Learn Hardcore Swahili: Baada ya kuongeza bidii kazini, mshahara wake utaongezeka mwezi ujao. - After increasing effort at work, his salary will rise next month.

Baada ya means "after". In Swahili, when you use baada ya to say “after doing something,” the verb that comes next must be in the infinitive form (the ku- form) with no subject or tense markers. Hence baada ya kuongeza = after increasing/after putting in (effort).

Why is kuongeza used here, and what does the ku- prefix do?

Kongeza is the verb root meaning “add” or “increase.” The prefix ku- turns a verb root into its infinitive (the English equivalent of “to add,” “to increase”). After baada ya, we always use this infinitive form: ku + verb-root.

What does bidii mean, and why does it come before kazini?

Bidii is a noun meaning “effort,” “diligence,” or “hard work.” In the phrase bidii kazini, it’s the object of kuongeza (“to increase effort”). Word order in Swahili is similar to English here: verb-object, but with the locative kazini (“at work”) immediately after the object.

How do we get kazini from kazi, and what does kazini mean?

Kazi is the noun “work” or “job.” To express location (“at work”), Swahili adds the locative suffix -ni to the noun: kazi → kazini. So bidii kazini = effort at work.

What does mshahara wake mean, and what role does wake play?

Mshahara means “salary” or “wage.” Wake is a third-person singular possessive pronoun meaning “his” or “her.” Together mshahara wake = “his/her salary.”

Why is the future tense of ongezeka written utaongezeka and not ataongezeka?

In Swahili, the subject‐agreement prefix depends on the noun class of the subject. Mshahara (“salary”) belongs to a noun class that takes u- for third-person singular, not a-. The future tense is formed by:
subject-prefix + ta (future marker) + verb root.
Here: u- + ta + ongezeka = utaongezeka (“it will increase”).

Why is ongezeka used instead of ongeza in the main clause?

Ongezeka is the intransitive verb meaning “to increase” (something increases by itself). Ongeza is transitive “to add” (you add something). Since we’re saying “his salary will increase,” we use ongezeka.

What does mwezi ujao mean, and how is ujao formed?

Mwezi means “month.” Ujao is an adjective meaning “coming” or “next.” It’s formed from the verb kuja (“to come”) plus the adjective pattern for class 3 (month is class 3):
class-prefix u- + root ja + adjectival suffix -o = ujao.
So mwezi ujao = “next month.”

Why don’t we need an article like the before mwezi ujao?

Swahili doesn’t use articles like the or a. Context and word order convey definiteness. Mwezi ujao can mean “next month” or “the next month,” depending on context.