A lenited, fused form ofniku-(“is [verb]ing”).
hu-
- habitual aspect marker; indicates an action is routine or characteristic[1]
Juahuchomoza mashariki.- The sun rises in the east.
2022,Muungano wa Tanganyika na Zanzibar: Chimbuko, Misingi na Maendeleo, Serikali ya Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania,→ISBN:Ni dhahiri kuwa huu ni mfumo unaopendwa kutokana na urahisi katika kuuendesha kwa kuwahuwa na mamlaka moja kuu yenye mtandao mmoja wa uongozi mpaka chini kupitia mfumo wa ugatuzi wa madaraka.- It is obvious that this system is popular due to how easy it is to run it, as it has one central authority with one leadership network all the way to the bottom through a system of decentralization.
There is no subject concord with this marker. Instead, independent pronouns can be used:
- mimihula ―Iusually eat
This is also analyzed as a gnomic marker.[2]
In colloquial speech, this is often replaced by the-na- marker, eventually preceded byhuwa (the habitual form of-wa):
- huwa tunakunywa ―wehabitually drink
Swahili TAM markers
- Initial
- Positive infinitive:ku-/kw-1
- Negative infinitive:kuto-
- Habitual:hu-1
- Telegrammic:ka-1
- Final
- General (positive indicative):-a
- Positive subjunctive:-e
- Negative present:-i
- Second person plural:-ni
- Infix position positive subject concord
- Infix position negative subject concord
- Negative past:-ku-1
- Negative future:-ta-
- "Not yet":-ja-1
- Negative present conditional:-nge-
- Negative past conditional:-ngali-
- Relative
1 Can take stress and therefore does not require-ku-/-kw- in monosyllabic verbs.
- ^Foreign Service Institute (1966)Swahili: An Active Introduction: General Conversation, US Department of State, page44
- ^Dorothee Rieger (2011) “Swahili as a Tense Prominent Language: Proposal for a Systematic Grammar of Tense, Aspect and Mood in Swahili”, inSwahili Forum[1], volume18, page120
From the same source asha-.
hu-
- you donot,2nd person singular negative subject concord
- Antonym:u-
18th century, Abdallah bin Ali bin Nasir,Al-Inkishafi[2], translation fromR. Allen (1946) “Inkishafi—a translation from the Swahili”, inAfrican Studies, volume 5, number 4,→DOI, pages243–249, stanza11:مُيُ وَاغُ نِنِهُزُدُكَانِ ، لِكُغُرِيِلُ هِيْلَ نِنْنِ ،- Moyo wangu ninihuzundukani, likughuriyelo hela ni-n'ni?
- Soul, whynot awake? Hi! what is it that cheats you?
Swahili personal pronouns (m-wa class(I/II)) | person | independent | subject concord | object
concord | combined forms | possessive |
|---|
| affirmative | negative | na | ndi- | si- |
|---|
| singular | first | mimi | ni- | si- | -ni- | nami, namimi | ndimi,ndiye | simi,siye | -angu |
|---|
| second | wewe | u- | hu- | -ku- | nawe, nawewe | ndiwe,ndiye | siwe,siye | -ako |
|---|
| third | yeye | a-,yu- | ha-,hayu- | -m-,-mw-,-mu- | naye, nayeye | ndiye | siye | -ake |
|---|
| plural | first | sisi | tu- | hatu- | -tu- | nasi, nasisi | ndisi,ndio | sio | -etu |
|---|
| second | ninyi | m-,mw-,mu- | ham-,hamw-,hamu- | -wa- | nanyi, naninyi | ndinyi,ndio | sinyi,sio | -enu |
|---|
| third | wao | wa- | hawa- | -wa- | nao | ndio | sio | -ao |
|---|
| reflexive | — | — | -ji- | — | — |
|---|
| For a full table including other classes, seeAppendix:Swahili personal pronouns. |
FromProto-Celtic*su-.
hu-
- affirmative prefix, emphasises prefixed word
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “hu-”, inGeiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
