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Swahili: predicative adjectives

Posted: 2014-03-26, 17:39
by wilsonsamm
Hello everyone,

I have a question about how to use adjectives predicatively in Swahili. Predicative means as a predication, so that it translates as the English "to be blue/big/broken/hopeful".

A blue whale would be "nyangumi buluu" (that is, a blue whale, not green or pink.) How would you say "the whale is blue?"

"Our room" would be "chumba chetu". How can you say "this room is ours"? Would it be "chumba chiki ni chetu"?

Re: Swahili: predicative adjectives

Posted: 2014-03-30, 2:21
by vijayjohn
wilsonsamm wrote:Hello everyone,

I have a question about how to use adjectives predicatively in Swahili. Predicative means as a predication, so that it translates as the English "to be blue/big/broken/hopeful".

A blue whale would be "nyangumi buluu" (that is, a blue whale, not green or pink.) How would you say "the whale is blue?"

I'm pretty sure that would be nyangumi ni buluu.

"Our room" would be "chumba chetu". How can you say "this room is ours"? Would it be "chumba chiki ni chetu"?

That should be chumba hiki ni chetu, but apart from that, yes, I'm also sure that's the way to say it.

Re: Swahili: predicative adjectives

Posted: 2014-03-31, 19:05
by wilsonsamm
Thanks vijayjohn.
That is what I suspected. And after some googling, the same thing is confirmed here http://www.academia.edu/4750517/2005_Gr ... of_Swahili

It turns out there are other copular verbs too, "si" means "is not". "w" has some sort of copular function but it's not clear to me what it does.

Re: Swahili: predicative adjectives

Posted: 2017-03-12, 5:33
by vijayjohn
Sorry for taking so long to respond! I forgot all about this thread.

Do you mean the morpheme -w-? That's a passivizer. It takes a verb and changes it to passive voice. For example:

kualika 'to invite'
kualikwa 'to be invited'