Mimi na Juma tunatembea upande wa barabara.

Juma and I are walking on the side of the road.

Breakdown of Mimi na Juma tunatembea upande wa barabara.

• mimi: I
• Juma: Juma
• wa: of
• na: and
• kutembea: to walk
• barabara: the road
• upande: the side

Questions & Answers about Mimi na Juma tunatembea upande wa barabara.

What does Mimi mean in this sentence, and why is it explicitly mentioned even though the verb already shows the subject?

Mimi means I in Swahili. Although the verb is conjugated with a subject prefix (in this case tu- for “we”), speakers often include explicit pronouns like Mimi for clarity or emphasis, especially when specifying exactly who is involved.

What function does na serve in this sentence?

Na means and in Swahili. It connects Mimi with Juma, forming a compound subject. This conjunction clearly indicates that both the speaker and Juma are participating in the action.

How is the verb tunatembea constructed, and what information does it provide about the subject and tense?

The verb tunatembea comes from the root tembea (meaning to walk). The prefix tu- indicates first-person plural (“we”), and when attached to the verb it signals that the action is being performed by both the speaker and Juma. This construction shows either a habitual present action or an action in progress (“we walk” or “we are walking”) without needing an extra auxiliary verb.

What does the phrase upande wa barabara translate to, and how does the possessive marker wa work here?

Upande translates as side, and barabara means road. The phrase upande wa barabara literally means side of road or, more naturally in English, along the side of the road. The word wa is a genitive (possessive) marker that agrees with the head noun upande. In Swahili, the possessive concord (in this case, wa) is determined by the noun class of the head noun rather than the noun it links to.

Why is the subject explicitly stated as Mimi na Juma when the verb form tunatembea already indicates that the subject is we?

While Swahili verbs incorporate subject markers (here tu- means “we”), stating Mimi na Juma explicitly can add specificity and emphasis. It clarifies exactly who is included in the group performing the action—making it clear that it is the speaker (Mimi) and Juma, as opposed to an unspecified group that “we” might imply.