Watu walichimba shimo jana.

Walichimba can be broken down like this:

• wa- = subject prefix for they / class 2 plural people
• -li- = past tense marker
• -chimba = verb stem meaning dig

So:

• wa-li-chimba = they dug

This is very typical Swahili verb structure:
subject + tense + verb stem

In Swahili, the verb usually agrees with the subject, even when the subject noun is stated separately.

• watu = people
• wa- on the verb matches that plural human subject

So Swahili often does what English does not: it repeats the subject information on the verb.

Compare:

• Watu walichimba = The people dug
• Walichimba = They dug

Both are grammatical. When watu is present, the wa- on the verb still stays.

Watu belongs to the m-/wa- noun class for people.

• singular: mtu = person
• plural: watu = people

This matters because the verb must agree with that noun class. Since watu is plural human, the verb uses the subject prefix wa-:

• watu walichimba

If the subject were singular mtu, you would say:

• Mtu alichimba = The person dug

Here a- is the singular subject prefix for a person.

Swahili does not normally use articles like English a, an, or the.

So shimo can mean:

• a hole
• the hole

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is very normal in Swahili. You usually do not need to add a separate word for a/the.

Shimo means hole or pit, depending on context.

Its plural is usually:

• mashimo = holes

This noun belongs to the ji-/ma- noun class, though some singular nouns in this class do not show an obvious ji- form on the surface. So you learn them as they appear:

• shimo = hole
• mashimo = holes

No. Jana means yesterday, and it can appear in different positions.

For example, all of these are possible:

• Watu walichimba shimo jana.
• Jana watu walichimba shimo.
• Watu jana walichimba shimo.

The most natural placement often depends on style, emphasis, and context. The version with jana at the end is very common and straightforward.

That order is very common in simple sentences, and it is a good default pattern:

• Watu = subject
• walichimba = verb
• shimo = object
• jana = time expression

So yes, subject + verb + object + time is a very useful basic pattern in Swahili.

However, Swahili word order is somewhat flexible, especially with time words like jana. But for a learner, this sentence is a good model to follow.

Yes. In this sentence, -li- marks the past tense.

So:

• anachimba = he/she is digging
• alichimba = he/she dug
• walichimba = they dug

For this sentence, the best basic understanding is simply:

• -li- = past

You would say:

• Mtu alichimba shimo jana.

The only major changes are:

• watu → mtu
• wa- on the verb → a-

So:

• Watu walichimba shimo jana. = People dug a hole yesterday.
• Mtu alichimba shimo jana. = A person / the person dug a hole yesterday.

In normal basic usage, walichimba means they dug.

If you want to express something more clearly like they were digging, Swahili may use other tense/aspect forms depending on the exact meaning and context.

For a beginner, the safest interpretation is:

• walichimba = they dug

So in this sentence, understand it as a completed past action.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• watu ≈ wah-too
• walichimba ≈ wah-lee-CHEEM-bah
• shimo ≈ SHEE-moh
• jana ≈ JAH-nah

A few helpful sound notes:

• ch sounds like the ch in chair
• sh sounds like the sh in shoe
• Swahili vowels are usually clear and consistent:
  • a = ah
  • i = ee
  • o = oh

So the full sentence is roughly:

wah-too wah-lee-CHEEM-bah SHEE-moh JAH-nah