Je, unaweza kueleza njia rahisi ya kupika ugali?

Can you explain the easy way to cook ugali?

Breakdown of Je, unaweza kueleza njia rahisi ya kupika ugali?

• wewe: you
• kupika: to cook
• je: do
• ya: of
• kuweza: to be able
• rahisi: easy
• ugali: the ugali
• njia: the way
• kueleza: to explain

Questions & Answers about Je, unaweza kueleza njia rahisi ya kupika ugali?

What is the role of Je, at the beginning of the sentence?

Je is a question particle used to introduce both yes/no and open questions in Swahili. It doesn’t have a direct translation in English but signals that what follows is a question. It’s often followed by a comma.

What does unaweza mean, and how is it formed?

Unaweza means “you can” or “you are able to.” It’s built from the subject prefix u- (you) + the present-tense marker -na- + the verb root weza (be able).

Why does kueleza start with ku-?

In Swahili, the prefix ku- marks the infinitive form of a verb. So kueleza literally means “to explain,” where eleza is the root “explain.”

What type of phrase is njia rahisi, and why is the adjective placed after the noun?

Njia rahisi is a noun phrase meaning “easy way.” In Swahili, descriptive adjectives like rahisi (easy) usually follow the noun they modify (njia, way).

Why is the connector ya used between njia rahisi and kupika ugali?

Ya here is the genitive (possessive) connector linking the noun phrase njia rahisi with the infinitive phrase kupika ugali (“to cook ugali”). It functions like “of” in “way of cooking ugali.” For class 9/10 nouns like njia, the correct connector is ya.

In kupika ugali, why is the verb first and the object second?

Swahili follows a subject–verb–object (SVO) order. In an infinitive phrase, the verb (with ku-) comes first (kupika, to cook) and the object (ugali) follows.

Can I add tafadhali to make the request more polite?

Yes. Placing tafadhali (“please”) at the start or just before the verb makes it more polite:
“Tafadhali, je, unaweza kueleza njia rahisi ya kupika ugali?”

Is the comma after Je mandatory?

No, it’s not strictly mandatory, but it’s common to write Je, with a comma in formal writing. In informal texts you might see it without punctuation: Je unaweza…?

How would I ask “Were you able to explain the easy way to cook ugali?” in Swahili?

Shift unaweza to the past tense uliweza:
“Je, uliweza kueleza njia rahisi ya kupika ugali?”