The Verb Word

The standard order for a basic statement is: (Primary Negative) + Subject + (Secondary Negative) + Tense/Aspect/Mood + (Relative) + (Object) + (Infinitive -ku-) + Root + (Extensions) + Final Vowel + (Post-Final Suffix). The Post-Final Suffix slot is used for the plural imperative -ni (e.g., someni) and the locative suffixes -po, -ko, -mo (e.g., alipokuwapo).

For example, in ninakupenda (I love you):

• ni- (I) is the subject marker
• -na- (present) is the tense, aspect, or mood marker
• -ku- (you) is the object marker. While the object marker slot is structurally optional for inanimate things (where its use is dictated by definiteness), it is typically used for all animate objects (both humans and animals). However, it is not strictly mandatory for non-specific, indefinite animate objects (e.g., niliona mtoto, I saw a child). This slot is also where the reflexive infix -ji- is placed.
• -pend- (love) is the root. (Optional verb extensions would attach here).
• -a is the final vowel. This is a separate slot because it changes based on mood and polarity (for example, for native Bantu verbs ending in -a, it changes to -i in the present negative and -e in the subjunctive; borrowed verbs ending in other vowels do not change).

Important Rules:

• Exceptions to the Template: The habitual tense (hu-) drops the subject marker entirely. Singular commands strip away both the subject and tense markers, while plural commands add the suffix -ni. For native verbs ending in -a, the final vowel changes to -e before adding -ni (e.g., someni!), but borrowed verbs ending in other vowels simply add -ni without changing the vowel (e.g., rudini!, jibuni!).
  
  If an object marker is included in a singular command, the final vowel of a native verb must change to -e (e.g., kisome!).
• Single Object Marker Limit: Standard Swahili verbs can only take one object marker at a time. If a verb has both a direct and indirect object, the marker must agree with the animate or beneficiary object (e.g., nilimpa kitabu, I gave him/her a book).
• Stress and Short Verbs: Swahili verbs almost always stress the second-to-last syllable. For very short verbs like -la (eat), the infinitive prefix -ku- is retained in its dedicated slot to carry the stress, making it ninakula. It is also obligatorily retained for certain disyllabic vowel-initial verbs (like -enda and -isha) for morphophonological reasons. This -ku- is also kept in singular commands for these short verbs (e.g., Kula!) to maintain the stress, as well as in plural commands where the final vowel still changes to -e before adding -ni (e.g., Kuleni!, Kunyweni!).
  
  This -ku- is dropped when an object marker is added (e.g., ninakila, I eat it) because the object marker provides the necessary syllable for penultimate stress. It is also dropped in the present negative (e.g., ninakula becomes sili, not sikuli), in specific tenses (like the situational -ki- or narrative -ka-), and in the subjunctive, because these markers (and subjunctive subject prefixes) can bear stress, fulfilling the penultimate stress rule and making the -ku- unnecessary. A crucial exception is the verb -pa (to give), which never takes the -ku- because it is grammatically required to always take an object marker.
• Loanwords: Native Swahili verbs end in -a, but many borrowed words (like kujibu, to answer) end in other vowels. They do not change their final vowel for basic negation or the subjunctive, but some change when adding verb extensions. Specifically, those ending in -u change to -i- (like the passive jibiwa) and those ending in -au add -li-, while those ending in -e or -i simply append the extension (like samehewa).
• Pronouns: Because the verb already includes the subject (like ni- for 'I'), you do not need to add separate words like mimi unless you want strong emphasis.

Advanced Negative and Relative Slots:
Note that negative verbs do not alter this structure entirely; primary negation utilizes a pre-prefix slot, though it fuses with the subject marker in the second-person (hu-) and third-person (ha-) singular forms, while the first-person singular uses a distinct, suppletive morpheme (si-).

The negative infix -si- is used instead of the pre-prefix in negative relative clauses, the subjunctive mood, and conditional or situational tenses. For example, in negative relative clauses, you use the affirmative subject prefixes paired with the negative infix -si-, and the tense marker is dropped entirely. This makes the synthetic negative relative tenseless; for example, the affirmative anayesoma (he who is reading) becomes asiyesoma (he who does not/did not/will not read). To specify a tense, you must use the amba- construction (e.g., ambaye hakusoma, he who did not read).

In standard tensed verbs, the relative marker sits in the (Relative) slot between the tense and the object or root, though it can also attach as a suffix to the very end of the verb in tenseless relatives, e.g., nisomaye.

The Tense/Aspect/Mood slot holds not just time markers, but also aspect and mood markers like -ki-, -ka-, and -nge-. The Infinitive -ku- slot is used to retain stress for monosyllabic verbs and is also retained for certain vowel-initial verbs (like -enda and -isha) for morphophonological reasons.