Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ukame ukitoweka, wakulima watapanda mbegu shambani. - When the drought clears, the farmers will plant seeds on the farm.

In Swahili, the verb must agree with the subject via a subject marker, even if the subject noun is present. So the noun ukame (drought) is stated, and the verb still takes u- to agree with it: u-ki-towek-a. You can’t drop the u-; without it, kitoweka would look like a class 7 subject (and be wrong here).

Could I say Kama ukame utatoweka, wakulima watapanda... instead?

Yes. kama = “if/whether.”

Ukame ukitoweka... tends to feel like “when/if (and then)” with a natural consequence.
Kama ukame utatoweka... is a straightforward “if” and can feel a bit more hypothetical. Both are correct.

What tense is watapanda, and how is it formed?

Future tense. Morphology: wa-ta-panda.

wa- = subject marker for class 2 (plural people: matches wakulima, “farmers”)
-ta- = future
panda = verb root “plant” Using the future after a -ki- conditional is very common for a “when/if X happens, (then) Y will...” structure.

Does kupanda only mean “to plant”?

No. kupanda also means “to climb/go up” and “to board (a vehicle/animal).” Context disambiguates:

kupanda mbegu = to plant seeds
kupanda mlima = to climb a mountain
kupanda basi/pikipiki = to board a bus/motorbike

Is mbegu singular or plural here?

Either. mbegu is a class 9/10 noun whose singular and plural look the same. Context usually tells you. If you need to be explicit:

one seed: mbegu moja
some/few seeds: mbegu chache
many seeds: mbegu nyingi

What does the -ni in shambani do?

It’s the locative suffix meaning “at/in/on.”

shamba = farm/field
shambani = at/in the farm/field You can often paraphrase with kwenye/katika shamba, but -ni is very idiomatic and concise.

Can I say kwenye shamba or use the plural mashambani instead of shambani?

kwenye shamba / katika shamba = “in/at the farm,” perfectly fine, a bit more explicit.
mashambani (plural locative) = “in the fields/at the farms,” if you mean multiple fields or a general rural setting. Choose based on whether you want singular or plural.

Which noun classes show up here, and how do they affect agreement?

ukame “drought” = class 14 (abstract mass). Subject marker: u- → seen in u-ki-toweka.
mkulima/wakulima “farmer(s)” = class 1/2 (people). Plural subject marker: wa- → wa-ta-panda.
mbegu “seed(s)” = class 9/10 (N-class). If it were the subject, you’d expect agreement like i- (sg) / zi- (pl).
shamba/mashamba “farm/field(s)” = class 5/6. As a subject, you’d see li- (sg) / ya- (pl) on the verb (e.g., Shamba lina... / Mashamba yana...). Only the subjects trigger agreement on the verbs in this sentence: ukame (u-) and wakulima (wa-).

How would I say the negative conditional “If the drought doesn’t disappear, ...”?

Use the negative conditional -sipo- (not ... when/if):

Ukame usipotoweka, wakulima hawatapanda mbegu shambani. Breakdown:
u-si-po-towek-a = “if it (class 14) does not disappear”
ha-wa-ta-panda = “they will not plant”

Can I reverse the clause order?

Yes:

Wakulima watapanda mbegu shambani ukame ukitoweka. Both orders are fine. In writing, a comma is usually placed after a fronted conditional clause: Ukame ukitoweka, ... In speech, you make a small pause there.

Is there a difference between using -ki- and -po-/-tapo- for “when”?

-ki- = “when/if (and then),” often implies a condition leading to a result. Example: Ukame ukitoweka, ...
-po- (present/past) or -takapo- (future) = “when (at the time that),” more time-specific.
- Future example: Ukame utakapoisha, wakulima watapanda... (“When the drought ends, the farmers will plant...”) So -ki- leans conditional/causal; -po-/ -tapo- leans temporal/specific.

Why not use the subjunctive wapande?

Subjunctive wapande (“that they plant/should plant”) would typically appear after certain verbs of desire/necessity or in purpose clauses, not as the main result of a -ki- conditional. After a conditional like this, Swahili normally uses future (watapanda) or habitual (hupanda) in the main clause, depending on meaning.