Present Negative Subject Forms

Level 1

To say you are not doing something right now, or don't do it generally, Swahili uses special negative subject prefixes and drops the present tense marker.

How It Works

In Swahili, negating a verb in the present tense requires four important steps:

1. Use a Negative Subject Prefix
To form a negative subject prefix, you generally add ha- to the beginning of the affirmative subject prefix (for example, ha- + tu- = hatu-). This rule applies to both human and non-human noun classes (like ha- + ki- = haki-). The first-person singular (I), second-person singular (You), and third-person singular (He/She) are irregular forms. For the second person, if it followed the standard rule, it would be hau- (which is instead used for the non-human U-class and the singular M-class). For the third person, the negative prefix ha- combined with the affirmative subject prefix a- contracts to just ha-. For human subjects, the prefixes are:

  • si- (I do not)
  • hu- (You do not)
  • ha- (He/She does not)
  • hatu- (We do not)
  • ham- (You all do not)
  • hawa- (They do not)

2. Drop the Tense Marker
The affirmative present tense marker -na-, as well as the habitual marker hu- and the indefinite present marker -a-, are completely removed. Note that the affirmative habitual hu- does not use subject prefixes. When negating it, the negative subject prefix itself identifies the subject (for example, the habitual huenda becomes siendi to mean 'I do not usually go'). Additionally, in the verb kuwa na (to have), kuwa is the verb (to be) and na is a preposition (with). In the present tense, kuwa is omitted entirely, and the subject prefix attaches directly to na, which is why you see forms like sina (I do not have).

3. Change the Final Vowel (Usually)
For native Swahili verbs ending in -a, the final vowel changes to -i. For example, ninasoma (I am reading) becomes sisomi (I am not reading).

4. Keep Object Markers in Place
If the verb has an object marker, it remains exactly where it is, right before the verb root. For example, ninakisoma (I am reading it) becomes sikisomi (I am not reading it).

Important Exceptions:

  • Loanwords: Verbs borrowed from Arabic that end in -e, -i, or -u keep their final vowel. For example, ninajibu (I am answering) becomes sijibu (I am not answering).
  • Short Verbs: Negative Monosyllabic Verbs drop their dummy ku- prefix. For example, ninakula (I am eating) becomes sili (I am not eating).
  • To Be and To Have: The present tense word for 'to be' (the Present Copula ni) becomes the Negative Copula si for all subjects. The verb kuwa na (to have) becomes sina, huna, hana, hatuna, hamna, hawana, bypassing the final vowel change rule.

Note that this single pattern covers both what you are not doing right now (continuous) and what you do not do habitually.

Examples (5)

  1. Sisomi kitabu.

    I am not reading a book.

    Word by Word: I-not-read book.

    Shows the first-person singular prefix 'si-' and the final vowel change from 'soma' to 'somi'.

  2. Hupendi kahawa.

    You do not like coffee.

    Word by Word: You-not-like coffee.

    Shows the second-person singular prefix 'hu-' and the final vowel change from 'penda' to 'pendi'.

  3. Hali nyama.

    He/she does not eat meat.

    Word by Word: He/she-not-eat meat.

    Shows the third-person singular prefix 'ha-'. The verb 'kula' (to eat) drops its 'ku-' prefix and changes its final vowel to become 'li'.

  4. Hatutaki kwenda.

    We do not want to go.

    Word by Word: We-not-want to-go.

    Shows the first-person plural prefix 'hatu-' and the final vowel change from 'taka' to 'taki'.

  5. Hawajibu maswali.

    They are not answering the questions.

    Word by Word: They-not-answer questions.

    Shows the third-person plural prefix 'hawa-'. Because 'jibu' is an Arabic loanword ending in -u, its final vowel does not change.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the present tense marker '-na-' in the negative.

    Sinasoma kitabu.
    Sisomi kitabu.

    Unlike the past and future negative tenses, the present negative completely drops the tense marker. You must remove '-na-' entirely.

  • Changing the final vowel of Arabic loanwords.

    Sijibi maswali.
    Sijibu maswali.

    Verbs of foreign origin that end in -e, -i, or -u (like 'jibu', 'fikiri', or 'samehe') do not change their final vowel to -i in the negative.

How It Connects

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Present Negative Subject FormsLevel 1

Learn This First

To learn present negative subject markers, you first need to understand the standard Swahili verb structure and how affirmative subject markers (like ni-, u-, a-) function. Since these negative markers specifically replace affirmative ones in the present tense, familiarity with the present affirmative (-na-) is required to understand when and how to apply the negative forms.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 5 more in the full list.

Words in This Pattern

si-hu-ha-hatu-ham-hamu-hawa--i