Learn Hardcore Swahili: Teksi inasubiri abiria barabarani. - The taxi is waiting for passengers on the road.

inasubiri breaks down into three pieces:
• i- is the subject‐prefix for noun class 9 (which “teksi” belongs to).
• na- is the present‐tense (or habitual) marker.
• subiri is the verb root meaning “wait.”
Put together, i-na-subiri literally means “(it) is waiting.”

Why does teksi take the subject‐prefix i-? How do I know which prefix to use?

In Swahili, every noun falls into a noun class, and each class has its own subject‐prefix on the verb.
• teksi is treated as a loanword in noun class 9.
• Noun class 9/10 subject‐prefix in the present tense is i- + na-.
So when “teksi” is the subject, the verb must carry i-na-.

What is abiria? Is it singular or plural, and what noun class is it?

abiria means “passengers” and belongs to noun class 2, which is the plural counterpart of class 1.
• There is no native singular mbiria; Swahili often uses msafiri or mteja to mean “one passenger.”
• In this sentence, abiria is clearly plural.

Why is there no separate word for “on” or “at” before barabarani? What does the -ni suffix do?

Swahili expresses location directly on the noun with a locative suffix rather than a preposition.
• barabara = “road”
• -ni = “at/on/in”
So barabarani means “on the road” without an extra word for “on.”

Could I also say katika barabara instead of barabarani, and what’s the difference?

Yes. katika is a preposition meaning “in/at/inside.”
• Teksi inasubiri abiria katika barabara.
Both forms are correct:
– barabarani is simply more concise and idiomatic.
– katika barabara is a bit more formal or emphatic.

What’s the typical word order here? Must I always say Subject-Verb-Object-Location in that sequence?

Yes. The basic Swahili word order is:
Subject + Verb + (Object) + (Adverbial/Locative).
In our example:
Teksi (S) | inasubiri (V) | abiria (O) | barabarani (Locative).
You can sometimes rearrange the object and locative for emphasis, but S-V-O-Loc is the default.