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Questions & Answers about Pesa zake ni nyingi.
What does pesa mean in this sentence?
Pesa translates to money in English. It’s one of the basic vocabulary words in Swahili, essential when talking about finances.
How is possession indicated with zake, and what does it signify?
In Swahili, possession is often shown by attaching a possessive pronoun directly to the noun. In this sentence, zake means his or her, indicating that the money belongs to a third person without specifying gender.
What role does ni play in the sentence?
Ni functions as the copula in Swahili—similar to the English is. It links the subject (pesa zake) to the predicate (nyingi) in nominal sentences.
What does nyingi mean, and how does it agree with pesa?
Nyingi means many or a lot. In this context, it describes the quantity of money and follows Swahili adjective placement rules by coming after the noun. The adjective agrees with the noun’s inherent characteristics, even though pesa is treated as a mass or plural noun.
What is the typical word order in a nominal Swahili sentence like this one?
Swahili nominal sentences usually follow the structure: Subject + Copula + Predicate. Here, pesa zake is the subject, ni is the copula, and nyingi is the predicate adjective, mirroring the English structure “The money is a lot.”
How would the sentence change if you wanted to say "My money is a lot" instead of "His/Her money is a lot"?
To adjust the sentence to mean "My money is a lot," you would replace zake with the first-person possessive yangu. The sentence becomes: Pesa yangu ni nyingi.
Can the gender of the possessor be determined from zake?
No, zake is gender-neutral in Swahili; it can mean either his or her. Additional context is needed to know the possessor’s gender.
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