Nilinunua kitabu hiki ili kuboresha uandishi wangu.

I bought this book to improve my writing.

Breakdown of Nilinunua kitabu hiki ili kuboresha uandishi wangu.

• mimi: I
• kitabu: the book
• kununua: to buy
• hiki: this
• wangu: my
• ili: so that
• kuboresha: to improve
• uandishi: the writing

Questions & Answers about Nilinunua kitabu hiki ili kuboresha uandishi wangu.

What grammatical components make up nilinunua and what do they each mean?

nilinunua consists of three parts:

• ni- = 1st person singular subject marker (I)
• -li- = past tense marker (bought)
• -nunua = verb stem buy
  Together they mean I bought.
  To say I buy/ I am buying (present), use ninanunua or simply ninunua.
  For I will buy, use the future marker -ta-: nitanunua.

What does kitabu hiki mean and why is the demonstrative hiki placed after the noun?

kitabu hiki means this book.
In Swahili, demonstratives and adjectives follow the noun they modify.
Because kitabu belongs to noun class 7 (ki–/vi–), its proximal demonstrative is hiki.
Putting them in the order noun + modifier (kitabu hiki) is the standard pattern.

Why is ili used before kuboresha, and could you use kwa instead?

ili introduces a purpose clause meaning in order to or so that. It must be followed by an infinitive, here kuboresha.
If you used kwa kuboresha, it would mean by improving, indicating the means rather than the purpose.
So ili is the correct choice for expressing intention or purpose.

Why is the verb kuboresha in that exact form? What role does ku- play?

kuboresha is the infinitive form of the verb -boresha (to improve).
In Swahili, infinitives are formed by prefixing the verb stem with ku-.
After purpose connectors like ili, you always use the infinitive (ku- + stem).

What is uandishi and how does it differ from the verb andika?

uandishi is a noun meaning writing or composition.
It’s formed by nominalizing the verb -andika (to write).
The prefix u- (an abstract noun class) turns the action into a concept or result (the act or skill of writing).

What does wangu indicate and why is it at the end of the sentence?

wangu is the possessive pronoun my.
It agrees with the noun class of uandishi (class 11), so the form is wangu.
Possessive pronouns in Swahili follow the noun they modify: uandishi wangu = my writing.

How would you change the sentence to talk about these books instead of this book?

You need to switch to the plural form of kitabu (class 8) and its demonstrative:
“Nilinunua vitabu hivi ili kuboresha uandishi wangu.”
Here vitabu = books (plural of kitabu) and hivi = these (class 8 proximal demonstrative).