Agreement with Quoted Material

Level 6

When you use a quote, title, or full clause as a subject or object, Swahili requires agreement markers. Since these phrases lack an inherent noun class, agreement is assigned based on how you conceptualize the phrase (e.g., as a 'word', 'book', or 'abstract idea').

How It Works

At an advanced level, you will notice that Swahili does not have a single universal 'default' noun class for agreementless entities. Instead, it uses a distributed, highly pragmatic system. While some default agreements are purely structural dummy or expletive markers (such as Class 17 for existentials and weather, whereas Class 9 weather expressions are actually pro-drop for an omitted noun like mvua), when a quoted word, a title, or a full clause acts as a noun phrase, the speaker often assigns agreement based on an implicit conceptual head noun:

  • Class 9/10 (i-/zi-): Used for full quoted sentences and statements based on implicit nouns like sentensi (sentence), kauli (statement), or sauti (voice). It is also used for films based on filamu, and written plays based on tamthilia. It is the dominant structural dummy agreement marker for full finite clauses (e.g., 'Inawezekana kwamba...', 'Inajulikana kwamba...'). Additionally, Class 9/10 is the primary morphological default for unclassified loanwords, acronyms, and foreign names, though the animacy override generally forces Class 1/2 agreement for verbs and adjectives referring to humans or animals. For possessives, N-class animals take Class 1 agreement for singular possessives (e.g., 'mbwa wangu'). For plural possessives, the prescriptive rule uses Class 10 (e.g., 'mbwa zangu'), but modern everyday colloquial speech frequently overrides this with pure animacy agreement, using Class 2 (e.g., 'mbwa wangu wawili'). Meanwhile, human relationship nouns often retain Class 9/10 agreement (e.g., 'rafiki yangu').
  • Class 15 (ku-): Used for true infinitival concepts and actions (e.g., 'kuondoka kwake').
  • Class 7/8 (ki-/vi-): Used for titles when conceptualized as a physical kitabu (book) or kisa (story), and universally for names of languages. Class 8 (vi-) also serves as a generic default agreement class for 'things in general' based on the implicit noun vitu. Additionally, Class 8 (vi-) is the prescriptive default agreement when conjoining inanimate nouns of different classes (e.g., 'Kiti na meza vimevunjika'), though in everyday practice, speakers frequently use syntactic agreement, making the verb agree with the closest noun. This implicit agreement is the mechanism used to create adverbs of manner (e.g., vizuri, vibaya).
  • Class 5/6 (li-/ya-): Generally used for single quoted words or short phrases, when the quote is implicitly treated as a neno (word), jambo (matter), or a specific quoted name or term based on jina (name). It is also used for titles of newspapers (gazeti) and poems (shairi). Class 5 (li-) can also act as a structural dummy agreement marker for full finite clauses (e.g., 'Linafahamika kwamba...'), based on the implicit noun jambo, though Class 9 is the vastly more common default for phrases like 'Inawezekana kwamba...'. The plural Class 6 (ya-) is also frequently used as a dummy agreement to refer back to entire preceding clauses, general situations, or abstract concepts (e.g., 'Baada ya hayo...', 'Yaliyopita si ndwele', 'Yawezekana kwamba...').
  • Class 3/4 (u-/i-): Used for titles of plays when conceptualized as a performance (mchezo).
  • Class 11/10 (u-/zi-): Used for songs based on the implicit noun wimbo.
  • Classes 16/17/18 (pa-/ku-/mu-): Used as locative and expletive defaults, particularly Class 17 (ku-) for general existential statements (e.g., 'kuna' - there is) and prominent weather or environmental states (e.g., 'kumekucha', 'kuna baridi', 'kuzuri' - it is nice [here/the situation]). Class 16 (pa-) acts as a dummy agreement for definite or specific locative concepts (e.g., 'Hapa ni pazuri' - Here is a good place) and is also used as a dummy subject for general states of a location or time (e.g., 'Hapakaliki', 'Palikuwa na...'). Class 18 (mu-) is used for interior locations and existentials within a space (e.g., 'mna' - there is inside).

This agreement attaches to verbs, adjectives, demonstratives, associative markers, object markers (infixes), and relative concords just like standard noun agreement. Note that this is different from simply dropping a previously mentioned noun; here, the quoted material is the noun phrase.

Examples (5)

  1. "Asante" yako ilinifurahisha.

    Your "thank you" pleased me.

    Word by Word: "Thank you" your it-past-me-please.

    Class 9 agreement (yako, i-) is applied to the quoted word "asante", treating it as an abstract entity.

  2. Kwamba mvua itanyesha haijulikani.

    That it will rain is not known.

    Word by Word: That rain it-will-rain it-not-known.

    Class 9 agreement (haijulikani) is applied as a structural dummy agreement for the finite clausal proposition "Kwamba mvua itanyesha".

  3. Kitabu “Watoto wa Mitaani” kinasomwa shuleni.

    The book “Street Children” is read at school.

    Word by Word: Book “Children of Streets” it-is-read at-school.

    Explicit kitabu controls Class 7 ki-; the plural word inside the quoted title does not control the verb.

  4. "Mabala the Farmer" kitasomwa muhula huu.

    "Mabala the Farmer" will be read this term.

    Word by Word: "Mabala the Farmer" it-will-be-read term this.

    Class 7 agreement (ki-) is applied to the title because the speaker is conceptualizing it as a physical book (kitabu).

  5. Lile "sitaki" lake lilinikasirisha.

    That "I don't want to" of his angered me.

    Word by Word: That "I-not-want" his it-past-me-anger.

    Class 5 agreement (lile, lake, li-) is used because the speaker treats the quote as a specific word (neno) or matter (jambo).

Common Mistakes

  • Making the verb agree with a noun inside the title or quote rather than the implicit medium.

    "Watoto wa Mitaani" wanasomwa sana.
    "Watoto wa Mitaani" kinasomwa sana.

    Learners often see a plural noun like "Watoto" (Class 2) at the start of a title and use Class 2 agreement (wa-). However, the title as a whole is a single entity, usually taking Class 7/8 (ki-/vi-) agreement because the implicit noun is kitabu (book).

  • Using Class 9 agreement for an infinitive phrase acting as the subject of a sentence.

    Kusoma vitabu inasaidia sana.
    Kusoma vitabu kunasaidia sana.

    When an infinitive phrase (like 'kusoma vitabu') acts as the subject of a sentence, it must take Class 15 (ku-) agreement, not the default Class 9 (i-) agreement.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Agreement with Quoted MaterialLevel 6

Learn This First

To understand how Swahili handles agreement with quoted material, a learner must first learn the general noun class agreement system. Specifically, they need to be familiar with Class 9 (the default for abstract 'things' or 'words') and Class 15 (the infinitive class), as these are the two most common classes used to conceptualize and agree with titles, phrases, or sentences used as subjects.