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Usisahau kufunga mlango wa nyuma baada ya fundi kuondoka.

Usisahau kufunga mlango wa nyuma baada ya fundi kuondoka.
Do not forget to lock the back door after the technician leaves.
FromLesson 39inHardcore Swahili

Breakdown of Usisahau kufunga mlango wa nyuma baada ya fundi kuondoka.

wa
of
baada ya
after
kuondoka
to leave
kufunga
to lock
mlango
the door
kusahau
to forget
nyuma
back
fundi
the technician

Questions & Answers about Usisahau kufunga mlango wa nyuma baada ya fundi kuondoka.

How is the negative imperative “usisahau” formed from the verb sahau (forget)?

In Swahili, a negative command to one person uses u- (you) + si- (negation) + the verb root. Here the root is sahau. So:
• u- + si- + sahau → usisahau (“don’t forget”)

Why is the verb kufunga in the infinitive form after usisahau?
When you say “don’t forget to …” in Swahili, you follow usisahau with an infinitive (the ku- + root form). Thus kufunga = ku- (infinitive marker) + funga (close). Together usisahau kufunga means “don’t forget to close.”
What does mlango wa nyuma literally mean, and why do we use wa there?

• mlango = door (noun class 3)
• nyuma = back
To link a class-3 noun to its modifier you use the genitive concord wa. So mlango wa nyuma literally “door of back,” i.e. “back door.”

What does baada ya mean, and why is it followed by ya?
baada means “after.” As a noun (class 9) it takes the genitive ya to connect to what follows. So baada ya X = “after X.” In our sentence, baada ya fundi kuondoka = “after the technician leaves.”
Why is kuondoka in the infinitive after baada ya fundi instead of a conjugated form like aondoke?
After baada ya, Swahili uses the infinitive form (ku- + verb) to express the action. You’re talking about the event “the technician leaving,” so it’s fundi + kuondoka (“technician to-leave”).
Does kufunga mlango mean “to close” or “to lock” the door?
Generally funga = close. In the context of doors it can imply “lock” if a lock is present, because the opposite verb fungua covers both “open” and “unlock.” If you need to be crystal-clear about locking with keys, you could say kufunga mlango kwa funguo (“lock the door with keys”).
How would you say this command to more than one person (“don’t forget …”) in Swahili?

For a group you switch the subject prefix to m-. So usisahau (singular) becomes msisahau (plural):
“Msisahau kufunga mlango wa nyuma baada ya fundi kuondoka.”

If I wanted “Don’t forget to close the back door before the technician leaves,” how would I change baada ya?

Replace baada ya (“after”) with kabla ya (“before”):
“Usisahau kufunga mlango wa nyuma kabla ya fundi kuondoka.”

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