Nilimwita Juma mara moja.

I called Juma once.

Breakdown of Nilimwita Juma mara moja.

• mimi: I
• Juma: Juma
• kuita: to call
• mara moja: once

Questions & Answers about Nilimwita Juma mara moja.

What are the parts of nilimwita, and what does each part mean?

nilimwita breaks down into:
• ni- : “I” (1 st person singular subject prefix)
• -li- : past tense marker (“did …”)
• -m- : object prefix for “him/her”
• wita : verb stem “call”
• -a : final vowel (indicative mood)
Altogether: I (ni-) + past (-li-) + him (-m-) + call (wita) → “I called him.”

Why is there an object prefix -m- in nilimwita when Juma is already named?

In Swahili it’s normal to use an object prefix on the verb for clarity or emphasis, even if the noun follows. The prefix tells you in advance “someone is being called,” and the noun Juma spells out who exactly.

Can I omit Juma and still say the same thing? How?

Yes. If the context makes “him” clear, you can drop the noun and simply say
• nilimwita mara moja
= “I called him once.”
The -m- in nilimwita still tells you who you called.

What does mara moja mean, and why is mara before moja?

• mara = “occasion” or “time(s)”
• moja = “one”
Together mara moja literally “one time,” i.e. “once.”
In Swahili numeral phrases the countable noun comes first (mara) and the number (moja, mbili, etc.) follows.

How would you say “I called Juma twice”?

Simply replace moja with mbili (two):
nilimwita Juma mara mbili
= “I called Juma two times.”

Can you put mara moja at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis? What changes?

Yes. Fronting the time phrase shifts the focus to “once”:
• Mara moja nilimwita Juma.
Still “I called Juma once,” but you’re stressing that it was only one time.

Why is the tense marker li- used here instead of na-, ta-, or me-?

Swahili uses different tense/aspect markers:
• na- = present habitual/ongoing (“I call him…”)
• ta- = future (“I will call him…”)
• li- = simple past (“I called him [at that moment]”)
• me- = perfect (“I have called him [and it matters now]”)
Here li- is the straightforward past, so “I called Juma once.”

If I want to imply “I have already called Juma once and that’s relevant now,” what would I say?

Use the perfect marker me- instead of li-:
nimemwita Juma mara moja
= “I have called Juma once.”