Kauli ya Kutendwa
Chapter Overview
Chapter 7 continues Unit II by turning from the applicative extension of Chapter 6 to a second productive verb extension: the passive. In public notices, rules, and announcements, the person performing an action is often unstated or unimportant; what matters is the action itself and the thing or person affected by it. This chapter introduces the passive extension for the first time, in a controlled set of high-frequency verbs, so that you can read, understand, and produce agentless statements of the kind found on signs, in institutional announcements, and in short media items.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Recognize the form of the passive extension in high-frequency verbs.
- Form and use passive verbs to describe an action without naming who performs it.
- Distinguish an active sentence from its passive counterpart in meaning and structure.
- Read and understand common public notices, rules, and announcements that use passive forms.
- Identify and correct common errors in passive formation.
- Write a short public notice or announcement using passive verbs.
- Summarize the key information in a short piece of public or institutional text.
Opening Communication Scenario
With the helping tasks from Chapter 6 underway, James notices that the neighborhood safety plan needs to be posted somewhere everyone can see it — on the community noticeboard, at the small shop, and near the water point. Writing the plan for public posting is different from writing it as a personal message: notices, rules, and official announcements in Swahili usually describe what is done, what is required, or what is not allowed, without naming exactly who is doing it. Bi Amina explains that Swahili has a regular way of building this "unnamed doer" meaning directly into the verb: the passive extension.
- This chapter introduces the passive extension for the first time as a productive system.
- Passive forms are built from verbs you already know, so the emphasis is on a small, reliable set of high-frequency examples rather than every possible derived form.
- Passive verbs are especially common in rules, notices, announcements, and other public or institutional statements.
- Vocabulary in this chapter supports reading and writing short public information texts.
Core Vocabulary
The vocabulary below supports reading and writing rules, announcements, and public information.
| Swahili | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| tangazo / matangazo | announcement / announcements | class 5/6 |
| sheria | rule, law | class 9/10 |
| taarifa | notice, information, report | class 9/10 |
| bango / mabango | poster, notice board sheet / posters | class 5/6 |
| ujumbe / jumbe | message / messages | class 11/10 |
| eneo / maeneo | area, place / areas | class 5/6 |
| kuruhusiwa | to be allowed | verb (passive of kuruhusu) |
| kukatazwa | to be forbidden | verb (passive of kukataza) |
| kufungwa | to be closed | verb (passive of kufunga) |
| kuandikwa | to be written | verb (passive of kuandika) |
Pronunciation Focus
The passive suffix -w- is inserted just before the final vowel of the verb. When you read a word like kufungwa (to be closed) or kuruhusiwa (to be allowed), keep the -w- clearly audible rather than dropping it: fu-ngwa, ru-hu-si-wa.
Penultimate stress still falls on the second-to-last syllable of the whole derived word. Practice saying active and passive pairs side by side, such as funga / fungwa and ruhusu / ruhusiwa, so you can hear how the extra element changes the shape and stress of the word without changing the basic rhythm you already know.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
This section introduces the passive extension for the first time, in a controlled set of high-frequency verbs, with an emphasis on agentless public statements.
What the Passive Extension Does
The passive extension is added to a verb stem, before the final vowel, to shift attention from the person doing the action to the person or thing affected by it. In most common verbs, the passive suffix is -w-, added directly before the final vowel: funga (to close) becomes fungwa (to be closed); andika (to write) becomes andikwa (to be written).
When a verb stem already ends in a vowel other than a consonant plus a, or when the base form ends in -ua such as ruhusu (to allow), the passive suffix combines with the stem as -iwa: ruhusu becomes ruhusiwa (to be allowed).
