ijayoNext week
Alhamisi ijayoNext Thursday
Mtoto asomayeThe child who learns
Shamba litufaaloA plantation that suits us
Mwalimu afundishaye watoto wao The teacher who teaches these children
Siku zijazo zitakuwa na mvua nyingi The coming days will be very rainy
Nilifika mwaka jana, nitaondoka mwaka ujao I arrived last year, I will go next year
Mkutano utaanza Jumanne ijayoThe meeting will start next Tuesday

 2. NEGATIVE FORM : 


The General Relative has no negative form of its own. It is the General Negative which is naturally used since it does not include any tense markers either. (See : Chapter 52 - The Relative Verbal Construction.)


 3. PARTICULAR CASES : KUWA & KUWA NA : 


The verbs KUWA (= to be) and KUWA NA (= to have) possess a particular relative construction that uses the verbal roots LI in the affirmative and SI in the negative.

PRESENT - AFFIRMATIVE FORM
 
KUWA descriptive KUWA locative Translation
NILIYE NILIYEPO I who am
ULIYE ULIYEPO you who are
ALIYE ALIYEPO he / she who is
TULIO TULIOPO we who are
MLIO MLIOPO you who are
WALIO WALIOPO they who are


PRESENT - NEGATIVE FORM
 
KUWA descriptive KUWA locative Translation
NISIYE NISIYEPO I who is not
USIYE USIYEPO you who are not
ASIYE ASIYEPO he / she who is not
TUSIO TUSIOPO we who are not
MSIO MSIOPO you who are not
WASIO WASIOPO they who are not


The verbs KUWA et KUWA NA may also be conjugated in the Simple Past and the Future affirmative. Here is the conjugation for the 3rd person singular and plural :

SIMPLE PAST - AFFIRMATIVE FORM
 
KUWA descriptive KUWA locative Translation
ALIYEKUWA ALIYEKUWAPO he / she who was
WALIOKUWA WALIOKUWAPO they who were


FUTURE - AFFIRMATIVE FORM
 
KUWA descriptive KUWA locative translation
ATAKAYEKUWA ATAKAYEKUWAPO he / she who will be
WATAKAOKUWA WATAKAOKUWAPO they who will be


To conjugate the verb KUWA NA (= avoir), we simply take up the conjugation of the verb KUWA descriptive and add the word NA after the verb.


EXAMPLES :

Wanafunzi walio na vitabu.The pupils who have books.
Vitabu walivyo navyo.The books that they have.
Vitavu walivyokuwa navyo.The books that they had.
Vitabu watakavyokuwa navyo.The books that they will have.
Kwa wasiwasi aliokuwa nao, hakusema neno.Because of the doubt that he had, he didn't say a word.
Haya ni maneno yasiyo na maana.These are words without meaning.
Huoni mzigo nilio nao hapa ?You do not see the luggage that I have here ?
Hakuna masika yasiyo na mbu.There is no rain season without mosquitoes.


PROVERB :

Akufaaye kwa dhiki ndiye rafiki




VOCABULARY



Ku-changanyika to mix Ku-pasa to be appropriate
Ku-danganya to mislead Ku-piga kura to vote
Ku-gawa to divide Ku-pindua to overturn
Ku-kagua to inspect Ku-shtaki to accuse
Ku-kodi to rent Ku-tawala to govern
Ku-kwama to be broken down Ku-tegemea to depend

EXERCISES



EXERCISE 1 : Translate into Swahili :


  1. I will go to England next year.
  2. A child who studies is a child who will succeed in life.
  3. I think that the coming month will be very rainy.
  4. The examination will begin next Thursday.
  5. I seek somebody who sells elephant tusks.
  6. Is there anybody here who speaks French ?
  7. People who vote are not numerous.
  8. I seek to rent a house which is convenient for us.
  9. The teachers who teach these children are Europeans.
  10. We will see each other next week.


EXERCISE 2 : Translate into English :


  1. Hawa ni wanafunzi wapendao kusoma.
  2. Usiniambie maneno yasiyo na maana.
  3. Nitakulipa mshahara upasao.
  4. Nisaidie na masanduku niliyo nayo.
  5. Kama ujuavyo, ndovu wameharibu mavuno yetu.
  6. Shida zetu ni zile zile uzijuazo.
  7. Nipe vifaa zilizopo kabatini.
  8. Si rahisi kupata vyatu vifaavyo.
  9. Ninatafuta vibarua walimao vizuri.
  10. Mtoto aliye hodari zaidi atapewa zawadi.


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