Breakdown of Wafanyakazi wanapakia samani mpya kwenye lori.
mpya
new
mfanyakazi
the worker
kupakia
to load
samani
the furniture
kwenye
onto
lori
the truck
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Questions & Answers about Wafanyakazi wanapakia samani mpya kwenye lori.
In the word wafanyakazi, what does the prefix wa- signify?
The prefix wa- is the noun-class 2 marker, used for plural “people.” It tells you that wafanyakazi means “workers” (more than one person who works).
How do you form the singular of wafanyakazi?
Change the class-2 prefix wa- to the class-1 prefix m-, giving mfanyakazi, which means “worker” (one person who works).
In wanapakia, why does the verb start with wa-? Is it the same as the wa- in wafanyakazi?
No. In wanapakia, the initial wa- is the subject-agreement marker for class 2 (“they”). It agrees with wafanyakazi (“the workers”). The wa- in the noun and the wa- on the verb look alike but serve different roles (one is a noun-class prefix, the other a subject marker).
What is the function of -na- in wanapakia?
The infix -na- marks the present tense (simple/continuous) for all subject classes. So wanapakia means “they are loading” or “they load.”
How would you say “they have loaded new furniture onto the truck” instead?
Use the perfect‐aspect marker -me- in place of -na-:
Wamepakia samani mpya kwenye lori.
This means “they have loaded new furniture onto the truck.”
Why does samani remain unchanged when referring to multiple pieces of furniture?
samani belongs to noun class 9/10, which typically has the same form in singular and plural. It covers “furniture” (an uncountable/collective concept), so you don’t change it for number.
Why is the adjective mpya not mapya? How do adjectives agree with samani?
Adjectives agreeing with class 9/10 nouns have no visible prefix (the nasal class marker is absorbed). That’s why you use the root mpya after samani, giving samani mpya (“new furniture”).
What does the preposition kwenye mean, and could you replace it with something else?
kwenye means “in/at/on” (indicating location). It’s very common. You can also say juu ya (“on top of”) for a similar effect:
Wafanyakazi wanapakia samani mpya juu ya lori.
What is the basic word order in this sentence?
Swahili generally follows Subject–Verb–Object–Adverbial. Here it’s:
Subject – Wafanyakazi
Verb – wanapakia
Object – samani mpya
Adverbial – kwenye lori