Binamu yake anasema watarudi mapema ili wapike chakula cha usiku.

Her cousin says they will return early so they can cook dinner.

Breakdown of Binamu yake anasema watarudi mapema ili wapike chakula cha usiku.

• kupika: to cook
• mapema: early
• ili: so that
• kusema: to say

Questions & Answers about Binamu yake anasema watarudi mapema ili wapike chakula cha usiku.

What does binamu yake mean, and how do we know whose cousin it is?

• binamu = “cousin”
• yake = “his” or “her” (third-person singular possessive)
  Together binamu yake means “his cousin” (or “her cousin”, determined by context).

Why is the verb anase­ma in the present tense when it talks about a future event?

In Swahili the reporting verb stays in present tense.

• a-na-sema = he/she says (subject prefix a-, present marker -na-, root sema)
  What follows can refer to the past, present or future; the subordinate clause carries its own tense.

How is the form watarudi built, and why not atarudi?

watarudi = subject prefix + tense marker + verb root

• wa- = “they” (third-person plural)
• -ta- = future tense marker
• rudi = “return”
  So watarudi means “they will return.”
  atarudi would mean “he/she will return” (prefix a- for singular).

What role does mapema play in the sentence?