Mchezaji alikosa goli katika mechi jana.

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Breakdown of Mchezaji alikosa goli katika mechi jana.

• jana: yesterday
• kukosa: to miss
• mchezaji: the player

Questions & Answers about Mchezaji alikosa goli katika mechi jana.

What does mchezaji literally mean, and how is it formed?

Mchezaji means player (in sports or games, also “dancer” in some contexts).

It’s built from the verb -cheza (to play / to dance):

• kucheza – to play
• m- (class 1 human noun prefix) + -chez- (verb stem) + -aji (person-doing-the-action suffix)
• → mchezaji – “one who plays” → player

Plural:

• singular: mchezaji – player
• plural: wachezaji – players

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How is the verb alikosa constructed, and what tense is it?

Alikosa is in the simple past tense and comes from the infinitive kukosa (to miss / to lack / to make a mistake).

Structure:

• a- – subject marker: he/she (3rd person singular)
• -li- – past tense marker (“did” / “-ed”)
• -kosa – verb root “miss / lack / be wrong”

So: a-li-kosa = he/she missed.

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Why does alikosa already mean “he/she missed” even though there is no separate word for “he” or “she”?

In Swahili, the subject is built into the verb as a prefix.

• a- on already means .