Learn Hardcore Swahili: Benchi la mbao limebaki wazi; unaweza kukaa hapo ikiwa viti vimejaa. - The wooden bench remains empty; you can sit there if the chairs are full.

Swahili uses different genitive (of) markers for each noun class. Benchi is a class 5 noun (the ji-/ma-class), and the class-5 genitive marker is la. If the noun were in, say, class 6 (ma-class) or class 4 (mi-class), you would use ya instead.

What do the prefixes in limebaki represent?

Breakdown of limebaki:
• li- = class 5 subject prefix (agrees with benchi)
• me- = perfect tense marker (“has/have”)
• baki = verb root “remain”

Together, limebaki literally means “it has remained.”

What exactly does wazi mean here, and why is it placed after limebaki?

• wazi is an adjective meaning “empty,” “free,” or “available.”
• In Swahili, adjectives used as complements to verbs typically follow the verb. So limebaki wazi = “it has remained empty/available.”

How do we form unaweza kukaa hapo, and what does each part mean?

• unaweza = “you can” / “you are able.”
– u- = 2nd-person-singular subject prefix (“you”)
– naweza = verb “be able”
• kukaa = infinitive “to sit”
• hapo = locative adverb “there”

Put together: unaweza kukaa hapo = “you can sit there.”

Why use ikiwa for “if” instead of kama?

Both ikiwa and kama can introduce conditional clauses (“if”).
• kama is more neutral and very common in speech.
• ikiwa is the conditional/converb form of kuwa (“to be”), literally “being that …,” and is often found in written or slightly formal contexts. It can also mean “when” in time clauses.

Why viti vimejaa, and what does vimejaa break down into?

• kiti (chair) is class 7; its plural is viti (class 8).
• Perfect form for class 8 uses:
– vi- = class-8 subject prefix
– me- = perfect marker
– jaa = root “become full”
So vimejaa = “they have become full” (i.e. “they are full”).

What’s the difference between jaza (“to fill”) and jaa (“to become full”) in this context?

• jaza is the causative form meaning “to fill something.”
• jaa is intransitive/stative meaning “to become full” or “to be filled.”
Here, chairs vimejaa (“have become full”) by being occupied, so we use jaa, not jaza.

What’s the difference between hapo and hapa?

• hapa = “here” (at or very near the speaker)
• hapo = “there” (a bit farther from the speaker, or at the place just mentioned)
In unaweza kukaa hapo, hapo points to “that spot” (the bench).