Breakdown of Rahma alisimama kwa heshima alipomwona mwalimu mkuu.
kwa
with
heshima
respectfully
Rahma
Rahma
kusimama
to stand
Questions & Answers about Rahma alisimama kwa heshima alipomwona mwalimu mkuu.
What does alisimama break down into?
Alisimama can be broken down like this:
- a- = he/she
- -li- = past tense
- simama = stand / stop standing still
So alisimama means he/she stood up or he/she stood.
In this sentence, since the subject is Rahma, it means Rahma stood up.
Why does the verb start with a- if the subject is Rahma?
In Swahili, verbs usually show the subject with a subject prefix. The prefix a- is used for he/she and also for singular nouns in the same agreement class as people.
So even though Rahma is already named, the verb still includes a-:
- Rahma a-li-simama
This is normal in Swahili. Unlike English, the verb commonly repeats information about the subject.
What does kwa heshima mean literally?