Wakulima wanapanda miche msimu wa mvua shambani.

Farmers plant seedlings during the rainy season on the farm.

Breakdown of Wakulima wanapanda miche msimu wa mvua shambani.

• mkulima: the farmer
• kupanda: to plant
• msimu wa mvua: the rainy season
• mche: the seedling
• shambani: on the farm

Questions & Answers about Wakulima wanapanda miche msimu wa mvua shambani.

What does Wakulima mean and why is it spelled that way?

Wakulima means “farmers.”

• wa- is the plural subject prefix for noun class 2 (“they”).
• -kulima is the verb stem “to cultivate/farm,” turned here into an agent noun.
  Its singular form is Mkulima (class 1), with m- as the singular prefix.

How is the verb wanapanda formed? Break down each part.

wanapanda means “(they) plant” (present habitual/continuous). It is built from:

• wa- (subject prefix for class 2, “they”)
• -na- (present tense marker, indicating current or habitual action)
• -panda (verb stem “to plant”)
  So: wa
  • na
    • panda → wanapanda.

What is miche, and what is its singular form and noun class?

miche means “seedlings.”

• It is the plural of mche (“seedling”).
• mche belongs to noun class 3 (singular prefix m-), whose plural class is class 4 with prefix mi-.
  Thus mche → mi
  • che = miche.

Why is there no article like “the” or “a” in this Swahili sentence?

Swahili does not use separate words for “the” or “a.” Definiteness and indefiniteness are understood from context.

• Wakulima can mean “(the) farmers” or “farmers” generally.
• miche is simply “seedlings” without an article.

What does msimu wa mvua mean and why is wa used between msimu and mvua?

msimu wa mvua means “the rainy season” (literally, “season of rain”).

• msimu (“season”) is noun class 3 (singular prefix m-).
• mvua (“rain”) is class 9.
  The genitive concord for class 3 is -a, but because mvua is class 9, we insert w- before -a, yielding wa.
  Hence: msimu
  • wa
    • mvua.

How does shambani express “on the farm,” and what is the function of -ni?

shambani means “on/in the farm.”

• The base noun is shamba (“farm”).
• The suffix -ni turns many nouns into a locative form, indicating location: shamba
  • -ni = shambani.

Could we replace wanapanda with hupanda for habitual action? If so, what nuance changes?

Yes.

• wanapanda (wa-na-panda) focuses on an action happening now or generally.
• hupanda (hu-panda) uses hu-, the habitual marker for class 2, emphasizing “they habitually/usually plant.”
  So
  • Wakulima wanapanda… = “Farmers are planting…/Farmers plant (right now).”
  • Wakulima hupanda… = “Farmers habitually plant…”