Tunapenda mkate uliokatwa jana.

We like the bread that was cut yesterday.

Breakdown of Tunapenda mkate uliokatwa jana.

• sisi: we
• kupenda: to like
• jana: yesterday
• mkate: the bread
• uliokatwa: that was cut

Questions & Answers about Tunapenda mkate uliokatwa jana.

In tunapenda, what do the parts tu- and -na- mean?

Tunapenda is made of three main parts:

• tu- = subject prefix for “we” (1st person plural)
• -na- = present tense marker (present / habitual / progressive)
• penda = verb root meaning “to like / to love”

So tunapenda literally means “we (are) like/love”, i.e. “we like / we love.”

If -na- is a present/continuous marker, why don’t we translate tunapenda as “we are liking”?

In Swahili, -na- covers several uses of the English present:

• present continuous: tunakula = “we are eating”
• present habitual: tunafanya kazi = “we (usually) work”
• with certain verbs (like penda, “to like/love”), it just gives a simple present sense.

English simply doesn’t use the progressive with “like” (“we are liking” is wrong in normal English), so we translate tunapenda as “we like / we love”, even though the Swahili form uses -na-.

What exactly does uliokatwa mean, and how is it built?

Uliokatwa means roughly “which was cut” / “that was cut” and it works as a relative verb describing mkate (“bread”).

It can be broken down as:

• u- = subject prefix for the noun class of mkate
• -li- = past tense marker (“was”)
• -o- = relative marker (“which/that”)
• katw- = passive stem of kata (“to cut”)
• -a = final vowel of the verb

So u-li-o-katw-a → uliokatwa = “which was cut.”

Put together:
mkate uliokatwa jana = “the bread that was cut yesterday.”

Why does uliokatwa start with u-? How does it agree with mkate?

Swahili verbs agree with the noun class of their subject.

• mkate (bread) belongs to a noun class that takes u- as its subject prefix in the singular.
  
  • singular: mkate → subject prefix u-
  • plural: mikate → subject prefix i-

Because uliokatwa is a relative verb describing mkate, it must use the same subject prefix that would be used if mkate were the subject of an ordinary verb:

• Mkate ulikatwa = “The bread was cut.”
  → Relative form: mkate uliokatwa = “the bread that was cut”

So u- here is agreement with mkate.

Why is it katwa (passive) in uliokatwa, and not kata (active)?

• kata = “to cut” (active)
• katwa = “to be cut” (passive)

The idea in English is “bread that was cut”, not “bread that cut” something.
The bread is the thing being cut, not the cutter.

So we need the passive form:

• mkate uliokatwa = “bread that was cut”
• If we tried mkate uliokata, it would mean “bread that cut (something),” which doesn’t fit the intended meaning.

Could we say mkate ambao ulikatwa jana instead of mkate uliokatwa jana? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

• mkate uliokatwa jana
• mkate ambao ulikatwa jana

Both mean “the bread that was cut yesterday.”

Differences:

• mkate uliokatwa jana uses the built‑in relative marker -o- inside the verb (uliokatwa).
• mkate ambao ulikatwa jana uses the separate relative pronoun ambao
  • a normal verb (ulikatwa).

In many everyday situations, they’re both acceptable. The -o- form (uliokatwa) is very typical, especially in spoken Swahili and in more concise styles. Ambayo / ambao / etc. can sometimes feel a bit more explicit or slightly more formal, but it’s widely used in speech too.

For this sentence, either form is fine and natural.

Is uliokatwa one word or two words? Could I write ulio katwa?

In standard Swahili spelling, you write it as one word:

• ✅ uliokatwa

You should not split it into two like this:

• ❌ ulio katwa

The reason: u-li-o-katw-a is one verb complex (prefixes + tense + relative marker + root + ending), and Swahili writes this whole verb complex as a single word.

Where can jana go in the sentence? Can I say Jana tunapenda mkate uliokatwa or Tunapenda jana mkate uliokatwa?

In the original sentence:

• Tunapenda mkate uliokatwa jana.
  → “We like the bread that was cut yesterday.”

Here, jana clearly refers to when the bread was cut, because it’s right after uliokatwa.

If you move jana, the meaning can change:

1. Jana tulipenda mkate uliokatwa.

   • “Yesterday, we liked the cut bread.”
   • Here jana modifies tulipenda (“we liked”), not the cutting.
   • Note we usually also change the tense to past: tulipenda, not tunapenda.

2. Tunapenda mkate uliokatwa jana.

   • Time word next to uliokatwa → “bread that was cut yesterday.”

3. Tunapenda jana mkate uliokatwa.

   • This sounds unnatural and confusing in Swahili.

Practical rule:

• If you want “that was cut yesterday,” keep jana close to the verb uliokatwa.
• If you want “yesterday we liked …”, put jana near the main verb (Jana tulipenda …).

How would the sentence change if we talked about loaves of bread (plural) instead of just one loaf?

Singular:

• Tunapenda mkate uliokatwa jana.
  → “We like the bread that was cut yesterday.”

Plural (mkate → mikate):

• Tunapenda mikate iliyokatwa jana.
  → “We like the loaves (of bread) that were cut yesterday.”

Changes:

• mkate → mikate (singular → plural)
• uliokatwa → iliyokatwa
  
  • u- (singular agreement) → i- (plural agreement for mikate)
  • rest of the structure stays the same: -li- (past) + -o- (relative) + katwa (passive root)

Could we also say Tunaupenda mkate uliokatwa jana? What does the -u- in tunaupenda do?

Yes, you can say:

• Tunapenda mkate uliokatwa jana.
• Tunaupenda mkate uliokatwa jana.

The difference is the object marker:

• tunapenda = “we like …”
• tunaupenda = tu- (we) + -na- (present) + -u- (object “it” for mkate) + penda
  → literally: “we it-like,” i.e. “we like it, the bread that was cut yesterday.”

Using the object marker -u-:

• makes the object more specific / definite / already known in the context.
• is very common when the thing has already been mentioned or is clearly identifiable.

Both sentences are grammatical; tunaupenda just places a bit more focus on that bread as a known or specific thing.