Learn Hardcore Swahili: Asha anapenda kunywa chai anapokula samaki. - Asha likes to drink tea when she eats fish.

a- = subject marker for she/he
-na- = present tense marker (often called present habitual or present continuous)
-penda = verb root like / love

Literally, anapenda is something like she likes / she is liking in a broad present time sense.

In natural English, stative verbs like to like are normally not used in the continuous (is liking), so we translate anapenda simply as she likes.

In Swahili, however, it is perfectly normal to use -na- with penda, so anapenda is the regular way to say she likes (both general habit and current state).

Why do we use kunywa here instead of another form like ananywa or anakunywa?

Kunywa is the infinitive form of the verb nywa (to drink):

ku- = infinitive marker to
-nywa = verb root drink

In Swahili, when one verb follows another, the second verb is usually put in the infinitive:

anapenda kunywa chai = she likes to drink tea / she likes drinking tea

If you said anapenda ananywa chai, that would be ungrammatical.
Anakunywa chai on its own would mean she is drinking tea, not she likes to drink tea.

So penda + infinitive (like + to do) is the normal pattern:

anapenda kusoma – she likes to read
anapenda kuimba – she likes to sing

Why is there no word like to before kunywa in Swahili?

In Swahili, the infinitive is formed by ku- + verb, and that entire form already includes the idea of to:

kunywa = to drink
kusoma = to read
kula = to eat

You do not add a separate word for to like in English.
So anapenda kunywa chai directly corresponds to she likes to drink tea, with ku- doing the job of English to.

What exactly does anapokula mean, and how is it formed?

Anapokula means when she eats or while she is eating.

It breaks down as:

a- = subject marker she/he
-na- = present tense
-po- = relative/locative marker with the sense when / where
-kula = verb root eat

So a-na-po-kula = when she eats / while she is eating.

The -po- is what turns it into a time / when clause.
Without -po-, anakula just means she is eating / she eats.
With -po-, anapokula becomes when she eats / when she is eating and introduces a subordinate clause:
… when she eats fish.

Why is Asha mentioned only once? How do we know anapokula also refers to Asha?

Swahili verbs must agree with their subject, and that agreement is shown in the subject prefix on the verb:

Asha anapenda… – a- shows the subject is she/he (here: Asha).
… anapokula samaki – again a- shows the subject is she/he.

Because a- in both verbs refers back to the same person already mentioned (Asha), Swahili does not need to repeat the name or a pronoun like yeye.

So the full meaning is:

Asha anapenda kunywa chai [Asha] anapokula samaki. But the second Asha is redundant and normally dropped, since a- tells you who it is.

Could we say Asha anapenda kunywa chai wakati anakula samaki instead of anapokula samaki?

Yes, you can say:

Asha anapenda kunywa chai wakati anakula samaki.

This literally means: Asha likes to drink tea at the time when she eats fish.

Differences:

wakati… anakula uses the noun wakati (time / moment) plus a normal verb (anakula).
anapokula packs the idea of when / as she eats directly into the verb using -po-.

Both are grammatically correct and natural.
Anapokula is just more compact and very common in everyday speech.

Can we change the word order to put the when clause first, like in English?

Yes. You can say:

Anapokula samaki, Asha anapenda kunywa chai.
Wakati anakula samaki, Asha anapenda kunywa chai.

This is exactly like English:

When she eats fish, Asha likes to drink tea.

Swahili allows this fronting of the subordinate clause just like English, and the meaning does not change. A comma is often used in writing but is not required in speech.

Does chai mean tea in general, or a cup of tea? Why is there no article like a / the?

Swahili does not use articles (a, an, the) the way English does.

Chai can mean:

tea in general (the substance)
a/the tea (a serving, a cup, or a specific tea), depending on context

So:

anapenda kunywa chai can mean she likes to drink tea (in general), or she likes to drink the tea (a particular tea), depending on what has been talked about.

If you need to be more specific, you add other words:

chai hii – this tea
chai ile – that tea
chai moja – one tea / one cup of tea (in an appropriate context)

Is samaki singular or plural here? How do we say fish vs fishes?

Samaki belongs to noun class 9/10, where the singular and plural often have the same form.

So samaki can mean:

a fish
fish (more than one)

Context usually tells you whether it is singular or plural. In this sentence, anapokula samaki could mean:

when she eats (some) fish, or
when she eats fish (as a type of food)

If you want to be explicit about quantity, you can add numbers or other expressions:

samaki mmoja – one fish
samaki wawili – two fish
samaki wengi – many fish

What tense or aspect does anapenda and anapokula express? Is it present simple or present continuous?

The -na- tense marker usually covers what English expresses with both:

present simple: she likes, she eats
present continuous: she is eating

In this sentence:

anapenda – she likes (a general habit / preference)
anapokula – when she eats / when she is eating

So the -na- here is best understood as present habitual / present time, not strictly limited to continuous the way English is doing is. Swahili does not need a special tense just for general habits like English does with the present simple.

How would this sentence look in the past tense, like Asha liked to drink tea when she ate fish?

You would change the tense marker -na- to -li- (past):

Asha alipenda kunywa chai alipokula samaki.

Breakdown:

alipenda = a- (she) + -li- (past) + -penda (like) → she liked
alipokula = a- (she) + -li- (past) + -po- (when) + -kula (eat) → when she ate / when she was eating

So:

Asha alipenda kunywa chai alipokula samaki.
= Asha liked to drink tea when she ate fish.

Could we leave out kunywa and just say Asha anapenda chai anapokula samaki?

Yes, you can say:

Asha anapenda chai anapokula samaki.

This would be understood as Asha likes tea when she eats fish.

With kunywa, the sentence focuses on the action:

anapenda kunywa chai… – she likes to drink tea…

Without kunywa, it focuses more on the thing she likes:

anapenda chai… – she likes tea…

In many contexts, both will be understood similarly, but anapenda kunywa chai is more explicit about it being the action of drinking that she likes.

Is anapokula one word, and do we always write all these verb parts together in Swahili?

Yes, anapokula is written as one word.

Swahili verbs attach several elements into a single written form:

subject marker (e.g. a-)
tense marker (e.g. -na-, -li-)
sometimes a relative/locative marker (e.g. -po-, -ko-, -cho-, etc.)
verb root (e.g. -kula, -soma, -nywa)

So:

a + na + po + kula → anapokula
wa + ta + som + a → watasoma (they will read)

These pieces are normally written together as one word in standard Swahili spelling.