Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto.

The children are playing ball by the river.

Breakdown of Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto.

• kucheza: to play
• mtoto: the child
• mpira: the ball
• kando ya mto: by the river

Questions & Answers about Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto.

What does each word in Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto literally mean?

Word by word:

• Watoto – children (plural of mtoto = child)
• wana-cheza – they-play / they-are-playing
  
  • wa- = they (subject prefix for watoto)
  • -na- = present tense marker (“are / do”)
  • -cheza = play
• mpira – ball / a rubber thing / a ball game (often football, depending on context)
• kando – side / edge / bank
• ya – of (agreeing with kando)
• mto – river (can also mean pillow, but here it’s “river”)

Put together: “The children are playing ball beside the river.”

Why is it wanacheza and not just cheza?

In Swahili, the verb almost always carries the subject and the tense inside it. You don’t say “play” by itself as a full sentence.

• wa- = subject prefix for “they” (class for watoto)
• -na- = present tense (“are / do”)
• cheza = play

So:

• wanacheza = wa (they) + na (present) + cheza (play) → they are playing / they play

If you said just cheza, it would sound like a bare verb stem, similar to just saying “play!” in English (like a dictionary form or an imperative depending on context), not a proper “they are playing.”

What is the singular of watoto, and how would the sentence change if there was only one child?

The singular of watoto is mtoto (child).

Noun–verb agreement changes as well:

• mtoto anacheza mpira kando ya mto.
  
  • mtoto = child
  • ana-cheza = he/she is playing (a- + -na- + cheza)

So:

• Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto.
  = The children are playing ball by the river.

• Mtoto anacheza mpira kando ya mto.
  = The child is playing ball by the river.

How is the present tense formed in wanacheza?

The structure is:

subject prefix + tense marker + verb root

For wanacheza:

• wa- = subject prefix for “they” (for watoto)
• -na- = present tense marker (“are / do”)
• cheza = verb root “play”

So:

• wana-cheza = they-are-play(ing) → they are playing / they play

Other examples:

• Ninacheza – I am playing / I play (ni- + -na- + cheza)
• Unacheza – you are playing / you play (u- + -na- + cheza)
• Anacheza – he/she is playing / he/she plays (a- + -na- + cheza)

Does wanacheza mean “they are playing” or “they play”? Is there a difference?

Context decides. The -na- tense in Swahili usually covers both:

• Progressive: they are playing (right now)
• Habitual/general: they play (regularly)

So Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto. could mean:

• “The children are playing ball by the river (right now).”
  or
• “The children play ball by the river (as a regular activity).”

If you need to emphasize “right now,” you can add something like sasa (“now”) or kwa sasa.

What exactly does mpira mean? Is it “ball” or “football” or “game”?

Mpira is a flexible word. It can mean:

• ball (any kind of ball)
• rubber (the material; e.g., a rubber hose)
• ball game, especially football/soccer, in many contexts

In this sentence, wanacheza mpira most naturally means:

• they are playing ball, often understood as they are playing football (soccer) if no other context is given, especially in East Africa.

If you want to be very explicit:

• wanacheza mpira wa miguu – they are playing football (literally “ball of feet”).
• wanacheza mpira wa kikapu – they are playing basketball (literally “basket ball”).

What does kando ya mean, and how is it different from other ways of saying “by the river”?

kando ya literally means “the side of” or “the edge of”, and together it works like “by / beside / along”.

• kando – side, edge, margin, bank
• ya – “of” (agreeing with kando, which is class 9/10 → takes ya)

So:

• kando ya mto = the side/edge of the river → by/beside the river

Other similar expressions:

• karibu na mto – near the river
• pembeni mwa mto – at the side of the river, next to the river

All can be translated as “by the river,” but:

• kando ya mto emphasizes being along the bank/edge.
• karibu na mto emphasizes nearness (not necessarily right at the edge).
• pembeni mwa mto emphasizes being at the side, next to it.

Why is it kando ya mto and not kando wa mto or something else?

The small word ya is agreeing with kando, not with mto.

• kando belongs to noun class 9/10.
• Possessive/“of” for class 9/10 is ya.

So:

• kando ya mto = the side of the river

If the head noun were in a different class, the “of” word would change, for example:

• mfuko wa mtoto – the child’s bag (mfuko = class 3/4, takes wa)
• kitabu cha mtoto – the child’s book (kitabu = class 7/8, takes cha)

Here, because kando is the head noun (not mto), we must use ya.

