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Questions & Answers about Wageni wengine wanataka kutembelea pango lililoko kilomita moja kutoka kijiji chetu.
What does Wageni wengine mean and why is wageni in the plural form?
Wageni is the plural of mgeni (guest). The prefix wa- marks noun class 2 (people) in plural. Wengine means others or some, so Wageni wengine translates as some guests or other guests.
Why is the verb wanataka used here instead of alitaka or watataka?
wanataka breaks down into:
- wa-: third-person plural subject marker (they)
- -na-: present tense marker
- -taka: verb root (want)
So wanataka means they want. For past tense you’d say walitaka, and for future watataka.
Why is kutembelea in the infinitive form rather than a conjugated form?
In Swahili, when a verb follows a modal verb like wanataka (want), the second verb takes the infinitive prefix ku-. Thus kutembelea means to visit, making wanataka kutembelea literally they want to visit.
How is the relative clause lililoko formed in pango lililoko?
lililoko means that is located and consists of:
• li-: subject concord for class 5 (matching pango)
• -li-: tense/relative marker
• -o: relative suffix
• -ko: locative extension (“at/in”)
Together, pango lililoko = the cave that is located.
Why are there two li- segments in lililoko?
The first li- agrees with noun class 5 (pango). The second -li- is the tense/relative marker that forms a relative participle. After that come -o (the relative ending) and -ko (locative).
What role does the suffix -ko play in lililoko?
The locative extension -ko adds a general sense of location (“at” or “located in”). In lililoko, it conveys that is located at a particular place.
Why do we say kilomita moja instead of moja kilomita?
Swahili word order places the noun before its number. Kilomita (kilometer) is the noun, and moja (one) follows as the cardinal number. Hence kilomita moja = one kilometer.
How do you express “from our village” as kutoka kijiji chetu?
Here we use:
• kutoka: preposition from
• kijiji: village (class 7)
• chetu: our (possessive for class 7/8)
So kutoka kijiji chetu literally means from our village. You could also use the locative case (kijijini kwetu), but in distance expressions kutoka kijiji chetu is more natural.
Why is the possessive form chetu used with kijiji instead of yetu?
Possessive pronouns in Swahili must agree with the noun class. Kijiji belongs to class 7, whose possessive prefix is che- plus -tu, giving chetu. Yetu would match class 9/10 nouns, so it doesn’t fit kijiji.