Swahili can place a motion verb before a ku- infinitive to present movement toward an intended action: Ninaenda kununua dawa “I am going to buy medicine.” The construction may foreground a literal trip, or the destination can fade into the background while the planned purpose becomes most important. It still cannot replace future -ta- wherever English happens to use “be going to.”
The architecture contains two verb words. The first is finite and carries subject/TAM; the second is an infinitive and names the purpose: ni-na-end-a ku-nunu-a. This pattern is neutral in (informal) and (formal) Standard Swahili.
The forms of kwenda page explains the root-only and retained-kw- variants of the motion verb itself; this page concentrates on what the following infinitive contributes.
Two verbs, two builds
| Phrase | Analytic segmentation | Viewpoint |
|---|---|---|
| ninaenda kununua | ni-na-end-a + ku-nunu-a | I am going to buy |
| ameenda kuchukua | a-me-end-a + ku-chuku-a | he/she has gone to collect |
| tutaenda kuzungumza | tu-ta-end-a + ku-zungumza | we will go to speak |
| walikuja kutusaidia | wa-li-ku-j-a + ku-tu-saidi-a | they came to help us |
| tutarudi kumaliza | tu-ta-rudi + ku-maliz-a | we will return to finish |
| nitapita kukuchukua | ni-ta-pit-a + ku-ku-chuku-a | I will pass by to pick you up |
The plus sign marks a word boundary. Normal spelling is ninaenda kununua, never ninaendakununua. In walikuja, short kuja retains ku- after past -li-; in purpose infinitive kutusaidia, object “us” -tu- follows infinitive ku-.
Ninaenda kununua dawa kabla duka la jirani halijafungwa.
I am going to buy medicine before the neighborhood shop closes.
Finite ni-na-end-a presents current movement or immediate departure. Infinitive ku-nunu-a supplies the purpose and shares the understood subject “I.”
Asha ameenda kuchukua watoto shuleni; atarudi baada ya saa moja.
Asha has gone to collect the children from school; she will return in an hour.
Perfect a-me-end-a foregrounds the result that Asha is away. The planned action is nonfinite ku-chuku-a; the later return is ordinary future a-ta-rudi.
Literal motion plus purpose
The clearest use involves an actual path or destination, whether or not that destination is overt.
Tutaenda hospitalini kumtembelea mjomba wangu Jumamosi.
We will go to the hospital to visit my uncle on Saturday.
Future tu-ta-end-a selects the trip; locative hospitalini names the destination; ku-m-tembele-a names the purpose and indexes the specific human visitor target.
Wanafunzi wanaenda maktabani kutafuta marejeo ya utafiti wao.
The students are going to the library to look for sources for their research.
Present wa-na-end-a describes movement now or a current planned departure. Infinitive ku-tafut-a has no repeated plural-human subject marker.
Walikuja kutusaidia kuhamisha samani baada ya mafuriko.
They came to help us move the furniture after the floods.
The finite arrival is wa-li-ku-j-a. Purpose ku-tu-saidi-a contains object “us,” and its own infinitive complement ku-hamish-a names the helped action. Swahili can chain compatible infinitives without rebuilding English “in order to” at every boundary.
Motion verbs beyond kwenda contribute their lexical direction:
- kuja kufanya — come to do;
- kurudi kumaliza — return to finish;
- kupita kumwona mtu — pass by to see someone;
- kuondoka kwenda kufanya — leave to go and do, when both departure and onward motion matter.
Nitarudi kesho kumaliza ukarabati wa mlango wa nyuma.
I will return tomorrow to finish repairing the back door.
Borrowed kurudi retains lexical final -i in ni-ta-rudi. The purpose remains separate ku-maliz-a.
Nitapita ofisini kukuchukua saa kumi na moja jioni.
I will stop by the office to pick you up at five in the evening.
In ku-ku-chuku-a, the first ku- marks the infinitive and the second is singular object “you.” Repetition of the syllable reflects two adjacent slots.
When planned action outweighs the journey
In suitable context, kwenda + infinitive can foreground an imminent plan even when the route is unimportant. The construction is moving toward an intention-like reading, but it remains most natural where departure, transition, or undertaking can still be understood.
Ngoja kidogo, ninaenda kumpigia meneja kuhusu tatizo hili.
Wait a moment, I am going to call the manager about this problem.
The speaker may be about to step aside, pick up a phone, or simply undertake the call. Ni-na-end-a frames an immediate transition into ku-m-pig-i-a. A neutral statement about a later call would more simply use nitampigia.
Baada ya mapumziko, tunaenda kujadili bajeti ya mwaka ujao.
