-enu

Your Plural with -enu

Level 1

Use the possessive root -enu to say "your (plural)" or "y'all's" when you are talking to a group of people.

How It Works

To build a possessive word with -enu, you combine the noun class's associative marker (meaning "of") with the root -enu. When the -a meets the -e, they merge into an e sound (a + e = e).

Here are some common forms based on noun class agreement:

  • Class 1/2 (people): wa- + -enu = wenu (e.g., mtoto wenu - your child, watoto wenu - your children). Note: For animals, use wenu for singular (e.g., mbwa wenu - your dog) and either zenu or wenu for plural (e.g., mbwa zenu or mbwa wenu - your dogs). For human relationship terms in Class 9/10 (like rafiki), use yenu for singular (e.g., rafiki yenu) and zenu for plural (e.g., rafiki zenu).
  • Class 3/4 (trees, plants, and some objects): wa- + -enu = wenu (e.g., mti wenu - your tree) / ya- + -enu = yenu (e.g., miti yenu - your trees)
  • Class 5/6: la- + -enu = lenu (e.g., gari lenu - your car) / ya- + -enu = yenu (e.g., magari yenu - your cars)
  • Class 7/8 (things): cha- + -enu = chenu (e.g., kitabu chenu - your book) / vya- + -enu = vyenu (e.g., vitabu vyenu - your books)
  • Class 9/10 (many common objects): ya- + -enu = yenu (e.g., nyumba yenu - your house) / za- + -enu = zenu (e.g., nyumba zenu - your houses)
  • Class 11: wa- + -enu = wenu (e.g., uso wenu - your face, ugonjwa wenu - your disease). Plurals take Class 10 zenu (e.g., nyuso zenu - your faces) or Class 6 yenu (e.g., magonjwa yenu - your diseases).
  • Class 14 (abstract nouns): wa- + -enu = wenu (e.g., uhuru wenu - your freedom). Class 14 typically has no plural.
  • Class 15 (infinitives): kwa- + -enu = kwenu (e.g., kusoma kwenu - your reading)
  • Classes 16/17/18 (locations): pa- + -enu = penu (e.g., mahali penu - your place), kwa- + -enu = kwenu (e.g., nyumbani kwenu - your home), mwa- + -enu = mwenu (e.g., darasani mwenu - inside your classroom)

Crucial Rule: The prefix always matches the thing being owned, not the people who own it. Even if you are talking to ten people, if they share one house, you must use the singular prefix for house (nyumba yenu).

Do not confuse this with your (singular) which is used when speaking to only one person, or our which includes the speaker.

Examples (4)

  1. Nyumba yenu ni nzuri sana.

    Your (plural) house is very beautiful.

    Word by Word: House your is beautiful very.

    The prefix 'y-' is used because 'nyumba' (house) is a Class 9 singular noun. Even though the owners are plural, the house is singular.

  2. Watoto wenu wanacheza nje.

    Your (plural) children are playing outside.

    Word by Word: Children your are-playing outside.

    The prefix 'w-' is used because 'watoto' (children) is a Class 2 plural noun.

  3. Kitabu chenu kiko wapi?

    Where is your (plural) book?

    Word by Word: Book your is where?

    The prefix 'ch-' is used because 'kitabu' (book) is a Class 7 singular noun.

  4. Gari lenu ni jipya.

    Your (plural) car is new.

    Word by Word: Car your is new.

    The prefix 'l-' is used because 'gari' (car) is a Class 5 singular noun.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the prefix plural just because you are talking to multiple people.

    Different MeaningNyumba zenu ni nzuri.
    Nyumba yenu ni nzuri.

    If a family shares one house, you must use the singular Class 9 agreement 'yenu'. Using 'zenu' (Class 10 plural) actually means 'your houses' (multiple houses).

  • Using the singular prefix 'yenu' for plural kinship terms.

    Rafiki yenu wamefika.
    Rafiki zenu wamefika.

    While singular kinship terms in Class 9/10 take 'yenu' (e.g., 'mama yenu' or 'rafiki yenu'), their plural forms strictly require the Class 10 possessive 'zenu' (e.g., 'mama zenu' or 'rafiki zenu'). Note that for plural animals, both 'zenu' and 'wenu' are grammatically permissible, though 'zenu' is highly recommended for clarity.

How It Connects

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-enuLevel 1Your Plural with -enu

Learn This First

To use '-enu' (your plural), you must understand how Swahili possessives change their prefix to match the noun class of the item owned, and you should be familiar with the second-person plural context (you all).

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