1.Tusi(noun)-Verbal abuse.
From the word,we get the verb TUKANA.
Some Swahili speakers,especially from Kenya,wrongly use the word TUSI as a verb.They’d be like:
-Alinitusi (They means to say,he/she verbally abused me). The correct way is:
-Alinitukana.
2.Using the suffix -nga/ga to indicate habits(present simple tense) in sentences.I have observed this in some of the speakers in both Kenya and Tanzania. But the habit is prevalent among the Kenyan Swahili speakers. The correct way is to use prefix hu- in verbs to indicate habits or sentences in present simple tense.
So,instead of saying:
Mimi naendanga kanisani,
You should say:
Mimi huenda kanisani(I go to church).
3.When some short verbs have -ku- in them,when negating(kanusha),we have to drop the -ku-.Some people do not.
Eg:Kuja(come),to negate this,we say,
Usije(don’t come).
DO NOT SAY,Usikuje.
Elly Juma
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