This and That
This and that are also depending on noun classes. Let's start with class 1/2 (M/Wa)
| huyu - this | hawa - these |
These determinants usually follow their noun. They precede it only exceptionally for emphasis.
mtu huyu - this person
watu hawa - these people
Now picture yourself the first half of these words as the actual 'this/these- part'* and the second half as part of the M/Wa class.
* hu can change to hi when followed by another syllable with 'i' and to ha when followed by another syllable with 'a'.
| this | part of M/Wa class | these | part of M/Wa class pl |
|---|---|---|---|
| hu- | -yu | ha- | -wa |
Now we can build 'that' from here, the 'that-part' being '-le' and since 'that' is further off, it will be the second syllable.
| this / these | M/Wa part | we retain | we add -le | translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hu- | -yu | yu- | yule | that |
| ha- | -wa | wa- | wale | those |
lakini - but
Watu hawa ni waaminifu lakini watu wale ni wabaya. -These people are trustworthy, but those people are bad.
dada huyu - this sister
mamba yule - that crocodile
buibui wale - those spiders
yule / wale are used for something being far off or in comparison (this and that). There is another 'that' for pointing at things near the person you are talking to, but let's keep things simple for now or you will end up mixing all kind of forms that sound alike in one soup.
Also you might have noticed that I didn't give you the N/N class forms. With the words we have learned so far we don't need them. Let's practise!