Juma anapenda baiskeli yake.

Juma

Breakdown of Juma anapenda baiskeli yake.

• kupenda: to like
• baiskeli: the bicycle
• yake: his

Questions & Answers about Juma anapenda baiskeli yake.

Why is there no separate word for he in this sentence?

Because Swahili usually puts the subject information inside the verb.

In anapenda, the a- means he/she, so the sentence already tells you who is doing the action.
That means Juma is the named subject, and a- repeats that subject inside the verb.

So:

• Juma = Juma
• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense
• penda = like/love

This kind of subject marking is normal in Swahili.

How is anapenda built?

Anapenda can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present / ongoing / habitual
• penda = like, love

So anapenda literally works like he/she likes or he/she is liking/loves, depending on context.

What exactly does -na- mean here?

-na- is the common present tense marker in Swahili.

In a sentence like this, it usually gives the sense of:

• likes
• is liking
• does like