Why isn’t there a word for “the” or “a” in the sentence?

Swahili does not use separate words for definite or indefinite articles like “the” or “a/an”.

So:

• mtoto can mean a child or the child, depending on context.
• watoto = children / the children
• mpira = a ball / the ball

In Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto, English adds articles to sound natural:

• “The children are playing (a/the) ball by the river.”

Swahili relies on context (and sometimes word order or additional words) to show definiteness, not “the / a” words.

Can I leave out watoto and just say Wanacheza mpira kando ya mto?

Yes, you can. The subject is already inside the verb in wa- (they), so:

• Wanacheza mpira kando ya mto.

is a natural sentence and means “They are playing ball by the river.” Context would tell you that “they” are children.

Including watoto:

• makes the subject explicit,
• is useful when introducing who you’re talking about,
• is very common in everyday speech too.

Both are correct; dropping the noun is more likely when the subject is already known from context.

How would I say “The children were playing ball by the river” or “will play ball by the river”?

You change the tense marker in the verb.

1. Past (continuous or simple past):
   Use -li- for past:

   • Watoto walicheza mpira kando ya mto.
     → The children played ball by the river.
   • For “were playing,” you can still use walicheza; context does a lot of work.
     If you really need progressive, you can say:
     
     • Watoto walikuwa wakicheza mpira kando ya mto.
       (They were in the state of playing ball by the river.)

2. Future:
   Use -ta- for future:

   • Watoto watacheza mpira kando ya mto.
     → The children will play ball by the river.

Patterns:

• wana-cheza – are playing / play
• wali-cheza – played / were playing (context decides)
• wata-cheza – will play

How do you pronounce mto? It looks strange with “mt” together.

mto is two syllables: m-to.

• The m is a full syllable, almost like a short humming sound before the t.
• You do not say it like English “em-toh.” Instead, keep it tight: [mto].

A simple way to feel it:

1. Start with your lips closed and hum “m”.
2. While still holding the “m” feeling, move your tongue to “t” and open for “o”: m-to.

With practice it will feel natural. Many Swahili words start with m + consonant, e.g. mtaa (street), mnyama (animal).

Could mto also mean something else? How do we know it’s “river” here?

Yes, mto has at least two common meanings:

1. river
2. pillow (a long cushion, e.g., for sleeping)

In this sentence, kando ya mto (“by the side of the river”) makes sense, but “by the side of the pillow” would be very odd, so context clearly tells us it’s river.

In a different sentence, context might force “pillow,” for example:

• Namelala juu ya mto. – I am sleeping on a pillow.

How would I say “The children are playing with a ball by the river,” emphasizing “with a ball”?

To emphasize “with a ball,” you can add na (“with”):

• Watoto wanacheza na mpira kando ya mto.
  → The children are playing with a ball by the river.

Compare:

• wanacheza mpira – they play ball / they play football (treating mpira as the game)
• wanacheza na mpira – they are playing with a ball (focusing on the object used)

Both are correct; the nuance is slightly different.

How do I say the negative: “The children are not playing ball by the river”?

You change both the subject prefix and the tense marker for the negative.

For they are not playing:

• hawachezi = ha- (negative for they) + -wa- + -chezi (negative stem of cheza)

Full sentence:

• Watoto hawachezi mpira kando ya mto.
  → The children are not playing ball by the river.

Pattern:

• wanacheza – they are playing
• hawachezi – they are not playing

Other persons for present negative:

• sisichezi? Actually:
  • nacheza → sichezi – I play / I don’t play
  • unacheza → huchezi – you play / you don’t play
  • anacheza → hachezi – he/she plays / doesn’t play
  • tunacheza → hatuchezi – we play / don’t play
  • mnanacheza → hamchezi – you (pl) play / don’t play
  • wanacheza → hawachezi – they play / don’t play

Is the word order in Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto fixed, or can I move things around?

The normal, most natural order is:

Subject – Verb – Object – (Place / Time etc.)

So:

• Watoto (S) wanacheza (V) mpira (O) kando ya mto (place).

You can move some parts for emphasis or style, but for a learner it’s best to stick to this order.

Examples (all possible, but with slightly different emphasis):

• Watoto wanacheza mpira kando ya mto. (normal)
• Watoto wanacheza kando ya mto mpira. (unusual; focus oddly on mpira)
• Kando ya mto watoto wanacheza mpira. (stylistic; emphasizing location “by the river”)

If you’re learning, use the standard order: Subject – Verb – Object – Place.