Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi.

The hall will be opened tomorrow morning.

Breakdown of Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi.

• kesho asubuhi: tomorrow morning
• ukumbi: the hall
• kufunguliwa: to be opened

Questions & Answers about Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi.

What are the individual parts of Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi in terms of grammar?

Breaking it down:

• Ukumbi – a noun meaning hall, auditorium, large room, veranda.
  
  • It belongs to the U– / N– noun class (often treated like class 11).
• u- (in utafunguliwa) – subject prefix agreeing with ukumbi (class U).
• -ta- – future tense marker → will.
• -funguliwa – passive verb stem from -fungua (to open), so -funguliwa = to be opened.
• kesho – tomorrow.
• asubuhi – morning.

So utafunguliwa = u- + -ta- + -funguliwa → will be opened (referring to the hall).

Why is the subject prefix u- and not a- in utafunguliwa?

In Swahili, the subject prefix depends on the noun class of the subject:

• Ukumbi is in the U– / N– noun class, and its singular subject prefix is u-.
• a- is used for class 1 (human singular), like mtu (person), mwalimu (teacher).

Examples:

• Ukumbi utafunguliwa – The hall will be opened (u- for ukumbi).
• Mwalimu atafika – The teacher will arrive (a- for mwalimu).

How is utafunguliwa different from atafungua?

Two key differences: subject and voice.

1. Subject

   • uta- → u- subject (for ukumbi, class U).
   • ata- → a- subject (for he/she or a class 1 noun like mtu).

2. Voice

   • utafunguliwa – passive: will be opened.
   • atafungua – active: will open.

Examples:

• Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi.
  The hall will be opened tomorrow morning. (we focus on the hall)

• Mlinzi atafungua ukumbi kesho asubuhi.
  The guard will open the hall tomorrow morning. (we focus on the guard as doer)

How is the passive form -funguliwa formed from -fungua?

The active verb is -fungua (to open).

To make the passive:

1. For many verbs ending in -ua, Swahili often forms the passive by inserting -liw- or -lew- before final -a.
2. So -fungua → -funguliwa (be opened).

Morphologically, you can see:

• fungu- (root)
• -liw- (part of passive formation here)
• -a (final vowel)

In normal learner terms:
-fungua → -funguliwa means to be opened.

Is utafunguliwa one word or can I write it as uta funguliwa?

It must be written as one word: utafunguliwa.

In Swahili, a conjugated verb (subject prefix + tense marker + object prefix if any + verb stem + extensions) is written together as a single word:

• u-ta-funguli-wa → utafunguliwa

Writing uta funguliwa would be considered incorrect.

Why isn’t there a word for “the” before ukumbi?

Swahili generally does not use articles like a, an, or the.

• Ukumbi can mean a hall or the hall, depending on context.
• The definiteness (whether it’s a or the) is understood from the situation or from prior mention, not from a separate word.

So:

• Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi.
  Can be interpreted as The hall will be opened tomorrow morning in a specific context.

What is the typical word order here? Can I move kesho asubuhi to the beginning?

The sentence uses a very common Swahili word order:

• Subject – Verb – (other info, e.g. time)

Here:

• Ukumbi (subject)
• utafunguliwa (verb)
• kesho asubuhi (time expression)

You can move the time expression to the beginning for emphasis:

• Kesho asubuhi ukumbi utafunguliwa.

Both are correct. Moving kesho asubuhi to the front emphasizes when more strongly.

Is there any difference between kesho asubuhi and asubuhi kesho?

Both can be understood, but:

• kesho asubuhi – the more natural, standard way to say tomorrow morning.
• asubuhi kesho – sounds less typical; in many contexts it feels a bit awkward or extra-emphatic.

For normal speech and writing, prefer:

• kesho asubuhi = tomorrow morning
• kesho jioni = tomorrow evening
• kesho mchana = tomorrow afternoon

Could I also say asubuhi ya kesho instead of kesho asubuhi?

Yes, asubuhi ya kesho is also correct and means “the morning of tomorrow”.

So you could say:

• Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi.
• Ukumbi utafunguliwa asubuhi ya kesho.

Both are grammatical. Kesho asubuhi is shorter and more colloquial; asubuhi ya kesho can sound a bit more explicit or formal.

Who is actually doing the opening in this sentence? Is it understood?

The sentence uses a passive form (utafunguliwa = will be opened), so:

• The doer (agent) is not mentioned.
• It implies that someone (staff, organizers, management, etc.) will open the hall, but it’s not important or not specified.

If you want to mention the doer, you would normally switch to an active sentence:

• Wafanyakazi watafungua ukumbi kesho asubuhi.
  The workers will open the hall tomorrow morning.

What is the difference between kesho, leo, and jana, and how would they fit into this sentence?

These are basic time words:

• jana – yesterday
• leo – today
• kesho – tomorrow

You can swap them in the sentence:

• Ukumbi umefunguliwa leo asubuhi.
  The hall was opened this morning.

• Ukumbi ulifunguliwa jana asubuhi.
  The hall was opened yesterday morning.

• Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi.
  The hall will be opened tomorrow morning.

How would I say “The hall will open at 8 in the morning tomorrow” using this pattern?

You keep the same structure and add the specific time:

• Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi saa mbili.
  (In Swahili time, saa mbili asubuhi = 8:00 a.m. by Western clock.)

If you want to be very explicit:

• Ukumbi utafunguliwa kesho asubuhi saa mbili kamili.
  The hall will be opened tomorrow morning at exactly eight o’clock.