tu-...-e

The plural subjunctive tu- pattern is extremely common in everyday Swahili for proposing an action that includes both the speaker and the listener(s). The prefix tu- means "we".

How to form it:

• Regular verbs ending in -a: Add tu- and change the final -a to -e. (e.g., soma → tusome "let's read")
• Borrowed verbs (often Arabic): Add tu- but do not change the final vowel if it is -i, -e, -u, or -au. (e.g., jaribu → tujaribu "let's try")
• Monosyllabic verbs: Drop the infinitive ku- prefix and apply the rule above. (e.g., kula → tule "let's eat", and kuwa → tuwe "let's be")

No Tense Markers: It is important to note that the subjunctive does not use tense markers like -na-, -li-, or -ta-. The subject prefix attaches directly to the verb root (or object marker).

Addressing Multiple People: When proposing an action to more than one person, you might hear the suffix -ni added to the end of the verb (e.g., twende → twendeni "let's go, everyone"). Twendeni keeps first-person plural tu- and includes the speaker: “let us go, all of us.” Final -ni addresses several listeners; it does not change tu- into a second-person subject. Compare second-person plural imperative nendeni (you all go).

Vowel Coalescence: For verbs starting with a vowel, the u in tu- naturally changes to a w in spoken Swahili (glide formation). For example, with the verb kwenda (to go), the infinitive ku- drops, and tu- merges with -ende to form twende ("let's go"). While twende is universally written this way, other verbs often retain the tu- in standard textbook spelling (like tuanze for "let's start"), even though they are frequently pronounced with a glide (twanze) in natural speech.

Negative Subjunctive: To say "let's not," insert the negative subjunctive -si- infix between the subject prefix and the verb stem (e.g., tu-si-som-e → tusisome "let's not read"). For monosyllabic verbs, the ku- prefix remains dropped in the negative form as well (e.g., tu-si-l-e → tusile "let's not eat"). For the verb kwenda, the negative form is tusiende ("let's not go"); the -si- infix prevents the coalescence seen in twende.

Object Markers: If you include an object marker, it goes immediately before the verb root, between tu- (or -si-) and the stem (e.g., tu-m-saidi-e → tumsaidie "let's help him/her").

Subordinate Clauses and Obligation: When used after conjunctions like ili (so that) or words of obligation like lazima (must) and inabidi (it is necessary), it translates to "that we [verb]" or "so that we [verb]." For example, lazima twende means "we must go." Crucially, Swahili does not use the infinitive after verbs of requesting, ordering, or advising. Instead, you must use the subjunctive. For example, "He asked us to wait" is Alituomba tusubiri (literally "He asked us that we wait"), not Alituomba kusubiri.