Daktari alichunguza mfupa.

the doctor

Breakdown of Daktari alichunguza mfupa.

• kuchunguza: to examine
• mfupa: the bone

Questions & Answers about Daktari alichunguza mfupa.

How is alichunguza built up?

It breaks down as:

• a- = he/she subject marker
• -li- = past tense
• -chunguz- = verb root meaning examine / inspect / investigate
• -a = final vowel

So alichunguza means he/she examined.

In Swahili, a lot of grammatical information is packed into the verb.

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

Swahili does not usually use articles like English the and a/an.

So daktari can mean:

• the doctor
• a doctor

And mfupa can mean:

• the bone
• a bone

Context tells you which is meant.

Why is there an a- in the verb if daktari is already stated?