Mwandishi maarufu anaandika kitabu kipya jioni.

The famous writer writes a new book in the evening.

Breakdown of Mwandishi maarufu anaandika kitabu kipya jioni.

• kitabu: the book
• jioni: the evening
• kuandika: to write
• mpya: new
• mwandishi: the writer
• maarufu: famous

Questions & Answers about Mwandishi maarufu anaandika kitabu kipya jioni.

Why do the adjectives come after the nouns in mwandishi maarufu and kitabu kipya, while in English they come before?

In Swahili, descriptive words (adjectives) always follow the nouns they modify. So you say mwandishi maarufu (writer famous) instead of maarufu mwandishi, and kitabu kipya (book new) instead of new book.

How do maarufu and kipya agree with mwandishi and kitabu?

Swahili nouns belong to classes, and their adjectives take matching prefixes.

• Mwandishi (writer) is class 1 (m-/wa-). The adjective root arufu takes the prefix m-, giving maarufu (note vowel coalescence: m + arufu → maarufu).
• Kitabu (book) is class 7 (ki-/vi-). The adjective root pya takes ki-, giving kipya.

What are the parts of the verb anaandika in this sentence?

anaandika splits into three parts:

1. a-: subject prefix for 3rd-person singular (he/she/it)
2. -na-: present-tense marker
3. andika: verb root “write”
   Together, a
   • na
     • andika = anaandika (“he writes” or “he is writing”).

Does anaandika mean “he writes” or “he is writing”?

Swahili uses -na- for both present simple (habitual) and present continuous. Context tells you which: here, mentioning jioni hints at a habitual action (“he writes in the evening”), but you could also interpret it as “he is writing in the evening” if the situation demands. To stress “right now,” you might add sasa: anaandika sasa.

How would you say “The famous writer will write a new book in the evening”?

Change the tense marker -na- to the future marker -ta-:
Mwandishi maarufu ataandika kitabu kipya jioni.

Why is jioni used without katika (in) to mean “in the evening”?

Words like asubuhi (morning), mchana (afternoon), jioni (evening), and usiku (night) function as time adverbs and stand alone—no need for katika. You could say katika jioni, but it’s more natural to drop katika.

How do you turn the sentence into a yes/no question (“Is the famous writer writing a new book in the evening?”)?

You can simply use intonation:
Mwandishi maarufu anaandika kitabu kipya jioni?
Or add the question word je at the front for clarity:
Je mwandishi maarufu anaandika kitabu kipya jioni?

How do you say “The famous writer is not writing a new book in the evening” in Swahili?

Use the negative subject prefix ha- and negative form of the verb:
Mwandishi maarufu hanaandika kitabu kipya jioni.
Here ha- + na- + andika → hanaandika (“he does not write”/“is not writing”).