Chapter 21 - Interrogative Words

When asking a question in Swahili, we don't use any auxiliary verb, or invert the position of the subject and the auxiliary, as is often practiced in English. Since the subject prefix remains attached to the verb root, it is indeed the intonation, and possibly the presence of an interrogative word in the sentence that signal it is a question.

The interrogative word is usually located before or after the verb.

 PRINCIPAL INTERROGATIVE WORDS : 

1. NANI ? = Who ?

   
   

   - Mtoto huyu (ni) nani ?	Who is this child ?
   - Nani huyo ?	Who is he / she ?
   - Jina lako nani ?	What's your name ? (Who your name ? )
   - Nani anataka kitabu hiki ?	Who wants this book ?
   - Umeona nani ?	Who have you seen ?
   - Nani aliyekupiga ?	Who hit you ?

   
   

2. NINI ? = What ?

   
   

   - Unataka nini ?	What do you want ?
   - Nini hii ?	What is it ?
   - Unasema nini ?	What do you say ?
   - Nichukue nini na nini ?	What should I take ?

   
   

3. GANI ? = What ? / What sort ? / What kind ? / Which ?

   
   
   

   - Unataka kitu gani ?	What do you want ?
   - Kuna soda gani ?	What kind of soda is there ?
   - Unafanya kazi gani ?	What sort of work do you do ?
   - Vitunguu kiasi gani ?	How much are the onions ?
   - Mananasi bei gani ?	What price are the pineapples ?
   - Umepata ajali namna gani ?	How have you got an accident ?

   
   

4. WAPI ? = Where ?

   - Wageni wamekwenda wapi ?	Where have the guests gone ?
   - Bwana yuko wapi ?	Where is the master ?

   
   

5. -NGAPI ? = How much ? / How many ?

   -ngapi ? works like an adjective. It is placed after the name and agrees in class with it.

   
   

   Cl 2 - Watu wangapi ?	How many people ?
   Cl 4 - Miaka mingapi ?	How many years ?
   Cl 6 - Machungwa mangapi ?	How many oranges ?
   Cl 8 - Vijiko vingapi ?	How many spoons ?
   Cl 10 - Nyumba ngapi ?	How many houses ?

   EXAMPLES :

   - Wako watu wangapi Zanzibar ?	How many people in Zanzibar ?
   - Kikapu hiki shilingi ngapi ?	How much is this basket ?
   - Basi linaondoka saa ngapi ?	What time does the bus leave ?
   - Umekwenda Lamu mara ngapi ?	How often have you been to Lamu ?

   
   

6. LINI ? = When ?

   
   

   - Utarudi lini ?	When will you come back ?
   - Tangu lini umekuwa mgonjwa ?	Since when have you been ill ?
   - Mvua itakwisha lini ?	When will the rain stop ?
   - Lini watakwenda Mombasa ?	When will they go to Mombasa ?

   
   

7. JE ? or -JE ? affixed to the verb = What ? / How ?

   
   

   - Je, unakwenda Nairobi leo ?	I say, are you going to Nairobi today ?
   - Je kazi imekwisha ?	Eh ! Is work finished ?
   - Viatu hivi unauzaje ?	How much do you sell these shoes ?
   - Unasemaje ?	What do you say ?
   - Tufanyeje ?	What should we do ?
   - Nakwenda sokoni. Wewe je ?	I'm going to the market. What about you ?

   
   

8. -PI ? = Which one / Which ones ?

   -pi ? works like a pronoun. It can be used by itself or after a noun with which it agrees, taking pronominal prefixes of agreement.

   
   

   Cl 1 - Mtu yupi ?	Which person ?
   Cl 2 - Watu wapi ?	Which people ?
   Cl 3 - Mti upi ?	Which tree ?
   Cl 4 - Miti ipi ?	Which trees ?
   Cl 5 - Tunda lipi ?	Which fruit ?
   Cl 6 - Matunda yapi ?	Which fruits ?
   Cl 7 - Kitu kipi ?	Which thing ?
   Cl 8 - Vitu vipi ?	Which things ?
   Cl 9 - Nguo ipi ?	Which cloth ?
   Cl 10 - Nguo zipi ?	Which clothes ?
   Cl 11 - Usiku upi ?	Which night ?

   EXAMPLES :

   - Tushike njia ipi ?	Which way should we take ?
   - Umeleta ipi ?	Which one have you brought ?
   - Unataka zipi ?	Which ones do you want ?
   - Utafanya vipi ?	How will you do ?

   
   

9. KWA NINI ? = Why ?

   
   

   - Kwa nini unachelewa kila siku ?	Why are you late every day ?
   - Kwa nini unataka kazi ?	Why do you want a job ?
   - Kwa nini hakuna sukari ?	Why is there no sugar ?

   
   

10. KWA SABABU GANI ? = For what reason ?

    
    

    - Kwa sababu gani unachelewa kila siku ?

    For what reason are you late every day ?

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

EXERCISE 1 : Translate into Swahili :

1. Who is that man ?
2. Whose are these clothes ?
3. Who threw this stone ?
4. What do you sell ?
5. How much do you sell these oranges ?
6. What kind of animal is it ?
7. What kind of fruit is it ?
8. What wages do you want ?
9. How many day laborers do you need ?
10. How many luggages are there at home ?
11. What's your name ?
12. What sort of meat is there at the market ?
13. How many fruit have you bought ?
14. Where do these vegetables come from ?
15. How many eggs should I buy ?

EXERCISE 2 : Translate into English :

1. Mwalimu yuko wapi ? - Yuko nyumbani.
2. Watoto wako wapi ? - Wako shuleni.
3. Kuna wanyama gani Serengeti ?
4. Unafanya nini shambani ?
5. Nitawezaje kubeba mzigo huu ?
6. Wamefika Nairobi lini ?
7. Kisu changu kipya kiko wapi ?
8. Kwa nini umepika kuku na mboga tena ?
9. Je, umesoma kitabu hiki ?
10. Jina lako nani ? - Jina langu Idi Kibogoyo.
11. Mkutano unaanza saa ngapi ?
12. Watoto wangapi wamekosa kuja shuleni leo ?
13. Kwa nini unachelewa kazini kila siku ?
14. Unasemaje ? - Sina la kusema.
15. Chai iko wapi ? - Iko mezani.