Nilipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana.

I received the official letter from the government yesterday.

Breakdown of Nilipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana.

• mimi: I
• jana: yesterday
• barua: the letter
• kupokea: to receive
• kutoka kwa: from
• serikali: the government
• rasmi: official

Questions & Answers about Nilipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana.

How is the past tense formed in nilipokea? Could you break down the parts?

The word nilipokea consists of three elements:

• ni- : 1st person singular subject marker (“I”)
• -li- : past tense marker
• pokea : verb root meaning “receive”

Putting them together, nilipokea literally means “I received.”

Why don’t we see mimi (“I”) in the sentence? How is the subject indicated?

In Swahili the subject is encoded in the verb prefix. Here ni- in nilipokea already means “I.” You only add mimi if you want extra emphasis:
Mimi nilipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana.

What does barua rasmi mean? And why does rasmi come after barua?

• barua = “letter”
• rasmi = “official”

In Swahili adjectives normally follow the noun they describe. So you say barua rasmi (“official letter”), not the other way around.

What does kutoka kwa serikali mean exactly? And why do we use kwa?

• kutoka = “from”
• kwa = preposition marking the agent or source when it’s an institution or person
• serikali = “government”

Together kutoka kwa serikali means “from the government,” where kwa signals that the government is the source.

Could we say kutoka serikali or kutoka serikalini instead? What’s the difference?

• kutoka serikali is incomplete because with abstract or animate sources Swahili requires kwa.
• kutoka serikalini (with locative suffix -ni) means “from inside the government offices/building,” not “from the government” as an institution.

So to express “from the government” you need kutoka kwa serikali.

Where can the time adverb jana go in a Swahili sentence? Does it have to be at the end?

Time adverbs in Swahili are flexible. Common positions:
1) At the very beginning: Jana nilipokea barua rasmi…
2) Immediately before or after the verb: Nilipokea jana barua rasmi…
3) At the end: Nilipokea barua rasmi jana.

All are grammatically correct; choice depends on emphasis and style.

How do you ask “Did you receive an official letter from the government yesterday?” in Swahili?

Form a yes/no question by using the 2nd person prefix u- + past marker -li- + root pokea, e.g.:
Je, ulipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana?
Or simply with rising intonation:
Ulipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana?

How do you ask “When did you receive the letter?” in Swahili?

Use the question word lini (“when”):
Lini ulipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali?
You can also add Je, at the start:
Je, lini ulipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali?

How do you negate the sentence? How do you say “I didn’t receive an official letter from the government yesterday”?

In the negative past for 1st person singular, ni-li- becomes si-ku- + verb root. So:
Sikupokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana.

How do you change the sentence into the future tense, “will receive”?

Replace the past marker -li- with the future marker -ta-. For example, to say “I will receive an official letter from the government tomorrow”:
Nitapokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali kesho.