Sarafu moja ya dhahabu ilianguka chini ya dawati.

One gold coin fell under the desk.

Breakdown of Sarafu moja ya dhahabu ilianguka chini ya dawati.

• ya: of
• moja: one
• kuanguka: to fall
• chini ya: under
• dawati: the desk
• sarafu: the coin
• dhahabu: the gold

Questions & Answers about Sarafu moja ya dhahabu ilianguka chini ya dawati.

Why is the numeral moja placed after sarafu rather than before it?

In Swahili, numerals (one, two, three, etc.) normally follow the noun they count. So you say:
• sarafu moja = “coin one” (a coin)
Putting moja sarafu would sound unnatural and isn’t the regular noun-numeral order.

Why is it sarafu moja ya dhahabu instead of sarafu ya dhahabu moja?

You’re stringing together two modifiers:

1. moja (one) modifies sarafu
2. ya dhahabu (of gold) modifies sarafu moja
   Swahili keeps the order noun + numeral + “ya”-phrase, so it must be sarafu → moja → ya dhahabu. Swapping them breaks that pattern.

What function does ya have in sarafu moja ya dhahabu and chini ya dawati?

ya is the genitive/linking particle for nouns in certain classes (often classes 9/10). It serves to connect:
• sarafu moja ya dhahabu = “one coin of gold”
• chini ya dawati = “under the desk”
You can think of it like English “of” in these contexts.

Why does ilianguka start with i- and contain li-? What do these prefixes mean?

Swahili verbs use subject and tense markers:
• i- = subject prefix for a class 9/10 singular noun like sarafu
• li- = past (preterite) tense marker
Then the verb stem -anguka (to fall) follows, giving i-li-anguka → ilianguka (“it fell”).

Can we use imeanguka here instead of ilianguka, and how would the meaning change?

Yes, but:
• imeanguka uses the perfect tense (subject i- + me-). It emphasizes that the coin has fallen and is still down there.
• ilianguka is the simple past, focusing on the action in the past (“it fell” as a completed event).

Why is there no object marker on ilianguka in this sentence?

Because anguka (“to fall”) is an intransitive verb — there is no direct object. The coin is the subject doing the falling; nothing else is being “fallen.” Hence no object-marker slot is needed.

How do we express “under” with chini; could we use another preposition like kwa?

Chini is the locative adjective for “under” and always needs ya before the thing you’re under:
• chini ya mez­a (under the table)
You cannot say kwa mez­a for “under the table.” Kwa is more like “for/by/with.”

Could we replace dawati with meza? How would the locative phrase change?

Absolutely. Just swap the noun after ya:
• chini ya dawati = under the desk
• chini ya meza = under the table
The structure chini ya + [noun] stays the same.

If we wanted to say “the gold coins fell under the desk” (plural), how would we change sarafu moja?

Pluralize sarafu and drop moja (since you’re not specifying one):
• Sarafu (could be “coins”) is already class 9/10 plural, so you’d say
Sarafu za dhahabu zilianguka chini ya dawati.
– za for genitive in plural class 9/10
– zi- subject prefix + li- past marker on anguka → zilianguka.

Can we move chini ya dawati to the front: Chini ya dawati sarafu moja ya dhahabu ilianguka? Would that still be correct?

Yes. Swahili is fairly flexible with locative phrases:
• Sarafu moja ya dhahabu ilianguka chini ya dawati.
• Chini ya dawati, sarafu moja ya dhahabu ilianguka.
Both are acceptable; fronting the locative simply shifts emphasis to the location.