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Questions & Answers about Samaki yake ni kitamu.
What is the basic structure of the sentence Samaki yake ni kitamu?
The sentence follows a subject–copula–predicate structure. "Samaki yake" is the subject (with "samaki" meaning fish and "yake" as the possessive pronoun meaning his/her/its), "ni" is the copula equivalent to the English "is," and "kitamu" is the predicate adjective meaning tasty. Together, they express that the fish (belonging to someone) is tasty.
How does the possessive pronoun "yake" function in this sentence?
"Yake" indicates possession and corresponds to "his," "her," or "its" in English. In Swahili, the form of the third person singular possessive depends on the noun it modifies. Because "samaki" (fish) is non-human, "yake" is used rather than forms reserved for human reference (like "wake"). Its exact referent is determined by context.
What role does the copula "ni" play in the sentence?
"Ni" functions as the linking or equative verb in Swahili—similar to the English verb "to be." It connects the subject "samaki yake" with the predicate adjective "kitamu," affirming that the fish possesses the quality of being tasty.
Does the adjective "kitamu" agree with the noun it describes, and how does adjective agreement typically work in Swahili?
Swahili adjectives often take a prefix that agrees with the noun’s class when used attributively. However, when an adjective serves as a predicate linked by a copula like "ni," it typically appears in a fixed or base form. "Kitamu" means tasty and remains unchanged in this copulative construction, even though in other contexts adjectives would reflect noun-class agreement.
Why is there no definite article (like "the") before "samaki" in the sentence?
Unlike English, Swahili does not use articles such as "the" or "a." Definiteness is usually understood from context or indicated by other means (like demonstratives), so "samaki" stands alone without an article.
Is "samaki" singular or plural, and does that affect the form of "kitamu"?
"Samaki" can function as both a singular and a plural noun in Swahili (much like a mass noun in English). Despite this flexibility, the adjective "kitamu" remains in the same form regardless of whether it refers to one fish or many, with context clarifying the intended meaning.