Mwalimu anasema kwamba uchumi wa kijiji chetu unategemea soko la mahindi.

The teacher says that the economy of our village depends on the maize market.

Breakdown of Mwalimu anasema kwamba uchumi wa kijiji chetu unategemea soko la mahindi.

• soko: the market
• mwalimu: the teacher
• kusema: to say
• kwamba: that
• kijiji: the village
• kutegemea: to depend on
• mahindi: the maize
• chetu: our
• uchumi: the economy

Questions & Answers about Mwalimu anasema kwamba uchumi wa kijiji chetu unategemea soko la mahindi.

What does kwamba mean in this sentence, and is it always required?

kwamba functions as the conjunction “that,” introducing the clause uchumi wa kijiji chetu unategemea soko la mahindi. In informal or very clear contexts you can drop kwamba and still be understood:
Mwalimu anasema uchumi wa kijiji chetu unategemea soko la mahindi.

How is anasema formed, and why does it start with a-?

anasema is the present‐tense, third-person singular of -sema (to say). It breaks down as:
• a- (subject prefix for class 1, matching mwalimu)
• -na- (present‐tense marker)
• sema (verb root)

Why is the verb unategemea used here, and what are its parts?

unategemea means “it depends on.” Its structure is:
• u- (subject prefix for class 14, matching uchumi)
• -na- (present marker)
• tegemea (root “to depend on”)

Which noun class does uchumi belong to, and how does that affect agreement?

uchumi (economy) is class 14 (abstract nouns with prefix u-). That determines:
• The subject prefix u- in unategemea
• The genitive connector wa in uchumi wa kijiji chetu

Why is wa used in uchumi wa kijiji chetu instead of another connector?

Genitive connectors agree with the class of the head noun. Since uchumi is class 14, its connector is wa, linking it to kijiji chetu (“the economy of our village”).

In kijiji chetu, why is the possessive pronoun chetu and not yetu?

kijiji is class 7 (singular ki-). The matching first-person-plural possessive is chetu. yetu would be for class 9.

Why is la used in soko la mahindi?

soko is class 5 singular (ji-/ma- group). Its genitive connector is la, so “market of maize” is soko la mahindi.

What is the singular form of mahindi, and which class is it?

mahindi is class 6 (plural, prefix ma-) of hindi (class 5). You can treat it as a mass noun (“maize”) or refer to individual ears as hindi.

How can I ask “What does the teacher say?” in Swahili based on this sentence?

You replace the subordinate clause with nini:
Mwalimu anasema nini?

How would I change the sentence to past tense?

Switch present markers to past:
Mwalimu alisema kwamba uchumi wa kijiji chetu ulitegemea soko la mahindi.