Bwana Khalid ni jirani yetu, naye anapenda kulima bustani.

to be

Breakdown of Bwana Khalid ni jirani yetu, naye anapenda kulima bustani.

• yeye: he/she
• kupenda: to like
• na: and
• yetu: our
• jirani: the neighbor
• bustani: the garden
• kulima: to cultivate
• Bwana Khalid: Mr. Khalid

Questions & Answers about Bwana Khalid ni jirani yetu, naye anapenda kulima bustani.

What does Bwana Khalid mean, and why is Bwana used here?

Bwana Khalid translates to Mr. Khalid. In Swahili, Bwana is a respectful title similar to Mr. or Sir in English, used to show courtesy when addressing or referring to a man.

How do we interpret ni jirani yetu in this sentence?

The phrase ni jirani yetu means is our neighbor. Here, ni acts as a copula (the equivalent of “is”) linking the subject to its complement, jirani means "neighbor," and yetu is the possessive pronoun meaning “our.”

What is the role of naye in the sentence, and why is it used instead of a simple conjunction?

Naye serves as an emphatic pronoun that refers back to Bwana Khalid. It means and he. Instead of repeating his name or just using a plain na (“and”), naye emphasizes the connection by explicitly linking the two clauses together while making it clear that the same person is being discussed.

How is the present tense formed in anapenda, and what does it indicate?

In anapenda, the initial a- is the subject prefix for third-person singular (he/she), and the inserted na is a tense/aspect marker indicating the habitual or continuous present. This construction means he likes or he loves, showing that the action happens regularly.

Why is kulima in its infinitive form, and what does it convey in this context?

Kulima is the infinitive form of the verb meaning to farm or to garden. In Swahili, when one verb (like kupenda, meaning “to like/love”) is followed by another action, the subsequent verb remains in the infinitive. This structure is similar to English, where we say “he likes to garden.”

What does bustani mean, and how does it complete the idea of the sentence?

Bustani means garden. When combined with kulima, the phrase kulima bustani translates to to garden (or to cultivate a garden), fully expressing what it is that Bwana Khalid enjoys doing.