Ooooops. I cheated you. I added one word to the exercises, which I hadn't explained in the lesson...
Samahani. (Sorry / Excuse me)
Asante. (Thank you.)
Sisi ni rafiki tena ? (Are we friends again ?)
Asante sana. (Thank you very much.)
Let me explain to you now:
'Je' is a question particle which remains untranslated in English. It introduces a Yes/No question and is optional. It is at the very beginning of the sentence and therefore makes clear that what follows is a question, not a statement.
Ok. That's done. Let's go on...
I still owe you some personal pronouns...
| yeye | he/she |
| ninyi | you (pl) |
Yeye ni mvuvi. - He is a fisherman.
Yeye ni mwanamke. - She is a woman.
Je ninyi ni wavuvi? - Are you (pl) fishermen?
The possessive pronouns are:
| Personal pronouns | Possessive pronouns | M/Wa class | N/N class sg | N/N class pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yeye - he/ she | -ake - his /her | wake | yake | zake |
| ninyi - you(pl) | -enu - your | wenu | yenu | zenu |
Mvuvi na samaki wake - The fisherman and his fish(es)* *fishes are taking M/Wa possessives as you should know by now.
Samaki wako na samaki wake - your fish and his fish
Baba yake ni mkali. - His father is severe.
Dada zake ni wazuri. - His (her) sisters are beautiful.
Mbwa wenu ni mkubwa. - Your (pl) dog is big.
Ninyi na mbwa wenu na paka wenu - You (pl) and your dog(s) and your cat(s)
So let's have one table showing it all:
| Personal pronouns | Possessive pronouns | M/Wa class | N/N class sg | N/N class pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mimi - I | -angu - my | wangu | yangu | zangu |
| wewe - you (sg) | -ako - your | wako | yako | zako |
| yeye - he/ she | -ake - his /her | wake | yake | zake |
| sisi - we | -etu - our | wetu | yetu | zetu |
| ninyi - you (pl) | -enu - your | wenu | yenu | zenu |
| wao - they | -ao - their | wao | yao | zao |
zaidi following an adjective means more (comparative)
mkubwa zaidi - bigger
kuliko - than
mkubwa zaidi kuliko - bigger than
mzuri zaidi kuliko - better than / nicer than
mdogo zaidi kuliko - smaller than
Mambo wangu ni wakubwa zaidi kuliko wako. - My crocodiles are bigger than yours.*
*How do we know that there are crocodileS and not just one for each of us? Wangu and Wake don't tell us anything about the number, but there is Wakubwa in the sentence which is definitely plural. Had we each only one crocodile it should be Mkubwa.
Rafiki yangu ni mzuri zaidi kuliko wako. - My friend is nicer than yours.
Mpishi wao ni mzuri zaidi kuliko wetu. - Their cook is better than ours.
Mkulima ni mrefu zaidi kuliko mvuvi. - The farmer is taller than the fisherman.