Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mimi niliweka zulia jipya sakafuni sebuleni. - I placed a new carpet on the floor in the living room.

No. The subject is already encoded in the verb (ni- = “I”). You add Mimi only for emphasis or contrast: “I (as opposed to someone else) put a new rug …”. Without it: Niliweka zulia jipya sakafuni sebuleni.

What’s the breakdown of the verb niliweka?

ni- = 1st person singular subject marker (“I”)
-li- = past tense marker
weka = verb stem “put/place” So, ni-li-weka = “I put/placed.”

Could I say nimeweka instead of niliweka? What’s the difference?

Niliweka = simple past (“I put …”, at some time in the past).
Nimeweka = perfect (“I have put …”, done now/recently with current relevance). Both are correct; pick the one that matches your time/reference.

Is weka the most natural verb for a rug, or is there a better choice?

Weka is fine and common, but many speakers prefer tandika (“to spread/lay out” something flat). Very natural: Nilitandika zulia jipya … for laying down a rug, mat, or bedding.

Why is it zulia jipya and not “jipya zulia”? Do adjectives agree with nouns?

In Swahili, adjectives follow the noun and take a noun-class agreement prefix. Zulia is class 5, so -pya takes the class-5 prefix ji- → jipya. Examples:

Class 1: mtu mpya (a new person)
Class 7: kitabu kipya (a new book)
Class 5: zulia jipya / gari jipya (a new rug/car)
Class 6: mazulia mapya / magari mapya (new rugs/cars)
Class 9: meza mpya / nyumba mpya (a new table/house)

What’s the plural of zulia, and how does the adjective change?

Plural is class 6: mazulia. The adjective agrees: mazulia mapya (“new rugs”).

What does the -ni in sakafuni and sebuleni mean?

It’s a locative suffix meaning “in/at/on,” depending on the noun:

sakafuni = “on the floor”
sebuleni = “in the living room”

Is it okay to have two locatives in a row: sakafuni sebuleni?

Yes. It reads naturally as “on the floor (that is) in the living room.” You’re stacking a smaller location inside a larger one. You could also say the larger first: sebuleni sakafuni. Another explicit option: kwenye sakafu ya sebule (“on the living-room floor”).

Could I use kwenye or katika instead of the -ni ending?

Yes:

kwenye sakafu, kwenye sebule
katika sebule Avoid doubling them redundantly (e.g., prefer kwenye sebule or sebuleni, not both together).

Should there be an object marker for zulia in the verb?

No, not when the object follows the verb as a full noun. If you replace the noun with a pronoun (“I put it”), you’d use the class-5 object marker -li-: ni-li-li-weka → nililiweka (“I put it”). Don’t use -ki- here; zulia is class 5, not class 7.

What’s the difference between zulia and mkeka?

zulia = rug/carpet (often thicker, pile)
mkeka = mat (usually woven, flat), common on floors or for sitting/eating For a carpet-style rug, zulia is the right word.

Can the word order change? Where do the location phrases usually go?

Typical order is Subject–Verb–Object–Location(s): Mimi niliweka zulia jipya [locatives]. Locatives can move for emphasis, but keeping the object before the locations is most common and clearest.

Could I say chini instead of sakafuni?

Use sakafuni for “on the floor.” chini means “down/below/under(neath)” and is broader. It can work in context (e.g., Niliweka begi chini sebuleni = “I put the bag down in the living room”), but for the specific idea of “on the floor,” sakafuni is best.

Are there any pronunciation tips for words like jipya, zulia, and sebuleni?

jipya: pronounce as two parts, ji-pya; the “py” cluster is like “p” + “ya.”
zulia: zu-li-a (all vowels are sounded).
sebuleni: se-bu-le-ni; the final -ni is its own syllable.