Dada yangu anapiga gitaa kila jioni ili kupumzika.
My sister plays the guitar every evening to relax.
Breakdown of Dada yangu anapiga gitaa kila jioni ili kupumzika.
jioni
the evening
kila
every
yangu
my
ili
so that
dada
the sister
kupiga
to play
gitaa
the guitar
kupumzika
to relax
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Swahili grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Dada yangu anapiga gitaa kila jioni ili kupumzika.
What does Dada yangu mean, and why is yangu used?
Dada means sister, and yangu is the class 9 possessive pronoun for “my.” Together Dada yangu means my sister.
How is anapiga formed, and what does it express here?
Breakdown of anapiga:
- a- = subject prefix for class 1 (he/she)
- -na- = present-tense marker
- piga = verb root “play”
So anapiga means he/she plays or is playing.
Why is there no object-marker in anapiga gitaa?
Swahili allows a verb to be followed directly by its object noun. You don’t need an object-marker when the noun appears explicitly. anapiga gitaa is correct without adding, for example, anali-piga gitaa.
What does kila jioni mean, and why is it placed there?
Kila means “every,” jioni means “evening.” Together kila jioni = every evening. It’s a time-expression that typically follows the verb phrase, though you could also start the sentence with it for emphasis.
What role does ili play in ili kupumzika?
Ili means in order to or so that, introducing the purpose of the action (playing guitar).
Why is kupumzika in the infinitive form (-ku-) here?
When the subject of the main clause and the purpose clause is the same (dada yangu), Swahili uses the infinitive (ku- + verb root) after ili to express purpose.
Could we use the subjunctive (apumzike) after ili instead of kupumzika?
If the purpose clause had a different subject, you would use the subjunctive (e.g., ili apumzike). Since the subject here remains the same, the infinitive kupumzika is preferred.