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Questions & Answers about Nyuki wanapumzika jioni.
What does nyuki mean in this sentence?
Nyuki is the plural form of the noun meaning “bee.” So here it means “bees.”
Why is the verb wanapumzika not just pumzika?
Swahili verbs require a subject prefix and, for present habitual or continuous actions, the tense‐marker -na-. Here wa- is the subject prefix for noun class 2 (plural “they”), -na- marks the present, and pumzika is the verb root “to rest.” Combined, wanapumzika means “they rest” or “are resting.”
Why don’t we see a separate word for “they” in the sentence?
The subject is built into the verb. The prefix wa- in wanapumzika already means “they.” You don’t need a separate pronoun.
What part of speech is jioni, and what does it mean?
Jioni is a noun used adverbially to indicate time; it means “evening.” In context, you can translate it as “in the evening.”
Why is jioni placed at the end of the sentence?
In Swahili, adverbial time expressions often follow the verb or object. Placing jioni at the end emphasizes when the action happens: “Bees rest in the evening.”
Can I move jioni to the start of the sentence for emphasis?
Yes. You could say Jioni nyuki wanapumzika, which would emphasize “In the evening, the bees rest.” Swahili word order is fairly flexible with adverbials.
What would the past tense of wanapumzika look like?
For simple past you replace -na- with the past marker -li-. With class 2 subject prefix wa-, it becomes walipumzika, meaning “they rested.”
Is there a future form of wanapumzika?
Yes. You use the future marker -ta-. With wa- it becomes watapumzika, meaning “they will rest.”