Mimi naona mboga zinakuzwa shambani.

I see vegetables growing on the farm.

Breakdown of Mimi naona mboga zinakuzwa shambani.

• mimi: I
• kwenye: at
• kuona: to see
• mboga: the vegetable
• shamba: the farm
• kukuzwa: to grow

Questions & Answers about Mimi naona mboga zinakuzwa shambani.

What does Mimi mean in this sentence?

Mimi means I. Although Swahili verbs already indicate the subject through their prefixes, including Mimi can serve to emphasize that the speaker is the one performing the action.

How is the verb naona formed and what does it express?

Naona is constructed by combining the subject information (implied by Mimi, meaning “I”) with the continuous aspect marker na- and the root verb ona (“to see”). Thus, it expresses an action happening right now—“I am seeing” or simply “I see.”

What is the breakdown of zinakuzwa in terms of subject agreement and tense?

Zinakuzwa is built as follows: • Zi- is the subject prefix used for nouns like mboga (vegetables) according to their noun class. • Na- is the marker that shows the present continuous (ongoing action). • Kuzwa is the verb root meaning “to grow” or “to be cultivated.” Together, it translates to “are growing” (or “being grown”), with the subject agreeing with mboga.

What does the word shambani mean and what does its structure tell us?

Shambani means “on the farm” (or “in the field”). It is formed from the noun shamba (farm) with the added locative suffix -ni, which indicates location. This suffix is a common way in Swahili to express where an action takes place.

Why is the subject pronoun Mimi explicitly stated even though the verb already carries subject information?

In Swahili, subject pronouns are not always necessary because the verb conjugation clearly indicates the subject. However, including Mimi can provide extra emphasis or clarity, particularly in contexts where the speaker wishes to stress that it is they who are carrying out the action.