Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.

When they are at the market, children like to buy fruits.

Breakdown of Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.

• kupenda: to like
• kwenye: at
• soko: the market
• mtoto: the child
• kununua: to buy
• tunda: the fruit
• wanapokuwa: when they are

Questions & Answers about Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.

In this sentence, where is the word for when? I only see wanapokuwa, not a separate word.

The idea of when is built inside the verb wanapokuwa.

Breakdown of wanapokuwa:

• wa- = subject prefix for they (agreeing with watoto – children)
• -na- = present / habitual tense
• -po- = “when / whenever / where (at a specific time or place)”
• -kuwa = to be

So wanapokuwa literally means something like “they-present-when-be” → when they are.

The whole phrase Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni therefore means When the children are at the market. There is no separate word for when; it’s expressed by -po- inside the verb.

You’ll see the same pattern with other verbs:

• Anapokuja, tunaondoka. – When he/she comes, we leave.
• Mnapofika, nipigieni simu. – When you (pl.) arrive, call me.

What exactly does sokoni mean, and what does the -ni ending do?

Sokoni comes from:

• soko = market
• -ni = locative ending, meaning at / in / on depending on the noun and context

So sokoni means at the market (or sometimes in the market).

The -ni locative ending is very common:

• nyumba → nyumbani = at home
• kanisa → kanisani = at church
• shule → shuleni = at school

In this sentence, wanapokuwa sokoni is when they are at the market.

Could I say katika soko instead of sokoni? Is there any difference?

You can say katika soko, and it is grammatically correct. The differences are:

• sokoni

  • Short, very natural, and the most common choice.
  • Means at the market in a general sense.

• katika soko

  • Literally in the market.
  • Slightly more explicit or “spelled out”, and can suggest inside the market more strongly.

In many everyday contexts, sokoni and katika soko would both be understood, but in this sentence sokoni is the most idiomatic choice.

Why is the subject marker wana- repeated in both wanapokuwa and wanapenda? Could I leave it out in the second verb?

You cannot leave it out. In Swahili, every finite verb normally carries a subject prefix.

• wanapokuwa = they-when-are
• wanapenda = they-like

Even if the noun watoto has already been mentioned, each verb still needs its own subject marker to be grammatical.

What you can omit (if the context is clear) is the noun watoto, but not the wana- on the verb:

• ✅ Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.
• ✅ Wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda. (children/they understood from context)
• ❌ Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni, penda kununua matunda. (missing subject marker on penda)

Do I actually need the noun watoto? Could I just say Wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda?

Yes, you can say:

Wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.

This is grammatically fine. The subject is still clear from the verb:

• wa- in wanapokuwa and wanapenda = they

However, without watoto, they is generic: it could be children, adults, relatives, etc., depending on the context.

Adding watoto specifies the children:

• Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.
  → When the children are at the market, they like to buy fruit.

Why is it wanapenda kununua and not wanapenda nunua?

Because kununua is the infinitive to buy, and after penda (to like, to love), Swahili normally uses the infinitive form:

• wanapenda kununua = they like to buy

If you drop ku- and say nunua by itself, that is a command form:

• Nunua! = Buy!

So:

• ✅ wanapenda kununua matunda = they like to buy fruit
• ❌ wanapenda nunua matunda (ungrammatical in this meaning)

Is the ku- in kununua the same ku- as in kuwa?

Yes, in both cases ku- is the infinitive marker “to”:

• kununua = ku- (to) + nunua (buy) → to buy
• kuwa = ku- (to) + wa (be) → to be

In your sentence:

• wanapenda kununua – here kununua is an infinitive following penda (they like to buy).
• wanapokuwa – this comes from the verb kuwa (to be), combined with subject, tense, and the -po- (when) marker.

For practical purposes as a learner, remember:

• dictionary (infinitive) forms: kununua, kuwa, kusoma, kula, etc.
• when you conjugate normal verbs, ku- usually drops:
  
  • kununua → ananunua (he is buying), tutanunua (we will buy).
• with kuwa, you mostly just learn its common conjugated forms as they are, e.g. wanapokuwa, watakuwa, ningekuwa, etc.

What does matunda tell us about singular and plural? What is the singular form?

Matunda is the plural; the singular is tunda.

• tunda = a fruit
• matunda = fruits / fruit (plural or a generic mass of fruit)

They belong to the ji-/ma- noun class (often called class 5/6):

• tunda moja – one fruit
• matunda mengi – many fruits

Notice that the verb wanapenda does not change whether the object is singular or plural; Swahili verbs agree with the subject (watoto) not with the object (matunda).

Does wanapenda here mean a general habit, or something happening right now?

In this sentence wanapenda is best understood as a habitual or general preference:

• wanapenda kununua matunda → they like to buy fruit (whenever they are at the market)

The -na- tense marker in Swahili often covers both:

• present progressive: are doing (right now)
• present habitual: do, usually/regularly

With a stative verb like penda (to like, to love), the habitual/ongoing sense is more natural than “liking right now at this second”.

So the sentence describes what the children typically do whenever they are at the market.

Could I move sokoni or the whole wanapokuwa sokoni part to another place in the sentence, like at the end?

Yes, you have some flexibility in word order. For example, all of these are grammatical:

1. Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.
2. Wanapokuwa sokoni, watoto wanapenda kununua matunda.
3. Watoto wanapenda kununua matunda wanapokuwa sokoni.

They all mean essentially the same thing: When the children are at the market, they like to buy fruit.

Differences:

• Putting wanapokuwa sokoni first (1–2) slightly emphasizes the condition (whenever they are at the market…).
• Putting it last (3) emphasizes the main action first (the children like to buy fruit … when they are at the market).

What you usually don’t do is break up the phrase wanapokuwa sokoni; it stays together as a unit.

Are there other common ways to say the first part, like Wakiwa sokoni or using wakati? How do they differ from wanapokuwa sokoni?

Yes, there are a few common alternatives, all quite close in meaning:

1. Watoto wanapokuwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.

   • Uses -po- inside the verb → when(ever) they are at the market
   • Very common, compact, and natural.

2. Watoto wakiwa sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.

   • wakiwa = wa- (they) + -ki- (when/while/if) + wa (be)
   • Literally while/when they are at the market
   • Also very common and natural; often feels like while they are at the market.

3. Wakati watoto wapo sokoni, wanapenda kununua matunda.

   • wakati = when/while/the time when
   • wapo = they are (in a specific place)
   • More explicit structure: At the time when the children are at the market, they like to buy fruit.
   • A bit more formal/bookish than (1) and (2), but still normal.

In everyday speech, (1) wanapokuwa sokoni and (2) wakiwa sokoni are probably the most common and feel very similar in meaning.