Negative Tensed Relatives

Level 5

To say 'who does not', 'who did not', 'who will not', or 'who has not', you use the independent relative pronoun amba- followed by a standard negative verb.

How It Works

The amba- construction is grammatically mandatory for negative relative clauses with specific time references like past, future, and perfect, and is also commonly used for the present negative.

1. The amba- Pronoun
Amba- takes an 'o-reference' suffix that matches the noun class of the head noun:

  • Class 1 (Mtu): ambaye
  • Class 2 (Watu): ambao
  • Class 7 (Kitabu): ambacho

2. The Negative Verb
The verb that follows amba- is completely freed from relative morphology. It is conjugated exactly like a normal main-clause negative verb. Remember that the negative subject prefix must match the noun class (e.g., ha- + ki- = haki-):

  • Present: Negative subject prefix + verb root + -i (e.g., hasomi - he/she does not read). Note that the first-person singular ('I') negative prefix is si-, not ha- (e.g., mimi ambaye sisomi - I who do not read). Also, verbs of Arabic origin ending in -e, -i, or -u do not change their final vowel (e.g., hajibu - he/she does not answer).
  • Past: -ku- (e.g., hakusoma - he/she did not read)
  • Future: -ta- (e.g., hatasoma - he/she will not read)
  • Perfect: -ja- (e.g., hajasoma - he/she has not read)

3. Monosyllabic Verbs
For short verbs, remember the rules for the negative of monosyllabic verbs: they drop the infinitive ku- in the present, past, and perfect tenses (e.g., hali, hakula, hajala), but keep it in the future tense (e.g., hatakula). Note that the ku in hakula is the past negative tense marker (ha-ku-la), not the infinitive. If the infinitive were kept, it would be hakukula. While hakula is strictly correct in Standard Swahili, hakukula is ubiquitous in spoken Kenyan Swahili as a regional variation.

4. Negative Copula and Locatives
Because the negative copula si (is not) and negative locative copulas (e.g., hayuko, hakipo) are not standard verbs, amba- is the standard way to relativize them (e.g., mtu ambaye si mwalimu - the person who is not a teacher; kitabu ambacho hakipo - the book which is not there).

Examples by Tense:

  • Present: Mtu ambaye hasomi (The person who does not read)
  • Past: Mtu ambaye hakusoma (The person who did not read)
  • Future: Ndizi ambazo hazitaiva (Bananas which will not ripen)
  • Perfect: Kitabu ambacho hakijasomwa (The book which has not been read)

Contrast with the Tenseless Negative Relative:
For the present tense, you can alternatively use the tenseless negative relative with the infix -si- (e.g., mtu asiyesoma - the person who does not read). However, remember that you cannot force a relative infix (like -ye- or -cho-) inside a verb that has tense markers like -ku-, -ta-, or -ja-. Therefore, the amba- strategy is the only correct way to form negative relative clauses for the past, future, and perfect tenses.

Examples (6)

  1. Mtu ambaye hasomi.

    The person who does not read.

    Word by Word: Person who he-does-not-read.

    Uses the standard present negative verb (ending in -i) after the Class 1 relative pronoun ambaye.

  2. Mtu ambaye hakusoma.

    The person who did not read / who is uneducated.

    Word by Word: Person who he-did-not-read.

    Uses the past negative -ku- marker after the Class 1 relative pronoun ambaye.

  3. Wageni ambao hawakuja.

    The guests who did not come.

    Word by Word: Guests who they-did-not-come.

    Demonstrates the negative of monosyllabic verbs (like kuja) in the past tense. The 'ku' here is the past negative marker, not the infinitive.

  4. Ndizi ambazo hazitaiva.

    Bananas which will not ripen.

    Word by Word: Bananas which they-will-not-ripen.

    Uses the future negative -ta- marker after the Class 10 relative pronoun ambazo.

  5. Mtu ambaye si mwalimu.

    The person who is not a teacher.

    Word by Word: Person who is-not teacher.

    Demonstrates using amba- with the negative copula si.

  6. Kitabu ambacho hakipo mezani.

    The book which is not on the table.

    Word by Word: Book which it-is-not-here table-on.

    Demonstrates using amba- with negative locative copulas.

Common Mistakes

  • Trying to put a relative infix inside a negative tensed verb.

    Kitabu hakichokusomwa.
    Kitabu ambacho hakikusomwa.

    Swahili verb slots strictly forbid relative infixes from co-occurring with the negative tense markers -ku-, -ta-, or -ja-. You must use amba-.

  • Using the tenseless -si- relative for past or future contexts.

    Mtu asiyesoma jana.
    Mtu ambaye hakusoma jana.

    The -si- relative (asiyesoma) has no tense of its own, and it is usually read as present or habitual unless the context says otherwise. To make a past meaning clear ('did not read'), use amba- with the past negative verb.

How It Connects

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

Negative Tensed RelativesLevel 5

Learn This First

To use amba- with negative tenses, a learner must first understand how the amba- relative particle functions and how it agrees with noun classes. Additionally, since amba- allows for full tense conjugation in the relative clause, the learner must be familiar with standard negative tense markers (past, future, and perfect) which are used in the verb following amba-.

Words in This Pattern

amba