STRUCTURING YOUR SENTENCES AND SEQUENCING YOUR WORDS CORRECTLY

Why It Matters

When learning a new language, one of the initial goals for most learners is to reach a point where they can construct grammatically correct and logically meaningful sentences. Essentially, they want to gauge their progress by being able to express themselves coherently in the language they are learning. To achieve this, they must take individual words and piece them together to form well-structured and grammatically accurate sentences that are comprehensible not only to themselves but also to others who speak the language. When language learners attain this capability, their confidence soars, motivating them to persevere in their language learning journey.

The Significance of Conjugation Rules

Have you ever said something in your target language that raised eyebrows or elicited laughter from your audience, unintentionally? If it wasn't a deliberate joke, it's likely because you either used the wrong words or employed correct words with faulty grammar. To create basic, meaningful sentences that won't provoke laughter from native speakers, learners must understand how to conjugate verbs, at least in the three main tenses: simple present, simple past, and simple future. Conjugating verbs involves matching them correctly with the subjects or objects performing or receiving the actions described in a sentence, in their respective tenses. This holds true for all languages, including your native one, and Swahili is no exception.

I hope that, as you read this, you are already familiar with how Swahili verbs are conjugated in various tenses. If not, I strongly recommend that you first learn and practice verb conjugation in different tenses, with various pronouns and individuals, in Swahili, before delving into this guide, which instructs you on organizing words in your Swahili sentences.

Building Comprehensive Sentences: What to Include in Your Sentences

Suppose you've just expressed an action that you or someone else is performing, such as "I like," which translates to "ninapenda" in Swahili. In that case, you can add more details or information to your sentence to make it comprehensive, without leaving your audience with unanswered questions like "what do you like?" or "when do you like it?"

To complete your sentence, you can include the following information or details:

1. Add Activities (Ku-Verb)

Add activities or verbs always beginning with "KU," such as "kupika" (cooking, to cook), "kulala" (sleeping, to sleep), "kusoma" (reading, to read), and more to expand your sentences.

For example:

• Ninapenda kupika (I like cooking).

• Wewe na rafiki yako mnaenda kulala (You and your friend are going to sleep).

• Anataka kusoma (She wants to read).

2. Include Nouns

Add names or nouns like "nyumba" (house), "kahawa" (coffee), "gari" (car), and more. For example:

• Ninataka nyumba (I want a house).

• Chatenga anapenda kahawa (Chatenga likes coffee).

• Chausiku na Mkude wanaendesha gari (Chausiku and Mkude drive a car).

3. Incorporate Adverbs

Add adverbs like "nyumbani" (at home, in the house), "leo" (today), "vizuri" (well), "kila siku" (every day), "sana" (very much, a lot), and more.                                                                   For example:

• Ninaenda leo (I am going today).

• Tunalala vizuri nyumbani (We sleep well at home).

• Kila siku, wanasoma sana (Every day, they read a lot).

     4. Use Adjectives

Add adjectives like "maarufu" (popular, famous), "muhimu" (important), "maskini" (poor), "ghali" (expensive), "bora" (better, best), and more. It's important to note that some Swahili adjectives can have different forms for different noun classes and should always be placed after the nouns they describe, unlike in English, where adjectives are typically fixed and precede nouns.

For example:

• Ninakula chakula maarufu (I am eating a popular dish/food).

• Unataka kitu bora (You want a better thing or something better).

• Wao ni watu muhimu (They are important people).

• Mnapenda nyumba ghali sana (You guys like very expensive houses).

     5. Combine Multiple Elements: A combination of any or all of the above.

You can add more than one piece of information to your sentence, creating a combination of any or all of the elements mentioned above, such as an activity (ku-verb) followed by a noun, adjective, adverb, or anything else.                                                             For example:

• Ninaenda nyumbani leo (I am going home or to the house today).

• Kila siku, wanataka kula chakula ghali sana (Every day, they want to eat very expensive food).

• Mzee Jungukuu anapenda kupika chakula maarufu sana nyumbani kwake (Elder Jungukuu likes to cook very popular food in his house).

Sequencing Your Words in Sentences

Now that you understand what elements can be included in your sentences, it's time to learn how to arrange your words to create grammatical, meaningful, and logically structured sentences. Here's how to sequence your words for this purpose:

1. You can begin your sentence by stating the name of the doer or the pronoun, followed by what they are doing. For example:

• Mangi anauza (Mangi sells).

• Ninasoma (I read or I study).

• Wewe na wao mnakutana (You and they meet [each other]).

2. Alternatively, you can start your sentences with adverbs of place, time, or frequency, and then describe the action performed, matching it with the subject or object. Adverbs are versatile in sentences, and they can be positioned at the beginning (especially adverbs of place, time, and frequency), in the middle, or at the end of a sentence.

• Nyumbani, wageni wametembelea (At home, visitors have visited).

• Leo ninalala (Today I am sleeping).

• Kila siku, tunaongea (Every day, we speak).

3. Next, add other information in the following order or sequence (omit or skip any elements that are not relevant to the information you wish to convey):

• Conjugated verb (you can also begin your sentence with an adverb)

• Activity or Ku-Verb

• Noun

• Adjective

• Adverb

• Any other pertinent information

In most cases, the word sequence in Swahili sentences is similar to English:

For example:

1. Ninapenda (conjugated verb).

2. Ninapenda kusoma (conj. verb + ku-verb (activity)).

3. Ninapenda vitabu (conj. verb + noun).

4. Ninapenda kusoma vitabu (conj. verb + ku-verb + noun).

5. Ninapenda sana (conj. verb + adverb of degree).

6. Ninapenda sana kusoma au ninapenda kusoma sana (conj. verb + adverb of degree + ku-verb) or (conj. verb + ku-verb + adverb of degree).

7. Ninapenda sana kusoma vitabu au ninapenda kusoma vitabu sana (conj. verb + adverb of degree + ku-verb + noun) or (conj. verb + ku-verb + noun + adverb of degree).

8. Ninapenda sana kusoma vitabu nyumbani (conj. verb + adverb of degree + ku-verb + noun + adverb of place).

9. Ninapenda sana kusoma vitabu nyumbani kila siku (conj. verb + adverb of degree + ku-verb + noun + adverb of place + adverb of frequency).

10. Kila siku, ninapenda sana kusoma vitabu nyumbani (adverb of frequency + conj. verb + adverb of degree + ku-verb + noun + adverb of place).

Now, your task is to learn as many verbs as possible and understand how to conjugate them. Following that, learn nouns, adverbs, and invariable adjectives. Practice creating sentences to hone your skills in sentence structure and word sequencing. With consistent practice, you will make noticeable progress in your Swahili language skills in no time.