Breakdown of Mama anapika supu ya pilipili hoho nyumbani.
kupika
to cook
mama
the mother
ya
of
nyumbani
at home
supu
the soup
pilipili hoho
the bell pepper
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Questions & Answers about Mama anapika supu ya pilipili hoho nyumbani.
What do the parts of anapika (a- + -na- + pika) signify?
In Swahili verbs, a- is the subject prefix for 3rd person singular (matching mama), -na- is the present tense/aspect marker (both simple present and continuous), and pika is the stem meaning “cook.” Combined, anapika = “she cooks” or “she is cooking.”
Why do we still need the prefix a- in anapika when we explicitly say mama?
Swahili requires verbs to agree with their subjects via prefixes, even if the noun is stated. The prefix a- agrees with mama (a class 1 noun). You could drop mama if context is clear—anapika supu… still has a- to show “she.”
Why is ya placed between supu and pilipili hoho?
Ya is the genitive connector for class 9 nouns (which supu belongs to). It links soup to its complement bell pepper, so supu ya pilipili hoho literally means “soup of bell pepper.”
Why are there two words pilipili hoho for bell pepper, instead of one?
Pilipili means “pepper,” and hoho specifies the variety (bell pepper). In Swahili, many compound ideas remain as two nouns. Saying pilipili hoho is the standard way to convey bell pepper.
Why doesn’t nyumbani require a preposition like at or in?
The suffix -ni on nyumba (house) is a built-in locative. Nyumbani by itself means “at/in/to the house,” so no extra preposition is needed.
Is it okay to omit mama and just say anapika supu ya pilipili hoho nyumbani?
Yes. Since anapika already has a- to mark “she,” you can drop mama if the subject is clear from context. Including mama simply clarifies that it’s Mom who’s cooking.
How would you turn this sentence into a yes/no question?
You can either add je at the start—“Je, mama anapika supu ya pilipili hoho nyumbani?”—or keep the same word order and use rising intonation: “Mama anapika supu ya pilipili hoho nyumbani?”
How do you make this sentence negative in the present tense?
Swap a- + -na- for the negative prefix ha- (dropping -na-), and insert an -i on the stem. You get:
“Mama hapiki supu ya pilipili hoho nyumbani.”
Here, hapiki = “she is not cooking.”
How can I express “Mom will cook bell pepper soup at home” in Swahili?
Replace the present marker -na- with the future marker -ta-:
“Mama atapika supu ya pilipili hoho nyumbani.”
Now atapika = “she will cook.”
Why is mama capitalized in the example sentence?
In Swahili, common nouns are usually lowercase, but the first word of any sentence is capitalized. Here “Mama” is simply capitalized because it begins the sentence, not because it’s a proper name.