Benchi iko ukingoni mwa bustani.

The bench is at the edge of the garden.

Breakdown of Benchi iko ukingoni mwa bustani.

• kuwa: to be
• bustani: the garden
• benchi: the bench
• ukingoni mwa: at the edge of

Questions & Answers about Benchi iko ukingoni mwa bustani.

What does the verb form in iko do, and why do I sometimes see liko instead?

Iko is the “be (located)” form used with non-human subjects in many everyday contexts. It is made of the class-9/10 subject marker i- plus the locative ending -ko.

By dictionary/classroom grammar, benchi “bench” is usually class 5 (plural: mabenchi), so the “by the book” agreement would be Benchi liko … (class-5 subject marker li- + -ko).

What you’ll hear:

• Careful/standard: Benchi liko …
• Very common in speech: Benchi iko … (many speakers use iko as a default for inanimate things)

Both are widely understood. If you’re aiming for textbook accuracy, use liko.

Why is it iko and not ipo or imo? What’s the difference between -ko, -po, and -mo?

• -ko: general/non-specific location (“is located somewhere”)
• -po: specific/definite spot (“right at that particular place”)
• -mo: inside/within

Given “at the edge of the garden” is a fairly definite spot, many speakers would say:

• Benchi lipo/ipo ukingoni mwa bustani.

Your sentence with -ko is still fine and common.

What exactly is ukingoni?

It’s the locative form of ukingo “edge/border/rim.” Structure:

• u-kingo (edge) + -ni (locative suffix) → ukingoni = “at/on the edge.”

So ukingoni mwa bustani means “at the edge of the garden.”

What does mwa mean in ukingoni mwa bustani? Could it be wa or ya?

Mwa here functions like the “of” linker. With ukingo (class 11), the regular “of” is wa: ukingo wa bustani. After the locative form (ukingoni), many speakers use the stylistic variant mwa, especially with spatial nouns. So:

• Standard: ukingoni wa bustani
• Also common/natural: ukingoni mwa bustani

Don’t use ya here because the head noun is ukingo (class 11), which takes wa (or its variant mwa).

Can I say the same thing using kwenye or katika?

Yes:

• Benchi liko/iko kwenye ukingo wa bustani.
• Benchi liko/iko katika ukingo wa bustani.

Here kwenye/katika = “at/on/in,” and you keep ukingo (or ukingoni) as the place word.

Is there a simpler way to say “at the edge/beside the garden”?

Yes, near-synonyms:

• kando ya bustani = at/by the side of the garden
• pembeni mwa/ya bustani = at the side/edge of the garden
• mpakani mwa bustani = at the boundary of the garden (more “border” than “rim”)

Example: Benchi liko kando ya bustani.

How do I make this plural: “The benches are at the edge of the garden”?

Plural of benchi is mabenchi (class 6). Then use class-6 agreement:

• Specific: Mabenchi yapo ukingoni mwa bustani.
• General: Mabenchi yako ukingoni mwa bustani.

Note: yako here is the class-6 subject+ko form and can look like “your,” but context disambiguates. If you want to avoid that ambiguity, use yapo.

How do I say “Where is the bench?” using this pattern?

• Standard class-5 agreement: Benchi liko wapi?
• Colloquial/default many use: Benchi iko wapi?

How do I negate it: “The bench is not at the edge of the garden”?

• With class-5 agreement: Benchi haliko ukingoni mwa bustani.
• With the colloquial form: Benchi haiko ukingoni mwa bustani.

For the specific/po version: Benchi halipo/haipo ukingoni mwa bustani.

Could I start with the location instead?

Yes, fronting the place is natural:

• Ukingoni mwa bustani, benchi lipo/iko. You can also use the existential:
• Ukingoni mwa bustani kuna benchi.
• Kuna benchi ukingoni mwa bustani.

Is there any difference between bustani and shamba?

Yes:

• bustani: a garden/park, often ornamental or a yard garden.
• shamba: a field/farm/plot for cultivation.

At the edge of a farm would be: ukingoni mwa shamba.

Why is there no word for “the” in the Swahili sentence?

Swahili doesn’t have articles (no “a/an/the”). Definiteness is inferred from context. If you need to be explicit, you can add clarifiers (e.g., demonstratives):

• Benchi hili lipo ukingoni mwa bustani. = “This bench is at the edge of the garden.”