Mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira uwanjani.

The male student is playing ball in the field.

Breakdown of Mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira uwanjani.

• mwanafunzi: the student
• kucheza: to play
• mpira: the ball
• uwanjani: in the field
• wa kiume: male

Questions & Answers about Mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira uwanjani.

What does mwanafunzi wa kiume literally mean, and why is wa kiume after mwanafunzi?

Mwanafunzi means student, and wa kiume literally means of male / male (gender).
So mwanafunzi wa kiume literally is a student of male (gender) → a male student.

In Swahili, descriptive phrases using wa/ya/la/cha usually come after the noun they describe, unlike English.
So instead of male student, Swahili says mwanafunzi wa kiume.

Why is it wa kiume and not ya kiume or la kiume?

The word mwanafunzi belongs to the M–WA (class 1/2) noun class (people: mtu/mwanafunzi/mwalimu, etc.).
For this noun class, the connecting word (associative) is wa.

Very roughly:

• Class 1/2 (m-/wa- people): wa
• Class 3/4 (m-/mi- things like mti/miti): wa
• Class 5/6 (ji-/ma- like jicho/macho): la / ya
• Class 7/8 (ki-/vi- like kitabu/vitabu): cha / vya

So because mwanafunzi is class 1, you use wa → mwanafunzi wa kiume.

Could I just say mvulana anacheza mpira uwanjani instead of mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira uwanjani?

Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly.

• Mwanafunzi wa kiume = a male student (focus on being a student)
• Mvulana = a boy (focus on age / being a boy, not necessarily a student)

So:

• Mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira uwanjani. → A male student is playing ball/football on the field.
• Mvulana anacheza mpira uwanjani. → A boy is playing ball/football on the field.

What parts make up the verb anacheza, and what does each part mean?

Anacheza can be broken down as:

• a- = subject prefix for he/she (class 1 person)
• -na- = present tense marker (often “is/does”)
• -cheza = verb stem meaning to play

So anacheza literally is he/she is playing / he/she plays.

Does anacheza mean “is playing” or “plays”? How do I know which one?

In Swahili, anacheza can cover both:

• He is playing (right now)
• He plays (in general, habitually)

Context usually tells you which meaning fits:

• If you are watching him right now: you’d translate as is playing.
• If you are describing a general fact or routine: you’d translate as plays.

Swahili does not always distinguish between present simple and present continuous the way English does.

Why is the subject prefix a- and not ana- or something else?

The subject prefix is just a-; -na- is the tense marker.
They happen to appear together as a + na + cheza → anacheza.

Subject prefixes for people:

• ni- = I
• u- = you (singular)
• a- = he/she
• tu- = we
• m- = you (plural)
• wa- = they

Because mwanafunzi wa kiume is a single person, we use a- → anacheza.

What exactly does mpira mean here? Just “ball” or “football/soccer”?

Mpira literally means ball, but in many East African contexts it very often means football (soccer).

So:

• In a neutral context: anacheza mpira = he is playing ball.
• In everyday conversation: people will usually understand he is playing football unless you specify another sport.

Plural is mipira (class 3/4).

What is the difference between uwanja and uwanjani?

• Uwanja = field / ground / pitch (basic noun)
• Uwanjani = on/at the field

The -ni ending is a locative suffix. It often carries meanings like in/on/at depending on the noun.
So uwanjani answers the question where? → on the field / at the pitch.

Why is there no separate word for “on” or “at” before uwanjani?

Swahili often shows location by adding -ni directly to the noun instead of using a separate preposition.

Examples:

• nyumba → nyumbani = at home
• shule → shuleni = at school
• uwanja → uwanjani = on/at the field

Because of -ni, you don’t need a separate on/at.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira uwanjani?

Swahili does not use separate words for a/an or the like English does.
Nouns can be understood as a or the depending on context.

So mwanafunzi wa kiume can mean:

• a male student (if the person has not been mentioned before), or
• the male student (if both speakers know who is being referred to).

The same applies to mpira and uwanjani.

What is the normal word order here? Can I move uwanjani to another place in the sentence?

The basic word order in Swahili is Subject – Verb – Object – (Place/Time).
So:

• Mwanafunzi wa kiume (subject)
• anacheza (verb)
• mpira (object)
• uwanjani (place)

You can move uwanjani for emphasis, for example:

• Uwanjani, mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira. = On the field, the male student is playing ball.

But the original order is the most natural and neutral.

How would I say “The male students are playing ball on the field” (plural)?

You make both the subject and the verb plural:

• Mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira uwanjani.
  → The male student is playing ball on the field.

• Wanafunzi wa kiume wanacheza mpira uwanjani.
  → The male students are playing ball on the field.

Changes:

• mwanafunzi → wanafunzi (singular → plural)
• ana- (he/she is) → wana- (they are) → wanacheza

How do I say the negative: “The male student is not playing ball on the field”?

You negate the verb by:

1. Changing the subject prefix to its negative form with ha- for he/she, and
2. Changing the final -a of the verb stem to -i.

So:

• Affirmative: mwanafunzi wa kiume anacheza mpira uwanjani.
• Negative: mwanafunzi wa kiume hachezi mpira uwanjani.
  → The male student is not playing ball on the field.