Imperative and Subjunctive Commands in Swahili

In Brief

For a direct command to one person, Swahili usually uses the verb stem: Soma! “Read!” For commands with an explicit subject, including “let’s,” use a subject prefix and the subjunctive (a verb form used for wishes, requests, and desired actions), normally changing final -a to -e: usome, tuende, asome. A negative command inserts -si-: usisome “don’t read.”

Overview

Swahili commands range from brief instructions such as Ingia! “Come in!” to suggestions, requests, and instructions about another person: Tuanzishe mkutano “Let’s start the meeting” or Aingie “Let him/her come in.” English often uses the same base verb in all these situations, adding words such as “please,” “let,” or “should.” Swahili makes more of the distinction inside the verb itself.

This B1 topic builds on the subject prefixes used in ordinary verbs. The important new choice is between a bare imperative, used mainly for a direct positive command to the person listening, and a subject-marked subjunctive, which can name the intended doer and often sounds less abrupt. Here, a subject is the person or group expected to carry out the action.

The core patterns are regular, but several very common verbs need special attention. In particular, short verbs such as kula “eat” retain ku-, and common motion verbs have command forms that are best learned as whole words.

How It Works

Direct positive commands

For a positive command to one person, remove the infinitive prefix ku- from a regular verb and use the remaining stem.

Infinitive	Stem	Singular command	Meaning
kusoma	soma	Soma!	Read!
kufungua	fungua	Fungua!	Open!
kusubiri	subiri	Subiri!	Wait!
kuandika	andika	Andika!	Write!

The listener is understood, so there is normally no u- subject prefix in this direct singular pattern. Compare Soma! “Read!” with Usome “Please read / you should read.”

Commands to more than one listener

For a direct command to several people, add -ni. With regular Bantu verbs ending in -a, the final -a becomes -e, producing -eni.

Singular	Plural	Meaning
soma	someni	read!
fungua	fungueni	open!
sikiliza	sikilizeni	listen!
subiri	subirini	wait!

Verbs already ending in -e, -i, or -u, many of them borrowed words, generally keep that vowel before -ni: jaribu → jaribuni “try!”, samehe → sameheni “forgive!”, jibu → jibuni “answer!”

The subjunctive command

For regular verbs ending in -a, form the positive subjunctive as follows:

subject prefix + verb stem with final -e

The subject prefix shows who is to perform the action. There is no tense marker such as present-tense -na-.

Intended doer	Prefix	Example with kusoma	Usual command meaning
I	ni-	nisome	let me read / may I read
you (one person)	u-	usome	please read / you should read
he or she	a-	asome	let him/her read / he/she should read
we	tu-	tusome	let’s read
you (several people)	m-	msome	please read / you all should read
they	wa-	wasome	let them read / they should read

This form does more than mark politeness. It allows commands and desired actions with any grammatical person: Nianze? “Shall I begin?”, Alete maji “Let him/her bring water,” and Waingie “Let them come in.” Context decides whether an English translation sounds best with “please,” “should,” “let,” “may,” or “shall.”

With verbs ending in -e, -i, or -u, the final vowel normally remains unchanged: ujaribu “please try,” anisamehe “let him/her forgive me,” wajibu “let them answer.” Do not force an extra -e onto these verbs.

“Let’s” with tu-

The first-person plural subjunctive gives the normal “let’s” form:

• Twende. — Let’s go.
• Tule. — Let’s eat.
• Tuanze. — Let’s begin.
• Tuzungumze. — Let’s talk.

Before a vowel, tu- may appear as tw-, as in twende from kwenda and twambie “let’s tell him/her.” The expanded form Twendeni! is also common as a forceful or group-directed “Let’s go!” The -ni highlights that the appeal is addressed to a group; twende itself already includes “we.”

Negative commands

Negative commands use a subject prefix followed by -si-. A regular final -a changes to -e:

subject prefix + si + verb stem ending in -e

Intended doer	Positive	Negative	Meaning of negative
you (one)	usome	usisome	don’t read
he or she	asome	asisome	let him/her not read / he/she should not read
we	tusome	tusisome	let’s not read
you (several)	msome	msisome	don’t read (all of you)
they	wasome	wasisome	let them not read / they should not read

For a direct prohibition, therefore, do not negate a bare stem. Use usi- for one listener and msi- for several: Usiguse! “Don’t touch!” and Msiguse! “Don’t touch, all of you!” Verbs ending in -e, -i, or -u again keep their final vowel: usijibu “don’t answer,” msijaribu “don’t try.”

Short and irregular command forms

Some common verbs cannot be handled by simply dropping ku-.

Infinitive	Singular command	Subjunctive example	Meaning
kula	kula	tule	eat; let’s eat
kunywa	kunywa	unywe	drink; please drink
kuja	njoo	aje	come; let him/her come
kwenda	nenda	twende	go; let’s go
kuleta	leta	alete	bring; let him/her bring

The first two are short verbs and retain ku- in the direct imperative. Njoo and nenda are high-frequency forms worth memorizing. Their plural direct commands are njooni and nendeni.

