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Tunaogelea katika dimbwi dogo la shamba.

Tunaogelea katika dimbwi dogo la shamba.
We swim in the small farm pond.

Breakdown of Tunaogelea katika dimbwi dogo la shamba.

sisi
we
katika
in
kuogelea
to swim
shamba
the farm
la
of
dogo
small
dimbwi
the pond
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Questions & Answers about Tunaogelea katika dimbwi dogo la shamba.

What do the parts of Tunaogelea mean?

It breaks down as:
• tu- (we) – the 1st person plural subject prefix
• -na- (present) – the continuous/present tense marker
• -ogelea (to swim) – the verb root
So Tunaogelea = tu-na-ogelea = “we are swimming.”

Why don’t we include the pronoun sisi (we) in the sentence?
Swahili verbs carry subject prefixes, so the meaning “we” is already encoded in tu-. Adding sisi is possible for emphasis (e.g. Sisi tunaogelea), but it’s not required.
How would you negate “we are swimming”?

In the negative present you:

  1. Replace tu- + -na- with the negative prefix hatu-
  2. Change the final -a of the verb to -i
    So Tunaogelea → Hatuogelei, and you get Hatuogelei katika dimbwi dogo la shamba (“we are not swimming in the small farm pond”).
What does katika mean? Are there alternatives?

katika is a preposition meaning in/inside/at. You can also use kwenye, which is more general for location.
Examples:
• Tunaogelea katika dimbwi… (we are swimming inside the pond)
• Tunaogelea kwenye dimbwi… (we are swimming at/in the pond)

Why is the order dimbwi dogo instead of dogo dimbwi?

Swahili places adjectives after the noun they modify.
So dimbwi (pond) comes first, then dogo (small): dimbwi dogo = “small pond.”

What is the la doing in dimbwi dogo la shamba?

That la is the genitive connector meaning of. It links dimbwi (pond) to shamba (farm):
dimbwi la shamba = “pond of farm” = “farm pond.”

Why la and not ya for “of the farm”?

Genitive concords agree with noun classes.
• Class 5 singular (e.g. dimbwi) uses la
• Class 6 plural would use ya, etc.
Since dimbwi is class 5 singular, we use la.

How would you say “I am swimming in the small farm pond”?

Use the 1st person singular prefix ni- with -na-:
Ninaogelea katika dimbwi dogo la shamba.

How can I ask “Where are we swimming?” in Swahili?

Use the question word wapi (where) after or before the verb:
• Tunaogelea wapi?
• Wapi tunaogelea?

Can I drop katika and just say “Tunaogelea dimbwi dogo la shamba.”?
No. Swahili requires a preposition (like katika or kwenye) before a location. Without it, the sentence is ungrammatical.