Breakdown of Kwa sasa tusogee polepole; mwishowe tutaelewa vizuri.
vizuri
well
kuelewa
to understand
kusogea
to move
polepole
slowly
Questions & Answers about Kwa sasa tusogee polepole; mwishowe tutaelewa vizuri.
What nuance does kwa sasa add compared with just sasa or sasa hivi?
- sasa = now (neutral “now”; can also work as a discourse filler meaning “so/then”).
- kwa sasa = for now/for the time being (suggests a temporary state that may change).
- sasa hivi / hivi sasa = right now/this very moment (more immediate).
Why does tusogee end in -ee? What form is this?
It’s the hortative/volitional subjunctive meaning “let’s …”. In Swahili, the subjunctive ends in -e. For verbs ending in -ea, that becomes -ee:
- stem: sogea → subjunctive: sogee
- with 1st person plural subject prefix tu-: tusogee = “let’s move/shift (forward/over)”.
Is tusogee negative? How would I say “let’s not move (yet / too fast)”?
No—tusogee is positive. The negative subjunctive inserts si after the subject prefix and still ends in -e:
- tusisogee = let’s not move To add nuance: Tusisogee haraka bado (let’s not move quickly yet) or Tusifanye haraka (let’s not rush).
Could I say tuende/twende polepole instead of ?