Word
Bado fundi picha hajafika ukumbini; labda atasafiri mapema kesho.
Meaning
The photographer has not arrived at the hall yet; maybe he will travel early tomorrow.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Bado fundi picha hajafika ukumbini; labda atasafiri mapema kesho.
Does bado here mean “still” or “yet”?
In a negative clause like this, bado means “yet.” So Bado … hajafika = “(He/She) hasn’t arrived yet.” With an affirmative verb, bado means “still,” e.g., Bado yuko njiani = “He/She is still on the way.” As a one-word reply, Bado means “Not yet.”
How is hajafika formed, and what does it literally mean?
It’s the negative present perfect:
- ha- (3rd person singular negative subject marker) + -ja- (negative perfect) + fika (arrive). So hajafika = “he/she has not arrived.” The affirmative perfect is amefika (“he/she has arrived”).
Why isn’t it “hamefika” for “hasn’t arrived”?
In standard Swahili, the negative of the perfect uses -ja-, not -me-. So:
- Affirmative: amefika (“has arrived”)
- Negative: hajafika (“has not arrived”) “hamefika” is not a valid way to negate the perfect.
Can bado go somewhere else in the sentence?