Kulingana na grafu hiyo, matokeo ya muhula huu ya Kiswahili yameboreshwa.

According to that graph, the Swahili results for this term have improved.

Breakdown of Kulingana na grafu hiyo, matokeo ya muhula huu ya Kiswahili yameboreshwa.

• huu: this
• ya: of
• hiyo: that
• Kiswahili: Swahili
• tokeo: the result
• grafu: the graph
• kulingana na: according to
• muhula: the term
• kuboreshwa: to be improved

Questions & Answers about Kulingana na grafu hiyo, matokeo ya muhula huu ya Kiswahili yameboreshwa.

What does kulingana na mean exactly, and how is it used?

Kulingana na literally comes from the verb kulingana (to correspond, to be equal / in agreement) plus na (with).

As a fixed expression, kulingana na X means according to X or in accordance with X.

Examples:

• Kulingana na grafu hiyo, … – According to that graph, …
• Kulingana na habari nilizosikia, ataondoka leo. – According to the news I heard, he will leave today.
• Kulingana na sheria, hili ni kosa. – According to the law, this is an offence.

Grammatically:

• kulingana na is followed by a noun phrase (or sometimes a clause) that shows the source of the information or standard for comparison.

Can I replace kulingana na with kwa mujibu wa or other phrases? Are they interchangeable?

You often can, but there are register and nuance differences.

Common alternatives to kulingana na:

• kwa mujibu wa – according to (very common in news, formal writing)
  • Kwa mujibu wa grafu hiyo, …
• kadiri ya – according to / in proportion to
  • Kadiri ya grafu hiyo, …
• kwa kuzingatia – taking into consideration / based on
  • Kwa kuzingatia grafu hiyo, …

Rough guide:

• kulingana na – neutral, very common in speech and writing.
• kwa mujibu wa – a bit more formal, frequent in reports, newspapers.
• kadiri ya / kwa kuzingatia – used when the idea of “in line with / based on” or “in proportion to” is important.

In your sentence, kulingana na grafu hiyo is perfectly natural.

Why is it grafu hiyo and not hiyo grafu? Which order is normal?

In standard Swahili, the normal order is:

Noun + demonstrative
grafu hiyo – that graph
kitabu hiki – this book
mtoto yule – that child (over there)

Putting the demonstrative before the noun is possible but marked, often for emphasis or a specific stylistic effect:

• hiyo grafu – that graph (with extra emphasis on “that one in particular”)

So:

• grafu hiyo is the neutral, ordinary way to say “that graph”.
• hiyo grafu would sound like you are stressing or contrasting that graph with some other graphs.

What is the difference between hiyo and ile for “that”? Why is hiyo used with grafu here?

Swahili has a three-way distance system for demonstratives:

• hii / huyu / huu / hiki … – this (near the speaker)
• hiyo / huyo / huo / hicho … – that (near the listener or already known in the discourse)
• ile / yule / ule / kile … – that (far from both, or more distant/neutral)

So with grafu (class 9/10), the possible forms are:

• grafu hii – this graph (near me / just here)
• grafu hiyo – that graph (near you or that one we were just talking about)
• grafu ile – that graph (over there / more distant or new)

In your sentence, grafu hiyo suggests:

• either the graph is in front of the listener (or both of you), or
• you have already mentioned or shown that graph before (“that graph we’re looking at / talking about”).

Using grafu ile would be possible but would usually suggest more physical or psychological distance: “that graph over there / that other graph”.

What noun class is matokeo, and is that why the verb starts with ya- in yameboreshwa?

Yes.

• Singular: tokeo (result) – noun class 5 (JI-/LI-)
• Plural: matokeo (results) – noun class 6 (MA-)

For class 5/6:

• Class 5 subject prefix: li-
• Class 6 subject prefix: ya-

So:

• tokeo limeboreshwa – the result has been improved.
• matokeo yameboreshwa – the results have been improved.

In your sentence, matokeo is plural, so the verb must agree with class 6:

• yameboreshwa = ya- (class 6 subject) + -me- (perfect) + -boreshwa (passive stem).

