Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ingawa dawa hii ni chungu sana, wagonjwa wamekuwa wakiimeza kila siku. - Although this medicine is very bitter, patients have been swallowing it every day.

Ingawa means although. It’s a subordinating conjunction that introduces a concessive clause. In this sentence, it begins Ingawa dawa hii ni chungu sana (Although this medicine is very bitter) and is followed by the main clause.

Why is there ni before chungu sana in dawa hii ni chungu sana?

In Swahili, when an adjective serves as the predicate (“… is bitter”), you normally insert the copula ni between the noun and the adjective. So dawa hii ni chungu sana literally reads as this medicine is very bitter.

What role does sana play in chungu sana, and can it go elsewhere?

Sana is an intensifier meaning very. It always follows the adjective it modifies, so chungu sana = very bitter. Placing sana before chungu (e.g. sana chungu) would sound unnatural.

What is wagonjwa, and why do we see wa- at the start of wamekuwa?

Wagonjwa means patients (plural of mgonjwa). It belongs to noun class 2, whose subject prefix is wa-. In wamekuwa, wa- marks “they,” and me- marks the perfect tense (“have”).

How do we translate wamekuwa wakiimeza kila siku, and why use this instead of a simple past?

Wamekuwa wakiimeza kila siku means they have been taking it every day.
• It uses a perfect-continuous aspect to stress ongoing or habitual action.
• A simple past like walikula kila siku (they ate every day) can imply a completed period rather than an ongoing habit.

Can you break down wamekuwa wakiimeza into its component parts?

Yes. The breakdown is:

wa-: class 2 subject prefix (they)
me-: perfect tense marker (have)
kuwa: “to be”
wa-: class 2 prefix again for the progressive
-ki-: progressive marker (–ing)
-i-: class 9 object marker (referring to dawa)
meza: verb root (swallow/take)

Why do we see a double ii in wakiimeza?

The double ii results from fusing the progressive marker -ki- and the object marker -i- directly before the verb root. Together they surface as -kii-.

Why doesn’t the second clause repeat dawa hii?

Swahili frequently replaces a previously mentioned noun with an object marker instead of repeating it. Here, -i- in wakiimeza points back to dawa hii, so there’s no need to restate the noun.

Could you repeat dawa hii in the second clause instead of using the object marker? How?

Yes. You can reintroduce the noun and drop the object marker. For example:
Wagonjwa wamekuwa wakimeza dawa hii kila siku.
This still means the patients have been swallowing this medicine every day.

Can you swap the order of the clauses? Give an example.

Yes. The concessive clause can follow the main clause:
Wagonjwa wamekuwa wakiimeza dawa hii kila siku, ingawa ni chungu sana.
This means the patients have been taking this medicine every day, although it is very bitter.