A passive sentence may simply omit the doer of the action altogether, which is exactly what makes it useful for rules and public notices: the rule applies to everyone, and naming a specific doer is unnecessary.
| Base verb | Meaning | Passive form | Passive meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| kufunga | to close | kufungwa | to be closed |
| kuandika | to write | kuandikwa | to be written |
| kuruhusu | to allow | kuruhusiwa | to be allowed |
| kukataza | to forbid | kukatazwa | to be forbidden |
| kusoma | to read | kusomwa | to be read |
| kutumia | to use | kutumiwa | to be used |
Forming and Using Passive Verbs
Mlango utafungwa saa mbili usiku. The door will be closed at eight in the evening. u- + ta- + fung + wa
Magari hayaruhusiwi mtaani hapa baada ya saa tatu usiku. Cars are not allowed in this neighborhood after nine at night. ha- + ya- + ruhusi + wi (negative)
Tangazo hili limeandikwa kwa Kiswahili na Kiingereza. This announcement has been written in Swahili and English. li- + me- + andik + wa
Notice that the subject of a passive sentence is the thing affected by the action (the door, the cars, the announcement), and its subject marker agrees with that noun's class exactly as you already control from earlier chapters. No object marker for a doer appears inside these verbs, because the doer is not being named.
Active vs. Passive
Compare an active sentence with its passive counterpart:
- Walimu wanafunga mlango saa mbili. — The teachers close the door at eight. (names who closes it)
- Mlango unafungwa saa mbili. — The door is closed at eight. (no doer named; the rule matters, not who enforces it)
Use the active sentence when the doer is important or already known. Use the passive sentence when the action or the affected thing matters more than who performs it, as in rules, schedules, and public announcements.
Zoezi la Sarufi — Grammar Practice:
- Change each base verb into its passive form: kusoma → ___ / kutumia → ___ / kukataza → ___.
- Rewrite each active sentence as a passive sentence, omitting the doer: Walinzi wanafunga lango saa moja. → ___.
- Write one rule for a public place (a library, a market, a park) using a passive verb.
Model Dialogue
Muktadha: James na Bi Amina wanaandaa tangazo la mtaa kuhusu mpango wa usalama, ili liwekwe kwenye ubao wa matangazo.
(Setting: James and Bi Amina are preparing a neighborhood announcement about the safety plan, to be posted on the noticeboard.)
This dialogue develops the passive extension productively across several high-frequency verbs (kufungwa, kuruhusiwa, kuandikwa, kuwekwa, kusomwa) in the agentless, rule-stating style typical of public notices.
Maswali ya ufahamu — Comprehension questions:
- Lango la mtaa litafungwa saa ngapi?
- Magari hayaruhusiwi kufanya nini karibu na mlango wa shule?
- Taarifa ya mkutano wa mtaa itaandikwa kwa lugha zipi, na kwa nini?
- Bango la tangazo litawekwa katika maeneo mangapi, na yapi?
Guided Practice
Zoezi 1 — Kutoka Kitenzi Sahili hadi Kitenzi cha Kutendwa (From Active Verb to Passive Verb)
- Write the passive form of each base verb in the chapter vocabulary table, checking whether -w- or -iw- applies.
- Say each pair (active and passive) aloud, paying attention to the extra element and its effect on stress.
Zoezi 2 — Kutoka Hai hadi Kutendwa (From Active to Passive)
- For five short active sentences naming a doer, rewrite each as a passive sentence that omits the doer.
- Check that the subject marker in each passive verb agrees with the noun class of the affected thing.
Zoezi 3 — Sheria za Mahali (Rules for a Place)
- Choose a public place (a library, a clinic, a market, a park) and write three short rules for it using passive verbs.
- Compare your rules with a partner and check that each passive form and each agreement is correct.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud twice, at a natural pace.
Tangazo la Mtaa — Neighborhood Announcement
Wakazi wote wanaombwa kusoma tangazo hili kwa makini. Lango la mtaa litafungwa kila usiku saa tatu, na litafunguliwa tena asubuhi saa kumi na mbili. Magari hayaruhusiwi kuegeshwa karibu na mlango wa shule wakati wowote. Taarifa kuhusu mkutano wa mtaa itaandikwa kwa Kiswahili na Kiingereza, na itawekwa ubaoni, dukani, na karibu na kisima cha maji. Wakazi wanaombwa kuchangia maoni yao kabla ya mkutano huo kufanyika. Sheria hizi zimeandaliwa na kamati ya mtaa kwa faida ya wakazi wote.
