Kadi ina picha ya Asha.

The card has a picture of Asha.

Breakdown of Kadi ina picha ya Asha.

• Asha: Asha
• kuwa na: to have
• ya: of
• picha: the picture
• kadi: the card

Questions & Answers about Kadi ina picha ya Asha.

Why do we use ina for “has” in this sentence?

In Swahili, possession is expressed with the verb -na (“have”). You don’t say kuwa na in a simple present-tense sentence; you attach the subject and tense markers directly to -na:

• kadi is in noun class 9 → subject prefix i-
• present-tense marker -na-
• verb root -na (“have”)
  Putting them together: i- + na- + na → ina = “it has.”

Why aren’t there words for “the” or “a” before kadi or picha?

Swahili does not use articles like “the” or “a” at all. Nouns stand alone, and whether something is definite or indefinite is understood from context or from demonstratives (e.g. kadi hii “this card”) rather than a separate article.

What is the role of ya in picha ya Asha?

ya is the genitive/linking particle meaning “of.” In Swahili you don’t use a separate word for “of”; you insert the connector -a between two nouns. Here it links picha (“picture”) to Asha: “picture of Asha.”

Why is the linking particle ya and not wa or la?

The base linking particle is -a. When it comes before a word beginning with a vowel (like Asha), a y sound is inserted to ease pronunciation:
-a + Asha → ya Asha
If the second noun began with a consonant, you’d often just get a (e.g. mama a John would surface as mama wa John, because of different historical rules), but the key here is simple vowel assimilation.

How would you ask “Does the card have a picture of Asha?” in Swahili?

Prepend Je (the question marker) or rely on intonation alone. For example:
• Je, kadi ina picha ya Asha?
• (spoken) Kadi ina picha ya Asha?

How do you negate the sentence to say “The card does not have a picture of Asha”?

Swap the affirmative subject prefix i- for the negative ha-, and use the present negative form -ina → haina:
• Kadi haina picha ya Asha.
Here ha-…-na = “does not have.”

How would you make it plural, “Cards have a picture of Asha”?

“Kadi” is a class 9/10 noun that looks the same in singular and plural, but the verb prefix changes to match class 10:
• class 10 subject prefix = zi-
• zi + na = zina
Hence: Kadi zina picha ya Asha.

How can you say “this card has a picture of Asha” instead of just “the card…”?

Add the class 9/10 demonstrative hii after kadi:
• Kadi hii ina picha ya Asha.
(“hii” agrees with the noun class of kadi to mean “this.”)