Learn Hardcore Swahili: Marafiki ambao hujibu haraka hutusaidia kuboresha uandishi wetu wa Kiswahili. - Friends who reply quickly help us improve our Swahili writing.

ambao introduces the relative clause “who respond quickly.” It replaces the noun inside the clause’s subject position and must match marafiki’s noun class (class 2). The class 2 relative concord is wa-, so you say ambao. For a class 7 noun like kitabu, you’d use ambacho instead.

What does the prefix hu- signify in hujibu and hutusaidia?

In Swahili, hu- marks the present habitual tense for third-person plural.
• hujibu = “they (habitually) answer/respond”
• hutusaidia = “they (habitually) help us”

Why is haraka placed after hujibu rather than before?

Adverbs of manner typically follow the verb (or the verb + object). Since haraka (“quickly”) modifies hujibu, it immediately follows the verb: hujibu haraka = “respond quickly.”

Why is tu inserted in hutusaidia, and what role does it play?

tu is the object pronoun for “us.” In Swahili you slot the object pronoun right after the subject prefix:
hu- (they) + tu- (us) + saidia (help) → hutusaidia (“they help us”).

What does the ku- prefix in kuboresha indicate?

ku- is the infinitive marker in Swahili. After verbs like saidia (“help”), the next verb must be in the infinitive. Hence hutusaidia kuboresha = “they help us to improve.”

How is uandishi formed from andika, and what does the u- prefix mean?

uandishi is an abstract noun (class 11) derived from the verb stem andika (“to write”). The u-…-i pattern turns a verb into “the act of [verb],” so uandishi = “writing.”

Why do we say uandishi wetu instead of attaching the possessive as a suffix to uandishi?

Abstract nouns in class 11 generally take the separate possessive pronoun after the noun. So you use uandishi wetu (“our writing”) rather than a suffix like uandishiwetu (which is ungrammatical).

Why is wa used before Kiswahili in uandishi wetu wa Kiswahili?

wa is the genitive/linking particle that agrees with class 11 (the class of uandishi). It connects “our writing” to “Kiswahili,” so uandishi wetu wa Kiswahili literally = “our writing of Kiswahili.”

Could you use wanapojibu instead of hujibu, and what would be the difference?

Yes. wanapojibu is the present progressive (“when/whenever they respond”), whereas hujibu is the simple habitual (“they usually/always respond”). So marafiki ambao wanapojibu haraka feels more like “friends who respond quickly (at the moment/events),” while ambao hujibu haraka is “friends who (as a rule) respond quickly.”

What if we said uandishi wa Kiswahili wetu instead of uandishi wetu wa Kiswahili?

uandishi wetu wa Kiswahili focuses on our writing (this writing belongs to us) and then specifies it’s about Kiswahili.
uandishi wa Kiswahili wetu would awkwardly imply “writing of our Kiswahili,” as if the language itself belongs to us. It changes the emphasis and sounds unnatural.