Plural Imperatives in -eni | Swahili Grammar

Standard Swahili marks an affirmative command addressed to several people at the end of the command word. A regular -a verb changes final -a to -eni: soma → someni. Verbs ending in another vowel normally add -ni: jibu → jibuni.

This suffix marks the number of the people being addressed, not the number or class of an object. English usually leaves “Read!” unchanged whether speaking to one person or twenty, so English speakers must learn to hear the addressee distinction in the Swahili verb itself.

Two regular formation patterns

For a regular Bantu verb ending in -a, remove that final vowel and attach -eni. For a verb ending in -e, -i, or -u, retain the final vowel and add -ni.

Singular command	Analytic plural build	Plural command	Meaning
soma	som-eni	someni	read, all of you
andika	andik-eni	andikeni	write, all of you
fungua	fungu-eni	fungueni	open, all of you
kimbia	kimbi-eni	kimbieni	run, all of you
kaa	ka-eni	kaeni	sit/stay, all of you
subiri	subiri-ni	subirini	wait, all of you
jibu	jibu-ni	jibuni	answer, all of you
samehe	samehe-ni	sameheni	forgive, all of you

The finished forms are written without hyphens. Calling every plural ending simply “add -ni” is convenient only if you also remember that -a + ni is realized as -eni in this command pattern.

Someni taarifa yote kabla ya kuuliza maswali.

Read the entire notice before asking questions, all of you.

Fungueni madirisha; humu ndani kuna joto sana.

Open the windows; it is very hot in here.

The build fungu-eni explains the adjacent vowels in fungueni. It is neither funguani nor funguni.

Subirini kwenye foleni hii mpaka mhudumu awaite.

Wait in this line until the attendant calls you.

Subiri already ends in -i, so its plural is subiri-ni. The final -i is lexical and does not become -e.

💡

Look at the singular command's last vowel. Final -a selects -eni; lexical -e, -i, and -u stay and take -ni. This predicts most plural commands without referring back to English.

The suffix targets the listeners

A plural command tells two or more addressees what to do. An overt noun used to call them is a vocative, not a subject occupying a verb slot.

Watoto, kaeni sebuleni mpaka chakula kiwe tayari.

Children, stay in the living room until the food is ready.

Watoto identifies the listeners. The command kaeni independently marks them as plural. A singular kaa would address one child even if a plural noun had been called out, producing a mismatch in this context.

Wageni, ingieni ndani kabla mvua haijaanza.

Guests, come inside before the rain starts.

From ingia, the build is ingi-eni → ingieni. The plural suffix does not agree with ndani or mvua; neither is an addressee.

Gawanyikeni katika makundi ya watu wanne wanne.

Divide yourselves into groups of four.

This (formal/classroom) instruction can address a whole room economically. Plural imperatives are equally ordinary in (informal) family coordination:

Malizeni kula, halafu twende tukatembee ufukweni.

Finish eating, all of you, then let's go for a walk on the beach.

Short and irregular verbs

Short verbs that retain ku- in the singular keep it in the plural before -eni. High-frequency irregular command stems take the same plural ending appropriate to their stored singular form.

Infinitive	Singular	Plural analysis	Plural
kula	kula	kul-eni	kuleni
kunywa	kunywa	kunyw-eni	kunyweni
kuja	njoo	njoo-ni	njooni
kwenda	nenda	nend-eni	nendeni
kuleta	lete	lete-ni	leteni

Kuleni matunda haya leo; kesho yatakuwa yameiva kupita kiasi.

Eat this fruit today; tomorrow it will be overripe.

Kunyweni maji kabla hamjaendelea na safari.

Drink some water before you continue the journey.

Njooni ofisini kwangu baada ya mkutano.

Come to my office after the meeting, all of you.

There is real memorization here. Njooni is based on irregular njoo, whereas nendeni follows final-a plural formation from nenda. For a fuller inventory, see irregular and monosyllabic imperatives.

Plural imperative versus other second-person forms

The suffix -eni is not a present marker. Compare a statement, a command, and a prohibition:

Mnaandika majina yenu kwenye orodha.

You are writing your names on the list.

Andikeni majina yenu kwenye karatasi hizi.

Write your names on these sheets, all of you.

Msiandike namba za siri kwenye fomu hii.

Do not write passwords on this form, any of you.

The indicative is m-na-andik-a. The affirmative command is andik-eni with no initial subject or TAM marker. The prohibition is m-si-andik-e: plural subject m-, negative -si-, and subjunctive -e. It does not add affirmative-command -eni.

Object-marked commands also use a subjunctive-shaped stem: niambieni “tell me, all of you.” Their structure is developed on imperatives with object markers.

Number is not automatically politeness

The core Standard Swahili contrast is one listener versus multiple listeners. Plural address can also be extended to one person as deference in some (formal) or service encounters, but it is not a dependable one-to-one equivalent of polite French vous or respectful plural address in other languages.

For one person, keep singular number and soften the act with tafadhali, an explanation, a title, or a fuller request frame.

Tafadhali ingia, Daktari; wagonjwa wengine tayari wamefika.

Please come in, Doctor; the other patients have already arrived.

Here one doctor is addressed with singular ingia. Using ingieni solely because the doctor deserves respect can misleadingly sound as though several people should enter. See polite requests for strategies beyond number marking.

💡

Use plural morphology when the addressee set is plural. Express respect through the whole request—word choice, title, explanation, and tone—rather than treating -eni as a mechanical honorific.

Common Mistakes

Adding -ni without changing final -a

❌ Somani maelekezo yaliyo ubaoni.

Incorrect — a regular final -a changes to -eni in the plural command.

✅ Someni maelekezo yaliyo ubaoni.

Read the instructions on the board, all of you.

Replacing a lexical final -u with -eni

❌ Jibueni maswali yote kwa sentensi kamili.

Incorrect — jibu retains lexical final -u and takes -ni.

✅ Jibuni maswali yote kwa sentensi kamili.

Answer all the questions in complete sentences.

Building the irregular plural from kuja mechanically

❌ Jeni kesho mchana kuchukua vyeti vyenu.

Incorrect — the standard command family is njoo/njooni.

✅ Njooni kesho mchana kuchukua vyeti vyenu.

Come tomorrow afternoon to collect your certificates.

Writing the plural ending as a separate word

❌ Wanafunzi, andika eni majina yenu kwenye karatasi.

Incorrect — the plural command is one word, not a stem followed by a free particle.

✅ Wanafunzi, andikeni majina yenu kwenye karatasi.

Students, write your names on the paper.

Adding -eni to a negative prohibition

❌ Msiguseni waya huo ulio wazi.

Incorrect — plural negative commands mark number with m-, not affirmative-command -eni.

✅ Msiguse waya huo ulio wazi.

Do not touch that exposed wire, any of you.

Key Takeaways

Regular final -a becomes -eni; other lexical final vowels normally take -ni.
-Eni/-ni counts the listeners, not the object of the command.
Short kula/kunywa retain ku-; memorize njooni, nendeni, and leteni.
Plural prohibitions and object-marked commands have related but distinct architecture.
Do not substitute plural number automatically for a polite singular request.

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