Questions & Answers about Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao.
Word-by-word:
- watoto = children (plural of mtoto, child)
- wa-na-penda
- wa- = they (subject prefix for plural people)
- -na- = present tense marker (“are / do” in the present)
- -penda = love / like
So wanapenda = they love / they like
- wazazi = parents (plural of mzazi, parent)
- wao = their (agreeing with wazazi, class 2)
So a close mapping is: children they-PRES-love parents their → “The children love their parents.”
In standard Swahili, the present tense normally includes the -na- marker:
- wa-penda → they love (but without a tense marker it is incomplete/very marked in normal speech)
- wa-na-penda → they love / they are loving (normal present tense)
Structure:
- wa- = subject prefix “they” (class 2)
- -na- = present tense marker
- -penda = verb root “love / like”
So wanapenda is the correct, natural present-tense form. wapenda might appear in poetry, song, or special stylistic contexts, but not as normal prose.
Swahili verbs agree with the subject’s noun class:
- watoto (children) belong to noun class 2 (human plural).
- The subject prefix for class 2 is wa-.
So:
- Watoto wanapenda…
- watoto (class 2 noun)
- wa- (class 2 subject prefix)
→ agreement between subject and verb.
If the subject were singular:
- mtoto anapenda…
- mtoto (child, class 1 singular)
- a- (class 1 subject prefix)
Swahili generally does not use articles like the or a/an.
- watoto can mean children, the children, or some children depending on context.
- wazazi wao can be their parents or the parents of theirs, again depending on context.
Definiteness (“the”) is normally understood from the situation or earlier in the conversation, not from a separate word. So Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao can be translated as The children love their parents even though there is no explicit word for the.
Possessive pronouns in Swahili must agree with the noun class of what is possessed, not with the owner.
- wazazi (parents) → noun class 2
- The class 2 possessive base is -ao.
- You add the class prefix w- → wao.
Compare:
- wazazi wao = their parents (class 2)
- vitabu vyao = their books (vitabu, class 8 → vyao)
- nyumba yao = their house (nyumba, class 9/10 → yao)
So it is wazazi wao, not wazazi yao, because wazazi belong to class 2, which uses wao.
Same spelling, different functions:
Independent pronoun “they”
- Wao wanapenda wazazi wao. = They love their parents.
Here, the first wao is a stand-alone pronoun (they).
- Wao wanapenda wazazi wao. = They love their parents.
Possessive “their”
- wazazi wao = their parents
In your sentence Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao, wao is only the possessive “their”. The subject is already expressed by watoto and the subject prefix wa- in wanapenda, so you don’t need wao as “they” at the beginning.
Swahili has optional object markers on the verb, but:
- If the object is clearly expressed as a full noun phrase after the verb (here: wazazi wao), the object marker is often omitted in neutral sentences.
- So wanapenda wazazi wao is perfectly natural: “they love their parents.”
You can say:
- Watoto wanawapenda wazazi wao.
(wa-na-wa-penda)
Here -wa- in the verb is the object marker them (class 2). This often adds emphasis (a bit like stressing them in English: “they love them, their parents”) or is used in certain information-structure contexts. But for a simple neutral statement, wanapenda wazazi wao is normal and sufficient.
Yes, you can.
- Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao. = The children love their parents.
- Watoto wanapenda wazazi. = The children love parents / love (the) parents.
Without wao, the sentence becomes more general or context‑dependent:
- It might mean they love parents in general (as a group, not necessarily their own), or
- It might still be understood as “their parents” from context.
Including wao makes it explicit that the parents are those belonging to the children.
For a single child, both subject and possessives must be singular:
- Mtoto anapenda mzazi wake. = The child loves his/her parent.
- Mtoto anapenda wazazi wake. = The child loves his/her parents.
Changes:
- watoto → mtoto (children → child)
- wanapenda → anapenda
- subject prefix wa- (they) → a- (he/she/it)
- wazazi wao → wazazi wake
- wao (their, plural owners) → wake (his/her, singular owner)
- mtoto = child → watoto = children
(class 1 singular → class 2 plural) - mzazi = parent → wazazi = parents
(class 1 singular → class 2 plural)
So:
- Mtoto anapenda mzazi wake. = The child loves his/her parent.
- Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao. = The children love their parents.
-penda can mean both love and like; Swahili does not always distinguish them as sharply as English.
- Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao. could be understood as:
- The children love their parents, or
- The children like their parents.
Context and tone usually tell you whether it’s strong emotional love or a milder liking.
Basic Swahili word order is Subject – Verb – Object, so:
- Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao. (neutral order)
You can move elements for emphasis or in certain styles:
- Wazazi wao wanapendwa na watoto.
= Their parents are loved by the children. (passive voice; different structure and focus)
But simply saying:
- Wazazi wao wanapenda watoto.
means Their parents love the children, which reverses who loves whom. So if you just reorder words without changing verb forms, you may change the meaning. To keep the original meaning, stick to Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao in active voice.
You can add wenyewe to emphasize “their own”:
- Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao wenyewe.
This suggests something like:
- “The children love their own parents (in particular).”
- Or with emphasis: “The children love their very own parents.”
It can be either; Swahili leaves that to context.
- Watoto wanapenda wazazi wao. by itself could mean:
- Children love their parents. (a general statement)
- The children love their parents. (some specific children previously mentioned)
You work out whether it’s generic or specific from the surrounding conversation or situation, since there’s no article like the or some.