Breakdown of Ikiwa utaandika barua, hakikisha unatumia anwani sahihi.
kuandika
to write
barua
the letter
ikiwa
if
kuhakikisha
to make sure
kutumia
to use
sahihi
correct
anwani
the address
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Questions & Answers about Ikiwa utaandika barua, hakikisha unatumia anwani sahihi.
What does ikiwa do in this sentence, and how is it different from kama?
ikiwa is the conditional marker “if.” It introduces a verb clause (the protasis). While kama can also mean “if,” kama is more general and can introduce comparisons or conditions with both nouns and verbs. ikiwa is preferred when you specifically want an “if … then …” structure with verbs.
How is utaandika formed? What do u-, -ta- and andika each mean?
utaandika = u- (you, 2nd-person singular subject) + -ta- (future-tense marker) + andika (verb root “write”). So utaandika literally means “you will write.”
Why use the future tense utaandika instead of the present unaandika (“you are writing”)?
Swahili often uses the future tense in both parts of a conditional sentence to signal “if you go on to do X, then do Y.” In English we’d say “if you write… make sure,” but in Swahili it’s natural to say ikiwa utaandika (“if you will write”). You could use ikiwa unaandika to talk about an ongoing action (“if you are writing”), but that subtly shifts the nuance to something happening right now.
Why is hakikisha used without any prefix, and who is it addressing?
hakikisha is the singular imperative form “make sure” or “ensure.” In the 2nd-person-singular affirmative imperative, you drop subject prefixes and tense markers and just use the verb stem (with any extensions). So hakikisha = “you (implied) make sure.”
In hakikisha unatumia anwani sahihi, why is the second verb unatumia in the present tense, not future?
The command hakikisha already sets the context. It means “at that moment of writing, be sure that you are using…” Present tense unatumia (“you use/are using”) emphasizes the act of using the correct address when you sit down to write. Using future (utatumia) would sound like “ensure you will use,” which is less direct in this command context.
What does anwani sahihi mean, and why doesn’t sahihi change form to agree with anwani?
anwani means “address” (as in mailing address). sahihi is an adjective meaning “correct.” Normally Swahili adjectives agree with noun classes via prefixes, but many loan-word adjectives like sahihi are invariable. You simply place them after the noun: anwani sahihi = correct address.
Is the comma after the ikiwa clause mandatory (Ikiwa utaandika barua, hakikisha unatumia anwani sahihi)?
No, it’s not strictly mandatory, but it’s standard and helps clarity. Placing a comma after the conditional clause separates the “if…” from the “then…” part. Without it the meaning is still clear, but the comma follows common Swahili punctuation conventions.