Gari haifanyi kazi bila injini.

A car does not work without an engine.

Breakdown of Gari haifanyi kazi bila injini.

• gari: the car
• bila: without
• kufanya kazi: to work
• injini: the engine

Questions & Answers about Gari haifanyi kazi bila injini.

What is the literal, word-for-word breakdown of Gari haifanyi kazi bila injini?

• Gari = “car”
• ha- = negative present-tense prefix (“does not…”)
• i- = subject marker for class 5 nouns (here referring back to gari)
• fanyi = verb stem fanya (“do/make”) with final vowel changed to -i for the negative
• kazi = “work” or “job”
• bila = “without”
• injini = “engine”

Put together it literally reads, “Car does-not-do work without engine.”

How is the present-tense negative formed in Swahili, as in haifanyi?

To form the present negative you use:

1. ha- (negative prefix)
2. • Subject Marker (SM) for the noun’s class
3. • Verb root
4. • Change the final -a of the verb to -i

Example: ha- + i- (SM for class 5) + fanya (root) + -i → haifanyi (“does not do”).

Where does the i- in haifanyi come from?

That i- is the subject marker (SM) for nouns in class 5 (the “ji/ma” class). Since gari belongs to class 5, its SM in the negative present is i-.

Why does the verb fanya change to fanyi in the negative?

In Swahili negative present tense, the final vowel -a of the verb changes to -i. So fanya becomes fanyi to signal “does not do.”

Why do we say fanya kazi instead of using a single verb for “work”?

Swahili often uses the light verb fanya (“do/make”) plus a noun to express actions. kazi means “work,” so fanya kazi literally “do work” = “to work.” There isn’t a single-word equivalent exactly like English “work.”

How does bila function in this sentence, and could we use another word for “without”?

bila is a preposition meaning “without” and takes a plain noun after it. You could also say isipokuwa na (“unless there is”), but bila is the most direct way to say “without.”

Why isn’t there a locative suffix -ni on injini after bila?

bila already governs the noun directly; you do not add the locative -ni. You would only use -ni on a noun after locative prepositions like kwenye (“in/at”).

Can I rearrange the sentence for emphasis, for example starting with “without engine”?

Yes. You can front the prepositional phrase:
Bila injini, gari haifanyi kazi.
This emphasizes “without an engine…” but the meaning remains the same.