Stacked Relative Clauses

Level 6

Relative clause stacking occurs when you use two or more relative clauses to describe the exact same noun (e.g., 'the book [that I bought] [that you read]').

How It Works

When you need to heavily restrict a noun using multiple descriptions, you are 'stacking' relative clauses. Both clauses attach syntactically to the same head noun and must agree with its noun class.

The Role of Coordination
In English, it is common to stack relative clauses asyndetically (without a conjunction), as in 'the book that I bought that you read.' In Swahili, this direct stacking (e.g., kitabu nilichokinunua ulichokisoma) is generally avoided across all registers. Instead, speakers link the relative clauses using na.

Mixing Relative Strategies
While you can keep relative strategies parallel (e.g., using two infixed relatives), mixing strategies is perfectly grammatical and highly common. Because infixed relatives are restricted by tense (only past -li-, present -na-, future -ta- via -taka-, and negative, alongside the tenseless general relative suffix), you will frequently be forced to mix strategies. Note that the infixed negative relative is inherently tenseless; if you need to stack a specifically past or future negative relative clause, you must use the amba- strategy. If a second relative clause uses a tense like the perfect -me- or a conditional, you must also use an amba- relative.

The Infinitive Shortcut
When stacked relative clauses share the exact same subject and tense, the second verb often drops the relative morphology and takes the infinitive form using ku-. This is not a special rule just for relative clauses, but rather a universal Swahili mechanism for coordinating any consecutive verbs that share a subject and tense. Note that while the relative morphology and tense drop, you must still retain the object infix in the infinitive if the verb acts on the head noun (hence ku-ki-soma, not just kusoma). For example, Kitabu nilichokinunua na kukisoma (The book that I bought and read).

Example Structures:
Parallel: Kitabu nilichokinunua na ulichokisoma... (The book that I bought and that you read...)
Mixed: Kitabu nilichokinunua na ambacho umekisoma... (The book that I bought and that you have read...)

Examples (3)

  1. Kitabu nilichokinunua na ulichokisoma kimepotea.

    The book that I bought that you read is lost.

    Word by Word: Book I-past-which-it-buy and you-past-which-it-read it-perfect-be_lost.

    The head noun 'kitabu' (Class 7) is modified by two parallel infixed relative clauses joined by 'na'.

  2. Wanafunzi ambao walichelewa na ambao hawakufanya mtihani wataadhibiwa.

    The students who were late who did not take the exam will be punished.

    Word by Word: Students who they-past-be_late and who they-negative-past-do exam they-future-be_punished.

    The head noun 'wanafunzi' (Class 2) is modified by two 'amba-' relative clauses coordinated with 'na'.

  3. Gari aliloliendesha na lililoharibika jana ni langu.

    The car that he drove that broke down yesterday is mine.

    Word by Word: Car he-past-which-it-drive and it-past-which-be_damaged yesterday is mine.

    The Class 5 noun 'gari' is modified by two parallel infixed relative clauses linked by 'na'.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the conjunction 'na' when stacking relative clauses.

    Kitabu nilichokinunua ulichokisoma kimepotea.
    Kitabu nilichokinunua na ulichokisoma kimepotea.

    Learners often try to directly translate English asyndetic stacking (stacking without 'and'). In Swahili, multiple relative clauses modifying the same noun should be linked with 'na'.

  • Losing track of the head noun's class agreement in the second relative clause.

    Gari aliloliendesha na iliyoharibika jana ni langu.
    Gari aliloliendesha na lililoharibika jana ni langu.

    Learners sometimes forget the original noun class by the time they reach the second relative clause. Here, 'gari' is Class 5, so the second relative must use the Class 5 agreement '-lo-', not the Class 9 '-yo-'.

How It Connects

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Stacked Relative ClausesLevel 6

Learn This First

Relative clause stacking is an advanced syntactic feature where a single noun is modified by multiple relative or participial clauses. To learn this, a learner must first be proficient in the different ways Swahili forms relative clauses (both the synthetic infixed version and the 'amba-' periphrastic version) and understand the general rules for ordering multiple modifiers after a noun to maintain clear agreement chains.

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