-li-

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "li"

English

Pronunciation

Infix

-li-

  1. (pharmacology) a shortened allomorph of the monoclonal antibody affix -lim-, used before the affixes -xi- and -zu- for ease of pronunciation

Derived terms

English terms interfixed with -li-

Anagrams

Swahili

Etymology 1

From -li, a stem of -wa (“to be”).

Infix

-li-

  1. positive past tense marker
    Antonym: -ku-
    walikula ― they ate
    aliyelala ― the person who was asleep
    • 1973, Mohammed S. Abdulla, Dunianu kuna watu, page 3:
      Ilikuwa kiasi cha saa moja-unusu ya usiku Kasim alipopanda ngazi pana zilizotandikwa zulia au blanketi nene, zilizoongoza kufikia ghorofa akaayo baba yake, Bw. Hakimu Marjani.
      It was about half past seven in the night when Kasim went up the wide stairs covered with carpets or thick blankets, which led to the floor where resided his father, Mr Hakimu Marjani.
Usage notes

This marker can be used in both nonrelative and relative verbs.

Conjugation
Conjugation of -li-
Singular Plural
1st person nili- tuli-
2nd person uli- mli-
3rd person m-wa(I/II) ali- wali-
m-mi(III/IV) uli- ili-
ji-ma(V/VI) lili- yali-
ki-vi(VII/VIII) kili- vili-
n(IX/X) ili- zili-
u(XI) uli- see n(X) or ma(VI)
ku(XV/XVII) kuli-
pa(XVI) pali-
mu(XVIII) mli-
For more information, see Appendix:Swahili verbs.
See also
Swahili TAM markers
Initial
Positive infinitive ku-/kw-1
Negative infinitive kuto-
Habitual hu-1
Telegrammic ka-1
Final
General (positive indicative) -a
Positive subjunctive -e
Negative present -i
Second person plural -ni
Infix position
positive subject concord
Positive past -li-
Positive present -na-
Positive future -ta-
Negative subjunctive -si-1
Positive present conditional -nge-
Negative present conditional -singe-
Positive past conditional -ngali-
Negative past conditional -singali-
Gnomic -a-1
Perfect -me-
"Already" past -lisha-
"Already" present -mesha-/-sha-
"If/When" -ki-1
"If not" -sipo-
Consecutive -ka-1
Infix position
negative subject concord
Negative past -ku-1
Negative future -ta-
"Not yet" -ja-1
Negative present conditional -nge-
Negative past conditional -ngali-
Relative
Past -li-
Present -na-
Future -taka-
Negative -si-
1 Can take stress and therefore does not require -ku-/-kw- in monosyllabic verbs.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *dɪ́-.

Infix

-li-

  1. it, ji class(V) object concord
See also
Swahili verbal concords (third person)
Class Subject concord Object concord Relative
affirmative negative
m(I) a-, yu- ha-, hayu- -m-, -mw-, -mu- -ye
wa(II) wa- hawa- -wa- -o
m(III) u- hau- -u- -o
mi(IV) i- hai- -i- -yo
ji(V) li- hali- -li- -lo
ma(VI) ya- haya- -ya- -yo
ki(VII) ki- haki- -ki- -cho
vi(VIII) vi- havi- -vi- -vyo
n(IX) i- hai- -i- -yo
n(X) zi- hazi- -zi- -zo
u(XI) u- hau- -u- -o
ku(XV/XVII) ku- haku- -ku- -ko
pa(XVI) pa- hapa- -pa- -po
mu(XVIII) m-, mw-, mu- ham-, hamw-, hamu- -mu- -mo
For a full table including first and second person, see Appendix:Swahili personal pronouns.

References

  1. ^ John H. McWhorter (1992) “NI and the Copula System in Swahili: A Diachronic Approach”, in Diachronica, volume 9, number 1, →DOI, pages 15–46
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