intro to noun classes & demonstratritives

Question 1

how many noun classes are there

Answer 1

• 16
• REALLY there is only 8, but 16 includes the plural form of those 8

Question 2

in swahili, what are the 2 things these nouns are divides into

Answer 2

• living & non-living things
• living things = move from one point to another … noun classes 1 and 2 belong in this category
• non-living things = don’t move from one spot on their own; a tree would be an example.

Question 3

noun class 1 & 2 :
- what are both of their noun prefixes and subject prefix ?

Answer 3

1 : M ( singular) , noun prefix = M , subject = A
2 : Wa (plural) , noun prefix = Wa, subject = Wa

Question 4

noun class 3 & 4 :
- what are both of their noun prefixes and subject prefix ?

Answer 4

3: M, noun = M , subject = U
4: Mi , noun = Mi , subject = I

Question 5

noun class 5 & 6 :
- what are both of their noun prefixes and subject prefix ?

Answer 5

5: Ji , noun = NONE , subject = Li
6: Ma , noun = Ma , subject = ya

Question 6

noun class 7 & 8 :
- what are both of their noun prefixes and subject prefix ?

Answer 6

7: Ki / Ch , noun = Ki , subject = ki
8: Vi / Vy , noun = Vi , subject = Vi

Question 7

noun class 9 & 10 :
- what are both of their noun prefixes and subject prefix ?

Answer 7

9: N , noun = n , subject = i
10 : N, noun = n , subject = zi

Question 8

noun class 11 & 14 … (12 & 13 classes are missing bc they don’t exist in swahili)
- what are both of their noun prefixes and subject prefix ?

Answer 8

11 : U , noun = m , subject = U
14 : U , noun = m , subject = U

Question 9

noun class 15 & 16 :
- what are both of their noun prefixes and subject prefix ?

Answer 9

15 : Ku , noun = Ku , subject = Ku
16 : Po , noun = Pa, subject = pa

Question 10

noun class 17 & 18 :
- what are both of their noun prefixes and subject prefix ?

Answer 10

17: ko , noun = Ku , subject = ku
18: Mo , noun = pa , subject = m

Question 11

demonsratives …
- they work together with the noun classes
- what are they used to show/indicate
- what is the English equivalent in singlar and plural form
- how many types are there (these change with each noun class)

Answer 11

• they show the position of an item in relation to the speaker
• English equivalent = this/that in single form , these / those in plural form
• 3 types

Question 12

demonstratives … the 3 types :
- ‘ this ‘ = what does it mean
- ‘ that ‘ = what does it mean
- ‘ that over there ‘ = what does it mean

Answer 12

• this = item that is close to the speaker & the one spoken to
• that = an item that is closer to the one spoken to
• that over there = an item that is far from both the speaker & the one spoken to