Learn Hardcore Swahili: Juma alikata matunda kwa uma, akaweka kwenye bakuli, akawagawia watoto. - Juma cut the fruit with a fork, put it in a bowl, and shared it with the children.

It’s 3rd person singular subject marker a- plus past tense -li-. So alikata = a- (he/she) + -li- (past) + kata (cut) → “he cut.” The negative past would be hakukata (“he didn’t cut”).

What is the -ka- in akaweka and akawagawia?

It’s the narrative/consecutive marker. It links a sequence of completed actions, roughly “and then.” So: alikata …, akaweka …, akawagawia … = “he cut …, then put …, then distributed …,” all with the same subject.

Do I need a conjunction like na (“and”) between these verbs?

No. The -ka- already supplies the “and then” meaning. You can add adverbs like kisha/halafu (“then”) for style, but na is unnecessary here.

Can a sentence start with aka-?

Normally no; -ka- is used after another completed action. You usually establish the first action with a past tense (e.g., alikata) and then continue with aka- forms.

Why is there no explicit object after akaweka?

Because the object (matunda, “fruit”) is recoverable from the previous clause. Swahili often omits a repeated, obvious object. If you want to keep it explicit, you can say:

akaweka matunda kwenye bakuli (he then put the fruit in the bowl), or
use an object marker for class 6 (matunda): akayaweka kwenye bakuli (“he then put them in the bowl”). Another common verb here is tia (“put into”): akayatia kwenye bakuli.

Why does akawagawia contain wa- and also have watoto after it? Isn’t that redundant?

The wa- inside the verb is the object marker “them” for class 2 (people, plural). Having both the object marker and the full noun is normal when the object is definite/topical (especially for people). Without the marker, akagawia watoto is still grammatical but less definite/emphatic.

What exactly does the verb gawia mean, and how is it different from gawa or gawanya?

gawa: divide/split.
gawanya: divide into parts, apportion (often more explicitly “divide up”).
gawia: distribute/share (something) to/among someone (applicative: -ia “to/for”). Here gawia focuses on giving portions to recipients (the children).

So in akawagawia watoto, what is being distributed?

The fruit from earlier in the sentence. With gawia, the recipients are the object. If you want to state the thing as well, you can say: akawagawia watoto matunda (“he then distributed fruit to the children”).

What does -ia at the end of gawia do?

It’s the applicative extension, which adds a beneficiary/recipient or endpoint to the verb. gawa (divide) → gawia (divide/distribute to/for someone).

Could I use gawanya instead?

You can, but it shifts the nuance to the act of dividing: akawagawanyia watoto matunda means he divided the fruit up for the children (emphasizing the splitting). akawagawia emphasizes giving the shares to them.

Why kwa uma and not na uma for “with a fork”?

Both occur, but kwa is the standard way to express instrument/means (“using”). na can also mean “with,” but it’s often read as accompaniment. For instruments, kwa is safest: kwa uma, kwa kisu, kwa kijiko.

By the way, is a fork the natural tool here?

Not really. Cutting fruit is typically done kwa kisu (with a knife). kwa uma is grammatical but unusual in real-life contexts.

Does kwenye mean “in,” “on,” or “into” in kwenye bakuli?

kwenye is a general locative (“in/at/on”). With a motion/placement verb like weka (“put”), kwenye bakuli is understood as “into/in the bowl.” If you want to be very explicit about interior, you can say ndani ya bakuli. katika is a more formal “in/within.”

How do noun-class agreements show up here?

Juma: 3rd person singular subject marker a- on verbs (ali-, aka-).
matunda (class 6): its object marker would be ya- (hence akayaweka, akayatia).
watoto (class 2 people): object marker wa- (seen in akawagawia).

Can I change the order of the phrases like moving kwa uma earlier?

You can, but the given order is the most natural: verb + object + instrument. Juma alikata matunda kwa uma sounds smoother than, say, Juma kwa uma alikata matunda, which is marked and only used for special emphasis.

How would I negate the chain?

First action (simple past): Juma hakukata matunda kwa uma (he didn’t cut the fruit with a fork).
For a following action in the chain, Swahili typically doesn’t use a negative -ka-. Use a normal negative past, often with a connective: … kisha hakuwagawia watoto or … wala hakuwagawia watoto (“… then he didn’t distribute to the children”).

Are the commas required?

No. They’re a stylistic aid. You’ll often see the -ka- chain written with or without commas: alikata … akaweka … akawagawia ….