Baada ya chakula, nitaosha vikombe vyote na kusafisha meza.

After the meal, I will wash all the cups and clean the table.

Breakdown of Baada ya chakula, nitaosha vikombe vyote na kusafisha meza.

• na: and
• kusafisha: to clean
• meza: the table
• baada ya: after
• chakula: the meal
• kuosha: to wash
• kikombe: the cup
• vyote: all

Questions & Answers about Baada ya chakula, nitaosha vikombe vyote na kusafisha meza.

Why is there ya in Baada ya chakula instead of just saying Baada chakula?

In Swahili baada (“after”) is a noun, so when you attach another noun (chakula) you need the genitive/linking marker ya. It’s like saying “the after of the food,” which gives us Baada ya chakula (“after eating” or “after the meal”).

Why do we not use a separate word for “I” (like mimi) in nitaosha?

Swahili builds the subject into the verb via prefixes. In nitaosha:
• ni- = first-person singular subject (“I”)
• -ta- = future-tense marker (“will”)
Combined with the verb stem osha (“wash”), ni-ta-osha means “I will wash.” You don’t need mimi unless you want to emphasize “I myself.”

Why is the second verb kusafisha in the infinitive form instead of nitasafisha?

When you link two verbs in the same tense and subject using the conjunction na (“and”), only the first verb carries the subject and tense prefixes. The second verb reverts to the infinitive (with ku-). So you get nitaosha … na kusafisha… rather than repeating ni-ta-.

What is the role of na in nitaosha vikombe vyote na kusafisha meza?

Here na is the simple conjunction “and,” joining two actions: washing cups and cleaning the table. (Note that na can also mean “with” or “have” in other contexts, but here it’s just “and.”)

Why is it vikombe vyote and not vikombe wote?

Noun class agreement: vikombe (“cups”) belongs to class 8, whose adjective/pronoun concord is vy-. The word for “all” in class 8 is vyote. Class 8 suffixes always match as vy-… (compare class 6 ma… yote, class 7 ki… kote, etc.).

Can we drop vyote and just say nitaosha vikombe? What changes?

Yes, nitaosha vikombe is grammatically fine. Without vyote, it simply means “I will wash cups” (unspecified number). Adding vyote explicitly stresses “I will wash all the cups,” leaving none unwashed.

Could Baada ya chakula appear at the end of the sentence instead?

Yes. Swahili allows flexibility with time phrases. You could say Nitaosha vikombe vyote na kusafisha meza baada ya chakula and still mean “I will wash all the cups and clean the table after the meal.” Putting it first or last often depends on emphasis or style.