Breakdown of Nimekuwa nikitumia kompyuta mpakato yangu kuandika makala kuhusu afya ya watoto.
mimi
I
kuwa
to be
mtoto
the child
kuandika
to write
yangu
my
ya
of
kutumia
to use
kuhusu
about
afya
the health
makala
the article
kompyuta mpakato
the laptop
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Swahili grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Nimekuwa nikitumia kompyuta mpakato yangu kuandika makala kuhusu afya ya watoto.
What does nimekuwa mean and how is it formed?
nimekuwa is the perfect-continuous auxiliary meaning “I have been.” It breaks down as:
- ni- (subject “I”)
- -me- (perfect marker)
- kuwa (the verb “to be”)
Together, ni-me-kuwa literally means “I have been,” and is used before a verb in the -ki- continuous form.
What is the function of the -ki- infix in nikitumia, and how does it change tumia?
The -ki- infix is the present/habitual (progressive) aspect marker. In nikitumia you have:
- ni- (subject “I”)
- -ki- (ongoing action marker)
- tumia (root “use”)
This yields “I am using.” When combined with nimekuwa, it gives “I have been using.”
Why do we use both nimekuwa and nikitumia instead of just ninatumia?
- ninatumia (ni-na-tumia) is simple present/progressive: “I use” or “I am using” right now.
- nimekuwa nikitumia is perfect continuous: it tells us the action started in the past and is still ongoing (“I have been using”).
How is kompyuta mpakato constructed, and why does it mean “laptop”?
- kompyuta is a loanword (class 9) from English “computer.”
- mpakato is an adjective from the root pakato (“portable” or “compact”), here functioning as “portable.”
Put together, kompyuta mpakato literally means “portable computer,” i.e. “laptop.”
Why is the possessive pronoun yangu used with kompyuta, and how do Swahili possessives agree with noun classes?
Swahili possessive pronouns must agree with the noun class:
- kompyuta is class 9, so the correct “my” pronoun is yangu.
If it were a class 1 noun (like mtoto), you’d use wangu instead.
Why do we use kuandika and kuhusu with ku-, and what roles do they play?
Both kuandika (“to write”) and kuhusu (“to concern/about”) are infinitives formed with the prefix ku- + verb root. In this sentence:
- kuandika makala = “to write an article” (purpose of the action)
- kuhusu afya ya watoto = “about children’s health”
Why is it afya ya watoto and not afya wa watoto?
Genitive/possessive linking in Swahili depends on the class of the first noun:
- afya (“health”) is a class 9 noun, so it takes the connector ya before any modifier.
- watoto (“children”) is class 2, but that doesn’t change the connector: class 9/10 nouns always use ya (not wa).
Why isn’t there a word for “the” or “a” before makala in kuandika makala?
Swahili does not have articles like “a” or “the.” Nouns are left unmarked, and context tells you whether they’re definite.
- To express “an article,” you could say makala moja (“one article”).
- To express “the article,” you could add a demonstrative: makala hiyo (“that article”).