Kazi A — Kubaini mambo makuu (Main-idea task): Note each rule or piece of information in the announcement, and identify which verbs are passive.
Kazi B — Maswali ya ufahamu:
- Lango la mtaa litafunguliwa tena saa ngapi asubuhi?
- Taarifa ya mkutano itawekwa katika maeneo gani?
- Wakazi wanaombwa kufanya nini kabla ya mkutano kufanyika?
Speaking Practice
Sehemu ya kwanza — Kusoma Tangazo kwa Sauti (Reading a Notice Aloud)
With a partner, take turns reading aloud a short set of rules for a public place, using passive verbs such as kuruhusiwa, kukatazwa, or kufungwa, and check each other's pronunciation of the passive suffix.
Sehemu ya pili — Kutunga Sheria za Pamoja (Drafting Shared Rules)
Imagine you and your partner are on a committee for a shared space (a community center, a shared garden, a small office). Agree on three rules and state them aloud using passive verbs.
Mbadala wa kujifunza peke yako — Solo alternative
Record yourself reading aloud three public rules or announcements you have written, using a passive verb in each. Listen back and check your passive formation and pronunciation of the passive suffix.
Reading Practice
Bango la Maktaba ya Mtaa — A Neighborhood Library Notice
Maktaba ya mtaa imefunguliwa kwa wakazi wote bila malipo. Vitabu vinaweza kutumiwa ndani ya maktaba au kukopwa kwa muda wa wiki mbili. Chakula na vinywaji havinuwezi kuletwa ndani ya maktaba. Sauti kubwa hairuhusiwi, ili wasomaji wote wapate mazingira tulivu. Vitabu vilivyoharibiwa au kupotea vinapaswa kulipiwa na mkopaji. Ratiba ya maktaba imewekwa mlangoni: maktaba inafunguliwa saa mbili asubuhi na inafungwa saa kumi na moja jioni, isipokuwa Jumapili, ambapo imefungwa siku nzima. Wakazi wanaohitaji msaada wanaweza kuuliza msimamizi wa maktaba, ambaye yupo eneo hilo siku zote za wiki.
Maswali ya ufahamu — Comprehension and interpretation questions:
- Vitabu vinaweza kutumiwa wapi, na kwa muda gani vinaweza kukopwa?
- Ni nini hairuhusiwi ndani ya maktaba, na kwa nini?
- Maktaba inafunguliwa na kufungwa saa ngapi kila siku, na Jumapili kuna tofauti gani?
- Nini kinachotokea kama kitabu kimeharibiwa au kupotea?
Writing Workshop
- Chagua mahali pa umma. Choose a real or invented public place (a park, a clinic, a small shop, a community hall) that needs a short set of rules or a notice.
- Panga taarifa muhimu. List, in plain English notes first, three or four pieces of information or rules that need to be communicated.
- Andika tangazo fupi. Write a short 90–130-word notice or announcement, using at least three passive verbs that describe rules or actions without naming a specific doer.
- Kagua kwa orodha. Check your notice against the checklist below.
- Andika nakala safi. Produce a clean final version, formatted the way a real public notice might look.
Prompt: Write a short public notice or set of rules for a place of your choice, using passive verbs to describe what is done, allowed, or forbidden.
Orodha ya ukaguzi — Editing checklist:
- Each passive verb is formed correctly from its base verb (-w- or -iw-, as appropriate).
- Each passive verb's subject marker agrees with the noun class of the affected thing.
- At least one sentence contrasts an active statement with its passive counterpart, showing the difference in emphasis.
- Applicative verbs from Chapter 6 are reused correctly where natural.
- Capitalization, spacing, punctuation, and ng' are correct throughout.
