Vitabu vyetu viko kwenye meza.

to be

Breakdown of Vitabu vyetu viko kwenye meza.

• kitabu: the book
• kwenye: at
• meza: the table
• vyetu: our

Questions & Answers about Vitabu vyetu viko kwenye meza.

What does vitabu mean, and why is it used with the prefix vi-?

Vitabu is the plural form of kitabu, which means “book.” The prefix vi- signals that the noun belongs to noun class 8 in Swahili, which uses vi- as the marker for pluralization.

How does the possessive adjective vyetu agree with vitabu in this sentence?

Vyetu means “our” and is adjusted to match the noun class of vitabu (class 8). In Swahili, possessive adjectives agree with the noun they describe, so for class 8, vyetu is used to indicate that the books belong to us.

What role does the word viko play, and why is it used in this particular form?

Viko serves as the copula (linking verb “to be”) in the present tense. It is specifically inflected to agree with a class 8 noun like vitabu. In Swahili, the form of the copula changes according to the noun class of the subject, so viko matches vitabu to mean “are.”

What does the preposition kwenye signify in this sentence?

Kwenye is a locative preposition that means “on” or “at.” In the sentence, it indicates the location of the subject (vitabu vyetu) by specifying that the books are “on the table.”

Why is meza not preceded by an article like “the” in this context?

Swahili does not use articles equivalent to English “the” or “a.” Instead, definiteness is determined through context and noun classes. Therefore, meza simply means “table” without needing a preceding article.

How is subject-verb agreement demonstrated in “Vitabu vyetu viko kwenye meza”?

The subject vitabu is a class 8 noun, and the copula viko is the corresponding present tense form for that noun class. This agreement between the subject and the verb is an essential feature of Swahili grammar.

What is the overall structure of this sentence compared to English sentence structure?

The sentence follows a clear structure: Subject (vitabu vyetu) + Copula (viko) + Locative phrase (kwenye meza). While English typically uses subject-verb-object order with articles, Swahili relies on noun classes and concords to show relationships between sentence elements, eliminating the need for articles and separate past or present auxiliary verbs.