Gari langu ni la kisasa.

to be

Breakdown of Gari langu ni la kisasa.

• gari: the car
• la: of
• kisasa: modern

Questions & Answers about Gari langu ni la kisasa.

What is the role of each word in Gari langu ni la kisasa?

A useful breakdown is:

• gari = car
• langu = my
• ni = is
• la kisasa = modern / of a modern kind

So the structure is roughly car my is modern.

Why does langu come after gari instead of before it?

In Swahili, possessives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• gari langu = my car
• not langu gari

This is normal Swahili word order. English says my car, but Swahili says car my.

Why is it langu and not yangu?

Because possessives in Swahili must agree with the noun class of the noun.

Gari belongs to the singular class 5 pattern, so my becomes langu with this noun.

Compare:

• gari langu = my car
• kitabu changu = my book
• nyumba yangu = my house
• mtoto wangu = my child

So the form of my changes depending on the noun, not depending on who owns it.