-liwa / -lewa
Extended Passive Forms
The extended passive (or applicative passive) is used when the person who receives or benefits from an action becomes the subject of the sentence. It translates to English structures like 'I was written a letter' or 'She was brought a book.'
How It Works
The extended passive is a core feature of Swahili grammar and is extremely common in everyday speech. It is formed by combining the applicative extension with the passive extension.
How to form it:
- Vowel Harmony Rule: Use -ewa or -lewa if the verb's root vowel is e or o. Use -iwa or -liwa if the root vowel is a, i, or u.
- Consonant-final Bantu roots: Add -iwa or -ewa (e.g., andikwa means 'be written', while andikiwa means 'be written to/for'; leta → letewa).
- Vowel-final Bantu roots: Insert an -l-, taking -liwa or -lewa (e.g., nunua → nunuliwa; ondoa → ondolewa). Note that for these verbs, this form also serves as the standard passive.
- Arabic loanwords: These follow the standard Applicative + Passive derivation (e.g., jibu → jibia → jibiwa; samehe → samehea → samehewa), which happens to result in the exact same word as their standard passive.
- Monosyllabic verbs: Verbs like la (eat) or nywa (drink) have extended passive forms that are identical to their standard passive forms (e.g., liwa, nywewa). Note: The verb 'pa' (give) is inherently ditransitive, so its standard passive 'pewa' functions syntactically like an extended passive without needing an applicative extension.
Usage Notes: In Standard Swahili, the subject of an extended passive sentence is the animate beneficiary (the person receiving the action) or the victim (the malefactive/adversative use, such as having something stolen or broken). Crucially, when this person is promoted to the subject, the verb drops the object prefix that would normally represent them in the active voice (e.g., Alimwandikia barua → Aliandikiwa barua). The direct object (the thing being given/written/stolen) remains directly after the verb. To express the agent of the action, use na passive agent (by), e.g., Aliandikiwa barua na Juma. Additionally, the extended passive can be used to make an instrument the subject (e.g., Kalamu iliandikiwa barua - The pen was used to write a letter). While the beneficiary and malefactive passives are extremely common, this instrumental passive is rarer in daily conversation.
The New Subject Controls Agreement:
Juma alinipikia chakula (Juma cooked food for me) becomes Nilipikiwa chakula na Juma (I was cooked food by Juma). The beneficiary I is now the subject, so ni- is a subject prefix; the old -ni- object marker is not retained in an object slot.
Examples (6)
- Niliandikiwa barua na mwalimu.
I was written a letter by the teacher.
Word by Word: I-was-written-to letter by teacher.
The subject is 'I' (the beneficiary), and the verb takes the extended passive form -andikiwa.
- Bibi Meghji alisomewa taarifa.
Mrs. Meghji was read the report.
Word by Word: Mrs. Meghji she-was-read-to report.
The verb soma (read) becomes somewa (be read to), with the recipient as the subject.
- Tuliletewa chakula kitamu.
We were brought delicious food.
Word by Word: We-were-brought-to food delicious.
The verb leta (bring) becomes letewa (be brought to).
- Niliibiwa simu yangu.
I had my phone stolen.
Word by Word: I-was-stolen-from phone my.
This demonstrates the malefactive (adversative) use, where the subject is the victim of the action.
- Amefiwa na mke wake.
He was bereaved of his wife.
Word by Word: He-has-been-died-on by wife his.
Another common malefactive use. The verb fa (die) becomes fiwa (be died on / be bereaved).
- Kalamu hii iliandikiwa barua.
This pen was used to write a letter.
Word by Word: Pen this it-was-written-with letter.
The extended passive allows an instrument (the pen) to become the subject of the sentence.
Common Mistakes
Retaining the object prefix for the beneficiary when using the extended passive.
Alimletewa chakula.Aliletewa chakula.When the beneficiary is promoted to the subject of an extended passive verb, you must drop the object prefix. The subject prefix (a-) already indicates who is receiving the action.
Using the standard passive instead of the extended passive when an instrument is the subject.
Kalamu iliandikwa barua.Kalamu iliandikiwa barua.When an instrument (like a pen) is promoted to the subject to mean 'was used to [verb]', you must use the extended passive, not the standard passive.
Confusing the extended passive with the stative extension.
Kioo kimevunjiwa.Kioo kimevunjika.If you want to say 'the glass is broken' (describing a state without an agent), use the stative extension (-vunjika). The passive implies someone broke it.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand the extended passive forms -liwa and -lewa, you must first be familiar with the basic passive marker -w- and how it interacts with other verb extensions, particularly the applicative (-ia/-ea). These forms typically arise when a passive is applied to a verb that already has an extension or ends in a vowel.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice -liwa / -lewa in Bubblegum
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