"I am calling you(pl)"
Translation:Ninawaiteni
5 Comments
calling is ku-waita right? is "ninawaiteni"correct? so instead of the -wa- infix you use -eni at the end?
I think you need both the -wa- and the -eni for it to be the 2nd person plural
1900
I think "to call" is actually kuita. I'm still not really clear on how -eni is used, but from this example, I'm guessing you can use it with the -wa- to disambiguate it from "them".
Correct, since the -wa- object infix can mean "them" or "you" (plural), adding -eni at the end is the most common way Swahili uses to clarify which is meant (source: Wilson's Simplified Swahili, chapter 38). If you don't add -eni, then it is implied that you mean "them." And yes, the verb "to call" is kuita.
I would say "ninamuita" if I were to calling more than one person, for calling one person I would say "ninakuita". I don't know if this is a difference between Kenyan and Tanzanian Kiswahili. the -eni ending is usually used when you're giving the instructions to more than one person, at least in Kenyan Kiswahili.
