Je, una uma wa chakula? Nipe uma wako, tafadhali; nitakurejeshea mara tu nikimaliza.

Je introduces a yes/no question (roughly “Do/Are…?”). It’s optional, especially in casual speech. You can ask the same thing with simple rising intonation:

• With Je: Je, una uma wa chakula?
• Without Je: Una uma wa chakula? In writing, you’ll often see a comma after Je, but you may also see it without one. All are acceptable.

The connector -a (“of/for”) agrees with the noun class of the head noun. Uma belongs to a class that takes wa for -a agreement, so you get:

• uma wa chakula (fork for food) Using ya (uma ya chakula) would sound off because ya is used with nouns in the N-class (like meza → meza ya…). In short: with uma, use wa.

Nipe (“give me…”) is a bare imperative and can sound direct. Adding tafadhali (“please”) makes it polite: Tafadhali, nipe uma wako. Even more polite/softened options:

• Naomba uniwekee/unipe uma wako, tafadhali. (I kindly request you give me your fork.)
• Naweza kuazima uma wako? (May I borrow your fork?)

Possessive forms (my/your/his/her…) also agree with the noun’s class. With uma, the correct possessive is wako (“your”). A few examples to see the pattern:

• mtu wako (your person/friend)
• meza yako (your table)
• kisu chako (your knife)
• uma wako (your fork) So with uma, use forms like wangu, wako, wake, etc.

Nipe is the imperative of the verb -pa (to give) with the object prefix ni- (me):

• ni- (me) + -pe (give, imperative) → nipe = “give me.”

Nitakurejeshea = “I will return (it) to you.” Breakdown:

• ni- = I (subject)
• -ta- = future tense
• -ku- = to you (indirect object)
• -rejeshe- = return
• -a (or -ea) = applicative “to/for (someone)” So it literally means “I will return to you,” with the thing being returned understood from context.

Both are correct. Rejesha and rudisha are near-synonyms meaning “return/restore.” You’ll hear both:

• Nitakurejeshea… = I’ll return it to you.
• Nitakurudishia… = I’ll return it to you. Rudisha is very common in many regions; rejesha is also standard.

Not necessarily. The direct object (“it”) is clear from context. If you want to be explicit, you can say:

• Nitakurejeshea uma. (I’ll return the fork to you.) Note: The verb already has the indirect object marker -ku- (“to you”). In standard usage, Swahili typically marks only one object on the verb; if you also want to mark the direct object, repeat it as a full noun (as in the example) rather than trying to add a second object marker.

Yes. Tu can follow the verb in the subordinate clause:

• Nitakurejeshea mara tu nikimaliza.
• Nitakurejeshea nikimaliza tu. Both mean “I’ll return it as soon as I finish.” The first slightly highlights the “right away” idea at the start; the second tags “as soon as I finish” with “just/only.” Both are natural.

Yes. Nitakapomaliza means “when I (will) finish” (future-oriented relative), and it’s perfectly fine:

• Nitakurejeshea mara tu nitakapomaliza. It can sound a bit more formal or precise about future time than nikimaliza.

No. It’s a stylistic choice to separate two closely related clauses. You could also use a period or a comma:

• … Nipe uma wako, tafadhali. Nitakurejeshea…
• … Nipe uma wako, tafadhali, nitakurejeshea… The meaning doesn’t change.

Use the “have-it” form that ends in -o, agreeing with the noun’s class, and drop the noun:

• Je, unayo?/unao? (Do you have one?) Which exact -o form you choose depends on the noun class; the key point is: use the -o form when the noun is understood and omitted. If you keep the noun (uma), stick with simple una: Je, una uma…?