Asha anakunywa chai yake kabla ya kusoma kitabu.

Asha drinks her tea before reading a book.

Breakdown of Asha anakunywa chai yake kabla ya kusoma kitabu.

• Asha: Asha
• chai: the tea
• kunywa: to drink
• kitabu: the book
• kusoma: to read
• kabla ya: before
• yake: her

Questions & Answers about Asha anakunywa chai yake kabla ya kusoma kitabu.

Why does the verb begin with ‘ana’ in anakunywa?

Anakunywa is in the present tense. It splits into three parts:

• a- (subject prefix for third-person singular, matching Asha)
• -na- (present-tense marker)
• -kunywa (verb stem “to drink”)
  So a + na + kunywa = anakunywa (“she is drinking”).

What does chai yake mean and how do possessives work in Swahili?

Chai yake means her tea. In Swahili, possessive adjectives follow the noun and agree with its noun class. The main singular possessives are:

• yangu (my)
• yako (your)
• yake (his/her)
• yetu (our)
• yenu (your pl.)
• yao (their)
  Since chai is in class 9, you use yake for “her.”

Why is there a ‘ku-’ before soma in kusoma?

Ku- is the infinitive prefix in Swahili. To form the “to …” version of a verb, you attach ku- to the stem. So kusoma means to read.

Why do we say kabla ya kusoma instead of just kabla kusoma?

Kabla (“before”) requires the connector ya when it’s followed by a noun or an infinitive. You can think of kabla ya kusoma as “before of reading.” The ya links kabla to kusoma.

Why isn’t there an English-style article like ‘the’ or ‘a’ before kitabu?

Swahili doesn’t use articles. Nouns stand alone, and context tells you whether something is definite or indefinite. Thus kitabu can mean a book or the book, depending on the situation.

Can we omit Asha since the verb prefix already shows who is drinking?

Yes. The prefix a- in anakunywa indicates “he/she/it.” You could simply say Anakunywa chai yake kabla ya kusoma kitabu (“She is drinking her tea before reading a book”). Including Asha makes the subject explicit.

Can kabla ya kusoma kitabu come at the start of the sentence?

Yes. Swahili allows flexibility with adverbial phrases. You can say:
Kabla ya kusoma kitabu, Asha anakunywa chai yake.
This still means “Before reading a book, Asha is drinking her tea.”