Swahili/Verbs/Present

Present

The present tense is constructed with the use of the infix/TENS-marker "-na-" and the use of the prefix that marks the respective subject.

Person	Singular		Plural
First	Ni-na-penda	I like/love	Tu-na-penda	We like/love
Second	U-na-penda	You like/love	M-na-penda	You like/love
Third	A-na-penda	She/he likes/loves	Wa-na-penda	They like/love

Negation

The negation in the present uses the respective negative prefixes for marking the subject. But unlike the positive, it omits the TENS-marker and changes the last vovel ("-a" in the regular case) into an "-i".

Person	Singular		Plural
First	Si-_-pendi	I do not like/love	Hatu-_-pendi	We do not like/love
Second	Hu-_-pendi	You do not like/love	Ham-_-pendi	You do not like/love
Third	Ha-_-pendi	He/she does not like/love	Hawa-_-pendi	They do not like/love

Habitual

The habitual is much simpler to form and usually indicates an action that is usually done.

No subject prefix is used, just the prefix "Hu-" is added in front. (Hu-penda) As this lacks the information about the acting subject, the personal pronoun is used to clarify on the subject, if not clear from the context.

Example: Wewe hufanya (You usually do)