Tamasha la kimataifa liliweka kipaumbele kwa washiriki wenye mahudhurio bora.

The international festival gave priority to participants with excellent attendance.

Breakdown of Tamasha la kimataifa liliweka kipaumbele kwa washiriki wenye mahudhurio bora.

• kwa: to
• la: of
• tamasha: the festival
• hudhurio: the attendance
• kuweka kipaumbele: to give priority
• kimataifa: international
• mshiriki: the participant
• wenye: who have
• bora: excellent

Questions & Answers about Tamasha la kimataifa liliweka kipaumbele kwa washiriki wenye mahudhurio bora.

Why does "liliweka" have two "li"s?

Swahili verbs stack a subject prefix and a tense marker before the verb root. Here:

• Subject prefix for a class‑5 singular noun (like tamasha) is li-.
• The simple past tense marker is also -li-.
• Verb root is weka (“put/place”).

So: li- (subject) + li- (past) + weka = liliweka (“it placed/it set”).

Examples:

• Gari liliwasili. “The car arrived.” (class 5: gari)
• Kiti kilidondoka. “The chair fell.” (class 7: ki- + li → kili-dondoka)

Why is it "Tamasha la kimataifa" and not "Tamasha cha kimataifa"? What is "kimataifa"?

The associative “of” particle (-a) agrees with the head noun. Tamasha is class 5, whose -a form is la, so we get tamasha la .... The form cha is for class 7 nouns (e.g., kituo cha ...).

Kimataifa is a derived word from taifa “nation,” with the prefix ki-, meaning “international.” It functions like an adjective meaning “international,” and it doesn’t change form to match the head noun.

Examples:

• Tamasha la kimataifa = international festival (head is class 5 → la)
• Kituo cha kimataifa = international center (head is class 7 → cha)

What does "-enye" mean, and why is it "wenye" here?

The form -enye means “with / that has.” It behaves like an agreeing adjective/relative and takes a class prefix that matches the noun it describes.

• washiriki is class 2 (plural of mshiriki), so -enye surfaces as wenye: washiriki wenye ... = “participants who have ...”

A few other common -enye forms (for comparison):

• Class 5: lenye (e.g., tamasha lenye muziki)
• Class 6/9: yenye (e.g., mahudhurio yenye nidhamu; nyumba yenye bustani)
• Class 7: chenye (e.g., kiti chenye mkono)
• Class 8: vyenye (e.g., viti vyenye mikono)

Which noun classes are at play, and how is agreement shown?

• tamasha: class 5 (ji-/li-). Agreement shows up as subject prefix li- (in liliweka) and -a form la (in la kimataifa).
• kipaumbele: class 7 (ki-/vi-). No agreement is triggered here because it’s the direct object; but if modified, it would take class 7 agreement (e.g., kipaumbele kikuu).
• washiriki: class 2 (wa-). Triggers wenye in wenye mahudhurio bora.
• mahudhurio: class 6 (ma-). If you used a regular agreeing adjective, it would be class‑6 (e.g., mahudhurio mazuri). In the sentence, it takes the invariable adjective bora.

What does "kwa washiriki" do here? Could I drop "kwa"?

Kwa marks the beneficiary/target (“to/for”) after the idiom (ku)weka kipaumbele kwa ... = “to give priority to ... / prioritize ...”. You shouldn’t drop kwa in this construction; without it the target of the priority would be unclear.

To avoid kwa, you can switch to a different but common pattern with “give ... priority”:

• Tamasha la kimataifa liliwapa washiriki wenye mahudhurio bora kipaumbele. (“The international festival gave the participants with excellent attendance priority.”)

Is there any difference between "kuweka kipaumbele kwa ..." and "kuwapa ... kipaumbele"?

They mean the same thing (“to prioritize”). Stylistically:

• kuweka kipaumbele kwa X is a set phrase (“to set priority for X”).
• kuwapa X kipaumbele (“to give X priority”) is equally natural and often a bit more direct. It also lets you include an object marker: liliwapa (li- + li- + wa- + -pa).

What exactly is "mahudhurio"? Is it singular or plural?

Mahudhurio is a class‑6 ma- noun meaning “attendance.” It’s a mass/abstract noun: formally it’s in a plural class, but semantically it behaves like an uncountable noun (“attendance” rather than “attendances”). You’ll often see it with class‑6 adjective agreement when you use regular adjectives, e.g., mahudhurio mazuri (“good attendance”).

Why doesn’t "bora" change form? Could I use "mazuri" instead?

Bora is an invariable adjective meaning “best/excellent/ideal,” so it does not take class agreement. You can certainly say mahudhurio mazuri (“good attendance”), but bora is stronger (“excellent/best”). You can also make comparisons:

• mahudhurio bora kuliko mwaka jana = “better attendance than last year.”

Can I replace "wenye mahudhurio bora" with "ambao wana mahudhurio bora"? Any nuance difference?

Yes: washiriki ambao wana mahudhurio bora is fully acceptable and means the same thing. Using -enye is more compact and slightly more written/formal in tone, while ambao wana is more explicit and common in speech. Both are standard.

Can I move the "kwa washiriki ..." phrase elsewhere?

Yes. Word order is flexible for emphasis:

• Neutral: Tamasha la kimataifa liliweka kipaumbele kwa washiriki wenye mahudhurio bora.
• Fronting for emphasis: Kwa washiriki wenye mahudhurio bora, tamasha la kimataifa liliweka kipaumbele.
• Alternative pattern: Tamasha la kimataifa liliwapa washiriki wenye mahudhurio bora kipaumbele.

How would I say it in the negative (did not prioritize)?

Use the negative past with class‑5 agreement:

• Tamasha la kimataifa halikuweka kipaumbele kwa washiriki wenye mahudhurio bora. (ha- + -ku- for past negative; class‑5 subject concord is built into the verb form.)

How do I say “prioritized X over Y”?

Use kuliko (“than/over”) in either pattern:

• kuweka kipaumbele kwa X kuliko Y
• kuwapa X kipaumbele kuliko Y

Example: Tamasha liliwapa wageni kipaumbele kuliko wenyeji.

Is "kipaumbele cha ..." ever correct? How is it different from "kipaumbele kwa ..."?

Yes. kipaumbele cha ... means “the priority of ...” (possessive/associative), not “priority to ...”

• kipaumbele cha serikali = “the government’s priority”
• kipaumbele kwa wanafunzi = “priority to/for students”

How do I pronounce tricky bits like "wenye" and "mahudhurio"?

• wenye: roughly “WEHN-yeh” (the “ny” is like the “ny” in “canyon”).
• mahudhurio: “ma-hu-dhu-REE-oh.” The “dh” is like the “th” in “this” for many speakers, though many pronounce it simply as “d.” Stress tends to fall near the end: hu-dhu-RIO.