Breakdown of Kampuni yetu inatafuta mshirika atakayesaidia kusambaza bidhaa vijijini.
katika
in
kusaidia
to help
yetu
our
kijiji
the village
kutafuta
to look for
kampuni
the company
kusambaza
to distribute
bidhaa
the goods
mshirika
the partner
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Questions & Answers about Kampuni yetu inatafuta mshirika atakayesaidia kusambaza bidhaa vijijini.
What does inatafuta mean and how is it constructed?
It means “is looking for”. The breakdown is:
• i-: class 9 subject concord (for kampuni)
• -na-: present tense/aspect marker
• tafuta: verb root “search for”
Why do we use the subject concord i- with inatafuta?
“Kampuni” (company) belongs to noun class 9, whose present-tense subject concord is i-. Swahili verbs must agree with the noun class of their subject.
What does atakayesaidia mean and how is it formed?
It means “(who) will help” in a relative clause. The parts are:
• a-: class 1 subject concord (for mshirika, “partner”)
• -ta-: future tense/aspect marker
• -ye-: relative marker for stems beginning with a vowel
• saidia: verb root “help”
What role does -ye- play in atakayesaidia, and why isn’t it spelled atakasadia?
-ye- is the relative marker used for subject relatives in classes like 1/2. It links the future marker -ta- to the verb root saidia and prevents the cluster ta-saidia from becoming tasadia. Hence ta-ye-saidia → taye-saidia.
Why is kusambaza in the infinitive, instead of a finite verb form?
The verb saidia (“help”) is followed by an action to distribute. In Swahili, “to ….” is expressed with the ku- infinitive prefix. So ku-sambaza = “to distribute.”
What is bidhaa, and why doesn’t it change for singular or plural?
bidhaa belongs to noun class 9/10, which uses the same form for singular and plural. It means “product(s)” or “goods”, with number inferred from context.
How is vijijini formed, and what does it mean?
vijijini = vi- (class 8 prefix, plural of kijiji) + jiji (root “village”) + -ni (locative suffix). It literally means “in the villages” or “in rural areas.”
Why isn’t there a separate word for “in” before vijijini?
Swahili marks static location with the -ni suffix attached to the noun itself. Thus vijiji-ni covers both “villages” and “in” in one form—no extra preposition is needed.