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Questions & Answers about Tokeo la jaribio ni zuri.
Why is there la between tokeo and jaribio?
la is the genitive (possessive) marker for class 5 nouns like tokeo (“result”). It links tokeo to jaribio (“test”), literally giving “the result of the test.”
What noun classes are tokeo and jaribio, and how can I tell?
Both tokeo and jaribio are class 5 singular. Clues:
- Their plurals take ma- (→ matokeo, majaribio).
- Class 5 uses genitive la on the head noun (→ tokeo la).
If you pluralize the head, you switch to class 6 genitive ya: “Matokeo ya majaribio…”
Why do we use ni before zuri?
Swahili has no separate present-tense “to be” verb. Instead, the copula ni links a subject/topic to a predicate (adjective, noun, etc.). Here it means “is,” so tokeo la jaribio ni zuri = “the result of the test is good.”
Why is the adjective zuri unchanged, and not mzuri or nzuri?
In predicate position, adjectives in Swahili always use their base form (the citation stem), without noun-class prefixes. So regardless of noun class, you say ni zuri for “is good.”
(When used attributively—before the noun—adjectives do agree: e.g. mazuri matokeo for “good results.”)
How do I say “the test results are good” in the plural?
Pluralize both nouns and adjust the genitive: “Matokeo ya majaribio ni zuri.”
- matokeo (results, cls 6)
- ya (genitive for cls 6 head)
- majaribio (tests, cls 6)
- predicate still ni zuri
How do I ask “Is the test result good?” in Swahili?
You can:
• Add the question word Je:
Je, tokeo la jaribio ni zuri?
• Or simply use rising intonation:
Tokeo la jaribio ni zuri?
Both mean “Is the test result good?”