Learn Hardcore Swahili: Tafadhali weka taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii kabla hatujaondoka. - Please put all the trash in this bucket before we leave.

It is a polite marker, not grammatically required, but it softens the command weka (put).
In Swahili, tafadhali is flexible in position. All of these are possible with slightly different emphasis:
- Tafadhali weka taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii kabla hatujaondoka.
- Weka tafadhali taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii kabla hatujaondoka.
- Weka taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii tafadhali kabla hatujaondoka.

The most common is to put tafadhali at the very beginning, as in your sentence.

Why is weka used without a subject prefix? Isn’t Swahili supposed to have subject markers?

In normal Swahili verb forms, you do have subject prefixes, like:

ninaweka – I am putting
unaweka – you (sing.) are putting

But weka here is an imperative, a direct command to you (singular). Imperatives in Swahili:

Drop the ku- from the infinitive (kuweka → weka).
Don’t take subject prefixes (no u-, m-, etc.).

So:

Weka taka zote… – Put all the trash… (to one person)
To speak to several people, you’d normally use weke-ni or weke-e-ni:
- Wekeni taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii… – You all, put all the trash in this bucket…

What exactly does taka mean here? Isn’t taka also the verb to want?

Yes, taka can be both:

A verb: taka – to want
- Ninataka chai. – I want tea.
A noun: taka – trash, waste, garbage
- Taka zote – all the trash

In your sentence, taka is clearly a noun because:

It is followed by zote (all), which modifies nouns.
It is the object of the verb weka (put).

You’ll also often hear takataka for trash/garbage. In many contexts taka and takataka overlap in meaning, though takataka is more common colloquially for rubbish.

Why is it taka zote and not taka yote? What does zote agree with?

Zote means all and it must agree with the noun class of the noun it modifies.

taka (trash) belongs to the N class (class 9/10).
In the plural (or for many items of trash), N-class nouns take zote for all.

Common forms of all by noun class:

kitu kimoja (one thing) → kitu chote (the whole thing)
vitu (things) → vitu vyote (all the things)
mtu (person) → mtu wote (the whole person)
watu (people) → watu wote (all the people)
kitabu (book) → kitabu chote
vitabu (books) → vitabu vyote
ndoo (bucket, N class) → ndoo yote (the whole bucket)
ndoo (buckets) → ndoo zote (all the buckets)
taka (trash – many pieces) → taka zote (all the trash)

So taka zote implies all (the pieces of) trash. You might also hear taka yote if someone treats trash as a single mass, but zote is very natural when thinking of many bits of trash.

What does ndani ya ndoo hii literally mean, and why is ya used?

Ndani ya ndoo hii literally breaks down as:

ndani – inside
ya – of
ndoo – bucket
hii – this

So: ndani ya ndoo hii ≈ inside of this bucket.

Ndani ya is a very common fixed expression meaning inside (of). The ya here behaves like of in English:

ndani ya nyumba – inside (of) the house
ndani ya sanduku – inside (of) the box

Functionally, you can think of ndani ya X as one unit meaning in X / inside X.

Could I say katika ndoo hii or kwenye ndoo hii instead of ndani ya ndoo hii?

Yes, and the meaning is very close:

ndani ya ndoo hii – inside this bucket (emphasises the interior)
katika ndoo hii – in this bucket (general “in/within”)
kwenye ndoo hii – in/on/at this bucket (more colloquial and broad)

In this context (putting trash into a bucket), all three would be understood. Ndani ya is slightly more explicit about the idea of inside, which fits a container like a bucket nicely.

Why is it ndoo hii and not hii ndoo? Where do demonstratives go?

The normal order in Swahili is:

Noun + demonstrative
- ndoo hii – this bucket
- kitabu hiki – this book
- mtu huyu – this person

You can sometimes hear hii ndoo, but:

ndoo hii is the standard, neutral form.
hii ndoo can sound colloquial or emphatic in some varieties, but it is less standard and can be perceived as marked or regional.

For learners, it’s safest and most natural to stick with ndoo hii (this bucket).

How is hatujaondoka built, and what does it literally mean?

Hatujaondoka breaks down as:

ha- – negative marker
-tu- – subject marker for we
-ja- – perfect aspect (roughly have / have already)
ondoka – verb root leave, depart

Literally: we have not (yet) left.

So kabla hatujaondoka literally is before we have not left, which sounds odd in English, but in Swahili this pattern is normal with kabla (before), as explained next.

Why is a negative form (hatujaondoka) used after kabla? Why not something like kabla tumeondoka?

With kabla (before), Swahili very often uses a negative perfect to express before someone does X:

Kabla sijalala, nitasoma.
Literally: Before I have not slept, I will read.
Meaning: Before I sleep, I will read.
Kabla hatujaondoka, fanya hivi.
Literally: Before we have not left, do this.
Meaning: Before we leave, do this.

So:

kabla tumeondoka is not correct in standard Swahili.
Correct options are:
- kabla hatujaondoka – before we leave
- kabla ya kuondoka – before leaving (more general/impersonal)

Think of kabla + negative perfect as a fixed, very common pattern meaning before (someone) does X.

What is the difference between kabla hatujaondoka and kabla ya kuondoka?

Both can be translated before we leave, but there’s a nuance:

kabla hatujaondoka
- Explicit subject in the verb: -tu- (we).
- Very clear it’s we who are not yet leaving.
- A bit more direct, everyday speech.
kabla ya kuondoka
- Uses the infinitive kuondoka (to leave / leaving).
- Subject is not expressed; it can be before leaving in general, or before we/you/they leave depending on context.
- Slightly more neutral or “sentence-like” structure: kabla ya + infinitive.

You could say:

Tafadhali weka taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii kabla ya kuondoka.
– Please put all the trash in this bucket before leaving.

Context normally makes it clear who is leaving.

Could I say kabla tuondoke or kabla tutaondoka instead?

No, those forms are not natural with kabla here.

kabla tuondoke – uses the subjunctive form tuondoke; this is not the usual pattern after kabla. You’d hear subjunctive more with things like ili tuondoke mapema (so that we leave early), not after kabla.
kabla tutaondoka – mixes kabla (before) with a future tense tutaondoka (we will leave), which is ungrammatical in standard Swahili.

With kabla, stick to:

kabla hatujaondoka (negative perfect), or
kabla ya kuondoka (infinitive).

What is the difference between ondoka and toka?

Both relate to leaving, but they are used differently:

ondoka – to depart, to leave (a place)
- Tutaondoka saa mbili. – We will leave at eight o’clock.
- More like depart in English.
toka – to come from, to get out, to originate from
- Ninatoka nyumbani. – I am coming from home / leaving home.
- Anatoka wapi? – Where is he/she from?

In your sentence we talk about leaving a place (departing), so ondoka is the natural verb: kabla hatujaondoka – before we leave (depart).

Is the whole sentence polite, or is it a strong command? How could I make it more or less polite?

Your sentence:

Tafadhali weka taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii kabla hatujaondoka.

is already politely phrased because it uses:

An imperative (weka) – a direct command,
Softened by tafadhali – please.

To make it even more polite/indirect, you could use a subjunctive with naomba (I request / I ask):

Naomba uweke taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii kabla hatujaondoka.
– I kindly ask that you put all the trash in this bucket before we leave.

To make it more blunt, you could drop tafadhali:

Weka taka zote ndani ya ndoo hii kabla hatujaondoka.
– Still normal, but more like a bare instruction.