What tense/aspect is yameboreshwa, and how is it different from yaliboreshwa?

yameboreshwa uses the -me- tense/aspect marker, often called the perfect or recent past:

• Form: ya- (subject, class 6) + -me-
  • boreshwa
• Meaning: “have been improved” – an action completed with a present result or relevance.

yaliboreshwa uses -li-, the simple past tense:

• Form: ya-
  • -li-
    • boreshwa
• Meaning: “were improved” – focuses on a completed action in the past, not necessarily tied to now.

So:

• matokeo yameboreshwa – the results have been improved (and are now better).
• matokeo yaliboreshwa – the results were improved (at some time in the past; the sentence doesn’t say if they’re still better now).

What is the difference between yameboreshwa and yameboreka?

The difference is between passive of a transitive verb and an intransitive verb:

• -boresha – to improve (something) → transitive
  
  • passive: -boreshwa – to be improved (by someone)
• -boreka – to improve / to get better (by itself) → intransitive

So:

• matokeo yameboreshwa – the results have been improved (someone/something improved them).
• matokeo yameboreka – the results have improved / gotten better (they improved, focus not on who caused it).

In English both can translate as “the results have improved”, but Swahili clearly distinguishes:

• yameboreshwa → an external agent has improved them.
• yameboreka → they have become better (more of a state change, no clear agent mentioned).

Why is muhula huu used, and not muhula hii or muhula huyu?

Muhula (term / semester) belongs to noun class 3/4 (m-/mi-).

The class 3 demonstratives are:

• huu – this (singular)
• hiyo / hiyo / ile equivalents vary with distance, but the proximal is huu.

So:

• muhula huu – this term/semester
• Plural: mifula hii (if you were talking about multiple terms)

hii is for class 9/10, huyu is for class 1 (people).
Since muhula is class 3, huu is the correct form.

Normal word order is:

• muhula huu – neutral
• huu muhula – possible, but used for emphasis (“THIS term in particular”).

Why is ya repeated in matokeo ya muhula huu ya Kiswahili? What does each ya do?

In Swahili, each possessive/genitive relation needs its own possessive marker, and that marker must agree with the head noun.

Head noun here: matokeo (class 6), so its possessive marker is ya.

Phrase:

• matokeo ya muhula huu ya Kiswahili

Analysis:

• First ya: matokeo ya muhula huu – the results of this semester
• Second ya: matokeo … ya Kiswahili – the results of Swahili

So the structure is like:

• “the results (of this semester) (the ones of Swahili) have been improved.”

Note:

• ya Kiswahili does not modify muhula, because muhula (class 3) would need wa:
  
  • muhula wa Kiswahili – the Swahili semester.
• Here, both ya forms agree with matokeo, the head noun.

Would matokeo ya muhula huu wa Kiswahili yameboreshwa also be correct? How is it different?

Yes, that is correct, and for many speakers it sounds a bit more natural:

• matokeo ya muhula huu wa Kiswahili yameboreshwa

Here:

• matokeo – results
• ya muhula huu wa Kiswahili – of this Swahili semester

Now wa Kiswahili modifies muhula (class 3 → possessive wa), so you are talking about:

• “the results of this Swahili semester”.

Difference in nuance:

• matokeo ya muhula huu ya Kiswahili
  → “the results of this semester, the Swahili ones” (emphasis on the subject being Swahili results among others).

• matokeo ya muhula huu wa Kiswahili
  → “the results of this Swahili semester” (treats “Swahili semester” as a single unit).

Both are grammatical; word order and choice of ya/wa slightly change the focus.

Is the comma after grafu hiyo necessary in Swahili?

It is normal and helpful, but not absolutely required.

• Kulingana na grafu hiyo, matokeo … – with comma: clearly separates the introductory phrase (“According to that graph”) from the main clause.
• Kulingana na grafu hiyo matokeo … – without comma: still understandable, but slightly harder to process in writing.

Modern Swahili punctuation generally follows European practice, so putting a comma after an introductory phrase like Kulingana na grafu hiyo is considered good style.