Niliweka kalamu katika sanduku dogo la mbao mezani.

I put the pen in a small wooden box on the table.

Breakdown of Niliweka kalamu katika sanduku dogo la mbao mezani.

• katika: in
• meza: the table
• kalamu: the pen
• la: of
• kwenye: on
• dogo: small
• kuweka: to put
• mbao: the wood
• sanduku: the box

Questions & Answers about Niliweka kalamu katika sanduku dogo la mbao mezani.

What does niliweka mean and how is it formed?

niliweka = “I put” or “I placed.” It breaks down into:

• ni- (1st person singular subject prefix “I”)
• -li- (past tense marker)
• weka (verb stem “to put/place”)

So ni-li-weka literally means “I put.”

Why isn’t mimi (“I”) in the sentence?

In Swahili the subject prefix on the verb already indicates the subject. Here ni- in niliweka tells you it’s “I.” Adding mimi would be redundant unless you want special emphasis (e.g. Mimi niliweka… = “It was me who put…”).

Why isn’t there an object marker for kalamu?

Object markers are optional when the direct object noun immediately follows the verb. Since you have niliweka kalamu, it’s clear that the pen is the object. If you did use one, it would go between -li- and weka, e.g. niliiweka = “I put it.”

What is the difference between katika and kati ya?

• katika = single preposition “in/inside/at.”
• kati ya = “in the middle of,” from kati (“middle”) + genitive ya.

So katika sanduku simply means “inside the box,” whereas kati ya sanduku emphasizes “in the middle of the box.”

Why does dogo follow sanduku, and why doesn’t it change?

Adjectives in Swahili normally come after the noun and must agree with its class.

• sanduku is class 5 (singular), whose adjective concord is -o.
• dogo (“small”) already ends in -o, so it fits directly: sanduku dogo = “small box.”

Why is la used before mbao in sanduku dogo la mbao, and not ya?

This is a genitive link (“of wood”). The choice of la, ya, wa, cha, etc., depends on the class of the possessed noun (sanduku, class 5 singular uses la). So la mbao = “of wood.”

What does mezani mean and how is it formed?

mezani = “on the table” (static location). You form it by adding the locative suffix -ni to meza (“table”):

• meza
  • -ni → mezani = “at/on the table.”

Could you say sandukuni instead of katika sanduku?

Yes. sandukuni is sanduku + -ni, meaning “in the box.” So you could say:
Niliweka kalamu sandukuni mezani.
But katika sanduku is more common and unambiguous.