Ardhi hii ni kavu.

to be

Breakdown of Ardhi hii ni kavu.

• hii: this
• kavu: dry
• ardhi: the land; ground

Questions & Answers about Ardhi hii ni kavu.

Why does hii come after ardhi instead of before it?

In normal Swahili word order, the noun usually comes first, and words like this, that, and most adjectives come after it.

So:

ardhi hii = this land / this ground

Literally, it is closer to land this than to English this land.

For a learner, the safest pattern is:

noun + demonstrative

Examples:

• mtu huyu = this person
• kitabu hiki = this book
• ardhi hii = this land

Why is the word hii used here? Why not huu or huyu?

Because Swahili demonstratives must agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

Ardhi belongs to noun class 9/10, so the correct this form is hii.

Useful forms for this class are:

• hii = this
• hiyo = that
• hizi = these

So:

• ardhi hii = this land
• ardhi hiyo = that land
• ardhi hizi = these lands / these areas of land

You cannot use huu or huyu here, because those belong to different noun classes.