THE KI-SWAHILI LANGUAGE 



not used in the present tense, as before remarked, but, if it must 

 be expressed, ni signifies am, is, and are, and si, am not, is not, 

 and are not. 



Imperfect. 

 nilikuwa (regular), / was. sikuwa (regular), I was not. 



Perfect. 



nimekuwa (regular), / have sikuwa (regular), / have not 

 been. been. 



Future. 



nitakuwa (regular), / shall be. sitakuwa (regular), / shall not 



he. 



Imperative. 



uwe! be! usiwe! be not! 



mwe! be! (plural). msiwe! be not! (plural). 



5. The verb to have is expressed by kii-wan-na, literally to 

 be with, and forms the imperfect, perfect, and future tenses ex- 

 actly as the verb kuzva, only adding -na at the end. For in- 

 stance, Nimekuwa-na, I have had; tutakuzva-na, we shall have; 

 hatiitakuwa-na, we shall not have, etc. The present is formed 

 by simply adding the -na to the personal verb-prefixes Ni, u, a, 

 etc., as before remarked ; and the imperative of ku-wa is not 

 used at all. 



Vocabulary 



siku, day. kibanda, vibanda, hut, house. 



nguo, clothes. kitambaa, vitam, towel, rag. 



kofia, hat. sabuni, soap. 



kilemba, vilemba, turban. kijiko, vijiko, spoon. 



shirti, shirt. ' uma, nyuma, fork. 



suruali, trousers. ku-osha, to wash. 



suruali ndogo, drawers. ku-oga, to bathe. 



socks, socks, stockings. ku-anika, to dry in the sun. 



bakuli, mabakuli, basin. mafuta, fat, grease. 



