Questions & Answers about Historia hii ni ya kale.
Why does hii come after historia instead of before it?
In Swahili, demonstratives like this usually come after the noun.
- historia hii = this history/story
- kitabu hiki = this book
- mtu huyu = this person
So the order noun + demonstrative is normal Swahili word order.
What does ni mean here?
Ni is the copula, the word that means is / are in sentences like this.
It connects the subject to a description:
- Historia hii = the thing being talked about
- ni ya kale = is ancient / is old
A useful point: in this kind of sentence, ni does not change for singular/plural or person.
- Mimi ni mwanafunzi. = I am a student.
- Wao ni wanafunzi. = They are students.
Why is it ya kale instead of just kale?