Mama na baba wanapumzika karibu na bahari.

Mother and father are resting near the ocean.

Breakdown of Mama na baba wanapumzika karibu na bahari.

• baba: the father
• mama: the mother
• na: and
• kupumzika: to rest
• karibu na: near
• bahari: the ocean

Questions & Answers about Mama na baba wanapumzika karibu na bahari.

What does wanapumzika mean in English?

It translates to they are relaxing or they are resting. The verb root is pumzika, meaning “to rest,” and the wana- prefix indicates that the subject is plural (they).

Which part of this sentence is the subject?

The subject is Mama na baba, meaning “Mother and Father.” They are the ones performing the action of resting.

How can I tell that wanapumzika is in the present tense?

Swahili uses -na- in the verb to indicate present tense. In this case, the prefix is wana- (for “they”) plus -pumzika, so it becomes wanapumzika to convey an ongoing or current action.

Why do we use wana- instead of ana- here?

Ana- would be used if the subject were singular (he or she). Since Mama na baba refers to more than one person, we use the plural subject marker wa-, resulting in wana-.

What does karibu na bahari mean in this context?

It means near the ocean or close to the sea. The phrase karibu na indicates proximity to something, here referring to the ocean.