Watoto wanapendana; wanacheza katika kiwanja cha shule kila mchana.

The children love one another; they play in the school field every afternoon.

Breakdown of Watoto wanapendana; wanacheza katika kiwanja cha shule kila mchana.

• kucheza: to play
• katika: in
• mtoto: the child
• kila: every

Questions & Answers about Watoto wanapendana; wanacheza katika kiwanja cha shule kila mchana.

What is the grammatical breakdown of wanapendana and what does it literally mean?

wanapendana is built from:

• wa- : class 2 subject prefix (“they” for watoto)
• -na- : present-tense/aspect marker
• penda : verb root “love/like”
• -ana : reciprocal suffix (“each other”)
  Literally, wanapendana means “they love each other.”

How does wanapenda differ from wanapendana?

• wanapenda = wa-
  • -na-
    • penda → “they love/like [an object or person],” not necessarily mutual.
• wanapendana adds -ana → “they love one another.”
  Use wanapenda when there’s a direct object (e.g. wanapenda muziki “they like music”) and wanapendana when two or more subjects act on each other.

Why is there no space between wa, -na-, and pendana in wanapendana?

Swahili verbs attach all their prefixes and suffixes directly to the root. The sequence wa- + na- + penda + -ana is written as one word, wanapendana, rather than separate parts.