Breakdown of Ripoti ninayoisoma leo jioni ni ndefu.
kuwa
to be
ndefu
long
ripoti
the report
leo jioni
this evening
Questions & Answers about Ripoti ninayoisoma leo jioni ni ndefu.
What does each part of ninayoisoma mean?
ninayoisoma is made up of several small pieces glued together:
- ni- = I (1st person singular subject prefix)
- -na- = present tense marker (am / is / are …‑ing, or general present)
- -yo- = relative marker for noun class 9/10 (“that/which”) referring back to ripoti
- -i- = object prefix for noun class 9/10 (“it”) again referring to ripoti
- soma = verb root “to read”
So ni-na-yo-i-soma literally is like “I‑PRES‑which‑it‑read” → “that I am reading (it).”
In context, it means “which I’m reading (this evening).”
Why does the relative clause come as ripoti ninayoisoma, not “I am reading the report” in Swahili word order?
Swahili usually puts the head noun first, followed immediately by its relative clause:
- Ripoti ninayoisoma …
= “The report that I am reading …”
Structurally, it’s:
- head noun: ripoti
- relative clause: ninayoisoma (“that I am reading (it)”)
So instead of “I am reading the report that is long,” Swahili prefers “The report that I am reading is long.” That’s why the sentence starts with Ripoti, then the relative clause ninayoisoma, and only later comes ni ndefu (“is long”).