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CHAPTER 5
SYNOPSIS OF SWAHILI

among the tenses will stand out as welcome relief.) 56/ The change of the final vowel from -a to -i is used in the negative present, and only there. This is also the only negative tense that has no negative prefix after the subject prefix. 57/ The negative prefixes -ja- and 133: are found in only one tense apiece. 58/ The prefix -si- is found in the noncommittal tense (par. 36 — 41), the negative relative of the present tense, and in one way of making the negative of the nge tense. 59/ Negative infinitives are unique in using -to-. 60/ The negative that corresponds to the ki tense (par. 34, 35 ) contains the prefix combination -sipo- . It is thus a present negative relative form (par. 58 ) with the concord of the PA class (par. 74 ). As is explained in par. 74, the use of this concord without an antecedent refers to time or place. 61/ The pre—prefix ha- stands before the subject prefix in most tenses, but haplus the first person singular subject prefix ni_ (par. 23) comes out si-.

62/ Verbs that have to do with location may have locative 'enclitics' representing any of the three locative classes (par. 14, 23). These stand at the very end of the verb, after everything else.

63/ The Swahili construction that most often corresponds to the English main verb ‘have’ consists of -w- 'be' plus 33 'with.' 64/ When the subject prefix is in one of the locative classes, this construction is usually translated 'there is, was, etc.'

65/ In place of the relative phrases aliye na 'who has' or palipo na ('where there is' (par. 46,6H), Swahili often uses a concordial prefix with the stem -enye 'having.'

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