Sanduku lenye barua muhimu liko mezani.

to be

Breakdown of Sanduku lenye barua muhimu liko mezani.

• barua: the letter
• meza: the table
• muhimu: important

Questions & Answers about Sanduku lenye barua muhimu liko mezani.

What does lenye mean in this sentence?

Lenye means something like that has, containing, or with.

In sanduku lenye barua muhimu, it links sanduku (box) to barua muhimu (important letters) and gives the idea:

the box that has important letters
or more naturally in English, the box with important letters

It comes from -enye, a form often used to mean having or with, plus noun-class agreement.

Why is it lenye and not just na?

You can often use na for with, but lenye is more specifically tied to the noun and means which has or that contains.

So:

• sanduku na barua muhimu = a box with important letters
• sanduku lenye barua muhimu = a box that has important letters

The second version is a little more descriptive and grammatical in the sense of a relative construction. It is very natural when you are identifying or describing the noun.

Why do both lenye and liko start with li-?

Because sanduku belongs to noun class 5 in the singular, and class 5 uses the agreement prefix .