-tu-

First-Person Plural Object -tu-

Level 2

The infix -tu- means "us" and indicates who is receiving the action of the verb.

How It Works

In Swahili, when an action is done to "us", you must use the object marker -tu-. This marker is placed deep inside the verb, immediately before the verb root.

1. Verb Slot Order
Swahili verbs follow a basic Verb Slot Order. The object marker always comes right before the root:

  • wa-na-tu-ona (they see us)
  • a-li-tu-saidia (he/she helped us)

2. Obligatory Usage
While object markers for inanimate things are sometimes optional, markers for humans are inherently definite and animate. Therefore, -tu- is strictly obligatory. You cannot simply drop it and put the independent pronoun sisi (us) after the verb.

3. Subject vs. Object
Do not confuse the object marker -tu- with the First-Person Plural Subject tu-. The subject prefix appears at the very beginning of the verb (tu-na-wa-ona = we see them), while the object marker appears right before the root (wa-na-tu-ona = they see us).

4. Vowel Stems
Before vowel-initial verb roots, the object marker -tu- can either remain -tu- for clarity or undergo vowel coalescence to become -tw-. Both forms are grammatically acceptable and widely used (e.g., anatuambia or anatwambia).

5. The Imperative Rule
When attaching an object marker to an affirmative command (imperative), verbs ending in -a must change their final vowel to -e (e.g., Saidia! becomes Tusaidie!). Verbs ending in -i, -e, or -u do not change their final vowel (e.g., Tusamehe!). If the command is directed at more than one person, the plural suffix -ni must be added to the end of the verb (e.g., Tusaidieni!).

Negative Statements and Commands:
Hawatuoni means “They do not see us”; hawakutuona means “They did not see us.” The object -tu- remains before the root across tense changes. Usitupige! means “Do not hit us!”: u-si-tu-pig-e contains the addressee, negative command marker, us, root and final -e.

Examples (4)

  1. Mwalimu anatufundisha Kiswahili.

    The teacher is teaching us Swahili.

    Word by Word: Teacher he-present-us-teach Swahili.

    The object marker -tu- is placed right before the verb root -fundisha.

  2. Uzoefu wako utatusaidia sana.

    Your experience will help us a lot.

    Word by Word: Experience your it-future-us-help a lot.

    Here, -tu- receives the action of the verb -saidia (help).

  3. Walituona jana.

    They saw us yesterday.

    Word by Word: They-past-us-see yesterday.

    Notice how -tu- is placed right before the vowel-initial root -ona (see).

  4. Rafiki yetu anatuambia ukweli.

    Our friend is telling us the truth.

    Word by Word: Friend our he-present-us-tell truth.

    The marker -tu- is used here, though it can also become -tw- (anatwambia) before the vowel-initial root -ambia. Both forms are perfectly acceptable.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the object marker and using the independent pronoun 'sisi' instead.

    Waliona sisi jana.
    Walituona jana.

    For human objects like "us", the object marker is grammatically obligatory. You cannot just translate "saw us" word-for-word by putting the pronoun after the verb.

  • Confusing the object marker '-tu-' (us) with the subject prefix 'tu-' (we).

    Different MeaningTuliona jana.
    Walituona jana.

    The subject prefix goes at the very beginning of the verb to show who is doing the action (Tuliona = We saw). The object marker goes right before the root to show who receives it (Walituona = They saw us).

  • Forgetting to change the final '-a' to '-e' when using the object marker in a command.

    Tusaidia!
    Tusaidie!

    When an object marker is added to an affirmative command, verbs ending in '-a' must change their final vowel to '-e'.

How It Connects

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

-tu-Level 2First-Person Plural Object -tu-

Learn This First

To understand the first-person plural object marker -tu-, you must first understand the general structure of the Swahili verb and where object markers are placed. It is also helpful to be familiar with the corresponding personal pronoun 'sisi' (us) and the general concept of object agreement.

Words in This Pattern

-tu-tu-