Gari jeusi iko mbele ya nyumba.

The black car is in front of the house.

Breakdown of Gari jeusi iko mbele ya nyumba.

• kuwa: to be
• gari: the car
• nyumba: the house
• mbele ya: in front of
• jeusi: black

Questions & Answers about Gari jeusi iko mbele ya nyumba.

Why does jeusi come after gari instead of before it, like in English (black car)?

In Swahili, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe, not before it.

• gari jeusi = black car
• nyumba kubwa = big house

So the order gari jeusi is the standard noun–adjective order in Swahili.

I learned nyeusi for “black”. Why is it jeusi here and not nyeusi?

The basic adjective is -eusi (“black”), and it changes form to agree with the noun class:

• mtoto mweusi – black child (class 1)
• magari meusi – black cars (class 6)
• gari jeusi – black car (class 5, often used for gari)

So jeusi is just the agreement form of -eusi that matches gari (a class 5 noun). Many beginners first meet nyeusi, but that’s only one of its possible forms.

What noun class is gari, and how does that affect the sentence?

gari (car) is usually treated as a class 5/6 noun:

• singular: gari (class 5)
• plural: magari (class 6)

This affects:

• the adjective: gari jeusi (class-5 form) vs magari meusi (class-6 form)
• the verb “to be (located)”: iko for singular class 5, yako for plural class 6

So the sentence has gari jeusi iko because the subject is a single class‑5 noun.

Why is it iko and not ni for “is”? Could I say Gari jeusi ni mbele ya nyumba?

ni is the general “is/are” used to link a subject to a noun or adjective:

• Hili gari ni jeusi. – This car is black.

For location, Swahili normally uses a special “to be” verb with -ko/-po/-mo, like iko:

• Gari jeusi iko mbele ya nyumba. – The black car is in front of the house.

Gari jeusi ni mbele ya nyumba is not natural; for physical location iko is what you want.

What is the difference between iko, yuko, kiko, ziko, etc.?

These all come from the same verb “to be (located)” but agree with different noun classes:

• yuko – for people (class 1/2): mtu yuko, watu wako
• iko – often for class 5/9 things: gari iko, nyumba iko
• kiko – for class 7: kisu kiko (the knife is…)
• ziko – for class 10 or some plurals: nyumba ziko (houses are…)
• yako – for class 6 plurals: magari meusi yako (black cars are…)

So iko matches the class of gari in your sentence.

What exactly does mbele ya nyumba mean, and why do we need ya?

mbele means “front” or “in front”. To say “in front of something”, Swahili uses:

• mbele ya X = in front of X

ya is a possessive/connecting word meaning roughly “of”, agreeing with mbele (which behaves like a class 9 noun here). So:

• mbele ya nyumba = “the front of the house” / “in front of the house”

You need ya to link mbele to nyumba.

Could I drop ya and just say mbele nyumba?

No, in standard Swahili that would be incorrect. The relationship “in front of” is expressed with mbele ya + noun:

• mbele ya nyumba – in front of the house
• mbele ya gari – in front of the car

Without ya, the phrase is ungrammatical or at least very non‑standard.

How do I know if nyumba here means “a house” or “the house” when there is no word for “the”?

Swahili normally has no separate words for “a” or “the”. Whether you translate it as “a house” or “the house” depends on context:

• first mention / general: often “a house”
• known or specific house: often “the house”

So nyumba can be “a house” or “the house”; the Swahili form itself doesn’t change.

How would the sentence change in the plural, if there are several black cars?

You would make gari plural and adjust the adjective and verb to match class 6:

• Magari meusi yako mbele ya nyumba. – The black cars are in front of the house.

Changes:

• gari → magari (class 5 → class 6)
• jeusi → meusi (adjective agrees with class 6)
• iko → yako (verb agrees with class 6 subject)

Can I change the word order, like Jeusi gari iko mbele ya nyumba or Gari iko jeusi mbele ya nyumba?

No, not in normal Swahili. The standard order is:

1. noun
2. adjective

So:

• gari jeusi – correct
• jeusi gari – wrong in ordinary sentences
• Gari iko jeusi mbele ya nyumba would change the meaning to something like “the car is black in front of the house”, which is not the intended structure.

For describing a noun, keep the adjective after the noun.

Is iko always required, or can I say Gari jeusi mbele ya nyumba without a verb?

In normal, full sentences you must have the verb:

• Gari jeusi iko mbele ya nyumba. – correct full sentence

Leaving out iko:

• Gari jeusi mbele ya nyumba – might appear in very informal speech or headlines, but it’s not a complete, standard sentence.

For regular speech and writing, include iko.

Could I say Gari jeusi lipo mbele ya nyumba instead of iko? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Gari jeusi lipo mbele ya nyumba.

Here:

• li- is the class‑5 subject prefix (agreeing with gari)
• -po is a locative ending used for a specific/known place

iko (with -ko) is more neutral and very common. lipo (with -po) can sound a bit more precise or emphatic about that particular place. Both are grammatically correct; iko is often simpler for learners to use.