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- "This is the farm that we cul…
"This is the farm that we cultivated last year!"
Translation:Hili ndilo shamba tulililima mwaka uliopita!
14 Comments
Perhaps the exclamation point is intended as a hint to use "ndilo". [??] My issue is with the "tulililima" -- I get that an "object" infix is being used for emphasis, but what about the relative construction? The "that" in this context implies a relative infix is probably needed. Hili ndilo shamba tulilolima mwaka uliopita. You could even have "tulilolilima" -- both relative and object infix.
So why must the correct answer have 3 -li syllables instead of 2, as in "hili ndilo shamba tu-li-li-li-ma..." and not "hili ndilo shamba tulilima..." I know the 1st -li is a past tense marker and the 2nd -li is a the marker for shamba which is in li/ya noun class. But I don't get what the 3rd -li represents. Any ideas, please?
The third -li- just happens to be the first syllable of the verb -lima, to cultivate, etc. Use a different verb that still makes sense in the sentence, maybe -nunua, to buy. That should help. Actually my preferred version of the sentence uses a relative infix rather than an object infix: "Hili ndilo shamba tulilonunua mwaka uliopita." -- "This is (indeed) the farm (that) we bought last year." If you wanted both infixes (which is not required but is still grammatically correct) -- "tulilolinunua"
Compare:
Gari, ninaLInunua - I buy it. Gari, niliLInunua - I bought it.
Shamba, ninaLInunua - I buy it. Shamba, niliLInunua - I bought it.
Shamba, ninaLIlima - I culivate it. Shamba, niliLIlima - I cultvated it.
'LI' is the direct object, not 'LO,' this latter not detachable from 'ndilo';
thus,
[ni li] - [li] - [lima]:
[past, 'I did'] - [direct object, 'it'] -
[verb, 'cultivate'],
nilililima.