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Questions & Answers about Fikra hiyo iliwashangaza wengi, lakini dhamira yetu ilikuwa thabiti.
Why is hiyo used after fikra instead of ile?
In Swahili, demonstrative pronouns must agree with the noun class and show relative distance in discourse or space. fikra is class 9, so its demonstratives are hii (this, close to speaker), hiyo (that, just mentioned or near listener) and ile (that, farther away). We use hiyo here because the idea has just been introduced and is the focus of the sentence.
How is iliwashangaza broken down into its parts?
iliwashangaza = i–li–wa–shangaza–a
i = class 9 subject marker (referring to fikra)
li = past tense marker
wa = class 2 object marker (referring to wengi)
shangaza = verb root surprise
a = final vowel
Altogether, it means it surprised them/many.
Why does iliwashangaza include the object marker wa- for wengi?
wengi (many people) belongs to class 2, so the verb needs the object marker wa- to agree with it. You can omit wa- and say fikra hiyo ilishangaza wengi, but adding wa- makes the object relationship explicit and is very common.
How can I tell that wengi belongs to noun class 2?
Look at agreement: when wengi is the subject, verbs take wa- (e.g., wengi walikuja). As an object, it also triggers wa-. Many quantifiers and plural human referents default to class 2 even if they don’t show a prefix in the independent form.
How does lakini differ from other conjunctions like bali or hata hivyo?
lakini is the everyday word for but. bali means rather or introduces a correction (not X but Y), and hata hivyo is more formal, equivalent to however. For simple contrast, lakini is the go-to choice.
Why is the possessive pronoun yetu placed after dhamira, and why isn’t it wetu?
In Swahili, possessive pronouns follow the noun and agree with its class. dhamira (intention) is class 9, so its possessive prefix is y- added to etu → yetu. Hence dhamira yetu = our intention.
What is the structure of ilikuwa, and how is it built from kuwa?
ilikuwa = i–li–kuwa–a
i = class 9 subject marker (it)
li = past tense marker
kuwa = verb root be
a = final vowel
So ilikuwa simply means it was.
Why doesn’t thabiti take an agreement prefix like most adjectives, such as mtoto mdogo / watoto wadogo?
Some adjectives in Swahili, especially loanwords from Arabic like thabiti, are invariable and do not change to match noun classes. They stay the same after any noun.
Can you rephrase the first clause in passive voice?
Yes. You could say wengi walishangazwa na fikra hiyo = many were surprised by that idea, or use a causative phrasing: fikra hiyo ilisababisha mshangao kwa wengi = that idea caused surprise among many.