Breakdown of Leseni yangu mpya imechapishwa leo, na nitaichukua kesho asubuhi.
mimi
I
leo
today
asubuhi
in the morning
kesho
tomorrow
mpya
new
yangu
my
na
and
kuchapisha
to print
leseni
the license
kuchukua
to collect
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Questions & Answers about Leseni yangu mpya imechapishwa leo, na nitaichukua kesho asubuhi.
Why is the possessive yangu used instead of angu or wangu?
In Swahili, possessive pronouns agree with noun classes. Leseni (“license”) belongs to noun class 9, so the correct form of “my” is yangu.
- angu is for class 5 nouns
- wangu is for class 1 nouns
What is the breakdown of the verb imechapishwa?
imechapishwa consists of:
- i- = 3rd person singular subject prefix for class 9 (refers to leseni)
- me = perfect aspect marker (“has/have done”)
- chapishwa = passive form of chapisha (“to print”)
Together, imechapishwa literally means “it has been printed.”
Why use the perfect marker me instead of the past marker li (as in ilichapishwa)?
- me (perfect) emphasizes that the action is completed with a present result (the license is printed and ready now).
- li (simple past) would state that printing happened in the past but wouldn’t stress that it’s still relevant.
How does nitaichukua break down into parts?
nitaichukua =
- ni- (1st person singular subject prefix, “I”)
- ta (future tense marker, “will”)
- i (object prefix for class 9 nouns, referring to leseni)
- chukua (verb root, “take”)
So nitaichukua = “I will take it.”
Could I say nitachukua leseni instead of nitaichukua?
Yes. If you explicitly mention the object, you can omit the object prefix:
- Nitachukua leseni = “I will take the license.”
- Nitachukua leseni yangu kesho asubuhi also works.
Using nitaichukua simply replaces leseni yangu with the pronoun -i-.
Why is the time expression kesho asubuhi rather than asubuhi kesho, and could I say asubuhi ya kesho?
Swahili orders time words from general to specific:
- kesho (tomorrow) – general
- asubuhi (morning) – specific
Hence kesho asubuhi (“tomorrow morning”) is most idiomatic.
You can also say asubuhi ya kesho, but kesho asubuhi is more common.
What’s the difference between asubuhi and alfajiri, and can I say kesho alfajiri?
- asubuhi = “morning” (broad span)
- alfajiri = “dawn/very early morning” (pre-sunrise)
Kesho alfajiri means “at dawn tomorrow,” while kesho asubuhi covers the whole morning.
How is the passive chapishwa formed from chapisha?
To form the passive in Swahili:
- Drop the final -a from the root (chapish-)
- Add the passive extension -wa
- Restore the final vowel -a
So chapish- + -wa + -a = chapishwa.