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Jana ulisahau kikombe chako cha chai kwangu, bado kiko juu ya meza.

Jana ulisahau kikombe chako cha chai kwangu, bado kiko juu ya meza.
Yesterday you forgot your tea cup at my place, it is still on the table.
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Questions & Answers about Jana ulisahau kikombe chako cha chai kwangu, bado kiko juu ya meza.

Why is it ulisahau and not something like umesahau? What exactly does ulisahau mean grammatically?

Ulisahau is the simple past tense form of the verb kusahau (to forget).

Breakdown of ulisahau:

  • u- = subject prefix for “you (singular)”
  • -li- = past tense marker (“did”)
  • -sahau = verb stem “forget”

So ulisahau literally means “you (sg) forgot” / “you did forget” (in the past, completed action).

If you said umesahau:

  • u- = you (sg)
  • -me- = perfect / recent past marker
  • -sahau = forget

Umesahau is more like “you have forgotten” (focus on the result now or a recent action), while ulisahau is “you forgot” (a finished past event, here: yesterday).

Because the sentence starts with Jana (“yesterday”), the -li- past (ulisahau) is the most natural tense.

What does kwangu literally mean, and why is it used instead of saying nyumbani kwangu or kwenye nyumba yangu?

Kwangu is made of:

  • kwa- = locative/associative marker (at/to/with)
  • -angu = “my”

So kwangu literally means “at/to/with me”, and in everyday speech it usually means “at my place / at my home” when used in contexts like this.

In the sentence:

Jana ulisahau kikombe chako cha chai kwangu…
“Yesterday you forgot your teacup at my place…”

Here, kwangu is a natural, short way of saying “at my place”. You could also say:

  • nyumbani kwangu = “at my home”
  • kwenye nyumba yangu = “in my house”

Those are also correct, just a bit more explicit. In conversation, kwangu alone is very common and sounds natural.

Why is it kikombe chako cha chai and not kikombe cha chai chako? Does the order of -chako and cha chai matter?

In kikombe chako cha chai, you have:

  • kikombe = cup
  • chako = your (class 7 agreement)
  • cha chai = of tea

General pattern in Swahili noun phrases is:

[Noun] + [possessive] + [other qualifiers (like “of X”)]

So:

  • kikombe chako cha chai = your cup of tea

Placing the possessive (chako) right after the noun is the most natural and usual pattern.

Is kikombe cha chai chako grammatical?

  • It can be understood as “the cup of tea that is yours”, and in some contexts it’s not wrong, but it sounds heavier/less neutral for everyday speech.
  • In normal conversation, kikombe chako cha chai is the preferred order.

So yes, the order matters for what sounds natural:

  • kikombe chako cha chai = normal, neutral, what you should learn and use.
Why is it kikombe chako and not kikombe yako? How do I know which “your” to use?

The form of “your” in Swahili changes according to the noun class of the noun it modifies.

  • kikombe is in noun class 7 (the ki-/vi- class).
  • For class 7, “your (singular)” is chako, not yako.

Some common singular “your” forms:

  • kitabu chako – your book (ki-/vi- class)
  • mtoto wako – your child (m-/wa- class)
  • meza yako – your table (N class)
  • gari lako – your car (ji-/ma- class)

So kikombe chako is correct agreement; kikombe yako would be ungrammatical.

What is the role of cha in kikombe chako cha chai? Why isn’t it just kikombe chako chai?

Cha is the genitive connector for “of” that also agrees with the noun class of the head noun.

  • Head noun: kikombe (class 7 → ki-/vi-)
  • Corresponding “of” connector: cha (for class 7)

So:

  • kikombe cha chai = cup of tea

You can’t just put chai after kikombe chako without cha, because Swahili normally needs this connector to express “X of Y”.

Compare:

  • gari la baba – father’s car (la for class 5/6)
  • kitabu cha Kiswahili – Swahili book (cha for class 7/8)
  • ndizi za watoto – bananas of the children (za for N class)

So cha is essential; kikombe chako chai would be wrong.

Why is it kiko juu ya meza instead of just iko juu ya meza? What does the k in kiko do?

Kiko is the locative form of the subject agreement for a class 7 noun (kikombe).

Structure of kiko:

  • ki- = class 7 subject prefix (“it”, for a class 7 thing like kikombe)
  • -ko = general locative marker (“is at / is in some place”)

So kiko literally means “it (class 7) is (somewhere)”.

Because kikombe is class 7, the verb must agree:

  • kikombe kiko juu ya meza – The cup is on the table.

If you said iko juu ya meza without the k, that’s class 9/10 or default “it is” and does not agree with kikombe. Native speakers often understand it, but kiko is the correct and well‑formed agreement.

What is the difference between kiko, kipo, and kimo? Could I say kipo juu ya meza instead?

