Uzoefu wako utatusaidia sana kazini.

Your experience will help us a lot at work.

Breakdown of Uzoefu wako utatusaidia sana kazini.

• kwenye: at
• kazi: the work
• sana: a lot
• kusaidia: to help
• wako: your
• uzoefu: the experience

Questions & Answers about Uzoefu wako utatusaidia sana kazini.

What does each piece of the sentence do?

Breakdown: Uzoefu wako u-ta-tu-saidia sana kazi-ni.

• Uzoefu = experience (noun class 14)
• wako = your (possessive agreeing with class 14)
• u- = subject marker agreeing with class 14 noun (it)
• -ta- = future tense (will)
• -tu- = object marker (us)
• -saidia = help (verb stem)
• sana = a lot/very much
• kazi = work
• -ni = locative suffix (at/in), so kazi-ni = at work

Written normally as one word for the verb: utatusaidia.

Why is it wako and not yako or lako?

Possessives must agree with the noun class of what is owned. Uzoefu is class 14 (u-), and class 14 takes the w- possessive concord:

• class 14: wako/wangu/wake → uzoefu wako
• class 9/10: yako/yangu/yake → e.g., nyumba yako
• class 5: lako/langu/lake → e.g., tunda lako So wako is correct with uzoefu.

Is the u- in utatusaidia “you” or “it”?

Here it’s “it,” agreeing with the class 14 subject uzoefu. Swahili uses u- both for class 14 subjects and for second-person singular (“you”) subjects. The presence of the noun Uzoefu wako clarifies the subject. Without the noun, utatusaidia could be heard as either “you will help us” or “it will help us,” depending on context.

Why is tu (us) inside the verb?

Swahili puts object markers inside the verb in a fixed slot:

• Subject marker + Tense/Aspect + Object marker + Verb stem (+ final vowel) So you get u-ta-tu-saidia. You can’t write the object separately inside the verb; it must be attached like this.

Can I drop tu and still be correct?

• Uzoefu wako utasaidia sana kazini = “will help a lot at work” (no specific object stated).
• To keep “us,” you normally use the object marker tu: utatusaidia. You may add sisi for emphasis: Uzoefu wako utatusaidia sisi sana kazini, but the object marker is what carries the meaning.

How would I say “help me/you/him/her/us/them” instead?

Replace the object marker:

• me: u-ta-ni-saidia → utanisaidia
• you (sg): u-ta-ku-saidia → utakusaidia
• him/her (person): u-ta-m-saidia → utamsaidia
• us: u-ta-tu-saidia → utatusaidia
• them (people): u-ta-wa-saidia → utawasaidia Object markers agree with the object (person vs. noun class).

How do I make it negative?

With a class 14 subject, the negative future uses hau- before -ta-:

• Uzoefu wako hau-ta-tu-saidia sana kazini → Uzoefu wako hautatusaidia sana kazini = “Your experience will not help us a lot at work.” If the subject were “you (sg),” it would be hu-ta-…: hutatusaidia.

What exactly does kazi-ni mean, and why the -ni?

The suffix -ni makes a locative: “at/in/on.” kazi (work) + -ni = kazini (“at work,” “on duty”). Common parallels: nyumba → nyumbani (at home), shule → shuleni (at school), ofisi → ofisini (at the office).

Could I say kwa kazi or katika kazi instead of kazini?

• kazini is the most idiomatic for “at work/while working.”
• katika kazi = “in/within work” (more formal/abstract).
• kwa kazi tends to mean “for work/by means of work,” not just location. For simple “at work,” use kazini.

Where should sana go?

Place sana after the verb phrase it intensifies: …utatusaidia sana (kazini). It does not go before the verb. You can also say …kazini sana, but the default is …utatusaidia sana kazini.

Can I move kazini to the front or end?

Yes, for emphasis or flow:

• Kazini, uzoefu wako utatusaidia sana.
• Uzoefu wako utatusaidia sana kazini. Both are fine; the meaning stays the same.

Does kazini mean “work experience”?

No. kazini = “at work.” For “work experience,” use a genitive: uzoefu wa kazi. Example: Uzoefu wako wa kazi utatusaidia sana = “Your work experience will help us a lot.”