Culture and Communication
Public notices, community noticeboards, and posted rules are a common feature of neighborhood, institutional, and civic life in many Swahili-speaking communities. Because these texts are meant to apply to everyone equally, they typically describe rules and actions without naming a specific enforcer, which is exactly the function the passive extension serves. Learning to read and write this kind of agentless, rule-stating language is an important step toward participating in public and institutional communication.
The passive verbs practiced in this chapter are standard across Tanzanian and Kenyan Standard Swahili and are widely used in public and institutional writing throughout the wider Swahili-speaking world. Some formal, legal, or bureaucratic registers use additional passive constructions with more specialized meanings; these will be addressed as receptive, labeled material in later volumes rather than as part of this chapter's productive system.
Common Mistakes
Error: Mlango utafunga saa mbili. (uses the active form when a passive is intended)
Correction: Mlango utafungwa saa mbili. — when the door is the one being closed, rather than doing the closing, the passive suffix -w- must be added before the final vowel.
Error: kuruhusu → kuruhusua (attaches -w- directly to a stem ending in -u without the linking vowel)
Correction: kuruhusu → kuruhusiwa — verbs whose stem does not end in a simple consonant plus a typically take the fuller -iwa passive form.
Error: Learners translate every passive sentence by adding "by someone" even when Swahili public style leaves the doer unstated, producing unnatural sentences such as Mlango unafungwa na mtu. ("The door is closed by a person.")
Correction: In rules and notices, Swahili passive sentences typically omit the doer entirely, since naming "a person" or "someone" adds no useful information. Leave the doer unstated unless a specific, relevant agent needs to be identified.
Chapter Summary
This chapter introduced the passive extension for the first time, in a controlled set of high-frequency verbs, as a productive way of describing actions, rules, and states without naming who performs them. You practiced forming passive verbs, contrasting active and passive meaning, and reading and writing short public notices and announcements. This continues Unit II; Chapter 8 continues the unit by introducing the causative extension for describing causing, making, enabling, and changing states.
Chapter Review
Sehemu A — Sarufi (Grammar)
1. Give the passive form of kutumia and use it in a sentence.
2. Rewrite as a passive sentence, omitting the doer: Walimu wanafunga mlango saa mbili.
3. Explain in English the difference in meaning between Walinzi wanafunga lango and Lango linafungwa.
Sehemu B — Usomaji na Usikilizaji (Reading and Listening)
1. In the reading passage, what is not allowed inside the neighborhood library, and why?
2. In the listening passage, at what time is the neighborhood gate closed and reopened?
Sehemu C — Uandishi na Kuzungumza (Writing and Speaking)
1. Complete or finalize your notice from the Writing Workshop, if you have not already done so.
2. With a partner, or alone using the solo alternative, complete the notice-reading activity and the shared-rules activity.
Practical Performance Task
Kazi ya Utendaji — Kutunga na Kusoma Tangazo
Sema na Andika Tangazo la Umma — Speak and Write a Public Notice
Combine speaking and writing to demonstrate controlled, accurate use of passive verbs in a practical public or institutional context.
- Usomaji wa tangazo (Oral notice reading): Read your written notice aloud clearly for one to two minutes, as if posting it publicly, using at least three passive verbs.
- Uandishi wa tangazo (Written notice): Submit your final notice from the Writing Workshop.
- Ukaguzi wa rika (Peer or self review): Identify one place in your own notice where a passive form could be improved, and revise it.
| Criterion | Developing | Solid | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passive formation | Frequent errors in the passive suffix or stem shape | Mostly accurate passive forms | Consistently accurate, natural passive forms throughout |
| Agentless public style | Doer is unnecessarily named or the passive is avoided | Mostly appropriate agentless statements | Consistently natural, agentless public/institutional style |
| Active vs. passive contrast | Little or no distinction between active and passive meaning | Some accurate contrast between active and passive sentences | Clear, accurate contrast between active and passive meaning throughout |
| Notice clarity and organization | Rules or information are unclear or incomplete | Rules or information are mostly clear | Rules or information are consistently clear and well organized |
If you are studying independently: complete the solo alternative for the speaking task, and ask a Swahili-speaking contact, tutor, or qualified reviewer to check your written notice and recorded reading against the rubric above.