All three combine a noun-class subject prefix with a locative ending:

  • ki- = class 7 subject (“it”, for kikombe)
  • -ko = general location (somewhere, not specifically highlighted)
  • -po = specific/definite location (a particular known spot)
  • -mo = inside (within something)

So:

  • kiko juu ya meza – it is (somewhere) on the table (neutral, common)
  • kipo juu ya meza – it is right there on the table (slightly more specific/emphatic about that spot)
  • kimo mezani – it is in/inside the table (or more literally in some internal space; more typical with things inside something)

In everyday speech, kiko juu ya meza is perfectly natural.
You can say kipo juu ya meza; it may sound a bit more pointed, like “It’s (right) there on the table.”

Why do we say juu ya meza and not something like meza juu or just juu meza?

Swahili usually uses prepositional phrases of the form:

[position word] + ya + [noun]

So:

  • juu ya meza = literally “the top/above of the table” → “on the table”
  • other examples:
    • chini ya meza – under the table
    • karibu na meza – near the table
    • katikati ya meza – in the middle of the table

Simply saying meza juu wouldn’t follow the normal pattern and would sound wrong or at least very odd. Juu ya meza is the standard way to say “on the table / on top of the table”.

Could I say mezani instead of juu ya meza? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say mezani, and it would still be correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

  • juu ya meza = explicitly “on top of the table”
  • mezani = “at/on the table” in a more general sense (using the locative -ni)

So:

  • kikombe kiko juu ya meza – emphasizes the cup is on top of the table surface.
  • kikombe kiko mezani – could mean on the table, or at the table (the general location). Context usually makes it clear.

Both are fine; juu ya meza is a bit more visually specific about being on top.

What does bado add to the sentence bado kiko juu ya meza? Can I leave it out?

Bado means “still / not yet”, depending on context.

In this sentence:
> bado kiko juu ya meza

it means:

  • “it is still on the table”

Without bado, you’d have:
> kiko juu ya meza – “it is on the table.”

That is just a neutral statement of location.
With bado, you give the idea that despite time passing (since yesterday), the situation has not changed:

“It’s still on the table.”

So you can omit bado grammatically, but you would lose the “still” meaning.

Does Jana have to come at the beginning of the sentence, or could I say Ulisahau kikombe chako cha chai kwangu jana?

Jana (yesterday) is quite flexible in position. All of these are possible:

  • Jana ulisahau kikombe chako cha chai kwangu…
  • Ulisahau jana kikombe chako cha chai kwangu…
  • Ulisahau kikombe chako cha chai kwangu jana…

Differences are mainly about emphasis and style, not grammar:

  • At the beginning (Jana ulisahau…) – slightly emphasizes “yesterday” as the time frame.
  • At the end (…kwangu jana) – feels like a natural afterthought: “you forgot your cup at my place yesterday.”

All are understood and acceptable. Putting time words at the beginning is very common, but not mandatory.

Could I say wewe ulisahau kikombe chako… or is ulisahau alone enough?

Ulisahau already includes the subject “you (sg)” in the u- prefix, so grammatically it is complete by itself:

  • ulisahau = you (sg) forgot

However, adding the pronoun wewe is possible for emphasis or contrast:

  • Wewe ulisahau kikombe chako… – “You (in particular) forgot your cup…”

This can imply contrast (e.g., you forgot it, not someone else) or mild blame, depending on tone.

So:

  • Normal, neutral: Ulisahau kikombe chako…
  • Emphatic/contrasting: Wewe ulisahau kikombe chako…
Why don’t we use an object marker in ulisahau kikombe chako (like “uki” or something similar)?

Swahili allows two ways of expressing the object of a verb:

  1. As a full noun phrase after the verb:

    • Ulisahau kikombe chako. – You forgot your cup.

  2. As an object marker inside the verb (usually when the object is already known, or is a pronoun):

    • Ulikisahau kikombe chako. – You forgot it, the cup.

In everyday use, with a clear noun like kikombe chako right after the verb, speakers typically do not need an object marker.
They would use an object marker more when:

  • they’ve already mentioned the cup and now refer back to it, or
  • they want to emphasize the object.

So ulisahau kikombe chako is perfectly natural and actually more common than ulikisahau kikombe chako in most contexts.

What is the difference between kwangu and mimi? Why can’t I just say …kwenye mimi?
  • mimi = the independent pronoun “I / me”
  • kwangu = “at/with me / at my place”

You normally do not use a preposition directly with mimi to mean “at my place”. Instead, Swahili uses possessive + locative forms like kwangu:

Correct:

  • kikombe chako kilibaki kwangu – your cup remained at my place.
  • ulikuja kwangu jana – you came to my place yesterday.

…kwenye mimi is not used for this meaning and sounds wrong. If you want to explicitly use “home/house”, say:

  • nyumbani kwangu – at my home
  • kwenye nyumba yangu – in my house

But never kwenye mimi for “at my place”.