Week 1

Friday

Lesson 5: The Infinitive

Kufungua	to open	Kusimama	to stop
Kukaa	to stay; to live	Kutafuta	to look for
Kukata	to cut; to reduce	Kutaka	to want
Kuleta	to bring	Kutupa	to throw

• In English, the infinitive is shown by the word TO placed before the verb.

• In Swahili, the infinitive is marked by the prefix KU- attached to the verb radical.

• As shown through these different examples, the radical of the Swahili verbs of Bantu origin ends in -A in the infinitive.

The Negative Infinitive

Kutokufungua	not to open	Kutokusimama	not to stop
Kutokukaa	not to stay; not to live	Kutokutafuta	not to look for
Kutokukata	not to cut; not to reduce	Kutokutaka	not to want
Kutokuleta	not to bring	Kutokutupa	not to throw

• Remember, the negative infinitive is made by inserting the infix -TO- between the infinitive prefix KU- and the radical of the verb.

• An extra KU-, which is compulsory in the case of monosyllabic verbs, is sometimes added before the radical.

Now take Quiz 5

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Week 1 Exercises

Excercise 1a

Excercise 1b

Excercise 2a

Excercise 2b

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