Matumizi ya umeme yameongezeka.

Matumizi means use, usage, or consumption, depending on context.

In matumizi ya umeme, the most natural English meanings are:

• electricity use
• electricity usage
• electricity consumption

It comes from the verb kutumia, meaning to use.

Because Swahili noun classes do not match English singular/plural in a simple way.

Matumizi belongs to noun class 6, which often has ma- nouns. Even though class 6 is often associated with plural forms, some nouns in this class behave more like mass nouns or abstract nouns in English.

So in English, matumizi is often translated as a singular concept:

• use
• usage
• consumption

But in Swahili, it still takes class 6 agreement, which is why the verb begins with ya- in yameongezeka.

Here ya means of.

So:

• matumizi ya umeme = use of electricity / electricity usage

This little connector is often called the associative or genitive marker. It links two nouns together.

Because the connector must agree with the noun matumizi, not with umeme.

Since matumizi is in class 6, the correct associative form is ya.

So:

• matumizi ya umeme = correct

The key idea is:

• the first noun (matumizi) controls the form of -a
• not the second noun (umeme)

Yameongezeka can be broken down like this:

• ya- = subject marker for class 6
• -me- = perfect marker, often translated as has/have
• ongezeka = increase, go up, become greater

So literally, it is something like:

• they/class-6 things have increased

But natural English is:

• has increased
• have increased, depending on the noun in English

In this sentence, the natural translation is has increased, because English treats electricity use as singular.

Because Swahili verbs agree with the noun class of their subject.

The subject here is matumizi ya umeme. The head noun is matumizi, which is class 6, so the verb uses the class 6 subject marker:

• matumizi ... yameongezeka

This is noun-class agreement, not English-style singular/plural agreement.

More or less, yes.

The -me- marker usually expresses the perfect:

• has increased
• have increased

So Swahili does not need a separate word for has here. The meaning is built into the verb itself.

That is why yameongezeka already includes the idea of have/has increased.

This is a very important difference:

• kuongezeka = to increase, to go up, to become more
  
  • intransitive
• kuongeza = to increase something, to add
  
  • transitive

In your sentence:

• Matumizi ya umeme yameongezeka.
• Electricity use has increased.

The usage itself went up, so kuongezeka is correct.

Compare:

• Serikali imeongeza bei ya umeme.
• The government has increased the price of electricity.

Here someone is increasing something, so kuongeza is used.

It is best understood as the perfect.

So the usual English translation is:

• Electricity use has increased.

It describes a change that has already happened and is relevant now.

It is not exactly the same as a simple present like increases, and it is usually not the same as a simple past like increased, although context can sometimes blur the difference.

Because Swahili does not normally use articles like English the and a/an.

So Matumizi ya umeme yameongezeka can be understood as:

• Electricity use has increased
• The use of electricity has increased
• Electricity consumption has increased

The exact English wording depends on context.

Yes. This is a very normal structure.

The sentence is:

• Matumizi ya umeme = the subject noun phrase
• yameongezeka = the verb

So the order is basically:

• Subject + Verb

That is very common in Swahili.

Yes. Umeme commonly means electricity, electric power, or electrical current, depending on context.

In this sentence, matumizi ya umeme most naturally means:

• electricity use
• electricity consumption

You can say:

• Matumizi ya umeme hayajaongezeka.

That means:

• Electricity use has not increased.

A simple breakdown:

• haya- = negative agreement for class 6
• -ja- = negative perfect marker
• ongezeka = increase

So yameongezeka becomes hayajaongezeka in the negative perfect.