SURA YA II: KUJITAMBULISHA
8 Lesson 2: Kuuliza Majina
Performance Objectives
MSAMIATI
| Kiingereza | Kiswahili |
| Name/Names | jina/majina |
| -itwa | called |
| nimefurahi | I am pleased/happy |
| -kukufahamu | to know you |
| -fahamu | to Know |
Grammar: Possessive pronouns
In Swahili, possessive pronouns are used to show ownership or possession. They agree with the noun being possessed in terms of class, and they can be attached directly to the noun or used separately.
| Person | Singular | Person | Plural |
| Mimi | -angu | Sisi | -etu |
| Wewe | -ako | Nyinyi | -enu |
| Yeye | -ake | Wao | -ao |
These are added to the noun to show possession. The suffix changes based on the noun class of the object being possessed. Jina/Majina is from the noun class JI-MA; therefore, the possessive pronoun takes different prefixes depending on the different persons.
| Person | Singular | Person | Plural |
| Mimi | Jina langu | Sisi | Majina yetu |
| Wewe | Jina lako | Nyinyi | Majina yenu |
| Yeye | Jina lake | Wao | Majina yao |
Mazungumzo 1: Mwalimu na Mwanafunzi
Mwalimu: Hujambo, mwanafunzi?
Mwanafunzi: Mimi sijambo, na wewe je?
Mwalimu: Mimi pia sijambo. Asante. Jina lako ni nani?
Mwanafunzi: Jina langu ni Fatuma. Jina lako ni nani mwalimu?
Mwalimu: Jina langu ni Mwalimu Yusufu. Nimefurahi kukufahamu Fatuma.
Mwanafunzi: Nimefurahi kukufahamu pia. Asante, kwaheri.
Mwalimu: Asante, kwaheri.
Zoezi la 1: Maswali
- Jina la mwanafunzi ni nani?
- Jina la mwalimu ni nani?
Mazungumzo 2: Juma meets a student who will be living with his family as he studies abroad. He introduces himself and his mother.
Zoezi la 2: Fill in the missing words in the dialogue.
- Jina la mwanafunzi ni nani?
- Jina la mama ni nani?
Zoezi la 3: Scenario
You meet your classmate on the first day of class. Greet them, introduce yourself, and promise to see them later.
Mazungumzo 3: Two students meet two other students during lunch at the cafeteria. Since they did not get each other’s names during class, they greet each other, say their names, and promise to see each other later.
Wanafunzi 1&2: Hamjambo?
Wanafunzi 3 & 4: Hatujambo, na nyinyi je?
Wanafunzi 1&2: Sisi pia hatujambo.
Wanafunzi 3 & 4: Majina yenu ni nani?
Wanafunzi 1&2: Majina yetu ni Maria na Lulu. Majina yenu ni nani?
Wanafunzi 3 & 4: Majina yetu ni Juma na Simba. Tumefurahi kuwafahamu.
Wanafunzi 1&2: Tumefurahi kuwafahamu. Asanteni na Tutaonana baadaye.
Wanafunzi 3 & 4: Tutaonana baadaye
Zoezi la 4: Scenario
Mary and Anna meet James and Steve during their study abroad in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. They all realize they come from the same institution in the US. They greet each other, introduce each other’s names, and promise to catch up later.
Mazungumzo 4: Heri meets Juma’s mother and greets her, then she asks about Heri’s parents.
(Reference the conversation between Juma and Heri in Mazungumzo 2 above).
Upendo: Hujambo Heri?
Heri: Sijambo. Na wewe je?
Upendo: Mimi pia sijambo. Habari za jioni?
Heri: Nzuri sana. Na wewe je?
Upendo: Nzuri pia. Habari za wazazi?
Heri: Nzuri sana.
Upendo: Majina ya baba na mama ni nani?
Heri: Majina yao ni Fred na Caroline.
Upendo: Asante.
Heri: Asante pia.
GRAMMAR: SUBJECT PREFIXES
Subject prefixes are a fundamental grammatical element in Swahili that indicate who or what is acting as the subject. Unlike English, where separate subject pronouns (I, you, he/she, we, they) are often used before the verb, because Swahili is an agglutinative language, it incorporates the subject prefix directly into the verb itself as a prefix.
A basic verb is constructed as shown below:
Subject Prefix + Tense Marker + Verb Root + (Optional) Verb Ending
For example, in “Ninasoma” (I am reading):
Ni na soma
Subject Prefix + Tense Marker + Verb Root
| Person | Subject Pronoun | Person | Subject Pronoun |
| Mimi | Ni | Sisi | Tu |
| Wewe | U | Nyinyi | M |
| Yeye | A | Wao | Wa |
Mazungumzo 5: Mwanafunzi na mwalimu
Mwanafunzi: Unaitwa nani?
Mwalimu: Ninaitwa mwalimu Gorrety. Na wewe unaitwa nani?
Mwanafunzi: Ninaitwa Bahati. Nimefurahi kukufahamu.
Mwalimu Nimefurahi kukufahamu pia.
Zoezi la 5: Maswali
- Mwalimu anaitwa nani?
- Mwanafunzi anaitwa nani?
Mazungumzo 6: Mwalimu na mwanafunzi
Mwalimu : Hamjambo wanafunzi?
Wanafunzi: Hatujambo mwalimu na wewe je?
Mwalimu: Mimi pia sijambo. Habari za mchana?
Wanafunzi: Nzuri sana. Na wewe je?
Mwalimu: Nzuri pia, Habari za masomo?
Wanafunzi: Nzuri tu. Habari za kazi mwalimu?
Mwalimu: Nzuri sana. Mnaitwa nani?
Wanafunzi: Tunaitwa Maria, Juma, na Mbogo.
Mwalimu: Asante, mimi ninaitwa Mwalimu Tausi. Nimefurahi kuwafahamu.
Wanafunzi: Tumefurahi kukufahamu pia. Asante, kwaheri.
Mwalimu: Asante, kwaheri.
Zoezi la 6: Maswali
- Wanafunzi wanaitwa nani?
- Mwalimu anaitwa nani?
Zoezi la 7: Kuuliza Majina
Record yourself answering these questions
