Waa la... - passive form

In Somali, to say ‘It’s been eaten/taken/washed’ etc. you use the phrase ‘Waa la….’ And add the past tense of the verb. For example,

Waa la + cunay – It was eaten/It’s been eaten

Waa la + cabbay - It was drunk
Waa la + xadey - It was stolen
Waa la + qaadey - It was taken
Waa la + dhisey - It was built
Waa la + baa'biiyey - It was destroyed
Waa la + sameeyey - It was made

Person A:Keegayga waa xaggee?! – Where’s my cake?

Person B:Waa la cunay – It was eaten.

Person A:Yaa cunay?!  - Who ate it?!

Person B: Waxa weeye… - Well, you know…

We can combine this phrase with the present habitual form that we covered recently,

Waa la + cunaa – It is eaten
Waa la + cabbaa - It is drunk
Waa la + sameeyaa - It is made
Waa la + kariyaa - It is cooked

Kaluun ma lagu cunaa dalka Japan - Is fish eaten in Japan? 

 Haa, waa lagu cunaa - Yes it is eaten there.

Why did we use put 'gu' next to 'la'? 'Gu' is actually 'ku'; it  means 'in'. But when you put it next to 'la', the sound changes to 'gu'.

To say the opposite, ‘it is not eaten’ is ‘Lama cuno’

Mey, kaluun laguma cuno dalka Japan

- No, fish is not eaten in Japan.