Learn Hardcore Swahili: Maji mengi barabarani yamekuwa kizuizi kikubwa kwa magari leo. - A lot of water on the road has become a major obstacle for vehicles today.

It means that a lot of water on the road has become a major obstacle for vehicles today. The sentence conveys that the abundance of water is currently causing significant disruption to vehicular movement.

How are quantity and location expressed in the sentence?

The phrase maji mengi uses mengi as a quantitative adjective modifying maji (water) to indicate "a lot of water." Similarly, barabarani is formed by adding the locative suffix -ni to barabara (road), which indicates the location, meaning "on the road."

Why is the verb form yamekuwa used and how does it agree with the subject?

Yamekuwa is a perfect tense form meaning "have become" or "has been." It agrees with the subject maji mengi; although maji looks singular in English, it is treated as a plural noun (from noun class 6) in Swahili, so the verb uses the ya- concord appropriate for that class.

How do adjectives agree with their nouns in this sentence?

In Swahili, adjectives must agree with the noun’s class. In maji mengi, mengi follows maji to specify the quantity. In kizuizi kikubwa, the adjective kikubwa is in the proper form for the noun kizuizi (obstacle), which belongs to a class that requires the ki- prefix—thus making it kikubwa to mean "big" or "major."

What role does leo play in the sentence?

Leo means "today" and adds a temporal element to the sentence. It specifies that the condition—water on the road becoming a major obstacle—is relevant to the current day, highlighting its immediacy.