Polisi wanakagua magari barabarani.

The police are inspecting cars on the road.

Breakdown of Polisi wanakagua magari barabarani.

• gari: the car
• polisi: the police officer
• kukagua: to inspect
• barabarani: on the road

Questions & Answers about Polisi wanakagua magari barabarani.

What do the parts of wanakagua mean?

The verb wanakagua splits into:
• wa-: subject prefix for class 2 (plural humans, they)
• -na-: present-tense marker (habitual/progressive)
• kagua: verb root meaning inspect/check
So wanakagua = they inspect or they are inspecting.

Why does Polisi look the same for singular and plural, and how do we show number?

Polisi is a loanword that stays unchanged. Number (singular vs plural) is shown by verb agreement. Here we use wanakagua (wa- = they), so polisi is plural “the police.” For one officer you’d clarify with something like afisa wa polisi or use the singular verb prefix a-: Polisi anakagua….

What noun class is magari in, and what’s its singular form?

magari is the plural of gari (car).
• gari is class 5 (singular)
• magari is class 6 (plural), marked by the ma- prefix
So magari = cars.

Why is there no word for “the” before polisi, magari or barabarani?

Swahili does not use definite or indefinite articles. Nouns simply stand alone; context tells you whether it’s “a” or “the.”

What does the locative suffix -ni do in barabarani?

Adding -ni turns barabara (road) into a locative: barabarani = on/at the road (literally “road-in”).

What word order does this sentence use, and is it always that way?

It follows the typical SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) order:
Polisi (S) + wanakagua (V) + magari (O) + barabarani (locative).
Swahili is generally SVO, though you can front objects or locatives for emphasis.

What nuance does the tense/aspect marker -na- convey in wanakagua?

The -na- marker covers both simple present (habitual) and present continuous. Context tells you if it means they inspect regularly or they are inspecting right now.

How would you change this to perfect tense (“have inspected”)?

Swap -na- for the perfect marker -me-:
Polisi wamekagua magari barabarani = The police have inspected cars on the road.
(wa- = they, ‑me- = perfect, kagua = inspect)

Can you include an object marker for magari in the verb? How?

Yes. The class 6 object marker is -ya-, giving:
wanayakagua = they are inspecting them (the cars).
(wa- + na- + ya- + kagua). You’d still mention magari if you want to specify “cars.”

How would you say “A police officer inspects cars on the road”?

Either clarify with afisa wa polisi anakagua magari barabarani (officer of police inspects cars on the road) or treat polisi as singular and use a-:
Polisi anakagua magari barabarani. The first is clearer for “one officer.”