Learning through Ingredients
In Swahili, verbs are built like Lego blocks. To make a simple sentence, you simply snap three parts together: the Person(Subject), the Time (Tense), and the Action (Verb Root).
1. The Subject Prefixes (Who is doing it?)
- Ni- : I
- U- : You (1 person)
- A- : He / She
- Tu- : We
- M- : You (plural)
- Wa- : They
2. The Tense Markers (When is it happening?)
| Marker | Tense | Meaning |
| -na- | Present | Happening right now |
| -li- | Past | Happened in the past |
| -ta- | Future | Will happen later |
| -me- | Present Perfect | Has already happened / Status is complete |
| hu- | Habitual | Usually / A habit |
3. Sentence Construction Examples
Using the Ni- (I) prefix and the root -tembea (walk):
- Ninatembea.
- Ni (I) + na (now) + tembea (walk)
- English: I am walking.
- Nilitembea.
- Ni (I) + li (past) + tembea (walk)
- English: I walked.
- Nitatembea.
- Ni (I) + ta (future) + tembea (walk)
- English: I will walk.
- Nimetembea.
- Ni (I) + me (perfect) + tembea (walk)
- English: I have walked.
- Mimi hutembea.
- Mimi (I) + hu (habitual) + tembea (walk)
- English: I usually walk.
🎯 The “Ingredient Swap” Challenge
Using the verb root -kimbia (to run), can you build these sentences?
- I am running: [Ni] + [na] + [kimbia] = __________
- We will run: [Tu] + [ta] + [kimbia] = __________
- They have run: [Wa] + [me] + [kimbia] = __________
- He usually runs: [Yeye] + [Hu] + [kimbia] = __________
Ready to stop translating and start speaking?
Learning a language shouldn’t feel like a math problem. If you liked the “ingredient” approach in this lesson, you’ll love how we’ve built letslearnswahili. I designed the app to give you the tools to build your own sentences from day one—no more “uncles drinking coffee,” just real-life Swahili.