Learn Hardcore Swahili: Bado sijakula pilau leo asubuhi. - I have not eaten pilau this morning.

si- = I (first-person singular) in the negative
-ja- = negative perfect (the “have not”/“haven’t” marker)
-kula = to eat (verb stem) So sijakula = “I have not eaten / I haven’t eaten.” Adding bado gives the “yet/still” meaning: “I still haven’t eaten / I haven’t eaten yet.”

Why is bado used here, and what does it do?

With a negative verb, bado means “not yet/still haven’t.” So Bado sijakula... = “I still haven’t eaten...” In affirmative sentences, bado means “still” in the sense of a continuing action, e.g., Bado ninakula = “I’m still eating.”

Can I move bado to a different place in the sentence?

Yes. Common options:

Bado sijakula pilau... (very common; fronted for emphasis)
Sijakula pilau bado... (also natural; “bado” at the end) Less natural: Sijakula bado pilau... (speakers usually keep “bado” before or after the whole verb phrase, not splitting verb and object).

What’s the difference between sijakula and sikula?

sijakula = negative perfect (“I haven’t eaten [up to now]”). It’s about current relevance/unfinished timeframe.
sikula = simple past negative (“I didn’t eat”). It refers to a completed past time with no “yet/still” idea.

If I drop bado, does the meaning change a lot?

Sijakula pilau leo asubuhi still means “I haven’t eaten pilau this morning,” but without the explicit “yet/still” nuance. Bado highlights the expectation that eating might happen later.

Is leo asubuhi a natural way to say “this morning”? Any alternatives?

Yes, leo asubuhi is common and natural. You’ll also hear:

asubuhi hii (this morning, very idiomatic)
asubuhi ya leo (this morning, more formal/newsy)
asubuhi leo (heard regionally; acceptable) Often, plain asubuhi is enough if context already makes “today” clear.

Where can the time phrase go in the sentence?

Flexible placement is normal:

End: Bado sijakula pilau leo asubuhi.
Beginning: Leo asubuhi bado sijakula pilau.
After the verb: Bado sijakula pilau asubuhi hii. Choice affects emphasis more than correctness.

Why is there no object marker inside the verb for pilau?

Swahili typically puts the object noun after the verb without an object marker unless:

the object is a pronoun or is highly topical/definite, or
you’re avoiding repeating the noun. If the pilau was already mentioned and you’re referring back to it, you can use the class 9 object marker -i-:
Nimepika pilau, lakini bado sijaikula. = “I’ve cooked pilau, but I still haven’t eaten it.”

How do I conjugate the negative perfect (the -ja- form) with other people?

With any verb (using kula as the example):

I: sijakula (I haven’t eaten)
You (sg): hujakula
He/She: hajakula
We: hatujakula
You (pl): hamjakula
They: hawajakula

Is sijala acceptable instead of sijakula?

You’ll hear sijala in casual speech (it reflects the irregular stem -la for “eat”). Standard and safest is sijakula, which is accepted everywhere.

How would I say the opposite, like “I’ve already eaten pilau this morning”?

Tayari nimeshakula pilau leo asubuhi.
Nimeshakula pilau asubuhi hii. Here -sha- inside the verb adds the sense of “already.”

What if I want to say “I don’t eat pilau in the mornings” (habit) instead?

Use the negative present/habitual:

Sili pilau asubuhi. = “I don’t eat pilau in the mornings.” Note the irregular negative of “kula”: sili (not “sinakula”).

Does bado ever work with an affirmative perfect?

Don’t use bado with an affirmative perfect to mean “already.” Bado + affirmative means “still (ongoing)” with progressive/continuous: Bado ninakula = “I’m still eating.” For “already,” use tayari or -sha-: Nimeshakula.

How can I emphasize “not even a little / not any” pilau?

Bado sijakula pilau hata kidogo leo asubuhi. = “I still haven’t eaten even a little pilau this morning.” For a broader “anything,” you can say: Bado sijala chochote asubuhi hii.

Are there other ways to say “still haven’t” besides bado?

Yes, you can use time-limit expressions:

Hadi sasa sijakula pilau leo asubuhi.
Mpaka sasa sijakula pilau leo asubuhi. These mean “Up to now I haven’t eaten pilau this morning,” similar to bado in this context.

Any pronunciation tips for the sentence?

bado: BA-do (short vowels)
sijakula: see-ja-KU-la (the “j” as in “jam”; stress tends to fall toward the penultimate syllable)
pilau: pi-LAU (the “au” is a diphthong)
leo: LE-o (two syllables)
asubuhi: a-su-BU-hi (all vowels pronounced)