Breakdown of Mwaka huu kutakuwa na uchaguzi mpya wa kijiji chetu.
kuwa na
to have
mpya
new
wa
of
huu
this
kijiji
the village
chetu
our
mwaka
the year
uchaguzi
the election
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Questions & Answers about Mwaka huu kutakuwa na uchaguzi mpya wa kijiji chetu.
What does kutakuwa na literally mean and how is it used?
kutakuwa na combines the infinitive prefix ku- with takuwa (the future tense of kuwa, “to be”) plus na (“with”). Together it functions impersonally as there will be.
Why don’t we say tutakuwa na instead of kutakuwa na?
Tutakuwa na would mean we will have (or literally “we will be with…”), because tu- is the 1st-person-plural subject prefix. To express a general “there will be” Swahili retains the infinitive ku- and drops a specific subject prefix, giving kutakuwa na.
What does Mwaka huu mean?
Mwaka = year; huu = this (demonstrative for class 3 nouns). So Mwaka huu = this year.
Why is the adjective mpya placed after uchaguzi?
In Swahili adjectives normally follow the noun they modify. Uchaguzi = election; mpya = new. Therefore uchaguzi mpya = new election.
Why is there wa before kijiji chetu, and what does it do?
Wa is the genitive linker (class 3 concord) meaning of. It connects the adjective phrase mpya to the noun kijiji chetu, so uchaguzi mpya wa kijiji chetu = new election of our village.
Why is chetu used instead of yetu for our?
Possessive pronouns in Swahili must agree with the noun class. Kijiji (village) is a class 7 noun (ki-). The class-7 form of “our” is chetu, not yetu.
What noun classes are involved here and how do they affect agreement?
- Mwaka is class 3 (u-/mi-), so its demonstrative is huu.
- Uchaguzi is also class 3, so the genitive linker is wa.
- Kijiji is class 7 (ki-/vi-), so the possessive pronoun takes the ch- prefix (chetu).