Gari yako iko sokoni.

to be

Breakdown of Gari yako iko sokoni.

• kwenye: at
• soko: the market
• yako: your
• gari: the car

Questions & Answers about Gari yako iko sokoni.

Why do we use iko in this sentence instead of another form of kuwa?

In Swahili, iko is used to indicate the existence or location of an object or being in classes 9 and 10 (commonly used for many borrowed words such as gari). It basically means “it is (located) somewhere.” You’ll often see iko when talking about where something (class 9/10 noun) is situated.

Why do we say yako rather than lako or langu for “your” car?

Swahili possessive pronouns depend on the noun class. Since gari can be treated as class 9 in common usage, the class 9/10 possessive pronoun for “your” is yako. If gari were assigned to class 5, we would say gari lako, but in everyday speech, gari is typically put in class 9, hence gari yako.

Why does this sentence use sokoni rather than kwenye soko or katika soko?

The suffix “-ni” in sokoni essentially means “in/at/to the market.” It’s a common way in Swahili to indicate location without having to use a separate preposition. You can also use phrases like kwenye soko or katika soko to mean “at the market,” but sokoni is simpler and more common in everyday speech.

Does sokoni always appear at the end of the sentence?

Word order in Swahili is relatively flexible, but placing location words like sokoni at the end is very common. You could say Sokoni, gari yako iko, but it might sound a bit unnatural in everyday conversation. Swahili speakers generally place the location at the end for clarity.

Are there variations of the verb iko for different subjects?

Yes. The verb to be (for location/existence) changes based on the noun class. For class 9 (singular), we use iko; for class 10 (plural), we often use ziko. For other classes, it could be upo, kipo, lipo, etc. The root idea is the same: showing the location or existence of something, but the initial consonant changes according to the noun class.