Timu yetu inahitaji kuimarika kabla ya mechi ya kesho.

Our team needs to improve before tomorrow’s match.

Breakdown of Timu yetu inahitaji kuimarika kabla ya mechi ya kesho.

• kesho: tomorrow
• ya: of
• kabla ya: before
• yetu: our
• kuhitaji: to need
• mechi: the match
• timu: the team
• kuimarika: to improve

Questions & Answers about Timu yetu inahitaji kuimarika kabla ya mechi ya kesho.

Why is the verb inahitaji used instead of tunahitaji?

Because the subject is timu yetu (“our team”), a third-person noun (class 9). Swahili verbs must agree with their subject’s noun class. The subject concord for class 9 is i-, so we get inahitaji (“it needs”). tunahitaji would mean “we need,” agreeing with the first-person plural pronoun we.

What does kuimarika mean, and how is it formed?

kuimarika means “to get stronger” or “to improve.” It’s built from:

• the infinitive marker ku- (“to”)
• the verb stem imar- (“strengthen”)
• the intransitive suffix -ika (showing the action happens to the subject itself)
  So literally it’s “to become strong.” By contrast, kuimarisha (with -sha) would mean “to strengthen something else.”

Why do we need the prefix ku- before imarika in this sentence?

After a verb like inahitaji (“needs”), Swahili requires an infinitive form as its object. The infinitive is marked by ku-. This is analogous to English “needs to improve.” Without ku-, imarika wouldn’t function as the infinitive complement of inahitaji.

What is the role of kabla ya in kabla ya mechi ya kesho?

kabla is a noun meaning “before,” and ya is the genitive connector linking it to the following noun phrase. Together kabla ya X means “before X.” You always use kabla ya + noun to say “before [something].”

Why do we say mechi ya kesho instead of mechi kesho or kesho mechi?

Swahili expresses possession or “of” by inserting a genitive connector after the head noun. Here mechi (“match”) is class 9, so it takes ya, giving mechi ya kesho (“match of tomorrow” = “tomorrow’s match”). You can’t drop ya or swap the order; the pattern is always Noun + connector + modifier.

I notice mechi has no noun-class prefix. What class is it, and how are borrowed words treated?

mechi is a borrowed word (from English) adapted into class 9, which has a zero prefix. You can tell by the connectors it takes:

• genitive ya (not wa, la, etc.)
• subject concord i- (e.g., mechi inapendeza, “the match is pleasing”)
  Many loanwords in Swahili end up in classes 9 or 10 with zero prefixes.

Could we front the time phrase and say Kabla ya mechi ya kesho, timu yetu inahitaji kuimarika?

Yes. Swahili allows you to place adverbial or prepositional phrases at the beginning or end. Both orders are correct and mean the same thing. The focus just shifts slightly depending on what you put first.

What if we used the future tense itahitaji instead of the present inahitaji?

You can say Timu yetu itahitaji kuimarika kabla ya mechi ya kesho (“our team will need to improve before tomorrow’s match”), but the nuance changes. inahitaji (“it needs”) states the team has the need right now, whereas itahitaji (“it will need”) pushes that need into the future. In context, the present inahitaji is more natural.