Ukisoma gazeti hili kwenye kivuli, macho yako hayatachoka haraka.

If you read this newspaper in the shade, your eyes will not tire quickly.

Breakdown of Ukisoma gazeti hili kwenye kivuli, macho yako hayatachoka haraka.

• wewe: you
• kwenye: at
• kusoma: to read
• yako: your
• hili: this
• haraka: quickly
• gazeti: the newspaper
• kivuli: the shade
• jicho: the eye
• kuchoka: to tire

Questions & Answers about Ukisoma gazeti hili kwenye kivuli, macho yako hayatachoka haraka.

What does Ukisoma mean, and what are its parts?

Ukisoma means “if/when you read.”
It’s built from:

• u-: 2nd person singular subject marker (“you”)
• -ki-: conditional/temporal marker (“if/when”)
• soma: verb stem (“read”)

How does the -ki- conditional differ from using ikiwa + future tense?

Swahili offers two main “if” constructions:
1) Short form with -ki- attached to the verb (colloquial):

• Ukisoma = “If/when you read.”
  2) Long form with ikiwa
  • independent verb in future:
• Ikiwa utasoma = “If you will read.”
  The -ki- form is more compact and common in speech.

Why is the demonstrative hili used in gazeti hili rather than hii or hiyo?

Demonstratives must agree with noun classes.

• Gazeti (“newspaper”) belongs to the ki/vi class (singular ki-, plural vi-).
• The correct singular demonstrative for this class is hili.
  Thus gazeti hili = “this newspaper.”

What does kwenye kivuli mean, and why use kwenye instead of katika or chini ya?

• kwenye = “at/in/on” (general location)
• katika = “in/inside” (more formal or strictly “inside”)
• chini ya = “under” (more literal)
  Kwene kivuli idiomatically conveys “in the shade,” which fits better than a strictly literal “under the shade.”

What does macho yako mean, and how is the possessive -ko used here?

• macho = “eyes” (plural, class 6)
• -ko = 2nd person singular possessive (“your”) suffix
  So macho yako = “your eyes.”

Why is hayatachoka used for “will not get tired,” and how is it formed?

Negative future = ha- + subject marker + -ta- + verb stem.
For macho (class 6), the subject marker is ya-.
Combine:

• ha- (neg.)
• ya- (class 6 subj.)
• -ta- (future)
• choka (verb stem “get tired”)
  → hayatachoka = “they [your eyes] will not get tired.”

What role does haraka play, and why is it at the end?

haraka = “quickly”/“soon,” an adverb modifying hayatachoka.
In Swahili, adverbs typically follow the verb they describe, so placing haraka at the end is the natural order.

How would you adapt the sentence when addressing multiple people?

Use 2nd person plural subject and possessive:

• Ukisoma → Mukisoma (“if/when you all read”)
• macho yako → macho yenu (“your eyes” pl.)
  Full: Mukisoma gazeti hili kwenye kivuli, macho yenu hayatachoka haraka.