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Questions & Answers about Mtoto wetu ataenda chekechea mpya mwezi ujao.
What does Mtoto wetu literally mean, and how do the words break down?
Mtoto means “child” (noun class 1, for persons or babies). Wetu is the class-1 possessive pronoun meaning “our.” Together, Mtoto wetu = “our child.”
How is the future tense formed in ataenda?
The verb ataenda has three parts:
• a- = class-1 subject marker (“he/she/it”)
• -ta- = future-tense marker
• enda = verb stem “go”
So a-ta-enda = “he/she will go.”
Why is there no direct object after enda?
Enda (“go”) is intransitive in Swahili, meaning it doesn’t take a direct object. You simply state who is going, not what they’re going.
What does chekechea refer to?
Chekechea is “preschool” or “kindergarten,” the early‐childhood program before primary school. It’s a loanword that’s fully integrated into Swahili.
Why is the adjective mpya used, and how does it agree with the noun?
Mpya means “new.” In strict agreement you’d say chekechea kipya (class 7 “new”), but in everyday speech loanwords like chekechea often pair with the unmodified mpya instead of the formal kipya.
What does mwezi ujao mean, and how is it constructed?
Mwezi (“month”) is a class-3 noun. The adjective root jao means “coming,” and class-3 adjectives take the prefix u-, giving ujao (“next”). So mwezi ujao = “next month.”
How would you say “next week” or “next year” by analogy?
Use the same pattern:
• Wiki (week, class 9) + i- prefix = ijayo, so wiki ijayo (“next week”).
• Mwaka (year, class 3) + u- prefix = ujao, so mwaka ujao (“next year”).