Learn Hardcore Swahili: Jana jioni, nilisoma kitabu nyumbani. - Yesterday evening, I read a book at home.

ni- = I (1st person singular subject marker)
-li- = past tense
-soma = read/study (verb root) So nilisoma = “I read/I studied (past).” Present would be ninasoma (or colloquial nasoma), and perfect is nimesoma (“I have read”).

Why is there a comma after Jana jioni? Is it required?

It’s optional. Fronted time expressions like Jana jioni (“Yesterday evening”) are commonly followed by a comma for clarity, but you can also write the sentence without it: Jana jioni nilisoma kitabu nyumbani.

Can I put the time at the end instead?

Yes. Word order is flexible with adverbials:

Jana jioni, nilisoma kitabu nyumbani.
Nilisoma kitabu nyumbani jana jioni. Both are natural. Fronting time adds emphasis to when it happened.

Where is the article “a” before “book”? Why just kitabu?

Swahili has no articles. kitabu can mean “a book” or “the book” depending on context. To be explicit:

“one book” = kitabu kimoja
“that book” = kile kitabu / kitabu kile
“this book” = hiki kitabu / kitabu hiki

What’s the plural of kitabu, and what noun class is it?

kitabu (book) is class 7; its plural is class 8:

singular: kitabu
plural: vitabu This class uses agreement markers ki-/vi- for adjectives and object markers (e.g., kikubwa/vikubwa, OM: -ki-/-vi-).

Does kusoma mean “to read” or “to study”?

Both. Context decides:

Nilisoma kitabu = I read a book.
Nilisoma nyumbani = I studied at home. If you mean “learn,” you can also use kujifunza (“to learn”).

What exactly does nyumbani mean? Is it “at home” or “in the house”?

nyumbani is “at home/at the house,” from nyumba (house) + locative -ni. It can also mean “home(wards)” with motion verbs:

Niko nyumbani = I’m at home.
Ninaenda nyumbani = I’m going home. For “in the house (building),” you can say ndani ya nyumba or kwenye nyumba.

Could I say kwenye nyumbani?

No. nyumbani already has the locative -ni, so adding kwenye is redundant or odd. Use:

nyumbani = at home/to home
kwenye nyumba = at/in the house (the building)

Is mimi needed for “I”?

No. The subject is already in the verb (ni-). You use mimi only for emphasis or contrast:

Mimi nilisoma kitabu nyumbani = Me, I read a book at home.

How would I say “I was reading a book at home yesterday evening”?

Use the past progressive with kuwa + na-:

Nilikuwa ninasoma kitabu nyumbani jana jioni. Colloquial: Nilikuwa nasoma kitabu… You may also see Nilikuwa nikisoma… in some styles.

How do I negate the sentence (“I didn’t read a book at home yesterday evening”)?

Use the negative past marker -ku- with the 1st person negative (si- → combined as siku-):

Sikusoma kitabu nyumbani jana jioni.

Could I use the perfect nimesoma with jana jioni?

Normally no. The perfect -me- implies current relevance and typically pairs with recent/unspecified time. With explicit past time like jana jioni, use the simple past -li-: nilisoma.

How would I turn it into a yes/no question: “Did you read a book at home yesterday evening?”

Je, ulisoma kitabu nyumbani jana jioni?
Ulisoma kitabu nyumbani jana jioni? (without Je is also fine) Short answers: Ndiyo, nilisoma. / Hapana, sikusoma.

If I want to say “I read it at home yesterday evening,” how do I use the object marker?

Replace the noun with the class 7 object marker -ki- (for a known/specific book):

Nilikisoma nyumbani jana jioni. Avoid doubling the object (i.e., don’t say Nilikisoma kitabu unless for special emphasis/focus).

How do I say “at my home/your home/etc.”?

Add possessives after nyumbani:

nyumbani kwangu = at my home
nyumbani kwako = at your home
nyumbani kwake = at his/her home
nyumbani kwetu = at our home

How do I say “my book” in this sentence?

Use the class-7 possessive -angu → changu with kitabu:

Nilisoma kitabu changu nyumbani jana jioni.

Is there a contracted past like present ninasoma → nasoma?

Not for the past. nilisoma doesn’t contract. Present progressive often contracts (ninasoma → nasoma), but past -li- forms stay full: nilisoma, ulisoma, etc.

Is jana jioni the only way to say “yesterday evening”? What about “last night”?

“yesterday evening” = jana jioni
“last night” = jana usiku Other times:
“yesterday morning” = jana asubuhi
“yesterday afternoon/daytime” = jana mchana

Pronunciation tips for this sentence?

Stress the second-to-last syllable in each word: ja-NA jio-NI, ni-li-SO-ma, ki-TA-bu, nyu-mba-NI.
j as in “judge.”
ny is a single sound, like “ny” in “canyon” (palatal nasal).
Say jio in jioni clearly as two vowels: “jee-oh.”