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Lori inaleta mzigo sokoni.

Lori inaleta mzigo sokoni.
The truck brings cargo to the market.
FromLesson 25inHardcore Swahili
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Questions & Answers about Lori inaleta mzigo sokoni.

Why does sokoni not need a separate preposition like “to” or “at” in Swahili?
Swahili often uses the locative suffix -ni to show place. You simply attach -ni to the noun soko (market) to get sokoni, which means “at/to the market.” No extra word for “to” or “at” is required.
How is the verb inaleta built? Can you break down its parts?

inaleta = i- (3 sg. subject prefix for class 9) + -na- (present tense marker) + leta (verb root “bring”) + -a (indicative final vowel).
So i-na-leta-a collapses to inaleta “(it) brings.”

Why is the prefix i- used in inaleta instead of a- or u-?
Subject-prefixes match the noun class of the subject. Lori (“lorry/truck”) is treated as a class 9 loanword, whose 3 sg. prefix is i-. If the subject were class 1 (e.g. mtoto), you’d see a-: Mtoto analeta…
How would you make this sentence into a yes/no question?

Add Je at the front (optional) and use rising intonation, keeping the same word order:
Je, lori inaleta mzigo sokoni?
Or simply: Lori inaleta mzigo sokoni?

How do you change Lori inaleta mzigo sokoni to say “The lorries bring goods to the market”?

Pluralize lori → malori (class 6), switch subject prefix to ya- (3 pl.), keep the rest the same:
Malori yanaleta mzigo sokoni.

Can you say kwenye soko instead of sokoni, and what’s the difference?

Yes. kwenye is a preposition meaning “in/at.” Example: Lori inaleta mzigo kwenye soko.
Both sokoni and kwenye soko mean “at/to the market,” but sokoni is more concise.

How do you express “the lorry” or “a lorry” in Swahili? Is there an article?
Swahili has no words for “a” or “the.” Lori can mean “a lorry” or “the lorry” depending on context. If you need to specify, you can add a demonstrative or possessive: lori hiyo (“that lorry”), lori yangu (“my lorry”).
What is the default word order in this sentence, and can you change it?
The basic order is Subject–Verb–Object–Adverbial: Lori (S) inaleta (V) mzigo (O) sokoni (Adv). You can front the locative for emphasis—Sokoni lori inaleta mzigo—but the neutral pattern is SVO plus adverbial at the end.

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