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Breakdown of Serikali ilitoa kibali cha kujenga daraja la juu katikati ya mji.
mji
the town
katikati
the middle
ya
of
serikali
the government
kutoa
to issue
kibali cha kujenga daraja la juu
the permit to build an overpass
Questions & Answers about Serikali ilitoa kibali cha kujenga daraja la juu katikati ya mji.
What does ilitoa mean, and how is it formed?
ilitoa breaks down into three parts:
• i- = subject prefix for serikali (class 9/6 inanimate)
• -li- = past‐tense marker
• toa = verb root “give/issue”
Together, ilitoa means “it issued” or “it gave out.”
Why is it ilitoa and not alitoa?
alitoa is the past form for class 1 (animate/human) subjects, which use the prefix a-. Serikali (“government”) is treated as class 9/6 (inanimate), so it takes i- as its subject prefix. Hence we say ilitoa, not alitoa.
What is kibali, and why do we use cha before kujenga?
kibali = “permit.” It belongs to noun class 7 (ki-/vi-), whose linking/possessive particle is cha. When you want “the permit for [something],” you say kibali cha …. Here cha links kibali to kujenga (“to build”).
What is kujenga, and why is the infinitive used here?
kujenga = ku- (infinitive marker) + jenga (“build”). After kibali cha, the infinitive expresses purpose: kibali cha kujenga = “a permit to build.”
Why does kujenga take daraja without a preposition?
In Swahili, infinitive verbs take their direct objects directly—no extra preposition needed. So “kujenga daraja” is simply “to build a bridge.”
How do you form “high bridge” in Swahili, and why is it daraja la juu?
daraja is class 5 (ji-/ma-), so adjectives use the linking particle la for that class. Then the adjective follows the noun: la + juu (“high”) gives daraja la juu = “a high bridge.”
Why do adjectives come after the noun in Swahili?
Swahili uses the pattern noun + adjective (with the correct linking particle). This is the standard word order, unlike English, which uses adjective + noun.
What does katikati ya mji mean, and why is ya used?
katikati = “middle/center.” To express “the middle of X,” katikati takes the general possessive/linking particle ya (not the usual class concord). So katikati ya mji = “in the middle of the town.”
Can you put katika before katikati ya mji, and is it correct?
Yes—you might see katika katikati ya mji (“in the middle of the town”). It’s grammatically correct but often redundant, since katikati ya mji already implies “in.”
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