Nouns: Class 3 and 4

In this post, we will put together some full sentences involving mu/mi nouns, like mwezi  and mwaka.

Some mu/mi nouns

Here are some objects with start with mu-/mi-:

muhi	mihi	tree(s)
mugomba	migomba	banana tree(s)
munazi	minazi	coconut tree(s)
mukahe	mikahe	bread(s)
mukoba	mikoba	luggage(s)
mukono	mikono	hand(s)

Verbs

By now, we are very familiar with the subject concords a- and ma-, meaning he/she and they. But we have never looked at the subject concord meaning it.

This is because every noun class has its own word for it. Most of them are fairly similar to the noun class prefix, so they are not too hard to remember.

We will use the verb kufaha, which means to please, for our examples. What are the subject concords for mu (singular) nouns and mi (plural) nouns?

Muhi unafa	the tree pleases
Mihi minafaha	the trees please
Mukono unafa	the hand pleases
Mikono minafaha	the hands please
Mumukoba unafa	the piece of luggage pleases
Mimukoba minafaha	the pieces of luggage please

The subject concord for mu is u.
The subject concord for mi is mi.

Exercise

Translate the following sentences into Giriama:

The banana tree pleases

The bread pleases

The coconut trees please

The two trees please
The two hands please
The five pieces of luggage please

Finally

The subject concords for other noun classes - words like mboga, which is N-class, or kithabu, which is ki-class, are listed in the table on this page. But we will eventually get to each class in turn...