Question 1

Why is the demonstrative hii placed after sufuria rather than before like in English, and how do we choose its form?

Accepted Answer

In Swahili, demonstratives follow the noun (structure: Noun + Demonstrative). The form of the demonstrative must agree with the noun class. Sufuria has no Bantu prefix, so it belongs to class 9/10. Its singular demonstrative is hii (“this”); if it were plural you’d say sufuria hizi (“these pots”).

Question 2

What does inatumika mean, and how is it constructed?

Accepted Answer

Inatumika is the present‐tense passive of -tumia (“to use”). Break-down:  
 • Subject concord for class 9: i-  
 • Present tense marker: -na-  
 • Passive verb stem: -tumika  
So i- + na- + tumika = inatumika, literally “it is being used” or simply “it is used.”

Question 3

Why is the infinitive kupika used after inatumika?

Accepted Answer

The pattern X inatumika + infinitive expresses “X is used for [doing something].” The infinitive (marked by ku-) functions like English “to …,” showing purpose:  
“sufuria hii inatumika kupika wali” = “this pot is used to cook rice.”

Question 4

Can you explain why it’s kupika wali and not kupikia wali?

Accepted Answer

Kupika (“to cook [something]”) is transitive and takes the direct object wali (“rice”) after it. The applicative extension -ia in kupikia changes the sense to “to cook for someone.” Since here we only need “to cook rice,” we use kupika wali. If you said kupikia, you’d need to specify a person: e.g. kumupikia wali (“to cook rice for him/her”).

Question 5

Where is the English equivalent of “it” in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Swahili builds the subject into the verb. The “it” is encoded by the subject concord i- in inatumika, so no separate pronoun is needed.

Question 6

Could I rephrase this sentence in the active voice, and how?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use an active subject (e.g. Watu “people”) with the active verb tumia (“use”):  
“Watu hutumia sufuria hii kupika wali.”  
Here hu- is the general present‐tense prefix for class 2 (“people”), and tumia is active “use.”

Question 7

Is the preposition kwa ever required before the infinitive (i.e. inatumika kwa kupika wali)?

Accepted Answer

You can insert kwa (“for/by”) to introduce purpose, but Swahili often prefers the bare infinitive. Both are grammatically correct, though inatumika kupika wali is more idiomatic than inatumika kwa kupika wali.

Sufuria hii inatumika kupika wali.

Breakdown of Sufuria hii inatumika kupika wali.

Questions & Answers about Sufuria hii inatumika kupika wali.

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