Gharama zisizo za lazima zimepungua.

to decrease

Breakdown of Gharama zisizo za lazima zimepungua.

• gharama zisizo za lazima: the non-essential expenses

Questions & Answers about Gharama zisizo za lazima zimepungua.

What does each part of Gharama zisizo za lazima zimepungua do in the sentence?

Here is a simple breakdown:

• Gharama = costs / expenses
• zisizo za lazima = that are not necessary / unnecessary
• zimepungua = have decreased / have gone down

So the structure is basically:

• noun
  • modifier
    • verb

A very literal reading is:

• Costs that are not necessary have decreased.

More natural English is:

• Unnecessary costs have decreased.

Why is gharama followed by zisizo?

Because zisizo has to agree with the noun gharama.

In Swahili, words that describe or connect to a noun often change form depending on the noun class. Gharama belongs to the N class and here it is being treated as plural (class 10), so the relative form is zisizo.

So:

• gharama ... zisizo ... = costs ... which are not ...

If the agreement were different, the form would change too.

Is gharama singular or plural here?