Breakdown of Faida nyingine ya mfumo huu ni kupunguza gharama za matengenezo.
ni
to be
huu
this
ya
of
za
of
kupunguza
to reduce
gharama
the cost
nyingine
another
faida
the benefit
mfumo
the system
matengenezo
the maintenance
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Questions & Answers about Faida nyingine ya mfumo huu ni kupunguza gharama za matengenezo.
What does ingine mean in faida nyingine, and why is it ingine here?
ingine is an adjective meaning “other” or “another.” It agrees with the noun faida (“advantage/benefit”) in number and class. Here faida is singular, so we use ingine (“another advantage”).
Could we say faida zingine instead of faida ingine?
Yes—but that changes the meaning. faida zingine is plural (“other advantages”), while faida ingine is singular (“another/other advantage”). Use zingine only when faida is clearly plural (“advantages”).
Why is ya used between faida nyingine and mfumo huu?
ya is the genitive/linking particle meaning “of.” It connects the possessed noun (faida nyingine) to the possessor (mfumo huu). The form ya matches the noun class of mfumo (class 3 singular).
What does mfumo huu mean, and why huu instead of huyu?
mfumo means “system.” huu is the class 3 singular demonstrative meaning “this.” Class 1 (people) uses huyu, class 3 (objects like mfumo) uses huu. Hence mfumo huu = “this system.”
What role does ni play before kupunguza? Can it be dropped?
ni is the copula (“is/am/are”) used when the predicate isn’t just a noun phrase—in this case the predicate is an infinitive phrase (kupunguza). You cannot omit ni here; dropping it would be ungrammatical.
Why is kupunguza in the infinitive form? Why not punguza or inapunguza?
The infinitive prefix ku- means “to ….” After the copula ni, you need the infinitive kupunguza to express “is to reduce.”
- punguza is an imperative (“reduce!”).
- inapunguza is present‐tense (“it reduces”).
Is gharama singular or plural? Why doesn’t it change form?
gharama can mean “cost” or “costs.” It belongs to a noun class that doesn’t mark singular vs. plural morphologically (similar to English uncountables). Here context (and the plural za on matengenezo) shows we mean “costs.”
What does matengenezo mean, and what’s its singular? Could we use utunzaji instead?
matengenezo means “repairs/maintenance” (class 6 plural of tengenezo = “a repair”). In technical contexts you almost always hear matengenezo for “maintenance.” You could say gharama za utunzaji (“costs of upkeep”), where utunzaji is a verbal noun meaning “caretaking/maintenance,” but matengenezo is more common in engineering or machinery contexts.