Learn Hardcore Swahili: Gunia hilo limejazwa mahindi, na litawekwa jikoni baada ya kusafishwa. - That sack is filled with maize, and it will be placed in the kitchen after being cleaned.

gunia means bag or sack, and hilo is the demonstrative that (one) matching noun class 5 singular. gunia belongs to class 5, so we use hilo rather than, say, hili (which would match a different noun class).

How is the word limejazwa formed and what does it mean?

limejazwa breaks down as li- (class 5 subject concord) + me (perfect aspect marker) + jazwa (passive form of jaza, meaning to fill). Altogether it means has been filled.

Why is the passive voice used in limejazwa mahindi instead of an active form?

The passive highlights the bag as the recipient of the action, and the doer is unimportant or unknown. In active you’d need to specify someone doing the filling, but the passive lets us focus on the bag being filled with maize.

What does na mean at the start of na litawekwa jikoni?

Here na connects two clauses, acting like and or and then, linking the fact the bag is filled to the next action (placing it in the kitchen).

How is litawekwa constructed and what tense does it express?

litawekwa = li- (class 5 subject concord) + ta (future tense marker) + wekwa (passive stem of weka, to put). It means it will be placed.

Why is there no separate preposition before jikoni to mean “in the kitchen”?

Swahili expresses “in the kitchen” by adding the locative suffix -ni to jiko (kitchen), forming jikoni. No extra word like in is needed.

What does baada ya kusafishwa mean, and why is kusafishwa in that form?

baada ya means after, and it must be followed by a noun or verbal noun. kusafishwa is the passive infinitive of kusafisha (to clean), so baada ya kusafishwa means after being cleaned.

How is the passive infinitive kusafishwa formed?

Start with ku- (the infinitive prefix) + root safish + passive suffix -w + final vowel -a. That gives kusafishwa, literally to be cleaned.