wa-

Class 2 Subject Wa-

Level 1

In Swahili, verbs must agree with their subjects. When the subject is a plural person or animal (like "children" or "dogs"), the verb must start with the subject prefix wa-, meaning "they".

How It Works

The Class 2 Subject wa- is an essential building block of the Swahili verb word. Here is how it works:

1. Basic Placement
In affirmative indicative tenses, it attaches to the front of the verb, right before the tense marker. For example, wa- (they) + -na- (present) + soma (read) = wanasoma (they are reading). In the subjunctive, it attaches directly to the verb root or object marker, and the final vowel of the verb changes to -e (e.g., wa- + soma = wasome).

2. Mandatory Agreement
Unlike English, where you say "The children read" without a pronoun, Swahili generally requires the subject prefix even when the noun is present: Watoto wanasoma. You usually cannot drop it, except in specific cases like the habitual hu- tense.

3. Third-Person Plural Only
Although Class 2 represents plural people, wa- is strictly for the third person ("they"). Do not use it for "we" (which uses tu-) or "you all" (which uses m-).

4. Not Just for Humans
While Class 2 is often called the "human plural" class, wa- is used for all plural living creatures (animals, insects, spirits) due to animate agreement rules. Note that plants and trees are excluded from animate agreement and do not take the wa- prefix. For instance, kiboko (hippo) becomes viboko in the plural. Even though it starts with vi-, it takes the animate wa- verb prefix, not vi-: Viboko wanalala (The hippos are sleeping), NOT Viboko vinalala.

5. Negative Form
To say "they are not" in standard tenses, wa- combines with the negative prefix ha- to form hawa- (e.g., hawasomi - they are not reading). However, in the negative subjunctive, it uses the infix -si-, keeping wa- at the front (e.g., wasisome - they should not read).

6. Don't Confuse It!
Be careful not to confuse the subject prefix wa- (at the start of the verb) with the Class 2 Object -wa- (in the middle of the verb, meaning "them" or "you all"), the associative word wa (meaning "of"), or the Class 2 adjective prefix (e.g., watu wazuri - good people).

Other Negative Tenses and Other Wa Forms:
Hawakusoma means “they did not read,” and hawatasoma means “they will not read”; soma keeps final -a in these tenses. In Niliwaona (I saw them), -wa- is an object marker. The separate associative wa occurs in both mtoto wa mwalimu (the teacher’s child) and watoto wa mwalimu (the teacher’s children); it is not itself a plural subject marker.

Examples (5)

  1. Watoto wanasoma kitabu.

    The children are reading a book.

    Word by Word: Children they-are-reading book.

    The prefix wa- attaches to the verb to agree with the plural human subject 'watoto'.

  2. Wanamwona mwalimu.

    They see the teacher.

    Word by Word: They-present-him-see teacher.

    The subject prefix wa- can combine with an object marker like -mw- (him/her) right before the verb root.

  3. Vifaru wakubwa walianguka.

    The big rhinoceroses fell.

    Word by Word: Rhinoceroses big they-past-fall.

    Even though 'vifaru' is a Class 8 noun, it takes the Class 2 subject prefix wa- because rhinoceroses are animals (animate).

  4. Wanafunzi hawasomi.

    The students are not reading.

    Word by Word: Students negative-they-read.

    In the negative, wa- combines with ha- to become hawa-.

  5. Wasiseme uongo.

    They should not tell lies.

    Word by Word: They-negative-say lies.

    In the negative subjunctive, the subject prefix wa- stays at the front, followed by the negative infix -si-.

Common Mistakes

  • Overgeneralizing wa- to inanimate objects.

    Miti wanaanguka.
    Miti inaanguka.

    In English, "they" is used for both people and objects. In Swahili, wa- is only for living things (people and animals). Inanimate objects use different prefixes based on their noun class.

  • Omitting the subject prefix when the noun is already stated.

    Watoto nasoma.
    Watoto wanasoma.

    Swahili verbs almost always require a subject prefix. You generally cannot drop it, even if the subject (like watoto) is explicitly mentioned, unless you are using the habitual hu- tense.

How It Connects

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wa-Level 1Class 2 Subject Wa-

Learn This First

To understand the wa- subject marker, you first need to be familiar with the M-WA noun class (which represents people) and the general concept of how Swahili verbs use prefixes to agree with their subjects. It is also helpful to know the pronoun 'wao' (they), as wa- is its corresponding verb marker.

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