Mvua nyingi inaweza kuathiri bei ya mboga sokoni.

Heavy rain can affect vegetable prices at the market.

Breakdown of Mvua nyingi inaweza kuathiri bei ya mboga sokoni.

• kwenye: at
• soko: the market
• nyingi: a lot
• ya: of
• mvua: the rain
• kuweza: to be able to
• mboga: the vegetable
• bei: the price
• kuathiri: to affect

Questions & Answers about Mvua nyingi inaweza kuathiri bei ya mboga sokoni.

What does mvua nyingi literally mean, and why is mvua singular here?

In Swahili, mvua is treated as a mass noun ("rain") in Class 3, so it normally appears in the singular. Adding the adjective nyingi intensifies it:

• Literally "much rain" or "a lot of rain"
• Contextually "heavy rain" or "many rains" (i.e. a prolonged/heavy downpour)

Why is the verb phrase inaweza kuathiri used instead of just athiri?

• inaweza = ina- (present tense prefix) + weza ("can/able to")
• It conveys possibility: "can affect"
• When you use weza with another verb, that verb must remain in the infinitive form, hence kuathiri ("to affect")

What is the root of kuathiri, and why do we need the ku- prefix?

• Root verb: -athiri ("affect/influence"), a transitive verb
• ku- = infinitive prefix ("to …")
• Together, kuathiri = "to affect"

How does the genitive ya work in bei ya mboga?

Swahili links two nouns with a genitive concord determined by the class of the first noun:

• bei is Class 9
• Class 9 genitive prefix is ya
• So bei ya mboga = "price of vegetables"

Why isn’t mboga pluralized (e.g. mboga nyingi) in bei ya mboga?

• mboga (Class 9) often functions as a collective noun meaning "vegetables" in general
• No explicit plural marker is needed for collective/mass sense
• If you wanted to stress "many kinds of vegetables," you could say mboga nyingi

Why is sokoni used instead of soko or kwa soko?

• -ni suffix marks the locative case: "in/at/on" a place
• Adding -ni to soko gives sokoni = "at the market"
• kwa soko would mean "by/with a market" (instrumental), not "at the market"

Can I rephrase this sentence in the passive voice?

Yes. Use the passive marker -wa on the verb and swap focus:

• Active: Mvua nyingi inaweza kuathiri bei ya mboga sokoni.
• Passive: Bei ya mboga sokoni inaweza kuathiriwa na mvua nyingi.
  (“The price of vegetables at the market can be affected by heavy rain.”)

Could I use another verb like kuongezeka ("to increase") instead of kuathiri?

• kuathiri = "to affect" (general impact)
• kuongezeka = "to increase" (specific rise)
  If you know the effect is a price rise, you could say:
  Mvua nyingi inaweza kuongezeka bei ya mboga sokoni.
  (“Heavy rain can increase the price of vegetables at the market.”)