Learn Hardcore Swahili: Nilikuona jana kituoni, lakini hukunitambua. - I saw you at the station yesterday, but you didn’t recognise me.

nilikuona = ni- (I, subject) + -li- (past tense marker) + -ku- (direct object marker “you”) + ona (verb stem “to see”). Literally “I–saw–you.”

Why doesn’t hukunitambua contain the past marker -li-?

In negative past forms, Swahili drops -li-. Instead it uses:

hu- (negative + “you”)
-ni- (object marker “me”)
tambua (stem “recognize”)
-a (final vowel)
So hukunitambua = “you did not recognize me.”

What are the Swahili negative subject prefixes, and why is hu- used here?

Swahili negative prefixes by person (singular) are:

si- for 1st person (“I didn’t…”)
hu- for 2nd person (“you didn’t…”)
ha- for 3rd person (“he/she didn’t…”)
Here the subject is “you,” so we use hu-.

How do you form the negative past tense of a Swahili verb in general?

Pattern for negative past:

Negative+subject prefix (si-, hu-, or ha-)
Object prefix (if needed)
Verb stem
Final -a
You do not insert -li-.

What does kituoni mean and how is it formed?

kituoni = kituo (“station”) + locative suffix -ni (“at/in”). So kituoni means “at the station.”

Is lakini just a straight equivalent of English but, and does it have any special placement rules?

Yes, lakini is the standard conjunction “but.” It sits at the start of the clause you’re contrasting, just like English, and doesn’t change form. Commas are optional.

Can I also say Jana nilikuona kituoni instead of nilikuona jana kituoni, and does word order matter?

Yes. Swahili permits flexible placement of time words. Both “nilikuona jana kituoni” and “Jana nilikuona kituoni” mean “I saw you yesterday at the station.”

What is the infinitive of “to recognize” in Swahili, and how is it different from kutambulika?

Active infinitive: kutambua (“to recognize”).
Passive infinitive (to be recognized): kutambulika.
The root -tambu- takes -ua for active voice and -ika for passive.