Mwenyekiti anaongoza mkutano.

In Swahili, a finite verb often includes several pieces packed into one word. In anaongoza, the parts are:

• a- = subject marker for he/she or a singular person noun such as mwenyekiti
• -na- = present tense
• -ongoza = verb stem, from kuongoza = to lead

So anaongoza means he/she is leading or he/she leads, depending on context.

Because mwenyekiti is a singular human noun, the verb uses the class 1 subject marker a-.

The dictionary or infinitive form is kuongoza, meaning to lead.

Swahili verbs are usually listed with ku- at the front:

• kuongoza = to lead
• anaongoza = he/she leads, is leading
• ninaongoza = I lead, I am leading
• wanaongoza = they lead, they are leading

So if you want to learn the verb itself, memorize kuongoza.

Because mwenyekiti refers to a person, it behaves like a class 1 noun in the singular.

In Swahili, nouns belong to noun classes, and those classes affect agreement on verbs and other words. Human singular nouns normally take:

• a- on the verb for singular
• wa- on the verb for plural

So:

• Mwenyekiti anaongoza = The chairperson is leading
• Wenyeviti wanaongoza = The chairpersons are leading

Even though the form mwenyekiti may not look like some other person nouns, it still takes human agreement.

No. Swahili nouns generally do not have grammatical gender like many European languages do.

Mwenyekiti can mean:

• chairperson
• chair
• sometimes chairman or chairwoman, depending on context or translation choice

The verb form anaongoza can mean he leads or she leads. Swahili does not force you to mark that distinction here.

Swahili does not have articles like the or a/an.

So a noun like mwenyekiti can mean:

• the chairperson
• a chairperson

And mkutano can mean:

• the meeting
• a meeting

The exact meaning depends on context. In many real situations, context makes it clear whether the speaker means a specific meeting or a meeting in general.

Mkutano is a singular noun in the m-/mi- class, with plural mikutano.

Examples:

• mkutano = meeting
• mikutano = meetings

In this sentence, mkutano is the object, so its noun class does not directly change the verb form. The verb agrees with the subject mwenyekiti, not with the object.

If mkutano were the subject, then agreement would matter. For example:

• Mkutano unaanza = The meeting is starting
• Mikutano inaanza = The meetings are starting

Here, u- and i- show agreement with that noun class.

Yes. The sentence uses a very common word order:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Mwenyekiti = subject
• anaongoza = verb
• mkutano = object

This is a straightforward and natural Swahili sentence structure.

Yes. The Swahili present tense with -na- often covers both ideas that English separates:

• he/she leads
• he/she is leading

Which one sounds best in English depends on context.

So Mwenyekiti anaongoza mkutano could be understood as either:

• The chairperson leads the meeting
• The chairperson is leading the meeting

If the sentence is describing what is happening right now, English often prefers is leading. If it is describing a role or usual function, English may prefer leads.

Yes. Mkutano is related to the verb kukutana, meaning to meet.

Very roughly:

• kukutana = to meet / to come together
• mkutano = a meeting, gathering, conference, assembly

This is useful because many Swahili nouns are connected to verbs. Learning those connections can help you build vocabulary faster.

A common negative form would be:

Mwenyekiti haongozi mkutano.

Breakdown:

• ha- = negative subject marker for he/she
• -ongozi = the verb in negative present form

So this means:

• The chairperson does not lead the meeting
• The chairperson is not leading the meeting

Notice that the -na- present marker disappears in this negative form.

In Swahili, you can often make a yes/no question just by using question intonation:

Mwenyekiti anaongoza mkutano?

The word order can stay the same.

You can also ask more specific questions, for example:

• Nani anaongoza mkutano? = Who is leading the meeting?
• Mwenyekiti anaongoza nini? = What is the chairperson leading?
• Mwenyekiti anaongoza mkutano gani? = Which meeting is the chairperson leading?

So Swahili often does not need a special helper word like English do/does.

No. In anaongoza, there is only:

• subject marker: a-
• tense marker: -na-
• verb stem: -ongoza

There is no object marker inside the verb.

The object is stated separately as mkutano.

If Swahili adds an object marker, it usually appears inside the verb before the verb stem. For example, with a class 3 object like mkutano, you might see u- as an object marker in some contexts. But in this simple sentence, the full noun mkutano is just written after the verb, and that is completely normal.

The plural is wenyeviti.

So the sentence becomes:

Wenyeviti wanaongoza mkutano.

Changes:

• mwenyekiti → wenyeviti
• a- → wa- in the verb, because the subject is now plural human

So:

• Mwenyekiti anaongoza mkutano. = The chairperson is leading the meeting.
• Wenyeviti wanaongoza mkutano. = The chairpersons are leading the meeting.

This is a good example of how noun class and number affect verb agreement in Swahili.