Learn Hardcore Swahili: Msimamizi akiongeza bajeti, ustadi wa wanafunzi utaimarika. - If the supervisor increases the budget, the students’ skill will improve.

Akiongeza = a- (3rd person singular subject marker) + -ki- (relative/temporal marker “when/if”) + root ongeza (“increase”). It translates as “when/if he/she increases.”

Why is -ki- used to express “when/if” instead of the conjunction ikiwa?

The suffix -ki- attaches directly to the verb to mark a general or habitual condition (“when/if”). It is more concise than ikiwa, which must stand alone and govern a separate verb.
Example:
• With -ki-: Msimamizi akiongeza bajeti (“When the supervisor increases the budget…”)
• With ikiwa: Ikiwa msimamizi ataongeza bajeti (more wordy but still correct)

Why do we repeat the subject with both msimamizi and the a- prefix in akiongeza?

Swahili finite verbs always take a subject marker.
• msimamizi names the subject (“the supervisor”)
• a- marks “he/she” on the verb and ensures agreement
Omitting a- would be ungrammatical even if msimamizi is present.

How is the future tense formed in utaimarika, and why is the subject marker u-?

Future tense = subject marker + ta + verb root.
• u- because ustadi (skill) is a class 11 noun and takes u-
• ta is the future tense marker
• imarika is the root “become strong/improve”
Combined: u + ta + imarika = utaimarika (“it will improve”).

Why does utaimarika agree with ustadi and not with wanafunzi?

The grammatical subject of utaimarika is ustadi (“the skill”), not wanafunzi (“students”). Wanafunzi appears only as the possessor in ustadi wa wanafunzi (“students’ skill”), so the verb agrees with ustadi (class 11).

Why is the genitive marker wa used in ustadi wa wanafunzi?

Genitive concords agree with the possessor’s noun class.
• wanafunzi is class 2 → genitive connector wa
Thus ustadi wa wanafunzi means “skill of the students.”

Can we invert the clause order or omit msimamizi altogether?

Yes. Both versions are grammatical:
• Ustadi wa wanafunzi utaimarika, msimamizi akiongeza bajeti. (main clause first)
• Akiongeza bajeti, ustadi wa wanafunzi utaimarika. (omit msimamizi)
If you omit msimamizi, you must keep a- on akiongeza to show 3rd person singular.

Why does bajeti remain unchanged for singular and plural?

Bajeti is a loanword (commonly treated as class 9/10). These loanwords typically do not change form to signal number, so bajeti can mean “budget” or “budgets” depending on context.