Answer Key / Ufunguo wa Majibu
Grammar Practice
- kusoma → kusomwa; kutumia → kutumiwa; kukataza → kukatazwa.
- Lango linafungwa saa moja.
- Sample: Vitabu havitumiwi nje ya maktaba. (Accept other natural, correctly formed passive rule sentences for a public place.)
Guided Practice — Zoezi 1
Expected passive forms: kufunga → kufungwa; kuandika → kuandikwa; kuruhusu → kuruhusiwa; kukataza → kukatazwa; kusoma → kusomwa; kutumia → kutumiwa.
Guided Practice — Zoezi 2
Accept any five correctly formed passive sentences that omit the doer and agree with the noun class of the affected thing.
Guided Practice — Zoezi 3
Accept any three correctly formed passive rule sentences appropriate to the chosen public place.
Model Dialogue Comprehension
- Lango la mtaa litafungwa saa tatu usiku.
- Magari hayaruhusiwi kuegeshwa karibu na mlango wa shule.
- Taarifa hiyo itaandikwa kwa Kiswahili na Kiingereza, ili kila mtu asome kwa lugha anayoielewa vizuri zaidi.
- Bango litawekwa maeneo matatu: ubaoni, dukani, na karibu na kisima.
Listening Assessment Responses
Kazi A (main idea): Accept notes showing: the gate is closed at nine at night and reopened at six in the morning; cars are not allowed to park near the school gate; the meeting notice will be written in two languages and posted in three places; residents are asked to contribute feedback before the meeting.
Kazi B:
- Lango la mtaa litafunguliwa tena saa kumi na mbili asubuhi.
- Taarifa ya mkutano itawekwa ubaoni, dukani, na karibu na kisima cha maji.
- Wakazi wanaombwa kuchangia maoni yao kabla ya mkutano kufanyika.
Reading Assessment Comprehension
- Vitabu vinaweza kutumiwa ndani ya maktaba au kukopwa kwa muda wa wiki mbili.
- Chakula, vinywaji, na sauti kubwa havinuwezi kuruhusiwa ndani ya maktaba, ili wasomaji wapate mazingira tulivu.
- Maktaba inafunguliwa saa mbili asubuhi na inafungwa saa kumi na moja jioni; Jumapili imefungwa siku nzima.
- Kitabu kilichoharibiwa au kupotea kinapaswa kulipiwa na mkopaji.
Chapter Review — Sehemu A
- kutumiwa; sample: Kompyuta hii inatumiwa na wanafunzi wote. (This computer is used by all the students.)
- Lango linafungwa saa mbili.
- See the Grammar Practice answer above for the explanation of the active-vs-passive contrast.
Other accurate, well-formed answers are acceptable where the task is open-ended.
Independent Study Tools
If you are studying without a partner or instructor, use these strategies to complete this chapter's work:
- Use a text-to-speech tool to read the Listening Practice passage and the Model Dialogue aloud for repeated listening, paying attention to the passive suffix.
- Record your public notice and listen back for accurate passive formation and natural agentless style before your final performance.
- Keep a short personal error log of any passive-formation mistakes you notice, and review it before Chapter 8.
- Ask a Swahili-speaking contact, tutor, or qualified reviewer to check your written notice and recorded reading against the rubric in the Practical Performance Task.
Looking Ahead
Unachojua sasa — What you know now
You can now form and use passive verbs to describe actions, rules, and states without naming who performs them, distinguish active meaning from passive meaning, and read and write short public notices and announcements. This control of the passive extension continues Unit II and builds directly on the applicative extension from Chapter 6, preparing you for the causative extension that continues this unit.