Examples in Context

Swahili	English	Note
Soma kitabu!	Read the book!	Direct singular command
Fungueni madirisha.	Open the windows.	Direct command to several people
Subiri hapa kidogo.	Wait here for a moment.	A verb ending in -i
Kula chakula chako.	Eat your food.	Short verb retaining ku-
Twendeni!	Let’s go!	Energetic appeal to a group
Tukutane saa mbili asubuhi.	Let’s meet at eight in the morning.	First-person plural subjunctive
Usome ukurasa huu, tafadhali.	Please read this page.	Softer command to one person
Alete vitabu vyake kesho.	Let him/her bring his/her books tomorrow.	Command concerning a third person
Waingie mmoja mmoja.	Let them enter one at a time.	Third-person plural
Nianze sasa?	Shall I start now?	Asking permission or confirmation
Usifanye hivyo.	Don’t do that.	Negative command to one person
Msipige kelele hospitalini.	Don’t make noise in the hospital.	Negative command to a group
Tusisahau funguo.	Let’s not forget the keys.	Negative “let’s” form
Jaribuni tena.	Try again.	Borrowed verb; final -u remains
Asome vitabu vyake.	He/She should read his/her books.	Third-person desired action

Common Mistakes

Adding a subject prefix to a bare imperative

• Wrong: Usoma kitabu!
• Right: Soma kitabu! or Usome kitabu.
• Why: The direct singular imperative is soma. Once u- is added, the regular command form needs the subjunctive ending -e: usome.

Keeping the final -a in a regular subjunctive

• Wrong: Aleta maji.
• Right: Alete maji.
• Why: In a regular verb ending in -a, the subjunctive changes that vowel to -e.

Using present-tense -na- inside a command

• Wrong: Tunakwenda! for “Let’s go!”
• Right: Twende!
• Why: Tunakwenda states “we are going.” The “let’s” form has tu- plus the subjunctive and no tense marker.

Negating the bare stem

• Wrong: Si soma! or Husoma! for “Don’t read!”
• Right: Usisome!
• Why: A negative command to one listener uses u-si- and the subjunctive ending. For several listeners, use msisome.

Treating every verb as if it ended in -a

• Wrong: Ujaribe tena.
• Right: Ujaribu tena.
• Why: Kujaribu ends in -u, so its final vowel stays unchanged in the subjunctive. The -a → -e change applies to regular verbs whose dictionary form ends in -a.

Stripping ku- from a short verb

• Wrong: La! for “Eat!”
• Right: Kula!
• Why: Short verbs such as kula and kunywa retain ku- in the direct imperative. Their subjunctives are ule/ tule and unywe/ tunywe.

Usage Notes

A bare command can be neutral in instructions, recipes, signs, or an urgent situation: Bonyeza hapa “Press here.” In a personal interaction, however, tone and context matter. The same form can sound friendly, efficient, or sharp. Tafadhali “please” softens it, while the u-...-e subjunctive often frames the action as a request or desired next step: Tafadhali, ukae hapa “Please sit here.”

English speakers may expect one fixed equivalent for “should.” Swahili subjunctive forms do not carry that meaning by themselves in every setting. Asome can mean “let him/her read,” “he/she should read,” or an instruction that he or she is to read. The surrounding conversation supplies the force.

The plural distinction is especially important because English “you” does not show number. Usome addresses one listener; msome addresses several. Likewise, usisome is singular and msisome is plural. The direct plural ending -ni is another way to make the audience explicit: Someni!

Commands are often delivered with respectful vocabulary, voice quality, titles, and tafadhali, not grammar alone. A subjunctive is useful for tact, but it is not automatically polite in every context, and a bare imperative is not automatically rude.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The same subjunctive belongs to a wider grammatical system, not just commands. It appears after expressions of desire or necessity and in clauses describing a purpose: Ninataka aje mapema “I want him/her to come early,” Lazima usome “You must study,” and Nimekuja ili tuzungumze “I have come so that we can talk.” These uses explain why the form can express a desired action without sounding like a direct order.

An object marker (a piece inside the verb identifying the receiver of the action) can also occur before the stem. This makes compact but highly useful forms:

Form	Parts	Meaning
niambie	ni- + -ambi- + -e	tell me
msaidie	m- + -saidi- + -e	help him/her
tuletee	tu- + -lete- + -e	bring to us
usikisahau	u- + -si- + ki- + -sahau	don’t forget it (class 7 object)

With an object marker, command forms commonly use the subject-marked subjunctive pattern: Nipe kitabu “Give me the book,” literally a form containing “me” inside the verb. Object markers vary according to the noun class or person represented, so they are best studied as a separate system after the basic command patterns are secure.

The command form may also connect to another action with -ka-, often suggesting “go/then and do”: Ukamwambie “Go and tell him/her.” This is common and useful, but it combines the subjunctive with sequencing and deserves separate study rather than being treated as a basic imperative ending.

Practice Tips

1. Take five regular -a verbs and make four forms for each: direct singular, direct plural, “let’s,” and negative singular. For kusoma, write soma, someni, tusome, usisome.
2. Practice mini-situations rather than isolated words. Give one instruction to a friend, the same instruction to a group, and then prohibit it: Fungua — Fungueni — Usifungue — Msifungue.
3. Keep a separate list for frequent exceptions and short verbs: kula, kunywa, njoo, nenda. Say them aloud in realistic phrases until they feel like complete units.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Tense (-na-) — review Swahili subject prefixes and see how commands omit the ordinary tense marker.
• Next step: Subjunctive Mood (-e ending) — extend the same forms to wishes, necessity, purpose, and dependent clauses.