Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo, atafurahi sana. - If you give the child a small gift, he/she will be very happy.

Ukimpa
- u- = you (singular) – subject prefix
- -ki- = conditional marker (if/when)
- -m- = him/her (3rd person singular object, class 1 – a person)
- -pa = give (from the verb kupa, to give)
  → ukimpa = if/when you give him/her
mtoto = child
zawadi = gift, present (class 9/10; same form for singular and plural)
ndogo = small (adjective agreeing with class 9 noun zawadi)

So the first clause literally is:
Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo = if/when you-give-him child gift small.

atafurahi
- a- = he/she (3rd person singular subject)
- -ta- = future tense marker (will)
- -furahi = be happy
  → atafurahi = he/she will be happy
sana = very, very much, a lot

Whole sentence:
If/when you give the child a small gift, he/she will be very happy.

How is the idea of if/when expressed here without a separate word like kama?

The conditional meaning is carried by the verbal marker -ki- inside ukimpa.

-ki- in this position often means something like:
- if (this real/likely condition happens), or
- when/whenever (this happens)

So:

Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo = If/When you give the child a small gift

You can also add the separate word kama:

Kama ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo, atafurahi sana.

This is also correct. Rough nuance:

Ukimpa... – neutral, very common; often like when/whenever or a real, expected condition
Kama ukimpa... – a bit more explicitly “if” (still natural everyday Swahili)

In many contexts the difference is small, and both are understood as if.

What exactly does the -m- in ukimpa refer to, and why is mtoto also there? Do we need both?

The -m- is an object marker that stands for him/her (class 1, usually a person).
In this sentence it refers to mtoto (the child).

So:

ukimpa = when you give him/her
mtoto = the child
Together: ukimpa mtoto ≈ when you give the child (literally: when you give-him the child).

Why both?

In standard Swahili, the verb kupa (to give) normally takes an object marker for the person who receives something.
The noun mtoto then clarifies who that m- actually is, or emphasizes it.

Is -m- optional here?

With kupa, it is normally not dropped.
- ✓ Nampa mtoto zawadi. = I give the child a gift.
- ✗ Napa mtoto zawadi. – ungrammatical in standard Swahili.
So ukimpa mtoto is the normal pattern.

Is mtoto itself optional?

If context already makes it clear who m- refers to, you can drop mtoto:
- Ukimpa zawadi ndogo, atafurahi sana.
  If you give him/her a small gift, he/she will be very happy.
In your sentence, mtoto is kept to make it explicit that “him/her” is a child.

So: -m- is required with pa, mtoto is there for clarity.

Can this sentence refer to children (plural) instead of a child? How would it change?

To talk about children, you need plural marking for both the object (them) and the noun:

Ukiwapa watoto zawadi ndogo, watafurahi sana.

Breakdown:

Ukiwapa
- u- = you (singular)
- -ki- = if/when
- -wa- = them (class 2, plural for people)
- -pa = give
  → if/when you give them
watoto = children (plural of mtoto)
watafurahi
- wa- = they (3rd person plural, people)
- -ta- = future
- -furahi = be happy
  → they will be happy

So the singular vs plural versions are:

Singular: Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo, atafurahi sana.
Plural: Ukiwapa watoto zawadi ndogo, watafurahi sana.

What is the role of mtoto and zawadi ndogo in the clause ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo? Which is “indirect” and which is “direct” object?

Semantically:

mtoto = the recipient (indirect object in English terms)
zawadi ndogo = the thing given (direct object)

The Swahili order in this kind of double-object verb is usually:

verb + (object prefix) + recipient + thing

So:

ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo
when you give-him child small gift

This matches English:

“give the child a small gift”
recipient (child) comes before the thing (gift).

Can you switch the order to ukimpa zawadi ndogo mtoto?

That’s either odd or very marked; the normal, natural order is:
- ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo (recipient before gift).
You could change the structure more drastically for emphasis, but for learners the safest pattern is:
- verb + recipient
  - thing → ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo.

Does mtoto mean “a child” or “the child” here, since there are no articles in Swahili?

Swahili does not have words like English a or the, so mtoto by itself can mean:

a child
the child
that child, this child (if context makes it clear)

Which English article you choose depends entirely on context:

If you are speaking generally:
- Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo, atafurahi sana.
  → If you give a child a small gift, he/she will be very happy.
If you already know which child is being discussed:
- same Swahili sentence can be translated
  → If you give the child a small gift, he/she will be very happy.

So mtoto itself is neutral; context decides “a/the” in English.

Why is the adjective ndogo placed after zawadi, and why does it look like it has no prefix?

In Swahili:

Adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.
- zawadi ndogo = small gift
- mtoto mzuri = good child
- nyumba kubwa = big house
Adjectives usually agree with the noun’s class by taking a matching prefix.

Here, zawadi is class 9 (N-class), and the adjective form that agrees with class 9 is ndogo:

Class 9: zawadi ndogo
Class 1: mtoto mdogo
Class 2 (plural of class 1): watoto wadogo

So ndogo does have a kind of prefix built in; it is the class-9 form of the adjective meaning “small”.

That’s why the order is zawadi ndogo, not ndogo zawadi.

How can I tell whether zawadi ndogo means “a small gift” or “small gifts”? The form doesn’t change.

The noun zawadi belongs to class 9/10, where:

singular = zawadi
plural = zawadi

The adjective ndogo for this class also:

singular = ndogo
plural = ndogo

So:

zawadi ndogo can mean:
- a small gift
- the small gift
- small gifts
- the small gifts

Again, context decides.

If you really want to emphasize that there are several small gifts, you might hear:

zawadi ndogo ndogo – literally “small-small gifts”, meaning many small gifts.
Or add a number: zawadi ndogo tatu – three small gifts.

What tense is atafurahi, and how would the meaning change if I used anafurahi instead?

Atafurahi uses the future tense marker -ta-:

a- = he/she
-ta- = will (future)
-furahi = be happy
→ atafurahi = he/she will be happy

With -ki- in the first clause, this is a very natural pairing:

Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo, atafurahi sana.
If/When you give the child a small gift, he/she will be very happy.

If you use anafurahi (present):

Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo, anafurahi sana.

Nuance:

atafurahi – focuses on what will happen as a result, usually each time you do it.
(He will become happy.)
anafurahi – more like a general statement of habitual behaviour:
When you give the child a small gift, he is (gets) very happy.

Both are grammatically fine; choice depends on whether you emphasize the future result or the general pattern.

What exactly does sana mean here, and where can it appear in the sentence?

Sana is an intensifier meaning roughly:

very
very much
a lot

It normally comes after the word or phrase it is intensifying.

In your sentence:

atafurahi sana = he/she will be very happy
(sana intensifies furahi)

Other examples:

mtoto mdogo sana = a very small child
asante sana = thank you very much

So in this particular sentence, the natural positions are:

Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo, atafurahi sana. (normal)
You can’t say sana atafurahi for the same meaning.

How would I say the negative version: “If you don’t give the child a small gift, he won’t be very happy”?

One common way is:

Usipompa mtoto zawadi ndogo, hatafurahi sana.

Breakdown of the first clause:

usi- = negative + you (singular)
-po- = when/if (a kind of “when”-relative marker used in negative conditions)
-m- = him/her (the child)
-pa = give

→ usipompa = if/when you do not give him/her

Second clause:

hatafurahi
- ha- = not
- -ta- = will
- -furahi = be happy
  → hatafurahi = he/she will not be happy

So:

Usipompa mtoto zawadi ndogo, hatafurahi sana.
If you don’t give the child a small gift, he/she won’t be very happy.