Breakdown of Wakulima hutumia mbolea ili kuimarisha udongo.
ili
so that
kutumia
to use
mkulima
the farmer
mbolea
the fertilizer
udongo
the soil
kuimarisha
to strengthen
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Questions & Answers about Wakulima hutumia mbolea ili kuimarisha udongo.
What does the prefix hu- in hutumia indicate?
hu- is the present‐habitual aspect marker in Swahili. It shows that the action is done regularly or habitually (“usually use”). When your subject is given explicitly as a noun (wakulima), you don’t add a separate subject prefix on the verb—hu- alone carries the habitual meaning.
Why is the noun wakulima used instead of a pronoun?
In Swahili you can use a noun (wakulima “farmers”) directly as the subject. If you do, you drop the pronominal subject prefix on the verb—hence hutumia rather than wa-hu-tumia. The noun itself makes clear who is performing the action.
What noun class does mbolea belong to, and what does it mean?
mbolea (“fertilizer”) is in noun class 9, which typically has the prefix m- in the singular and often no change in the plural. It refers to any kind of plant fertilizer.
What noun class is udongo, and what is its meaning?
udongo (“soil” or “ground”) belongs to noun class 3, marked by the prefix u-. It usually behaves like a mass noun, so you often see it only in the singular form.
What is the role of ili in this sentence?
ili introduces a purpose clause, equivalent to English “in order to.” It signals that what follows explains the goal of the main action.
Why is the verb after ili in the form kuimarisha?
After ili you must use the infinitive form of the verb, which in Swahili is marked by ku-. So kuimarisha is “to strengthen,” and it stays in the infinitive to express purpose.
Why isn’t there an object‐marker attached to hutumia?
Swahili allows two ways to show the object: with an object‐marker on the verb or by placing the object noun separately. Here, mbolea stands alone after hutumia, so no object‐suffix is needed on the verb.
How would you change the sentence into the past tense?
Use the past‐tense marker -li- with the class 2 subject prefix wa-: wa + li- + tumia = walitumia.
Full past‐tense sentence: Wakulima walitumia mbolea ili kuimarisha udongo.
How do you form the future tense of hutumia here?
Replace the aspect prefix with the future marker ta after the subject prefix wa-: wa + ta- + tumia = watatumia.
Full future‐tense sentence: Wakulima watatumia mbolea ili kuimarisha udongo.