Learn Hardcore Swahili: Ninyi mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani. - You can come to our place on the weekend so that we discuss the exam plan.

mnaweza = m- (you plural) + -na- (present tense) + -weza (be able/can)
So mnaweza by itself already means “you (plural) can / are able to.”

Why add ninyi then?

To emphasize the subject:
- Ninyi mnaweza kuja… = You (as opposed to others) can come…
To make it extra clear that we’re talking to more than one person.

You could say simply:

Mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani.
This is still correct and natural. Ninyi just adds emphasis/clarity.

Can ninyi go in a different position in the sentence, or must it come before mnaweza?

The normal and most natural place is before the verb:

Ninyi mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi…

You could, in very marked or poetic speech, move it, but that would usually sound odd or overly dramatic in everyday conversation. Learners should stick to:

[Independent pronoun] + [verb]
- Ninyi mnaweza…
- Sisi tunaweza…
- Yeye anaweza…

So practically speaking, keep ninyi before mnaweza.

What exactly does mnaweza mean and how is it formed?

mnaweza is a conjugated verb meaning “you (plural) can / are able to.”

Breakdown:

m- = subject prefix for “you (plural)”
-na- = present tense marker
-weza = verb stem “be able / can”

So:

m + na + weza → mnaweza = you (pl) are able / you can

Other forms with -weza:

Ninaweza – I can / I’m able
Unaweza – You (sg) can
Anaweza – He/She can
Tunaweza – We can
Mnaweza – You (pl) can
Wanaweza – They can

Does mnaweza refer to present or future ability? How would you say “will you (pl) be able to come”?

mnaweza with -na- is present / general ability, often used like English “can” when inviting or suggesting something in the near future:

Ninyi mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi…
→ You (pl) can / are able to come to our place at the weekend…
(in practice, this often refers to the coming weekend)

To be more clearly future, you’d use future tense -ta-:

Mtaweza kuja kwetu wikendi?
→ Will you (pl) be able to come to our place at the weekend?

Compare:

Mnaweza kuja wikendi. – You can come this weekend (general invitation / possibility).
Mtaweza kuja wikendi? – Will you be able to come this weekend? (explicit future question).

What is the function of ku- in kuja, and is it like “to” in English infinitives?

Yes, ku- here is the infinitive prefix, very similar to “to” in English infinitives.

kuja = ku- (infinitive marker) + -ja (come)
→ to come

So:

mnaweza kuja = you (pl) can come / are able to come

Other examples:

kula – to eat
kunywa – to drink
kusoma – to read / to study

After -weza (“be able”), you normally use an infinitive with ku-:

Naweza kuja. – I can come.
Hatuwezi kusafiri. – We can’t travel.

What does kwetu literally mean, and how is it different from nyumbani kwetu or forms like kwangu, kwako?

kwetu is built from:

kwa – a preposition meaning roughly “at / to / with (someone)”
-etu – possessive “our”

So kwetu literally means “at/to our place / with us”.
In context, it usually means “to our home/house” or more loosely “to where we are / our place.”

Related forms:

kwangu – at/to my place
kwako – at/to your (sg) place
kwenu – at/to your (pl) place
kwake – at/to his/her place

Difference from nyumbani kwetu:

kwetu – quite general: our place / where we are
nyumbani kwetu – more specific: our home/house

Both are very natural:

Mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi. – You can come to our place this weekend.
Mnaweza kuja nyumbani kwetu wikendi. – You can come to our home this weekend.

Is wikendi just an English loan word? Are there more “Swahili” alternatives?

Yes, wikendi is a loan from “weekend”, adapted to Swahili spelling and sound. It’s very common and completely standard, especially in everyday speech.

More “Swahili-sounding” options include:

mwishoni mwa wiki – literally “at the end of the week”
- Mnaweza kuja kwetu mwishoni mwa wiki.

Both wikendi and mwishoni mwa wiki are widely understood; wikendi is shorter and very natural in casual and even semi-formal contexts.

What does ili do in this sentence, and is it always followed by a specific verb form?

ili is a conjunction meaning roughly “so that / in order that” and introduces a purpose clause.

In this sentence:

…wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani.
→ …on the weekend so that we (can) discuss the exam plan.

After ili, you normally use the subjunctive form of the verb (no -na-, ending in -e or -i depending on the verb).

Examples:

Ninaenda sokoni ili nikanunue matunda. – I’m going to the market so that I (can) buy fruit.
Tulikaa kimya ili tusimsumbue. – We stayed quiet so that we wouldn’t disturb him/her.

So yes: ili + subjunctive is the standard pattern for expressing purpose.

