Daktari alisema tiba hii italeta nafuu ndani ya wiki moja.

The doctor said this treatment will bring relief within a week.

Breakdown of Daktari alisema tiba hii italeta nafuu ndani ya wiki moja.

• kuleta: to bring
• kusema: to say
• daktari: the doctor
• hii: this
• wiki: the week
• moja: one
• tiba: the treatment
• nafuu: the relief
• ndani ya: within

Questions & Answers about Daktari alisema tiba hii italeta nafuu ndani ya wiki moja.

What does tiba mean in this sentence?

Tiba is a noun meaning “treatment,” “therapy,” or “cure.” It refers to the medical procedure or remedy given to a patient.

Why is hii used after tiba (i.e. tiba hii)?

Hii is the demonstrative “this” for noun class 9/10 (to which tiba belongs). In Swahili you match the demonstrative to the noun class: • Class 9/10 demonstrative: hii (this)
• So tiba hii = “this treatment.”

How is the future tense formed in italeta?

Swahili future tense uses three parts:

1. Subject prefix (for tiba, a class 9 noun, that’s i-)
2. Future marker -ta-
3. Verb root leta (to bring)
   Putting them together: i-ta-leta → italeta, meaning “it will bring.”

What part of speech is nafuu, and what does it mean?

Nafuu here is a noun meaning “improvement,” “relief,” or “getting better.”
• You could also call it a state of recovery or easing of symptoms.
• It is not a verb in this context; the verb “to improve” would be ku-pona or ku-boreshwa.

Why do we say ndani ya before wiki moja, and what does it mean?

Ndani ya literally means “inside of” or “within.” It introduces a time frame, so:
• ndani ya wiki moja = “within one week.”
• You use ndani ya + [time period] to express that something will happen by the end of that period.

Could we replace ndani ya wiki moja with katika wiki moja? What’s the difference?

You can say katika wiki moja (“in one week”), but there’s a subtle nuance:
• ndani ya stresses “by the end of” or “before the week is up.”
• katika is more neutral—just “at some point during that week.”
Both are grammatically correct; choice depends on how strict you want the deadline sense to be.

Why is there no separate word for “he” before alisema?

Swahili verbs carry a subject prefix, so you don’t need a pronoun when it’s clear. In alisema:
• a- = 3rd person singular (“he/she/it”)
• -li- = past tense marker
• sema = say
Hence, alisema already means “he/she said,” and adding yeye (“he/she”) would be redundant.

What’s the difference between sema and ambia, since both can mean “tell” or “say”?

• sema is intransitive or general: “to say” or “to speak.” You don’t need a direct object.
• ambia is transitive: “to tell (to someone).” It requires an object (the person being told).
Example:
– Daktari alisema = “The doctor said.”
– Daktari alituambia = “The doctor told us.”

Why is it wiki moja (one week) and not wikisa moja or wiki moja moja?

Wiki is the singular form for “week.” Swahili does not double up on articles or numbers. To say “one week” you simply put the numeral after the noun:
• wiki moja = one week
Plural would be wiki nyingi (“many weeks”). There’s no extra suffix or duplication.