Mama anapika samaki chenye pilipili.

to cook

Breakdown of Mama anapika samaki chenye pilipili.

• samaki: the fish
• mama: the mother
• chenye pilipili: with chili pepper

Questions & Answers about Mama anapika samaki chenye pilipili.

What does Mama mean in this sentence?

Mama means mother in Swahili. It is a common noun used to refer to one's mother and appears without any articles or additional markers because Swahili does not use definite or indefinite articles.

How is the verb anapika constructed, and what tense or meaning does its form convey?

The verb anapika is built by combining three elements: the subject prefix a- (indicating third person singular, as in "she"), the continuous marker na-, and the root pika (meaning to cook). Together, they indicate that she is cooking—present action in progress.

What role does samaki play in the sentence, and what does it mean?

Samaki means fish and functions as the direct object of the verb anapika. It tells us what is being cooked by Mama.

What is the meaning and function of the phrase chenye pilipili?

The phrase chenye pilipili translates to “with chili” or more literally “that has chili”. It functions as a relative adjective phrase modifying samaki, describing the fish by indicating that it includes chili (or pepper) as part of its preparation.

Why is the relative marker chenye used instead of placing an adjective directly before pilipili?

In Swahili, adjectives and descriptive phrases typically follow the noun they modify and must agree with the noun’s class. The marker chenye serves as a relative concord that links the descriptive term pilipili (chili/pepper) to samaki. This construction clarifies that the fish is prepared with chili, ensuring proper grammatical agreement within the sentence.

How does the word order in Swahili, as seen in this sentence, compare with English when forming descriptive phrases?

Swahili generally follows a subject–verb–object order, similar to English. However, when it comes to descriptive phrases, Swahili places the relative or attributive expressions after the noun. In this sentence, chenye pilipili comes after samaki to describe the fish, whereas English might say “chili fish” (adjective before the noun) or “fish with chili.”

Why are there no articles like “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Swahili does not have articles. The language conveys definiteness or indefiniteness through context rather than using words like the or a. Therefore, both Mama and samaki appear without any articles, which is standard in Swahili grammar.