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- "Mngalikunywa bia mngalilewa"
"Mngalikunywa bia mngalilewa"
Translation:If you had drunk beer, you would have gotten drunk
6 Comments
If you had drunk beer, you would have gotten drunk
The second part of this sentence indicates a second action, which doesn't make good sense here. As in, once he starts drinking, he normally goes on get really plastered.
Is message in the Swahili sentence that beer intoxicates the person spoken to? If so, "If you'd drunk beer you'd have been tipsy" would have been a good translation (and stylistically responsible).
You're thinking too much about it. There are sentences like "If they had not drunk juice, they would not have been happy" and "If she didn't drink water, she would not get tired." The sentences were obviously made up by someone who was very pressed for time.
"As in, once he starts drinking" ... m- means it's plural. There's no "he" who is being addressed. It's "they".
And maybe the people mentioned in this sentence had decided not to buy beer and had been drinking soft drink all night. Then it would make sense to say to them that if they had drunk beer, they would have gotten drunk.
Interesting how "bia" and "lewa" aren't related while "drink" and "gotten drunk" are in English though It's like how you won't say "The murderer murdered the murdered" in English while such a sentence might sound less weird in another language...
If you check the underlined phase it actually says you would have been drunk....but my answer not accepted!!