After the break, we are going to discuss next year's budget.
This can describe the group's movement into the next agenda activity. In a (formal) agenda, tutajadili “we will discuss” is often more concise because it states the future event without construing a transition toward it.
Not every English “going to” contains motion
English “going to” has grammaticalized into a general future and prediction marker. Standard Swahili does not copy that auxiliary word for word.
Mawingu ni mazito; mvua itanyesha hivi karibuni.
The clouds are heavy; it is going to rain soon.
Class 9 future i-ta-nyesh-a is the safest broadly neutral prediction. Mvua inaenda kunyesha is also heard in contemporary (informal) Swahili, but it is more colloquial and is not automatically required whenever English uses “going to.”
Bei zitaongezeka mwezi ujao kulingana na taarifa ya kampuni.
Prices are going to increase next month according to the company's announcement.
Class 10 zi-ta-ongezek-a expresses projected change. No participant is literally going somewhere to increase.
For inference from visible evidence, expressions such as inaelekea... “it appears/is heading toward...” may be useful, but they have their own lexical syntax. They are not an automatic translation of English “going to.”
Comparing intention strategies
| Construction | Core contribution | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ta- future | neutral projection; intention from context | nitanunua dawa |
| kwenda + infinitive | movement or transition toward the planned action | ninaenda kununua dawa |
| kutaka + infinitive | desire/want | nataka kununua dawa |
| kuwa na mpango wa | explicit plan | nina mpango wa kununua dawa |
Nitanunua kompyuta mpya mwezi ujao baada ya kupokea mshahara.
I will buy a new computer next month after receiving my salary.
Ni-ta-nunu-a is enough for a future intention; inserting kwenda would additionally construe a trip or transition.
Nina mpango wa kwenda Zanzibar kufanya utafiti mwezi Julai.
I plan to go to Zanzibar to conduct research in July.
Here nina mpango wa explicitly states a plan, kwenda Zanzibar supplies motion, and ku-fany-a utafiti supplies purpose. The layered meanings are clearer than a one-word equation with English “going to.”
Negation and scope
Negating the finite motion verb denies the journey or the motion-framed plan. Future negative preserves -ta-.
Siendi kununua chakula leo kwa sababu tumebakiza cha kutosha.
I am not going to buy food today because we have enough left.
Present-negative si-end-i denies the planned trip/undertaking; infinitive ku-nunu-a remains affirmative because it names the purpose of the denied motion.
Hawataenda kuzungumza na waandishi wa habari baada ya kikao.
They will not go to speak with journalists after the meeting.
Future-negative hawa-ta-end-a keeps -ta-; purpose ku-zungumza remains outside that finite complex.
Ninaenda sokoni, lakini sitanunua matunda leo.
I am going to the market, but I will not buy fruit today.
This sentence separates actual motion from a negated intended purchase. Putting negation on the first verb would deny the trip as well.
Common Mistakes
Joining the two verb words
❌ Ninaendakununua dawa.
Incorrect spelling — the finite motion verb and infinitive are separate words.
✅ Ninaenda kununua dawa.
I am going to buy medicine.
Giving the purpose verb a second finite subject/TAM frame
❌ Tunaenda tutanunua vifaa sasa.
Wrong for a single motion-purpose construction — the purpose should be an infinitive.
✅ Tunaenda kununua vifaa sasa.
We are going to buy supplies now.
Copying English “going to” automatically into a weather prediction
⚠️ Mvua inaenda kunyesha usiku.
Attested in contemporary informal speech, but not the safest broadly neutral choice for a plain forecast.
✅ Mvua itanyesha usiku.
It is going to rain tonight.
Adding kwa before a purpose infinitive
❌ Asha ameenda dukani kwa kununua mkate.
Incorrect for the neutral purpose construction — the infinitive follows directly.
✅ Asha ameenda dukani kununua mkate.
Asha has gone to the shop to buy bread.
Key Takeaways
- Motion plus purpose contains a finite motion verb followed by a separate ku- infinitive.
- The subject/TAM frame appears on the first verb; the infinitive normally shares its understood subject.
- Literal movement may be prominent, or context may foreground the planned action and background the route.
- Plain -ta- is the better choice for neutral futurity and nonmotion predictions.
- Negation on the finite motion verb denies the journey or motion-framed plan; the purpose infinitive remains structurally separate.
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- kwenda and the Root -end-A2 — Relate infinitive kwenda to finite -end- forms, negative paradigms, subjunctive twende and the irregular imperative nenda.
- Chains of InfinitivesB1 — Build clear chains in which one finite verb controls successive aspectual, modal, and lexical ku- infinitives.