baadhi ya
Some of with Baadhi Ya
Baadhi ya means 'some of' or 'a portion of'. It is placed directly before the noun it modifies, though baadhi can also stand alone when the noun is understood.
How It Works
Here is how to use baadhi ya correctly to build fluency in Swahili:
- Position: When modifying a noun, it comes before the noun (e.g., baadhi ya watu = some of the people). However, baadhi can also stand alone as a pronoun when the noun is implied (e.g., baadhi wameondoka = some have left).
- Subject-Verb Agreement: The verb must agree with the noun that follows baadhi ya (or the implied noun), not with the word baadhi itself. For example, say Baadhi ya watu wamefika (Some people have arrived) using the Class 2 subject prefix, not imefika.
- No Agreement Changes: Do not change ya to match the following noun. It is always baadhi ya, never baadhi wa or baadhi za.
- With Pronouns: When referring to 'some of us/you/them', it merges with possessive pronoun roots using standard associative rules: baadhi yetu (some of us), baadhi yenu (some of you), baadhi yao (some of them). For inanimate objects, formal grammar requires the possessive root to match the noun class of the object (e.g., baadhi yayo for Class 6 matunda, baadhi yavyo for Class 8 vifaa). However, in everyday spoken Swahili, speakers frequently default to baadhi yake for singular or uncountable nouns and baadhi yao for plural inanimate objects.
- Not for Indefinite 'Some': If you just mean an unspecified quantity (like 'I bought some bread'), Swahili usually just uses the bare noun (Nilinunua mkate). Use baadhi ya only when you mean 'a portion of the bread'.
Do not confuse it with -ingine (other/some) or kadhaa (several), which are adjectives that follow the noun.
Examples (4)
- Baadhi ya wanafunzi wanazungumza Kikorea.
Some of the students speak Korean.
Word by Word: Portion of students they-speak Korean.
Notice how baadhi ya comes directly before the noun and does not change to match the Class 2 noun 'wanafunzi'.
- Usiweke matunda yote kwenye friza, baadhi ya matunda yanaharibika haraka yakiganda.
Do not put all the fruits in the freezer; some of the fruits spoil quickly when frozen.
Word by Word: Do-not-put fruits all in freezer, portion of fruits they-spoil quickly they-if-freeze.
Here, baadhi ya specifies a portion of a defined group (the fruits).
- Baadhi yetu tunapenda kahawa.
Some of us like coffee.
Word by Word: Portion of-us we-like coffee.
When used with pronouns, baadhi ya merges with the possessive root (ya + etu = yetu).
- Baada ya programu, baadhi ya akina ndugu walikuja wakanikumbatia.
After the program, some of the brothers came and embraced me.
Word by Word: After of program, portion of group-of brothers they-came they-and-me-embraced.
A natural example showing baadhi ya used with a group of people.
Common Mistakes
Changing 'ya' to agree with the following noun.
Baadhi wa watu wamefika.Baadhi ya watu wamefika.Because 'baadhi' is a Class 9 noun, it always takes the Class 9 marker 'ya'. Do not change it to match the noun that follows it.
Placing baadhi ya after the noun like an adjective.
Watu baadhi ya wamefika.Baadhi ya watu wamefika.Unlike Swahili adjectives, baadhi ya must be placed directly before the noun it modifies.
Using baadhi ya when you mean a general 'some' or 'I need water'.
Different MeaningNahitaji baadhi ya maji.Nahitaji maji.'Nahitaji baadhi ya maji' is a good sentence, but it means 'I need some of the water': a part of water you have in mind. To say 'I need water' in general, just use the noun: nahitaji maji.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'baadhi ya' (some of), you need to understand how the associative marker '-a' works to connect two words, and how Swahili nouns are grouped into classes, as this pattern is typically followed by plural nouns from any class.
- -aOf and Association with -a
The pattern 'baadhi ya' uses the associative marker 'ya' (the class 9/N-class form of -a) to link the concept of 'some' to the following noun.
Level 1 - No Articles
Since Swahili does not use articles like 'the', learners need to understand how 'baadhi ya' functions directly with nouns to mean 'some of the' or 'some'.
Foundations
Related Patterns
- -ingineOther or Another with -ingine
Often confused with baadhi ya, -ingine means 'other' or 'some' (in contrast to others) and follows the noun, taking noun class agreement.
Level 2 - -etuOur with -etu
Used to form 'baadhi yetu' (some of us) by combining the associative 'ya' with the possessive root '-etu'.
Level 1 - -aoTheir with -ao
Used to form 'baadhi yao' (some of them) by combining the associative 'ya' with the possessive root '-ao'.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice baadhi ya in Bubblegum
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