Kosa la bili limeonekana.

The billing error has appeared.

Breakdown of Kosa la bili limeonekana.

• kuonekana: to appear
• kosa la bili: the billing error

Questions & Answers about Kosa la bili limeonekana.

Why is it la in kosa la bili?

La is the of-linker that agrees with the noun class of kosa.
Kosa is a class 5 noun, so the linker is la.

So:

• kosa la bili = error of the bill / billing error

If it were plural, the linker would change:

• makosa ya bili = bill errors

So the choice of la is about noun class agreement, not about gender.

Why does the verb begin with li-?

The li- is the subject marker on the verb, and it agrees with kosa.

In Swahili, verbs usually show agreement with the subject. Since kosa is a class 5 noun, the verb takes li-:

• kosa ... li-meonekana

If the subject were plural makosa, the verb would change too:

• makosa ... ya-meonekana

So li- is basically the verb’s way of saying it, specifically for a class 5 noun.

What does -me- mean in limeonekana?