Samaki huyu sokoni ni ghali kuliko mboga tulizonunua jana.

This fish at the market is more expensive than the vegetables we bought yesterday.

Breakdown of Samaki huyu sokoni ni ghali kuliko mboga tulizonunua jana.

• ni: to be
• samaki: the fish
• kwenye: at
• soko: the market
• kununua: to buy
• jana: yesterday
• kuliko: than
• mboga: the vegetable
• ghali: expensive
• huyo: this

Questions & Answers about Samaki huyu sokoni ni ghali kuliko mboga tulizonunua jana.

What does sokoni mean and why does it end with -ni?

Sokoni comes from the noun soko (meaning market) with the locative suffix -ni, which indicates location. Thus, sokoni means “at the market.”

What is the function of the demonstrative huyu in the sentence?

Huyu is a demonstrative adjective meaning “this” (for a specific singular noun). It specifies which fish is being talked about, so samaki huyu translates to “this fish.”

How is the comparative structure formed using ghali and kuliko?

The sentence uses ghali (meaning “expensive”) as the adjective and kuliko as the comparative marker equivalent to “than.” Combined with the object mboga tulizonunua jana, the phrase “ni ghali kuliko mboga tulizonunua jana” means “is more expensive than the vegetables we bought yesterday.”

How is the relative clause tulizonunua constructed, and what does it indicate?

Tulizonunua is a compound of several parts: • Tuli- is the first-person plural past tense marker (“we …”). • -zo- is the relative marker that agrees with mboga (a noun in the appropriate class). • -nunua is the main verb meaning “buy” in its base form. Altogether, tulizonunua functions as a relative clause meaning “that we bought,” modifying mboga.

Why does the predicate adjective ghali appear without a noun class prefix?

In Swahili, when an adjective is used as a predicate (following the copula ni), it typically appears in its basic form without needing a noun class prefix. Therefore, ghali is used directly after ni to describe samaki.

What is the overall meaning of the sentence?

The sentence Samaki huyu sokoni ni ghali kuliko mboga tulizonunua jana translates to “This fish at the market is more expensive than the vegetables we bought yesterday.” It compares the cost of fish with that of the vegetables purchased the day before.