Learn Hardcore Swahili: Msanii huyo amejitolea kuimba bila malipo ili kusaidia shirikisho la vijana. - That artist has volunteered to sing for free to support the youth federation.

• a-: third-person singular subject prefix (“he/she”)
• -me-: perfect aspect marker (“has”)
• jitolea: verb root meaning “volunteer” (the ji- part is a reflexive prefix built into the root)
Putting it together, amejitolea = “he has volunteered.”

Why does the sentence say kuimba instead of imba?

In Swahili, to express one action as the object or content of another, you use the ku- infinitive prefix. Here, amejitolea (“has volunteered”) takes kuimba (“to sing”) as its infinitive complement. So amejitolea kuimba literally means “he has volunteered to sing.”

What does bila malipo mean, and can I use bure instead?

• bila = “without”
• malipo = “payments/fees”
So bila malipo = “without payment,” i.e. “free of charge.”
You can also use the adverb bure (“for free”) in more colloquial contexts: amejitolea kuimba bure.

What is the role of ili before kusaidia? Could I use a different marker?

ili is a purpose marker meaning “in order to” or “so that.” Here it introduces the goal of volunteering:
“amejitolea kuimba ili kusaidia shirikisho la vijana” = “he has volunteered to sing in order to help the youth association.”
You could alternatively use kwa + infinitive (e.g. kwa kusaidia) or drop the infinitive and use subjunctive after ili (e.g. ili asaidie = “so that he helps”), but ili kusaidia is very common.

Why is it shirikisho la vijana, and how do I know to use la instead of ya?

Swahili uses genitive connectors that agree with the class of the possessed noun.
• shirikisho is class 5 (singular), so it takes la.
• If it were class 6 (its plural rashirikisho), you’d use ya.
Thus shirikisho la vijana = “association of youths.”

Why does the sentence use msanii huyo, and how do demonstratives agree with noun classes?

• msanii (“artist”) is a class 1 noun (person).
• The class 1 medial demonstrative (referring to someone just mentioned or at moderate distance) is huyo.
Hence msanii huyo = “that artist” (the one we already talked about).
For very near you could use msanii huyu (“this artist”), and for far you could use msanii yule (“that artist over there”).

Can I say msanii yule or yule msanii instead of msanii huyo?

Yes.
• msanii yule (“that artist”) follows the noun with the distal demonstrative.
• yule msanii is a less common, more literary inversion but still grammatically correct.
The core meaning (“that artist”) doesn’t change.

How would I conjugate jitolea to say “I volunteered,” “we have volunteered,” or “we will volunteer”?

Replace the subject prefix and the tense/aspect marker as follows:
• I volunteered (simple past): nilijitolea
• I have volunteered (perfect): nimejitolea
• We have volunteered: tumejitolea
• We will volunteer (future): tutajitolea

What exactly is a shirikisho in shirikisho la vijana?

A shirikisho is a formal association or federation—often an umbrella body that unites several smaller groups. In this context, shirikisho la vijana refers to a youth association or youth federation.