Why is it tujadili and not tunajadili after ili?

Because after ili (expressing purpose), Swahili uses the subjunctive mood, not the normal present tense.

tunajadili = tu- (we) + -na- (present) + -jadili (discuss)
→ we are discussing / we discuss (statement of fact)
tujadili = tu- (we) + -jadili (discuss) + final -i (subjunctive)
→ we should discuss / we may discuss / let’s discuss (desired or intended action)

In a purpose clause with ili:

ili tujadili = so that we (can/should) discuss

If you said ili tunajadili, it would sound ungrammatical or very odd to a native speaker. The subjunctive is required here.

How do you form similar subjunctive forms like “so that he discusses” or “so that they discuss”?

The subjunctive keeps the subject prefix, drops the tense marker, and uses the final vowel -e/-i instead of -a (for most -a verbs) or instead of the infinitive -a/-i pattern.

For -jadili (“discuss”):

ni → nijadili – so that I discuss
u → ujadili – so that you (sg) discuss
a → ajadili – so that he/she discusses
tu → tujadili – so that we discuss
m → mjadili – so that you (pl) discuss
wa → wajadili – so that they discuss

Examples with ili:

Ili ajadili mpango wa mtihani… – So that he/she discusses the exam plan…
Ili wajadili mpango wa mtihani… – So that they discuss the exam plan…

This same pattern works for many other verbs:

kuenda → aende (so that he/she goes)
kula → tule (so that we eat)

In mpango wa mtihani, why is the connector wa and not ya? How does this agreement work?

In the “X of Y” construction (mpango wa mtihani = plan of the exam / exam plan), the connector agrees with the first noun, not the second one.

Head noun: mpango – class 3 (m-/mi-; plural: mipango)
For class 3 singular, the associative/possessive connector is wa.

So:

mpango wa mtihani – plan of the exam
- wa agrees with mpango, not with mtihani.

If the head noun were different, the connector would change:

ratiba ya mtihani – timetable of the exam
- ratiba is class 9 → connector ya

More examples:

mti wa matunda – tree of fruit / fruit tree (mti = class 3 → wa)
kitabu cha mwanafunzi – student’s book (kitabu = class 7 → cha)
vyakula vya watoto – foods of the children (vyakula = class 8 → vya)

So wa is correct in mpango wa mtihani because mpango is the head noun and it’s in class 3.

Does this sentence feel more like an invitation, a suggestion, or a simple statement? How would you make it more explicitly a polite invitation?

As written:

Ninyi mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani.

It can be understood as either:

A statement: You (pl) are able to come to our place this weekend so that we discuss the exam plan.
An indirect invitation/suggestion: more like You can (why don’t you) come to our place this weekend so we can talk about the exam plan.

To make it more clearly a polite invitation, you could add softening or inviting language, for example:

Mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani, mkipenda.
- You can come to our place at the weekend to discuss the exam plan, if you like.
Je, mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani?
- A direct yes/no question: Can you (pl) come…?

Or more explicitly inviting:

Tungefurahi kama mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani.
- We would be happy if you can come to our place this weekend so we can discuss the exam plan.

Can you change the word order of kuja kwetu wikendi? For example, is kuja wikendi kwetu or wikendi kuja kwetu okay?

Swahili word order is fairly flexible, but some orders are much more natural than others.

Most natural:

Mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi…
(verb + destination + time)

Also natural:

Mnaweza kuja wikendi kwetu…
(verb + time + destination) – slightly different emphasis but acceptable.

Less natural / awkward in normal speech:

Mnaweza wikendi kuja kwetu… – possible but marked, used for emphasis on wikendi.
Mnaweza kuja wikendi nyumbani kwetu… – still okay; adding nyumbani is fine.

For learners, the safest pattern is:

[subject + verb] + [place] + [time]
- Mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi…

That sounds natural and clear.

How could you say this more informally, or more formally?

Informal / casual (spoken, with friends):

Mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi tujadili mpango wa mtihani.
- Drop ili; in casual speech, context + subjunctive tujadili still shows purpose.
Even more relaxed:
- Mje kwetu wikendi tujadili mpango wa mtihani.
  - mje = imperative/subjunctive plural of “come” → Come (you guys) to our place this weekend so we discuss the exam plan.

More formal / polite:

Je, mtaweza kuja kwetu wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani?
- Uses future mtaweza and je to sound like a polite, planned request.
Tafadhali mnaweza kuja kwetu wikendi ili tujadili mpango wa mtihani.
- Adding tafadhali (please) makes it explicitly polite.

All of these are natural; choice depends on relationship, context, and desired tone.