ABSTRACT
In Swahili, each noun prompts the use of certain types of agreement prefixes with adjectives, pronouns, and verbs that depend on that noun in a given phrase or sentence. Nouns that prompt the use of the same type of agreement prefixes are said to belong to the same "class". The classes for non-animate nouns depend exclusively on the form of their prefixes or their lack of a prefix. Based on this principle, Swahili has four main classes for non-animate nouns. Classes are named based on the agreement prefixes that they trigger, that is, on the adjective prefixes coupled with corresponding prefixes among pronouns and verbs, in both the singular and the plural. As there are two types of non-animate nouns that may appear with no apparent class prefix, it is necessary to know their plural form in order to determine their class.
