Breakdown of Lishe duni husababisha ukosefu wa nishati na kuathiri afya ya mwili.
wa
of
na
and
ya
of
afya
the health
nishati
the energy
mwili
the body
lishe
the nutrition
duni
poor
kusababisha
to cause
ukosefu
the lack
kuathiri
to affect
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Questions & Answers about Lishe duni husababisha ukosefu wa nishati na kuathiri afya ya mwili.
What does lishe mean?
lishe is a noun meaning nutrition or diet. It refers to the process of taking in and using food substances.
What does duni mean, and why does it come after lishe?
duni means poor, inferior, or deficient. In Swahili, adjectives normally follow the noun they describe, so lishe duni literally reads “nutrition poor,” i.e. poor nutrition.
Why is the verb husababisha formed with hu- at the start?
The prefix hu- is the present-tense marker for subject nouns in classes 9/10. Here lishe (class 9) takes hu- to form the habitual/present tense.
Breakdown of husababisha:
hu- (present tense marker) + sababisha (verb root “cause”) + -a (final vowel).
What is ukosefu, and how is it formed?
ukosefu means lack or absence. It’s a noun formed by adding the nominal prefix u- to the verb root kosef- (from kosa, “to lack/miss”), plus the final -u. It turns “to lack” into the noun “lack.”
In ukosefu wa nishati, what role does wa play?
wa is the genitive/possessive link between ukosefu (“lack”) and nishati (“energy”). Together they mean “lack of energy.”
Why is the second verb written as kuathiri instead of using huathiri?
Here kuathiri is the infinitive (“to affect”) and functions as a second object of husababisha:
“causes lack of energy and to affect physical health.”
If you wanted two parallel verbs in the present tense, you could say:
Lishe duni husababisha ukosefu wa nishati na huathiri afya ya mwili (“Poor nutrition causes lack of energy and affects physical health”).
What does na mean in this sentence?
na is the conjunction “and.” It links ukosefu wa nishati (“lack of energy”) with kuathiri afya ya mwili (“to affect body health”).
What does afya ya mwili translate to, and how is it constructed?
afya means health, mwili means body, and ya is the genitive/linking particle for class 9/10 nouns. So afya ya mwili literally is “health of the body,” i.e. physical health.