Sungura wawili wanaruka kwenye nyasi nyuma ya nyumba yetu.

Two rabbits are hopping on the grass behind our house.

Breakdown of Sungura wawili wanaruka kwenye nyasi nyuma ya nyumba yetu.

• yetu: our
• kwenye: on
• wawili: two
• sungura: rabbit
• kuruka: to hop
• nyasi: grass
• nyuma ya: behind
• nyumba: house

Questions & Answers about Sungura wawili wanaruka kwenye nyasi nyuma ya nyumba yetu.

Why is the noun sungura unchanged in the plural, and how do I know it’s plural here?

sungura belongs to a group of Swahili nouns (class 9/10) whose form doesn’t change between singular and plural. You tell it’s plural because:

• The verb prefix wa- in wanaruka marks 3rd-person plural (“they”).
• The number phrase wawili (“two”) follows the noun.
• Context (“two rabbits”) confirms it’s plural.

Why is the number wawili used for “two,” and why does it come after sungura?

In Swahili, numerals from 2 to 5 act like adjectives. They:
• Take a prefix that agrees with the noun (here wa- + wili = wawili)
• Always follow the noun (noun + number).
So sungura wawili literally means “rabbits two.”

What are the parts of the verb wanaruka, and what does each part mean?

wanaruka breaks down into:

• wa- : 3rd-person plural subject prefix (“they”)
• -na- : present-tense/aspect marker (“are …-ing” or habitual)
• -ruka : verb root “jump”
  Together, wa-na-ruka = “they are jumping” (or simply “they jump”).

Why don’t we need a separate word for “they” before wanaruka?

Swahili verbs include the subject as a prefix. wanaruka already means “they jump.” Adding wao (“they”) would be redundant unless used for special emphasis.

What does kwenye nyasi mean, and how is kwenye different from katika?

• kwenye = “in/on/at,” often used for surfaces or open locations (e.g. kwenye maji = in the water; kwenye msitu = in the forest).
• katika = “in/inside,” more about being within a defined space or container.
  Hence kwenye nyasi = “on/in the grass,” which sounds more natural than katika nyasi in this context.

How do you translate nyuma ya nyumba yetu, and why is ya used there?

• nyuma means “back” or “behind.”
• To say “behind X,” Swahili uses nyuma ya X.
• ya is a genitive/linker that joins nyuma to nyumba yetu (“our house”).
  So nyuma ya nyumba yetu = “behind our house.”

Why is “our” written yetu and not wetu or another form?

Possessive pronouns in Swahili agree with noun class. nyumba is class 9/10, and the class-9/10 form of “our” is yetu. Other classes (e.g. class 2) use wetu.

How would I change the sentence to past tense (“the two rabbits jumped”)?

Replace the present/aspect marker -na- with the past marker -li- in the verb:
Sungura wawili waliruka nyuma ya nyumba yetu.
Here wa- (they) + -li- (past) + -ruka (jump) = waliruka (“they jumped”).