Breakdown of Nilipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana.
Questions & Answers about Nilipokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana.
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.”
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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?
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?
In the negative past for 1st person singular, ni-li- becomes si-ku- + verb root. So:
Sikupokea barua rasmi kutoka kwa serikali jana.
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.