Mimi ninapenda chai ingawa sipendi kufanya kazi usiku.

I like tea although I do not like to work at night.

Breakdown of Mimi ninapenda chai ingawa sipendi kufanya kazi usiku.

• mimi: I
• kupenda: to like
• chai: the tea
• usiku: the night
• ingawa: although
• kufanya kazi: to work

Questions & Answers about Mimi ninapenda chai ingawa sipendi kufanya kazi usiku.

What does Mimi mean in English?

Mimi translates to I. It’s the subject pronoun that tells you who is doing the action.

How is the verb ninapenda formed, and what does it mean?

Ninapenda is made up of the subject prefix ni- (meaning I) and the verb penda (meaning to like or to love). Therefore, ninapenda means I like or I love.

What does the word chai refer to in this sentence?

Chai means tea. It is the object of the verb ninapenda, so the speaker is expressing that they like tea.

What role does ingawa play in the sentence?

Ingawa means although. It introduces a contrasting clause by linking together two different ideas—the speaker likes tea, but there is a contrasting statement that follows.

How is negation expressed in the word sipendi?

In sipendi, the prefix si- is used to negate the verb penda. Instead of saying I like, it means I do not like. This shows how negation is handled by adding si- to the verb root.

What do kufanya kazi and usiku mean in the sentence?

Kufanya kazi means to work, and usiku means at night. Together in the sentence, they tell us that the speaker does not like to work during the night.

How does the overall word order in this Swahili sentence compare to typical English sentence structure?

The sentence follows a structure similar to English. The first clause, Mimi ninapenda chai, is subject-verb-object, which aligns with English structure (“I like tea”). The second part contrasts this idea using ingawa to introduce another clause (sipendi kufanya kazi usiku), which, although it differs slightly in word order (with the negative verb form preceding the action), still communicates the intended meaning clearly to an English speaker.