Mama analipa ada ya shule.

the mother

Breakdown of Mama analipa ada ya shule.

• shule: the school
• ya: of
• ada: the fee
• kulipa: to pay

Questions & Answers about Mama analipa ada ya shule.

What does each word in the sentence “Mama analipa ada ya shule” mean?

• Mama means mother (and is used similarly to “mom” in informal contexts).
• Analipa is the present tense form of the verb kulipa (“to pay”), with the subject prefix a- indicating third person singular.
• Ada means fee (often referring to school or other institutional fees).
• Ya is a possessive marker that links the fee to what follows, showing possession (it agrees with the noun’s class).
• Shule means school.
Thus, the sentence literally translates to “Mother pays the school fee.”

How is the verb “analipa” formed and what tense is it in?

“Analipa” is constructed by taking the verb root lipa (“to pay”) and adding two elements:
• The subject prefix a-, which stands for third person singular (referring to “Mama”).
• The verb appears in its simple present form, so it can indicate a habitual action or a general statement.
This form shows that the action is taking place in the present, without needing an extra auxiliary verb.

Why is the possessive marker “ya” used in the sentence, and how does it function?

In Swahili, possession and noun relationships are often indicated by specific possessive markers that agree with the noun class of the possessed noun. Here, ya is used because “shule” belongs to a noun class that requires ya to express “of” or “belonging to.” It links ada (fee) to shule (school), translating to “the school’s fee” or simply “school fee.”

What is the importance of noun class agreement as seen with “ya” in this sentence?

Noun class agreement is a fundamental aspect of Swahili grammar. Each noun belongs to a specific class, and adjectives, possessive markers, and other modifiers must agree with the noun’s class. In this sentence, ya is correctly chosen to match the noun shule. This agreement ensures that the sentence is grammatically correct and helps convey the relationships between the words clearly.

How would you change the sentence into a question in Swahili?

To form a yes/no question in Swahili, you can often begin the sentence with the interrogative particle je and adjust the intonation. For example, “Mama analipa ada ya shule” becomes:
• Je, Mama analipa ada ya shule?
This signals that you are asking whether or not “Mother pays the school fee.”