Mimi ninatumia ufagio huu kusafisha sebule kila asubuhi.

I use this broom to clean the living room every morning.

Breakdown of Mimi ninatumia ufagio huu kusafisha sebule kila asubuhi.

• mimi: I
• asubuhi: the morning
• kila: every
• huu: this
• kusafisha: to clean
• sebule: the living room
• kutumia: to use
• ufagio: the broom

Questions & Answers about Mimi ninatumia ufagio huu kusafisha sebule kila asubuhi.

Why does the sentence start with Mimi? Can I omit it?

In Swahili the verb prefix ni- in ninatumia already tells you the subject is “I.” Therefore Mimi is optional and usually added only for emphasis or clarity. You can perfectly say:
Ninatumia ufagio huu kusafisha sebule kila asubuhi.

What does ninatumia break down into?

ninatumia = ni- (1st person singular subject “I”) + -na- (present/habitual tense marker) + tumia (root “use”).
So it literally means “I am using” or “I use.” The -na- is required to show you’re talking about the present or a habitual action.

Why is it ufagio huu and not fagio huu or huyu ufagio?

• ufagio is formed by the class-3 noun prefix u-
  • verb root fagio (“to sweep”), giving “mop.”
• Demonstratives in Swahili must agree with noun classes. Class 3 (U-prefix nouns) uses huu for “this.”
  Hence ufagio huu = “this mop.” You could also say huu ufagio, but noun + demonstrative is the more common order.

Why do we use kusafisha instead of safisha? Isn’t safisha the verb “clean”?

• safisha by itself is the verb root or the imperative “Clean!”
• kusafisha is the infinitive ku-
  • safisha, meaning “to clean.”
    In Swahili, when you express purpose right after another verb (here ninatumia), you use the infinitive. So:
    ninatumia … kusafisha = “I use … to clean.”

Could I add ili or kwa before kusafisha?

Yes. Adding ili or kwa makes it more explicit:
Ninatumia ufagio huu ili kusafisha sebule kila asubuhi.
or
Ninatumia ufagio huu kwa kusafisha sebule kila asubuhi.
Both mean “I use this mop in order to clean the living room every morning.” But Swahili often drops ili/kwa for brevity when the infinitive already conveys purpose.

Why is sebule not sebuleni? Isn’t -ni the locative suffix?

Correct, -ni marks location (“in/at”). Here sebule is the direct object of kusafisha (“clean the living room”). If you said kusafisha sebuleni, it would mean “clean [something else] in the living room.” To clean the room itself, you leave off -ni.

Where can kila asubuhi (“every morning”) go in the sentence? Does it have to be at the end?

Time expressions in Swahili are very flexible. You can place kila asubuhi at the start, in the middle, or at the end:
Kila asubuhi, ninatumia ufagio huu kusafisha sebule.
Ninatumia ufagio huu kila asubuhi kusafisha sebule.
Ninatumia ufagio huu kusafisha sebule kila asubuhi.
All are grammatical; you choose the position for emphasis or style.