Ukimpa mtoto zawadi ndogo, atafurahi sana.

Here is a breakdown:

• 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In Swahili:

1. Adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

   • zawadi ndogo = small gift
   • mtoto mzuri = good child
   • nyumba kubwa = big house

2. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.