Maji kutoka kwenye mfereji yanachujwa kabla hayajanywewa.

The water from the canal is filtered before it is drunk.

Breakdown of Maji kutoka kwenye mfereji yanachujwa kabla hayajanywewa.

• kunywa: to drink
• maji: the water
• kwenye: in
• kutoka: from
• kabla: before
• mfereji: the canal
• kuchuja: to filter

Questions & Answers about Maji kutoka kwenye mfereji yanachujwa kabla hayajanywewa.

Why does the verb yanachujwa start with ya- instead of i- or a-?

Because maji belongs to noun class 6 (the ma- class), which takes the subject prefix ya- in the present tense.

Breakdown of yanachujwa:

• ya- = subject prefix for class 6 (agreeing with maji)
• -na- = present/habitual tense marker
• -chuj- = verb root “filter/strain” (kuchuja)
• -w- = passive suffix
• -a = final vowel

So yanachujwa literally corresponds to “they-are-filtered,” with they referring to maji (“water”) in plural agreement.

Why does maji take plural agreement (ya-, haya-) even though “water” is singular in English?

In Swahili, maji is grammatically plural (class 6), even though it denotes a mass substance like “water.”

• Class 6 subject prefix: ya- → yanachujwa (“they are being filtered”)
• Class 6 negative perfect: haya- → hayajanywewa (“they have not yet been drunk”)

English chooses singular grammar for mass nouns like “water,” but Swahili treats maji as plural for agreement purposes. So you must use plural prefixes (ya-, haya-) with maji, even though you translate it as a singular mass noun in English.

What does kutoka kwenye mean exactly, and could I say kutoka mferejini or kutoka kwa mfereji instead?

Kutoka kwenye literally means “from at/in/on,” and together it’s a very common way to say “from (a place/source).”

• kutoka = “from / to come out of”
• kwenye = general locative preposition (“at, in, on, to, from” depending on context)

So maji kutoka kwenye mfereji = “water from the tap/pipe.”

Alternatives:

1. kutoka mferejini

   • Uses the locative suffix -ni on mfereji.
   • Also correct and natural: maji kutoka mferejini = “water from the tap/pipe.”

2. kutoka kwa mfereji

   • kwa often marks “from/at (a person, place, or source).”
   • With inanimate things like mfereji, you might hear it, but kwenye or -ni are more common and neutral here.

All of these can be understood, but kutoka kwenye mfereji or kutoka mferejini are the clearest and most typical for “from the tap/pipe.”

What exactly does mfereji mean? Is it “tap,” “pipe,” or “canal”?

Mfereji is a general word for a man‑made channel for water. Its exact English translation depends on context:

• “Tap/faucet” – very common meaning in everyday home context:
  
  • maji ya mfereji = tap water
• “Pipe” – a water pipe or piping:
  
  • mfereji wa maji can refer to plumbing pipes
• “Canal / irrigation ditch / trench” – in agricultural or outdoor contexts

In the sentence Maji kutoka kwenye mfereji yanachujwa…, the most natural reading in many everyday contexts is “water from the tap” or “water from the pipe,” but “water from the water channel” is also possible depending on the setting.

What tense/aspect is hayajanywewa, and how is this form built?

Hayajanywewa is the negative perfect (often “not yet” sense) in the passive voice, agreeing with maji (class 6).

Breakdown:

• ha- = negative marker
• -ya- = subject prefix for class 6 (maji)
• -ja- = “have not yet” (negative perfect aspect)
• -nyw- = verb root from kunywa (“to drink”)
• -ew- = passive suffix (from kunywa → kunywewa, “to be drunk”)
• -a = final vowel

Literal sense: “they (the waters) have not yet been drunk.”

In the sentence, linked with kabla, it functions as “before they have been drunk / before being drunk.”

Why is the verb in the “before” clause negative (hayajanywewa) instead of positive (yamenywewa or yananywewa)?

Swahili commonly uses kabla (“before”) together with a negative perfect verb (ha-…-ja-…) to express “before [something happens].”

So:

• kabla hayajanywewa
  = literally “before they have not yet been drunk”
  = idiomatically “before they are (ever) drunk / before being drunk”

Using a positive form after kabla, like:

• kabla yamenywewa (“before they have been drunk”)

is unusual and sounds off, because kabla is normally followed by the state of not yet having happened. The combination kabla + ha-…-ja-… is a well‑established pattern:

• kabla hajaondoka – before he/she (has) left
• kabla hatujaanza – before we (have) started

So kabla hayajanywewa fits this same pattern.

Could the sentence also be Maji kutoka kwenye mfereji yanachujwa kabla ya kunywewa? If so, what’s the difference?

Yes, Maji kutoka kwenye mfereji yanachujwa kabla ya kunywewa is also correct and natural.

Difference in structure:

1. kabla hayajanywewa

   • kabla followed by a finite clause (with subject agreement and tense):
     
     • haya- (class‑6 subject) + -ja- (have not yet) + -nywewa (be drunk)
   • Emphasises “before they have (even) been drunk.”

2. kabla ya kunywewa

   • kabla ya followed by an infinitive (kunywewa = “to be drunk / being drunk”).
   • More literally: “before (the) being‑drunk,” i.e. “before being drunk.”

They mean essentially the same thing here. The version with hayajanywewa makes the agreement with maji explicit and uses the very typical “before (it) has not yet happened” structure. The kabla ya kunywewa version is a bit more compact.

Why does kunywa become kunywewa in the passive?

The verb kunywa (“to drink”) has an irregular‑looking passive form, but it follows a common pattern for verbs ending in -wa.

• Active: kunywa – to drink
• Passive: kunywewa – to be drunk (i.e. to be consumed as a liquid)

Pattern:

• Insert -e- before -wa, and the passive suffix -w- becomes -ew-.
• So nyw + w + a → nyw + ew + a = nywewa

That’s why in hayajanywewa, you see nywew instead of nyw.

Is yanachujwa talking about something happening right now or a general fact?

The -na- tense (yanachujwa) usually covers:

• Present progressive: “is being filtered (now)”
• Present habitual/general: “is (always/usually) filtered”

Without extra context, yanachujwa here will often be understood as a general process or regular practice:

• “Water from the tap is filtered before it is drunk” (general fact / normal procedure).

If you needed to be very explicit about an ongoing action right now, you might add time expressions like sasa (“now”) or kwa sasa (“for now”), but yanachujwa alone is flexible enough to cover both “is being filtered” and “is filtered (as a rule).”