Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mtoto alianguka na kugonga goti lake, lakini sasa anatembea tena. - The child fell and hit her knee, but now she is walking again.

alianguka na kugonga goti lake
- Literally: “the child fell and (in the process) hit his/her knee.”
- na + infinitive (ku-verb) often links two closely connected actions, where the second naturally follows from the first.
alianguka na akagonga goti lake
- This is also grammatical.
- na akagonga (or simply akagonga) sounds a bit more like a sequence of events: “fell and then hit his knee.”

In everyday speech, na + infinitive (na kugonga) is very common to describe two actions done by the same subject in one incident. It’s a natural, idiomatic choice here.

Why is kugonga in the infinitive form (starting with ku-) after na?

After na (“and/with”), Swahili often uses the infinitive (ku- + verb) to show another action by the same subject:

alianguka na kugonga… = “he fell and (he) hit…”

We don’t need to repeat the subject or tense marker, because they’re understood from alianguka.

Compare:

alikaa na kusoma = “he sat and read.”
alifika na kuanza kazi = “he arrived and started work.”

So na + kugonga is like “and (he) hit” without saying “he” again.

What does kugonga mean exactly here? Is it “hit,” “bumped,” or “hurt”?

The verb kugonga basically means:

“to hit,” “to strike,” “to bump into.”

In this sentence:

alianguka na kugonga goti lake
= “the child fell and hit/banged his/her knee (on something).”

It implies the knee got hurt, but the literal idea is the knee hit against something.

Some related verbs:

kuumia = “to be hurt / to get injured”
- Mtoto alianguka na goti lake likaumia.
kujeruhi = “to injure” (often a bit stronger or more formal)
kuvunjika = “to break (itself)” (bone, object)

So the original sentence focuses on the impact (kugonga), not directly on the resulting injury.

Why is it goti lake and not goti yake?

Possessive words in Swahili (my, your, his, her, our, their) change form depending on the noun class of what is owned.

goti (knee) is in class 5.
For “his/her” with a class 5 noun, the possessive form is -lake.

So:

goti lake = “his/her knee.”

If the noun were plural:

magoti (knees) is class 6.
For class 6, “their” is -yao, “his/her” is -yake:
- magoti yake = his/her knees
- magoti yao = their knees

That’s why goti lake (not goti yake) is correct in the singular here.

Why does the possessive come after the noun, as in goti lake, and not before it like in English?

In Swahili, possessives follow the noun they describe:

goti lake = “his/her knee”
kitabu changu = “my book”
rafiki yako = “your friend”

So the order is:

[noun] + [possessive]

There is no natural Swahili pattern like “lake goti”; that would sound wrong to native speakers.

Why is it goti lake and not something like goti la mtoto?

Both are possible, but they differ slightly:

goti lake = “his/her knee”
- Uses a pronoun-like possessive (“his/her”).
- The owner is understood from the context (mtoto earlier in the sentence).
goti la mtoto = “the child’s knee”
- Literally “knee of the child.”
- States the owner explicitly again.

In this sentence, goti lake is more natural because mtoto has already been mentioned; repeating mtoto would usually be unnecessary unless you want special emphasis or clarification.

Why does the second clause just say anatembea and not mtoto anatembea or yeye anatembea?

Swahili usually doesn’t repeat the subject if it’s still clear from context, especially when two clauses are joined:

Mtoto alianguka … lakini sasa anatembea tena.
= “The child fell … but now (he/she) is walking again.”

The subject mtoto is still active in the listener’s mind, so repeating mtoto or yeye is unnecessary. The a- at the beginning of anatembea already tells us “he/she” (class 1 singular).

You could say:

Mtoto alianguka … lakini sasa mtoto anatembea tena.

It’s grammatically fine, but sounds a bit heavier and more repetitive in normal speech.

What tense is anatembea, and how is it formed?

Anatembea is in the present tense / present continuous, meaning “is walking,” “walks,” or “is currently able to walk.”

Structure:

a- = subject prefix for mtoto (“he/she”)
-na- = present tense marker
tembe- = verb root “walk”
-a = final vowel

So: a-na-tembe-a → anatembea = “he/she is walking.”

Plural:

wa-na-tembe-a → wanatembea = “they are walking.”

What does tena mean, and why is it placed at the end of the sentence?

In this context, tena means “again.”

anatembea tena = “(he/she) is walking again.”

Typical uses of tena:

“Again” in positive sentences
- Rudia tena. = “Repeat (it) again.”
- Alikuja tena. = “He came again.”
“Anymore / no longer” in negative sentences
- Hatatembea tena. = “He will not walk again / anymore.”

Position: tena usually comes after the verb phrase:

sasa anatembea tena (natural)
sasa tena anatembea (possible but less neutral; more emphasis)

Here, … anatembea tena is the most common order.

Could we also say Mtoto alianguka akagonga goti lake… without na? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Mtoto alianguka akagonga goti lake, lakini sasa anatembea tena.

Using aka- like this (often written aka- or heard as akagonga) is another way to show a sequence of actions by the same subject:

alianguka akagonga ≈ “he fell and then hit…”

Nuance:

alianguka na kugonga
- Stresses the two actions happening as part of one incident, almost as a unit.
alianguka akagonga
- Slightly more sequential: first he fell, then he hit his knee.

Both are grammatical; both would be understood very similarly in this sentence.

How would the sentence change if we were talking about children instead of one child?

You would make the subject and the possession plural:

Singular:
Mtoto alianguka na kugonga goti lake, lakini sasa anatembea tena.
= “The child fell and hit his/her knee, but now he/she is walking again.”
Plural:
Watoto walianguka na kugonga magoti yao, lakini sasa wanatembea tena.
= “The children fell and hit their knees, but now they are walking again.”

Changes:

Mtoto → Watoto (child → children)
alianguka → walianguka (he/she fell → they fell)
goti → magoti (knee → knees)
lake → yao (his/her → their, agreeing with magoti)
anatembea → wanatembea (he/she is walking → they are walking)

Does this sentence tell us whether the child is a boy or a girl?

No. Swahili doesn’t mark gender (male/female) in this structure.

mtoto can mean boy or girl.
a- in alianguka / anatembea just means “he/she.”
goti lake = “his/her knee.”

To specify gender, you’d add an extra word:

mtoto wa kiume = boy
mtoto wa kike = girl

Example:

Mtoto wa kike alianguka na kugonga goti lake…
= “The girl fell and hit her knee…”