Swahili has two main ways to say “the person who…,” “the book that…” or “the car which….” One uses a separate relative word from the amba- series; the other builds a relative-concord marker into the verb. Both strategies agree with the noun being modified, and neither is reserved for people or for things.
The underlying form sets also appear in the guides to relative pronouns with amba- and incorporated relative pronouns. This page concentrates on the structural choice between them.
One head noun, two grammatical architectures
Take the class 1 head noun mwanafunzi “student.” With amba-, class agreement appears on the separate word ambaye, and the following verb is an ordinary finite form. In the incorporated strategy, the class 1 relative concord -ye- sits inside the verb.
Mwanafunzi ambaye anasubiri nje ametoka Arusha.
The student who is waiting outside is from Arusha.
Mwanafunzi anayesubiri nje ametoka Arusha.
The student who is waiting outside is from Arusha.
The two relevant builds are:
- amba-ye a-na-subir-i — amba–class 1 relative; class 1 subject–present–wait–final vowel
- a-na-ye-subir-i — class 1 subject–present–class 1 relative–wait–final vowel
The first spreads the relative relationship across two words. The second packages tense and relativization in one verb. In a short present-tense clause, the incorporated form is compact and extremely common. Amba- is often helpful when the relative clause grows longer or uses a verbal form that does not fit the compact incorporated paradigm neatly.
Agreement is controlled by the head, not animacy
English mainly contrasts who for people with which/that for things. Swahili instead follows noun class. A class 1 person takes ambaye/-ye-, a class 5 car takes ambalo/-lo-, and a class 7 book takes ambacho/-cho-. A nonhuman class 1 noun still takes class 1 agreement, while an animate noun assigned to another class follows its grammatical class.
| Class | Example head | amba- form | incorporated concord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mtoto | ambaye | -ye- |
| 2 | watoto | ambao | -o- |
| 3 | mti | ambao | -o- |
| 4 | miti | ambayo | -yo- |
| 5 | gari | ambalo | -lo- |
| 6 | magari | ambayo | -yo- |
| 7 | kitabu | ambacho | -cho- |
| 8 | vitabu | ambavyo | -vyo- |
| 9 | nyumba | ambayo | -yo- |
| 10 | nyumba | ambazo | -zo- |
| 11/14 | ufunguo, ugonjwa | ambao | -o- |
| 15/17 | kusoma, kule | ambako | -ko- |
| 16 | mahali hapa | ambapo | -po- |
| 18 | ndani humu | ambamo | -mo- |
Kitabu ambacho kiko mezani ni cha Fatuma.
The book that is on the table belongs to Fatuma.
Kitabu kilicho mezani ni cha Fatuma.
The book that is on the table belongs to Fatuma.
In the second example, kilicho is built from ki-li-cho: class 7 subject, the copular -li- element, and class 7 relative concord. The ending still points back to kitabu.
Subject relatives
In a subject relative, the head noun performs the action inside the relative clause. With an incorporated finite verb, both the subject prefix and the relative concord normally reflect that head: wa-li-o-fik-a “who arrived” for class 2 wageni.
Wageni ambao walifika mapema walitusaidia kupanga viti.
The guests who arrived early helped us arrange the chairs.
Wageni waliofika mapema walitusaidia kupanga viti.
The guests who arrived early helped us arrange the chairs.
The most useful incorporated tense patterns are:
| Meaning | Class 1 build | Example form |
|---|---|---|
| present | a-na-ye-soma | anayesoma |
| past | a-li-ye-soma | aliyesoma |
| future | a-taka-ye-soma | atakayesoma |
| negative | a-si-ye-soma | asiyesoma |
The future relative uses -taka-, not the main-clause future marker -ta-. This is an arbitrary but central fact of the incorporated relative paradigm and must be learned as a form, not predicted from English.
Mfanyakazi atakayefungua ofisi kesho ameshapokea funguo.
The employee who will open the office tomorrow has already received the keys.
Object relatives
In an object relative, someone else performs the action on the head noun. The subject prefix therefore agrees with the actor, while the relative concord agrees with the head. A definite object may also be represented by an object marker nearer the verb root.
Gari ambalo tuliliona jana tayari limeuzwa.
The car that we saw yesterday has already been sold.
Gari tuliloliona jana tayari limeuzwa.
The car that we saw yesterday has already been sold.
The incorporated verb is tu-li-lo-li-on-a: tu- “we” is the subject; -li- is past; -lo- is the class 5 relative concord controlled by gari; the second -li- is the class 5 object marker; and on-a is “see.” The two adjacent li syllables have different grammatical jobs.
Wateja ambao tuliwapigia simu watakuja saa nane.
The customers whom we called will come at two o'clock.
Wateja tuliowapigia simu watakuja saa nane.
The customers whom we called will come at two o'clock.
Both are compact because tu- identifies the actor without a separate noun phrase. Amba- is often clearer when both subject and object are overt, when a human object requires an object marker, or when the clause contains several additional phrases.
