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Mlinzi alinitaka nimwonyeshe tikiti yangu kabla ya kuingia.

Mlinzi alinitaka nimwonyeshe tikiti yangu kabla ya kuingia.
The guard asked me to show him my ticket before entering.

Breakdown of Mlinzi alinitaka nimwonyeshe tikiti yangu kabla ya kuingia.

kutaka
to want
yangu
my
kabla ya
before
kuingia
to enter
kuonyesha
to show
mlinzi
the guard
tikiti
the ticket
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Questions & Answers about Mlinzi alinitaka nimwonyeshe tikiti yangu kabla ya kuingia.

What does each part of alinitaka represent?

Breakdown:

  • a- = he/she (3rd person singular subject marker)
  • -li- = past tense marker
  • -ni- = me (1st person singular object marker)
  • taka = want (verb root)
    Combined, alinitaka literally means “he wanted me.”
Why is nimwonyeshe in the subjunctive mood, and how is it formed?

After verbs like taka (“to want”) that govern a subordinate action, Swahili uses the subjunctive. nimwonyeshe breaks down as:

  • ni- = I (1st person singular subject marker)
  • mw- = him (3rd person singular object marker, class 1)
  • onyesh- = show (verb root)
  • -e = subjunctive ending
    Note also the linking vowel o in mw-o-nyesh to avoid a consonant cluster between mw and nyesh.
How do we express “before entering” with kabla ya kuingia, and what does ku- do?
  • kabla = before
  • kabla ya always takes ya
    • a noun/gerund
  • To turn a verb into a noun/gerund, Swahili uses the infinitive prefix ku-
  • kuingia = to enter (infinitive)
    Therefore, kabla ya kuingia = “before entering.”
Why are the subject and object pronouns built into verbs like alinitaka and nimwonyeshe instead of separate words?

Swahili is agglutinative:

  • Subject and object concords (markers) are affixed directly to the verb stem.
  • Standalone pronouns are optional (“pro-drop”).
  • This makes sentences compact and unambiguous about who does what.
Why do we say tikiti yangu (“my ticket”) instead of “yangu tikiti” or “ticket yangu”?

Possessive adjectives in Swahili follow the noun they modify. Structure:

  1. Noun (e.g. tikiti)
  2. Possessive pronoun (e.g. yangu = my)
    Also, tikiti is a loanword from English, adapted to Swahili phonology.
What noun class is mlinzi in, and what is its plural form?
  • mlinzi is class 3 (prefix m-, singular; used for some people and things).
  • Plural moves to class 2 with prefix wa-, giving walinzi = guards.
    The root is linzi (guard/watch), with m- or wa- indicating singular/plural.