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Pango lipo kando ya mto.

Pango lipo kando ya mto.
The cave is beside the river.

Breakdown of Pango lipo kando ya mto.

kuwa
to be
mto
the river
pango
the cave
kando ya
beside
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Questions & Answers about Pango lipo kando ya mto.

Why is lipo used in this sentence instead of iko or kuna?

lipo is the locative verb for noun class 5. It literally means “it is located” at some place.

  • iko is the locative verb used for class 9/10 nouns (e.g. kitabu kiko mezani “the book is on the table”).
  • kuna is an existential verb meaning “there is/are,” not a class-agreeing locative (“kuna pango kando ya mto” would mean “there is a cave next to the river,” focusing on existence rather than location).
How is lipo formed?

Break lipo down into two parts:

  1. Subject concord for class 5 (li-)
  2. Locative extension (-po)
    Combine them: li- + po → lipo, “it (class 5) is located.”
What does kando ya mean, and why is it ya rather than na?

kando ya means “next to” or “beside.” Here’s why it uses ya:

  • kando is an adverbial noun (a special word that creates a locative phrase).
  • Adverbial nouns like kando, juu, chini, mbele, etc., always take ya to link them with what follows.
  • na would mean “with” or simply join nouns (“kando na” isn’t standard for “beside” in Swahili—karibu na is used for “near,” but kando ya is the fixed form for “right beside”).
Can I replace kando ya mto with karibu na mto? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say Pango lipo karibu na mto. The nuance is:

  • karibu na = “near / in the vicinity of” (a looser proximity).
  • kando ya = “directly beside / along the side of” (more exact adjacency).
How would you say “The caves are next to the river” (i.e. plural)?
  1. Plural of pango is mapango (class 6).
  2. Class 6 subject concord is ya-, plus locative -po → yapo.
    So: Mapango yapo kando ya mto.
How do I put this sentence into the past tense (“The cave was next to the river”)?

Use the past form of the copula -kuwa:

  • Class 5 subject concord: li-
  • Past tense marker: li-
  • Verb root kua → lilikuwa
    Full sentence: Pango lilikuwa kando ya mto.
How can I add an adjective, for example “small cave,” into this sentence?

Most simple adjectives like ndogo (“small”) follow the noun without extra prefixes. Just insert ndogo between noun and verb:
Pango ndogo lipo kando ya mto.