Wateja ambao meneja aliwapigia simu baada ya kikao wamethibitisha miadi yao.
The customers whom the manager called after the meeting have confirmed their appointments.
Negative relatives
The amba- strategy keeps ordinary finite negation: ambalo halifanyi kazi “which does not work.” The incorporated strategy uses -si- followed by the relative concord and normally has no tense marker: lisilofanya kazi. Unlike a negative main-clause present form such as halifanyi, the incorporated relative keeps the lexical verb ending: li-si-lo-fany-a, not a form ending in -i.
Gari ambalo halifanyi kazi bado liko mbele ya nyumba.
The car that is not working is still in front of the house.
Gari lisilofanya kazi bado liko mbele ya nyumba.
The car that is not working is still in front of the house.
The builds are amba-lo ha-li-fany-i kazi versus li-si-lo-fany-a kazi in common segmentation. The first preserves a finite negative verb; the second compresses negation and relativization into the verb. Negative relatives deserve separate practice because English supplies no comparable sequence of noun-class prefixes.
Usitume faili ambazo hazijakaguliwa na mhariri.
Do not send files that have not been checked by the editor.
Usitume faili zisizokaguliwa na mhariri.
Do not send files that are not checked by the editor.
How to choose between the strategies
The choice is not an animate/inanimate split and usually does not change truth conditions. It reflects tense and verb shape, syntactic role, processing weight and style.
| Context | Often clearer choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| short present, past or future clause | incorporated | compact and highly idiomatic |
| negative descriptive clause | either | asiye- is compact; ambaye ha- makes finite negation transparent |
| perfect, habitual or compound verbal expression | amba- | the ordinary finite verb preserves the intended TAM form |
| long object relative with an overt actor | amba- | separates the relative marker from the crowded verb |
| concise narrative or edited prose | incorporated | avoids an extra word when the structure is easy to recover |
Mhasibu ambaye amekuwa akifuatilia malipo atatupigia kesho.
The accountant who has been following up on the payments will call us tomorrow.
Trying to force that compound aspect into a single incorporated relative would obscure the intended tense-aspect structure. Amba- is not less sophisticated; it is a full Standard Swahili strategy and is particularly valuable for structural clarity in (formal) and (academic) prose. Incorporated relatives are equally standard and are frequent in both (informal) conversation and polished writing.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vitabu ambaye nilinunua vimefika.
Incorrect — ambaye is class 1, but vitabu is class 8.
✅ Vitabu ambavyo nilinunua vimefika.
The books that I bought have arrived.
❌ Mwanafunzi ambaye anayesubiri ni dada yangu.
Incorrect — this mixes the amba- and incorporated strategies in one relative clause.
✅ Mwanafunzi ambaye anasubiri ni dada yangu.
The student who is waiting is my sister.
❌ Gari tulilioliona jana limeuzwa.
Incorrect — the relative concord follows the tense marker: tu-li-lo-li-on-a.
✅ Gari tuliloliona jana limeuzwa.
The car that we saw yesterday has been sold.
❌ Mwanafunzi aliyemefika mapema alipata kiti.
Incorrect — the incorporated relative cannot simply combine past relative -liye- with perfect -me-.
✅ Mwanafunzi ambaye amefika mapema alipata kiti.
The student who arrived early got a seat.
❌ Magari ambao hayafanyi kazi yameondolewa.
Incorrect — magari is class 6 and requires ambayo.
✅ Magari ambayo hayafanyi kazi yameondolewa.
The cars that do not work have been removed.
Key Takeaways
- Both strategies follow noun class: ambaye/-ye-, ambalo/-lo-, ambacho/-cho-, and the rest of the concord series.
- Amba- is separate from an ordinary finite verb; an incorporated relative concord sits inside the verb after its tense or negative marker.
- In object relatives, keep the actor's subject agreement separate from the head noun's relative and object agreement.
- Choose by tense, clause weight, grammatical role and processing clarity—not by an English-style human-versus-thing rule.
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Start learning Swahili →Related Topics
- The Complete amba- Relative SeriesB1 — Choose the amba- form that agrees with a relative clause's head noun and keep the following finite verb structurally independent.
- Relative Concord inside the VerbB2 — Build incorporated Swahili relatives in subject–TAM–relative–object–root order and keep each class-agreeing slot tied to its grammatical controller.
- amba- or an Incorporated Relative?B2 — Choose between separate amba- relatives and compact relative concord inside the Swahili verb by TAM, role, clause weight and register.
- Relative Concord: -o Forms by ClassB2 — Use ye, o, yo, lo, cho, vyo, zo, po, ko, and mo inside Swahili verbs to link relative clauses to their head nouns.
- Negative Relative FormsB2 — Build tense-neutral negative relatives such as asiye-, wasio-, and kisicho- with the correct noun-class concord.