Mama alinunua mahindi sokoni, ili tuyaandae kwa chakula cha mchana.

Alinunua breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense marker
• -nunua = buy

So alinunua means he/she bought.

In this sentence, the subject is Mama, so it means Mother bought or Mom bought.

Swahili usually does not use articles like the or a/an the way English does.

So:

• Mama = mother / the mother / mom
• mahindi = corn / maize / the corn

The exact English wording depends on context. Swahili often leaves that information unstated.

Mahindi means maize or corn.

Grammatically, it is in noun class 6, which is often a plural class. That is why later in the sentence it is referred to with ya- in tuyaandae.

A learner should know two things here:

1. Mahindi often behaves like a plural noun in grammar.
2. In English, corn may be treated as an uncountable noun, so the translation may not always look plural even if the Swahili grammar does.

That is why Swahili says something equivalent to we prepare them, even though English may simply say prepare it or prepare the corn.

Sokoni means at the market, in the market, or sometimes to the market, depending on context.

It comes from:

• soko = market
• -ni = a locative ending

The ending -ni often gives a sense of place or location. So:

• soko = market
• sokoni = at/in the market

In this sentence, Mama alinunua mahindi sokoni means Mother bought corn at the market.

Ili here means so that or in order that.

It introduces a purpose clause:

• Mama alinunua mahindi sokoni = Mother bought corn at the market
• ili tuyaandae... = so that we may prepare it/them...

So the second part explains the purpose of buying the corn.

Do not confuse this ili with other uses you may see in different contexts. In this sentence, it clearly introduces purpose.

Tuyaandae can be broken down like this:

• tu- = we
• -ya- = them for a class 6 noun
• -andae = subjunctive form of kuandaa (to prepare)

So tuyaandae means that we prepare them or so that we may prepare them.

Since mahindi is the thing being prepared, the object marker -ya- is used.

Because mahindi belongs to noun class 6.

In Swahili, object markers must agree with the noun class of the thing receiving the action. For class 6 nouns, the object marker is -ya-.

So:

• mahindi = class 6 noun
• object marker for class 6 = -ya-
• tuyaandae = we prepare them

This is one of the important features of Swahili grammar: verbs often show agreement not only with the subject, but also with the object.

Because after ili expressing purpose, Swahili commonly uses the subjunctive.

Compare the two ideas:

• tunayaandaa = we are preparing them
• tuyaandae = that we prepare them / so that we may prepare them

The form tuyaandae does not describe an ongoing action. Instead, it expresses intention, purpose, or desired result.

That is exactly why it appears after ili.

The base verb is kuandaa, which means to prepare or to get ready.

Its subjunctive form is andae.

So:

• kuandaa = to prepare
• tuyaandae = so that we may prepare them

This kind of change is common in Swahili: the final -a of the verb changes to -e in the subjunctive.

Literally, it means something like:

• kwa = for / as / for the purpose of
• chakula = food / meal
• cha mchana = of midday / of afternoon

So chakula cha mchana means lunch or more literally midday meal.

Therefore:

• kwa chakula cha mchana = for lunch / as lunch

The word chakula belongs to noun class 7, whose agreement form is cha.

So:

• chakula = meal, food
• cha = of agreeing with chakula
• mchana = daytime, noon, afternoon

Thus chakula cha mchana means meal of midday = lunch.

This cha is an agreement word, not a separate word chosen randomly. It has to match the noun class of chakula.

Mchana basically refers to the daytime period, especially around midday or afternoon, depending on context.

By itself, it does not literally mean lunch. But in the phrase chakula cha mchana, it gives the idea of the meal eaten in the middle of the day, so the full phrase means lunch.

So it is better to think of:

• mchana = daytime / midday
• chakula cha mchana = midday meal = lunch

Because Swahili noun class agreement is grammatical, not always the same as English meaning.

In Swahili, mahindi takes class 6 agreement, which often behaves like a plural. So the verb uses the class 6 object marker -ya-, which is often best explained to learners as them.

But in English, corn is often treated as a mass noun, so English may prefer it:

• Swahili grammar: tuyaandae = prepare them
• Natural English meaning: prepare the corn / prepare it

Both help you understand the sentence; the important thing is the Swahili agreement pattern.

The comma is helpful, but it is not the main grammatical point.

It separates:

• the main clause: Mama alinunua mahindi sokoni
• the purpose clause: ili tuyaandae kwa chakula cha mchana

So it works much like English punctuation in a sentence such as Mom bought corn at the market, so that we could prepare it for lunch.

Even if punctuation varies, the grammar is still mainly carried by ili and the verb forms.

Yes, that is a reasonable English rendering.

Because ili + subjunctive expresses purpose, English can translate it in several natural ways, such as:

• so that we may prepare it for lunch
• so that we can prepare it for lunch
• so that we could prepare it for lunch
• in order for us to prepare it for lunch

The exact English choice depends on style, but the Swahili structure is the same.