Breakdown of Kwenye ukuta wa darasa, tulibandika picha za mboga ambazo zina protini nyingi.
sisi
we
kuwa na
to have
nyingi
a lot
mboga
the vegetable
darasa
the classroom
picha
the picture
kwenye
on
ukuta
the wall
protini
the protein
kubandika
to stick
ambazo
that
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Questions & Answers about Kwenye ukuta wa darasa, tulibandika picha za mboga ambazo zina protini nyingi.
What does kwenye mean here, and how is it different from katika?
Kwenye signals location “on/at” (often on a surface). Katika also means “in/at” but is more general, for “inside” or “within.” So kwenye ukuta = “on the wall,” highlighting the surface; whereas katika ukuta would be unnatural.
Why is it ukuta wa darasa and not ukuta ya darasa?
Swahili uses different genitive connectors based on noun class. Ukuta (wall) is class 3 singular, whose connector is wa. That’s why it’s ukuta wa darasa (“the classroom’s wall”).
How is tulibandika constructed?
Break it down:
– tu- : “we” (subject prefix)
– -li- : past tense marker
– bandika : root “to stick/paste”
– final -a : verb ending
Together they form “we pasted.”
What does za do in picha za mboga?
Picha (“pictures”) is class 10 plural, and its genitive connector is za. So picha za mboga means “pictures of vegetables.”
Why is the relative pronoun ambazo used, not ambayo?
Relative pronouns agree with the noun they refer to. Picha is class 10 plural, so the correct pronoun is ambazo (“which” plural). Ambayo would agree with a different noun class.
In ambazo zina protini nyingi, why is the verb zina?
The clause refers back to mboga (treated here as plural), so you use the class 6/10 subject prefix zi-, plus the present marker -na-, giving zina: “they have.”
Why is it protini nyingi? Shouldn’t it be protini nyingi?
Protini is a borrowed mass noun (class 9/10) that doesn’t change form for plural. The adjective “many/much” for class 9/10 is nyingi, so “a lot of protein” is protini nyingi.
Could I rephrase “vegetables that have a lot of protein” differently?
Yes. Instead of ambazo zina protini nyingi, you can say mboga zilizo na protini nyingi. Here zilizo = class 6/10 relative form of “which has,” and na = “have,” so “vegetables which have a lot of protein.”
Mboga looks singular. How do I know it means “vegetables” (plural)?
Mboga is a class 9 noun that can be singular or plural (often mass/collective). Context tells you if it’s plural. To make it explicit you can add mboga nyingi (“many vegetables”) or mboga moja (“one vegetable”).