Breakdown of Kama kivuko kingeharibika, tungeenda bandari kwa basi.
Questions & Answers about Kama kivuko kingeharibika, tungeenda bandari kwa basi.
kingeharibika breaks down as:
- ki- = subject prefix for kivuko (the ferry)
- -nge- = past unreal (conditional) marker
- haribika = passive/intransitive form of haribu (“to damage”), so “to get damaged”
Altogether: “if the ferry were to get damaged.”
haribu is active/transitive (“to damage something”), requiring an object.
haribika is the passive/intransitive (“to become damaged” or “to get broken”).
Since we mean “if the ferry broke down” (itself suffering damage), haribika is the correct form.
tungeenda splits into:
- tu- = “we” subject prefix
- -nge- = conditional (same marker as in the if-clause)
- enda = verb root “go” in the subjunctive form
Together it means “we would go,” completing the result clause (apodosis) of this hypothetical.
Standard Swahili often adds -ni for “at/to” a place, giving bandarini. However:
- In everyday speech, the suffix is sometimes dropped when the verb already indicates motion (tungeenda bandari).
- The sentence still clearly means “go to the port.”
If you want to be strictly formal or avoid ambiguity, you can say tungeenda bandarini kwa basi.
Yes. You could say:
Tungeenda bandarini kwa basi kama kivuko kingeharibika.
The meaning (“We would go to the port by bus if the ferry were broken”) remains unchanged; it’s just a stylistic choice whether the “if” clause comes first or second.
Yes. ikiwa is another conditional conjunction meaning “if.” You could say:
Ili(v)avyo kivuko ikiwa kingeharibika, tungeenda bandarini kwa basi
—or more simply—
Ikiwa kivuko kingeharibika, tungeenda bandarini kwa basi.
Both kama and ikiwa work, though kama is more common in everyday conversation.