Breakdown of Mhandisi anasema daraja hili ni salama.
ni
to be
hili
this
kusema
to say
salama
safe
daraja
the bridge
mhandisi
the engineer
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Questions & Answers about Mhandisi anasema daraja hili ni salama.
What does Mhandisi mean here?
The word Mhandisi means engineer. It’s a noun in the human class (class 1) referring to a person.
How is anasema formed, and what do a- and -na- indicate?
anasema breaks down into three parts:
- a- = 3rd person singular subject prefix (“he/she”)
- -na- = present tense marker
- sema = verb stem meaning say
Why is there no separate word for ‘he’ in this sentence?
Swahili verbs include subject prefixes like a- in anasema, so you don’t need a separate pronoun for he or she.
What is the plural of daraja, and what would its demonstrative be?
daraja (singular, class 5) becomes madaraja (plural, class 6). Its demonstrative hili changes to haya, giving madaraja haya.
Why use the demonstrative hili after daraja? Why not hii or huyo?
Demonstratives agree with noun classes:
- Class 5 singular → hili
- Class 9/10 singular → hii
- Class 1/2 (people) distant → huyo
Since daraja is class 5, its correct demonstrative is hili.
What does ni do in daraja hili ni salama?
ni is the copula (“to be”). It links the subject phrase daraja hili (“this bridge”) to the predicate salama (“safe”).
Why is salama unchanged and not inflected for class?
salama is an N-class adjective (a loanword) that stays the same across all noun classes. It doesn’t take any noun-class prefix.
Could you drop Mhandisi and start the sentence with Anasema?
Yes. Anasema daraja hili ni salama literally means “(He/she) says this bridge is safe.” The subject prefix a- in anasema still tells you it’s “he/she,” but you lose the explicit reference to “the engineer.”
How would you say this sentence in the past tense?
Swap the present tense marker -na- for the past marker -li-:
Mhandisi alisema daraja hili ni salama
(“The engineer said this bridge is safe.”)
How would you make the sentence negative (“The engineer says this bridge is not safe”)?
Use the negative copula si instead of ni:
Mhandisi anasema daraja hili si salama.