Learn Hardcore Swahili: Jumatano jioni, nitakuwa nikisoma msamiati mpya katika daftari langu la mazoezi. - On Wednesday evening, I will be reading new vocabulary in my exercise notebook.

nitasoma msamiati mpya
→ I will study new vocabulary.
This is a simple future: a planned action that will happen.
nitakuwa nikisoma msamiati mpya
→ I will be studying new vocabulary.
This is closer to the future continuous in English. It emphasizes:
- the action as ongoing at a particular time in the future, or
- the idea of an ongoing arrangement/schedule.

So nitakuwa nikisoma highlights that at that time (Wednesday evening), you will be in the middle of studying.

Why are there two verbs, “nitakuwa” and “nikisoma”, and why do they both start with ni-?

The phrase nitakuwa nikisoma is made of two parts:

nitakuwa
- ni- = “I” (subject prefix, 1st person singular)
- -ta- = future tense marker
- -kuwa = verb “to be”
→ nitakuwa = I will be
nikisoma
- ni- = “I” (subject prefix again)
- -ki- = continuous / “while” marker
- -soma = “read/study”
→ nikisoma (literally) = while I am studying / as I study

Together, nitakuwa nikisoma literally has the idea:
“I will be (while I’m studying)” → “I will be studying.”

In fast or informal speech, people sometimes drop the second ni- and say nitakuwa kisoma, but nitakuwa nikisoma is the full, standard form.

Could I just say “Jumatano jioni, nitasoma msamiati mpya…” instead? Is it still correct?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

Jumatano jioni, nitasoma msamiati mpya katika daftari langu la mazoezi.
→ On Wednesday evening, I will study new vocabulary in my exercise notebook.

This version is a bit simpler and more neutral.
The original nitakuwa nikisoma sounds more like English “I’ll be studying”, highlighting that you’ll be in the middle of that activity at that time. But in most everyday contexts, both are fine and often interchangeable.

What exactly does the -ki- in “nikisoma” do here? How is it different from “ninasoma”?

ninasoma
- ni- = I
- -na- = present tense marker
- → I am studying / I study.
nikisoma
- ni- = I
- -ki- = “while / as / in the process of” marker
- → while I am studying / as I study.

When you use kuwa + ki-verb, as in nitakuwa nikisoma, the combination functions like a progressive aspect (continuous):

niko nikisoma = I am (currently) studying
nilikuwa nikisoma = I was studying
nitakuwa nikisoma = I will be studying

So -ki- here marks the action as ongoing in relation to “being.”

Why is the adjective after the noun: “msamiati mpya” and not “mpya msamiati”?

In Swahili, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe:

msamiati mpya = new vocabulary
mtu mzuri = good person
kitabu kikubwa = big book

Putting the adjective before the noun (e.g. mpya msamiati) is not correct in normal Swahili grammar. The basic order is:

noun + adjective
msamiati (vocabulary) + mpya (new)

What noun class is “msamiati”, and how does that affect “mpya”?

msamiati (vocabulary) is in noun class 3 (singular), which often uses m-/mw- in the singular. Its plural would be misamiati (class 4).

The adjective “-pya” (new) has several forms depending on the noun class, but for class 3 it appears as mpya, so:

msamiati mpya = new vocabulary (class 3 singular)
misamiati mipya = new vocabularies / lists of vocab (class 4 plural)

In the sentence, we’re talking about vocabulary in general, so msamiati mpya (singular, generic) fits well.

Why is it “daftari langu” and not “daftari yangu” for “my notebook”?

Swahili possessive pronouns agree with the noun class of the noun they modify.

daftari (notebook) is in class 5 (often with no prefix or ji- in the singular, ma- in plural).

The possessive for “my” in class 5 is langu:

daftari langu = my notebook (class 5)
madaftari yangu = my notebooks (plural, class 6 → yangu)

If it were a class 9 noun like kalamu (pen), you would say kalamu yangu.
Because daftari is class 5, the correct form is langu, not yangu.

What does “la mazoezi” add to “daftari langu”? How does this structure work?

daftari langu = my notebook
daftari langu la mazoezi = my *exercise notebook / my notebook *for exercises.

The pattern here is:

[main noun] + [possessive] + la/ya/wa/cha/... + [describing noun]

daftari (class 5) → link word is la
mazoezi (exercises) is the noun that describes the type/purpose of the notebook.

So:

daftari langu la mazoezi
literally: my notebook of exercises
naturally: my exercise notebook.

If the main noun were in a different class, this linking word would change, e.g. kitabu changu cha Kiswahili (my Swahili book), where kitabu is class 7 and uses cha.

What’s the difference between “katika daftari langu la mazoezi” and “kwenye daftari langu la mazoezi”?

Both are commonly used and both can mean “in / on my exercise notebook” depending on context.

katika
- Often felt as a bit more formal / written.
- Roughly “in / inside / within.”
kwenye
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Can mean “in, on, at,” quite flexible.

In this sentence, you could say:

… katika daftari langu la mazoezi.
… kwenye daftari langu la mazoezi.

Both are correct. The meaning here is essentially the same; katika just sounds slightly more neutral/formal.

Does “Jumatano jioni” mean a specific time, like early evening, or can it also mean “afternoon”?

jioni generally covers the time from late afternoon into early evening, roughly from around 4 p.m. until sunset or a bit after, depending on local usage.

So Jumatano jioni is:

Often translated as “Wednesday evening,”
But in practice it can include what English speakers might call late afternoon / early evening.

If you wanted to be more specific:

Jumatano alasiri = Wednesday afternoon (more clearly afternoon)
Jumatano usiku = Wednesday night

Can I move the time phrase and say “Nitakuwa nikisoma msamiati mpya katika daftari langu la mazoezi Jumatano jioni”?

Yes, that is also grammatically correct:

Nitakuwa nikisoma msamiati mpya katika daftari langu la mazoezi Jumatano jioni.

In Swahili, expressions of time often appear at the beginning of the sentence, but they can also come at the end, especially in speech.
The meaning remains the same; starting with Jumatano jioni simply foregrounds the time:

Jumatano jioni, nitakuwa nikisoma…
→ Emphasis on when this will happen
Nitakuwa nikisoma… Jumatano jioni.
→ More neutral, with the time added after the main information.

How would I say “On Wednesday evenings, I will be studying new vocabulary…” (meaning every Wednesday evening)?

To express a repeated / habitual action on Wednesdays, you can say:

Kila Jumatano jioni, nitakuwa nikisoma msamiati mpya katika daftari langu la mazoezi.

Here:

kila = every
Kila Jumatano jioni = Every Wednesday evening.

This makes it clear that it’s a regular routine, not just one particular Wednesday.