Breakdown of Wewe unakula mkate mara mbili kila siku.
Questions & Answers about Wewe unakula mkate mara mbili kila siku.
The u- is the subject prefix for second-person singular (“you”). The verb stem is -kula (“to eat”), so u-na-kula literally breaks down as:
- u = you
- na = present habitual tense
- kula = eat
Na is the tense/aspect marker for the simple present (often called “present habitual” or “present progressive” depending on context). Stripped down:
- u (you) + na (present) + kula (eat) = unakula (“you eat / you are eating”).
Both mean “twice a day,” but with a subtle nuance:
- kila siku = “each / every day”
- kwa siku = “per day”
In practice they’re interchangeable here: mara mbili kila siku and mara mbili kwa siku both convey the idea “twice daily.”
The typical word order is:
Subject – tense marker – verb – object – frequency/time.
Hence Wewe unakula (subject + tense + verb), mkate (object), then mara mbili kila siku (frequency + time).
Replace mbili (“two”) with tatu (“three”):
Wewe unakula mkate mara tatu kila siku.
Yes. Native speakers often rely on the verb prefix alone. So you’ll hear simply:
Unakula mkate mara mbili kila siku.
Dropping wewe makes it more natural and less formal in most contexts.