Kiswahili

Kiswahili grammar practice for beginners

Practising grammar is one of the best ways to turn Swahili knowledge into practical communication. These exercises cover nouns, pronouns, verbs, tenses, adjectives, questions, negatives and sentence construction.

Table of Contents hide
1 Exercise 1: Choose the correct subject prefix
2 Exercise 2: Present tense
3 Exercise 3: Past tense
4 Exercise 4: Future tense
5 Exercise 5: Make the sentences negative
6 Exercise 6: Noun classes
7 Exercise 7: Adjective agreement
8 Exercise 8: Question words
9 Exercise 9: Possessives
10 Exercise 10: Build sentences
11 Exercise 11: Translation
12 Exercise 12: Create your own sentences

Exercise 1: Choose the correct subject prefix

Choose the appropriate prefix.

  1. ___nasoma. (I)
  2. ___nasoma. (you)
  3. ___nasoma. (he/she)
  4. ___nasoma. (we)
  5. ___nasoma. (they)

Exercise 2: Present tense

Complete the sentences.

  1. Mimi ______ Kiswahili.
  2. Yeye ______ chakula.
  3. Sisi ______ sokoni.
  4. Wao ______ kazi.
  5. Wewe ______ kitabu.

Use appropriate forms of:

  • kusoma
  • kula
  • kwenda
  • kufanya
  • kusoma

Exercise 3: Past tense

Change each sentence into the past tense.

  1. Ninasoma.
  2. Anaenda sokoni.
  3. Tunakula.
  4. Wanasoma.
  5. Unafanya kazi.

Exercise 4: Future tense

Change each sentence into the future tense.

  1. Ninasoma.
  2. Anaenda nyumbani.
  3. Tunakula.
  4. Wanasoma.
  5. Unafanya kazi.

Exercise 5: Make the sentences negative

Rewrite the sentences negatively.

  1. Ninasoma.
  2. Anaenda sokoni.
  3. Tunakula.
  4. Wanasoma.
  5. Utaenda kesho.

Exercise 6: Noun classes

Complete the plural.

  1. mtoto → ______
  2. mtu → ______
  3. kitabu → ______
  4. kiti → ______
  5. tunda → ______

Exercise 7: Adjective agreement

Complete the adjective.

  1. mtoto ______ (mzuri)
  2. watoto ______ (mzuri)
  3. kitabu ______ (kizuri)
  4. vitabu ______ (kizuri)
  5. nyumba ______ (kubwa)

Exercise 8: Question words

Choose from nani, nini, wapi, lini, kwa nini, gani.

  1. Unaitwa ______?
  2. Unaishi ______?
  3. Hii ni ______?
  4. Unaenda ______?
  5. Utaenda ______?
  6. Unataka kitabu ______?

Exercise 9: Possessives

Complete the phrases.

  1. kitabu ______ — my book
  2. nyumba ______ — your house
  3. rafiki ______ — his/her friend
  4. shule ______ — our school
  5. watoto ______ — their children

Exercise 10: Build sentences

Arrange the words into correct sentences.

  1. Kiswahili / ninajifunza
  2. sokoni / tunaenda
  3. kitabu / anasoma
  4. watoto / wanacheza
  5. kazi / wanafanya

Exercise 11: Translation

Translate into Swahili:

  1. I am learning Swahili.
  2. She is reading.
  3. We went home.
  4. They will come tomorrow.
  5. Where do you live?

Exercise 12: Create your own sentences

Write one sentence using each:

  • a noun
  • a pronoun
  • an adjective
  • a verb
  • a question word
  • a preposition
  • a conjunction