Mtoto anapendwa na wazazi wake.

The child is loved by his/her parents.

Breakdown of Mtoto anapendwa na wazazi wake.

• mtoto: the child
• mzazi: the parent
• na: by
• wake: his/her
• kupendwa: to be loved

Questions & Answers about Mtoto anapendwa na wazazi wake.

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

Anapendwa means “is loved” or “is being loved.”

It’s built from the verb kupenda (to love) like this:

• a- = subject prefix for mtoto (class 1, “he/she/it”)
• -na- = present tense marker (“is / is being / does”)
• -pend- = verb root “love”
• -w- = passive ending (“be …-ed”)
• -a = final vowel

So: a + na + pend + w + a → anapendwa = “he/she is loved.”

Why is it anapendwa and not anapenda?

• Anapenda = “he/she loves” (active: the child is doing the loving).
• Anapendwa = “he/she is loved” (passive: the child receives the love).

In the sentence Mtoto anapendwa na wazazi wake, the focus is on the child as the one who is loved, not on the parents as the ones who love. Hence the passive anapendwa.

How can I recognize that this verb is in the passive?

The passive in Swahili is usually formed by adding -w- (or a related consonant) before the final -a of the verb:

• kupenda → kupendwa (to be loved)
• kuona → kuonwa (to be seen)
• kuandika → kuandikwa (to be written)

In anapendwa, the -w- before the final -a shows it’s passive: “is loved.”

What tense/aspect is anapendwa? Does it mean “is loved” or “is being loved”?

The -na- marker generally indicates a present tense, with a slightly ongoing or general sense. It can be translated in a few natural ways:

• “The child is loved by his/her parents.” (a general truth)
• “The child is being loved by his/her parents.” (focus on now)

English forces you to choose between “is loved” and “is being loved,” but anapendwa can cover both, depending on context.

Why is there no separate word for “is” in “is loved”?

Swahili normally builds “is/are” into the verb instead of using a separate word like English is.

• The combination of subject prefix + tense marker + verb usually covers “is/are”:
  • Mtoto anapendwa = “The child is loved.”
  • Mtoto alipendwa = “The child was loved.”
  • Mtoto atapendwa = “The child will be loved.”

So you don’t add another word for “is”; you choose the right tense marker (-na-, -li-, -ta-, etc.) inside the verb.

What does na mean in this sentence?

Na has several common meanings in Swahili, including “and,” “with,” and “by.”

In a passive sentence like this, na introduces the agent (the doer of the action):

• Mtoto anapendwa na wazazi wake.
  = “The child is loved by his/her parents.”

So here na means “by” the parents.

How would I say the same idea in active voice instead of passive?

An active version would be:

• Wazazi wake wanampenda mtoto.
  Literally: “His/her parents they-love-him/her (the) child.”

More natural English: “His/her parents love the child.”

Breakdown of wanampenda:

• wa- = subject prefix for wazazi (they)
• -na- = present
• -m- = object marker “him/her” (referring to the child)
• -pend- + -a = love

You could also just say Wazazi wake wanampenda, because the object marker -m- already shows who is being loved.

Why is it wazazi wake and not wake wazazi?

In Swahili, a possessive word like wake normally follows the noun it describes:

• mtoto wake = his/her child
• rafiki yangu = my friend
• kitabu chako = your book
• wazazi wake = his/her parents

So wazazi wake is the normal order. Wake wazazi would be ungrammatical in this context.

What exactly does wake mean here? Is it “his” or “her”?

Wake means “his” or “her”—it does not mark gender.

Swahili third person singular pronouns don’t distinguish gender:

• mtoto wake = his child / her child
• wazazi wake = his parents / her parents

Only the context would tell you whether the child is a boy or a girl.

Why is it wazazi wake and not wazazi yake?

The form of the possessive (-angu, -ako, -ake, -etu, -enu, -ao) changes according to the noun class of the thing owned, not the owner.

Some examples:

• mtoto wake (class 1) – his/her child
• wazazi wake (class 2) – his/her parents
• kitabu chake (class 7) – his/her book
• vitabu vyake (class 8) – his/her books

Wazazi is a class 2 noun (plural of mzazi), and class 2 uses the wa- agreement for the possessive, so we get wa + -ke → wake.

Ya- would belong to other noun classes, so wazazi yake would be incorrect.

Could I leave out wake and just say Mtoto anapendwa na wazazi?

Yes, grammatically you can say:

• Mtoto anapendwa na wazazi.
  = “The child is loved by (the) parents.”

However, the meaning shifts slightly:

• na wazazi sounds more like “by parents (in general)” or “by the parents” in some known context.
• na wazazi wake clearly means “by his/her parents.”

So if you specifically mean the child’s own parents, it’s better to keep wake.

How would I say “The children are loved by their parents” using the same pattern?

Make both subject and possessive plural:

• Watoto wanapendwa na wazazi wao.
  = “The children are loved by their parents.”

Breakdown:

• Watoto = children (class 2)
• wa- + -na- + -pendw- + -a → wanapendwa = they are loved
• wazazi = parents
• wao = their (agreeing with wazazi, class 2 possessive “their”)

So: Watoto wanapendwa na wazazi wao.

How do I make this sentence negative: “The child is not loved by his/her parents”?

Use the negative marker and change the final vowel:

• Mtoto hapendwi na wazazi wake.
  = “The child is not loved by his/her parents.”

Changes compared to anapendwa:

• a- → ha- (negative subject prefix for “he/she”)
• The -na- present marker disappears in this common negative pattern.
• Final -a → -i: pendwa → pendwi.

So: hapendwi = “is not loved.”