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Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni.

Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni.
Tomorrow morning, we will vote at school.

Breakdown of Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni.

kesho asubuhi
tomorrow morning
shuleni
at school
kupiga kura
to vote
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Questions & Answers about Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni.

What does each individual word in Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni correspond to in English?

Rough word-by-word breakdown:

  • kesho – tomorrow
  • asubuhi – morning
  • kesho asubuhi – tomorrow morning
  • tutapiga – we will hit/strike (future tense of kupiga, to hit/strike)
  • kura – vote (ballot)
  • kupiga kura – to vote (literally: to hit/strike a ballot)
  • shule – school
  • shuleni – at/in school (shule + locative ending -ni)

So the sentence structure is:
Tomorrow morning, we-will-vote at-school.

Why is to vote expressed as kupiga kura (literally “to hit a ballot”) instead of using a verb that directly means “to vote”?

Swahili often forms new meanings by combining a general verb with a noun.

  • kupiga normally means to hit, to strike, to beat.
  • kura means vote or ballot.

Together, kupiga kura is the standard idiomatic way to say to vote.
You don’t normally say kura alone as a verb. When you want to talk about voting, you should use kupiga kura, conjugated as needed:

  • Ninapiga kura – I am voting / I vote
  • Tutapiga kura – We will vote
  • Walipiga kura – They voted
How is the verb tutapiga formed, and what does each part mean?

Swahili verbs have a fairly regular structure. A basic pattern is:

(subject marker) + (tense marker) + (verb stem)

In tutapiga:

  • tu- = we (subject marker, 1st person plural)
  • -ta- = future tense marker
  • -piga = verb stem (hit/strike, part of kupiga)

So tutapiga literally means we–future–hit, i.e. we will hit. In the expression tutapiga kura, that becomes we will vote.

Can the order of kesho and asubuhi be changed? For example, can I say asubuhi kesho?

Native speakers strongly prefer kesho asubuhi for tomorrow morning.

  • kesho asubuhi – natural and standard
  • asubuhi kesho – unusual, sounds marked or awkward in most contexts

In general, time expressions like kesho asubuhi behave as fixed chunks. Learn and use kesho asubuhi as a set phrase meaning tomorrow morning.

Is the comma after Kesho asubuhi necessary?

No, it’s mainly a stylistic choice.

  • Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni.
  • Kesho asubuhi tutapiga kura shuleni.

Both are correct. The comma just reflects a natural pause after the time phrase kesho asubuhi. In everyday writing, many Swahili speakers omit it.

What is the difference between shule and shuleni?
  • shule = school (the noun by itself)
  • shuleni = at/in school

Shuleni is formed by adding the locative suffix -ni to shule, which often corresponds to English at, in, or on.

Other similar examples:

  • nyumba – house → nyumbani – at home
  • kanisa – church → kanisani – at church

So in this sentence, shuleni is the best way to say at school.

Could I say kwenye shule or katika shule instead of shuleni?

Yes, you can, though shuleni is more compact and often more natural.

  • tutapiga kura shuleni – we will vote at school (very natural)
  • tutapiga kura kwenye shule – we will vote at (the) school
  • tutapiga kura katika shule – we will vote in/at the school (a bit more formal)

All three are grammatically correct. If there is a simple -ni locative form like shuleni, that is usually the first choice in everyday speech.

Can the word order be changed to Tutapiga kura kesho asubuhi shuleni?

Yes, that order is also grammatical and understandable:

  • Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni.
  • Tutapiga kura kesho asubuhi shuleni.

Swahili allows some flexibility with time and place phrases. Common patterns are:

  1. Time at the beginning:
    • Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni.
  2. Time after the verb phrase:
    • Tutapiga kura kesho asubuhi shuleni.

Putting the time expression at the start (as in the original) is very natural and slightly emphasizes tomorrow morning.

How would the sentence change if the subject is different, for example they or I?

You change the subject marker at the beginning of the verb:

  • Tutapiga kura shuleni. – We will vote at school.
  • Watapiga kura shuleni. – They will vote at school.
  • Nitapiga kura shuleni. – I will vote at school.
  • Utapiga kura shuleni. – You (singular) will vote at school.
  • Atapiga kura shuleni. – He/She will vote at school.

Only the subject marker (the first syllable of the verb) changes; -ta-, -piga, kura, and shuleni stay the same.

What tense or aspect is tutapiga exactly? How is it different from tunapiga kura?
  • tutapiga kura – future tense: we will vote (at some point in the future, here specified as tomorrow morning).
  • tunapiga kura – present/continuous: we are voting / we vote.

In the given sentence, kesho asubuhi (tomorrow morning) clearly refers to the future, so Swahili uses -ta- for future: tutapiga. Using tunapiga kura kesho asubuhi would sound odd, like saying we are voting tomorrow morning instead of we will vote tomorrow morning.

Why is there no word for the in shuleni, even though the English translation is “at the school”?

Swahili normally does not use separate words for the or a/an. Definiteness is understood from context.

  • shule / shuleni can mean school / the school / a school / at (the) school, depending on the situation.

In Kesho asubuhi, tutapiga kura shuleni, the context of an organized voting event makes it clear that shuleni means at the school (a specific, known school), even though Swahili doesn’t add a separate word like the.