Karani anatuandikia risiti sasa.

The clerk is writing us a receipt now.

Breakdown of Karani anatuandikia risiti sasa.

• kuandika: to write
• sasa: now
• sisi: us
• karani: the clerk
• risiti: the receipt

Questions & Answers about Karani anatuandikia risiti sasa.

What does karani mean?

karani is a noun borrowed from English clerk, meaning ‘clerk’ or ‘office clerk’. It behaves like any other Swahili noun.

Why is there a prefix a- in anatuandikia when we already have karani at the start?

In Swahili every verb must carry a subject prefix to agree with its subject noun. Here, a- is the third person singular subject marker (‘he/she/it’) matching karani. Even though karani appears, the prefix is still required.

Can you break down anatuandikia into its parts?

Yes. anatuandikia =

• a- third person singular subject prefix (‘he/she’)
• na- present tense/aspect marker (‘is …ing’)
• tu- object prefix for ‘us’
• andika verb root meaning ‘write’
• -ia dative extension meaning ‘for/to someone’
  Altogether it means ‘he/she is writing for us’.

What does the extension -ia in andikia indicate?

The -ia is a dative extension on the verb andika (‘write’). It turns it into ‘write for’ or ‘write to’, marking a beneficiary or indirect object.

Why do we have both tu- inside the verb and risiti after it? Aren’t those both objects?

risiti is the direct object (the thing being written), while tu- is the dative object prefix meaning ‘for us’ (the beneficiary). Swahili allows one direct object plus one beneficiary marked by the dative extension + object prefix.

What does risiti mean and why doesn’t it change for the plural?

risiti means ‘receipt’ (another loanword). It belongs to noun class 9/10, where singular and plural forms are identical, so risiti covers both ‘receipt’ and ‘receipts’.

What role does sasa play and where can it go in the sentence?

sasa is an adverb meaning ‘now’. It can appear at the beginning, end, or even right after the verb:

• Sasa karani anatuandikia risiti.
• Karani anatuandikia risiti sasa.
• Karani sasa anatuandikia risiti.
  All mean ‘The clerk is writing us a receipt now.’

Could I say hivi sasa instead of sasa, and is there a difference?

Yes. hivi sasa stresses ‘right now’ or ‘just now’. It’s a bit more emphatic than sasa, but in most contexts they’re interchangeable.

How would I turn this into a yes/no question?

You can add the question particle Je at the front (optional) and raise your intonation at the end:

• Je, karani anatuandikia risiti sasa?
• Karani anatuandikia risiti sasa?
  Both ask ‘Is the clerk writing us a receipt now?’

How do I make this sentence negative?

Use the negative subject-tense prefix ha-, drop na-, and insert -i- before the root. For andikia, it becomes:

• Karani hatuandiki risiti sasa.
  This means ‘The clerk is not writing us a receipt now.’

How would I say ‘The clerk wrote us a receipt’ in the past tense?

Replace na- with the past marker li- (keeping tu-):

• Karani alituandikia risiti.
  That means ‘The clerk wrote us a receipt.’