Tafadhali nitumie nakala ya ripoti kabla ya mkutano.

Please send me a copy of the report before the meeting.

Breakdown of Tafadhali nitumie nakala ya ripoti kabla ya mkutano.

• ya: of
• kabla ya: before
• tafadhali: please
• mkutano: the meeting
• kutuma: to send
• ripoti: the report
• nakala: the copy

Questions & Answers about Tafadhali nitumie nakala ya ripoti kabla ya mkutano.

What does tafadhali mean and where is it placed in the sentence?

Tafadhali means please. It’s an adverb of politeness and normally comes before the verb or clause you’re softening.
Example: Tafadhali fika mapema. (“Please arrive early.”)

Why is the verb nitumie used here, and how is it constructed?

nitumie is a polite request form (subjunctive) meaning “send me.” It breaks down as:
• ni- (object prefix “me”)
• tuma (verb root “send”)
• -e (subjunctive ending, used for polite commands)
So literally ni-tum-e = “(you) send me.”

Why does nitumie end in -e instead of the more common -a?

Because it’s in the subjunctive mood, which replaces the final -a with -e to soften commands. An imperative (blunter) version would be nituma (“send me!”), but that feels more forceful.

What does nakala ya ripoti mean, and why is ya necessary?

nakala means copy and ripoti means report. Swahili uses a genitive connector (here ya) to link the two:
nakala ya ripoti = “copy of the report.”
You can’t just say nakala ripoti; the genitive particle must agree with the noun class.

Why is it kabla ya mkutano instead of just kabla mkutano?

kabla (“before”) is a prepositional noun that requires the genitive connector ya before another noun. The pattern is always kabla ya [noun], e.g. kabla ya safari, kabla ya kazi.

What noun class does mkutano belong to, and how would you form its plural?

mkutano (“meeting”) is class 3 (singular m-/mi-). Its plural is class 4 with prefix mi-:
mikutano = “meetings.”
(Note: the connector after kabla stays ya even in the plural: kabla ya mikutano.)