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Mfuko wa plastiki uko mezani.

Mfuko wa plastiki uko mezani.
The plastic bag is on the table.
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Questions & Answers about Mfuko wa plastiki uko mezani.

What does wa mean in mfuko wa plastiki?
wa is the genitive (possessive) linker for certain noun classes. In mfuko wa plastiki, it connects mfuko (bag) to plastiki (plastic), literally “bag of plastic” = “plastic bag.”
Why is it wa and not ya or cha?

Swahili uses different genitive linkers depending on the class of the first noun.

  • mfuko is in noun class 3, whose genitive concord is wa.
  • Class 5/6 would use la/ya, class 7/8 uses cha/cha, etc.
    So you must match the linker to the class of mfuko.
What does uko mean in this sentence?
uko is the locative form of the verb -ko (“to be at/located”). Here it means “is located” or simply “is (on the table).” So mfuko wa plastiki uko mezani = “the plastic bag is on the table.”
Why use uko instead of kuna?
  • kuna expresses existence (“there is/are”).
    Example: Kuna mfuko mezani = “There is a bag on the table.”
  • uko expresses the specific location of a known item.
    Example: Mfuko uko mezani = “The bag is on the table.”
How is uko constructed?

It’s made of two parts:

  1. u- = the subject prefix for noun class 3 (which mfuko belongs to).
  2. -ko = the locative verb root meaning “to be at.”
    Together: u-ko = “it (class 3) is located.”
Why is it mezani and not just meza?

Swahili marks locations by adding the suffix -ni to a noun.

  • meza (table) + -ni = mezani (on the table).
How would I ask “Where is the plastic bag?” in Swahili?

You say:
Mfuko wa plastiki uko wapi?

  • wapi = “where?”
    Literally, “Plastic bag is located where?”
Can I say kifurushi cha plastiki instead of mfuko wa plastiki?

Yes.

  • kifurushi also means “package/bundle.”
  • You’d then use cha (class 7) as the genitive linker: kifurushi cha plastiki = “plastic package.”
How do I negate this to say “The plastic bag is not on the table”?

Use the negative locative prefix ha- and change uko to uko → uko stays the same but you drop the subject prefix in negative:
Mfuko wa plastiki hauko mezani.
Alternatively, you can use haipo (class 3 negative of po):
Mfuko wa plastiki haipo mezani.

How can I say “There is no plastic bag on the table”?

Use hakuna (“there is not/none”):
Hakuna mfuko wa plastiki mezani.

  • ha- = negation, -kuna = existence marker.
  • Literally, “There is no plastic bag on the table.”