Nitafungua bahasha kesho asubuhi.

I will open the envelope tomorrow morning.

Breakdown of Nitafungua bahasha kesho asubuhi.

• mimi: I
• kufungua: to open
• bahasha: the envelope
• kesho asubuhi: tomorrow morning

Questions & Answers about Nitafungua bahasha kesho asubuhi.

How is the verb nitafungua formed, and what does each part mean?

• Ni- = 1st person singular subject marker (“I”)
• -ta- = future tense marker (“will”)
• fungua = verb root meaning “open” (with its final -a)
  Putting it together, nitafungua literally means “I-will-open.”

Why isn’t there an object marker before bahasha (i.e. why not nitaifungua bahasha)?

In Swahili, when you explicitly state the object as a noun, you don’t need a separate object concord/prefix. You only use the object marker if you drop the noun and replace it with a pronoun:

• With noun: Nitafungua bahasha. (“I will open the envelope.”)
• Without noun: Nitaifungua. (“I will open it.”)
  Here, -i- is the object marker for class 9/10 nouns like bahasha, but it’s omitted when bahasha appears right after the verb.

Can I move kesho asubuhi to a different position in the sentence?

Yes. Time expressions in Swahili are quite flexible. You can place kesho asubuhi:
• At the beginning: Kesho asubuhi nitafungua bahasha.
• Between subject marker and verb: Nitakesho asubuhitafungua bahasha. (less common)
• At the end: Nitafungua bahasha kesho asubuhi.
All are grammatically correct; you only shift the emphasis or style.

What’s the difference between kesho asubuhi and asubuhi ya kesho?

Both translate as “tomorrow morning,” but:
• Kesho asubuhi is the usual, straightforward order (“tomorrow morning”).
• Asubuhi ya kesho literally means “the morning of tomorrow,” using the possessive ya (“of”). It feels slightly more formal or literary.

Where is the English “the” or “an” in bahasha?

Swahili does not have articles like “a,” “an,” or “the.” You simply use the noun bahasha, and context tells you whether it’s definite or indefinite. If you need to specify, you can add:
• A demonstrative: bahasha ile (“that envelope”)
• A numeral/adjective: bahasha moja (“one envelope”)

How would I say “I will not open the envelope tomorrow morning”?

You form the negative future with the negative subject prefix si-, the future marker -ta-, and the verb root with its final -a changed to -i. For 1 sg.:
Sitafungui bahasha kesho asubuhi.
Literally: si-ta-fungu-i = “I-will-not-open,” plus bahasha kesho asubuhi.