Learn Hardcore Swahili: Leo tutasoma kifungu kifupi kisha tutaandika sentensi zetu wenyewe. - Today we will read a short paragraph and then write our own sentences.

So -ta- is the future tense marker, and the subject “we” is built into the verb as tu-. Swahili normally does not need a separate word for we (like English we), because it’s already inside the verb.

Can tutasoma mean both “we will read” and “we are going to read”?

Yes. The Swahili future with -ta- is quite flexible.

Leo tutasoma kifungu kifupi... can be translated as
- Today we will read a short passage... or
- Today we are going to read a short passage...

Context usually makes it clear whether it’s a planned future, a near future, or just a neutral “sometime later today” future. Swahili doesn’t normally distinguish “will” vs “going to” the way English does.

Why does the sentence start with Leo? Could it also go somewhere else?

Leo means today and it’s very common to put time expressions at the beginning of a Swahili sentence:

Leo tutasoma... – Today we will read...

You could also say:

Tutasoma kifungu kifupi leo kisha tutaandika sentensi zetu wenyewe.

Both are correct. Starting with Leo just highlights the time: As for today, this is what we’ll do. This word order is very natural in Swahili.

What exactly does kisha mean, and how is it different from halafu?

kisha is a conjunction meaning then, afterwards, and then. It shows sequence:

...kifungu kifupi kisha tutaandika...
...a short passage, then we will write...

kisha and halafu are very similar and often interchangeable:

kisha – slightly more neutral / bookish in some people’s ears
halafu – very common in everyday speech; some people say alafu

You could say:

Leo tutasoma kifungu kifupi halafu tutaandika sentensi zetu wenyewe.

The meaning is essentially the same: do A first, then B.

What does kifungu mean, and how is it different from sentensi?

kifungu (class 7 noun) here means passage, paragraph, or short section of text.
sentensi (from English sentence) is a single sentence.

So:

kifungu kifupi – a short passage / short paragraph (a few sentences together)
sentensi – individual sentences inside or separate from that passage

The teacher is saying: first we’ll read a short passage, then we’ll write our own sentences, not a whole passage.

Why do we say kifungu kifupi with ki- twice?

This is noun–adjective agreement.

kifungu is a class 7 noun, which uses the prefix ki- in the singular.
-fupi is the adjective root meaning short.

To agree with a class 7 noun, -fupi gets the class 7 agreement prefix ki-, becoming:

kifupi

So:

kifungu kifupi
noun (class 7) + adjective agreeing with class 7

Other examples with the same pattern:

kitabu kipya – a new book
kisu kikali – a sharp knife

The double ki- just shows that the adjective is matching the noun’s class.

Why is it sentensi zetu and not sentensi yetu?

The form of the possessive (our, my, your, etc.) depends on the noun class.

sentensi belongs to noun class 9/10 (the “N” class). In the plural, it still often looks the same: sentensi (singular) / sentensi (plural), but its agreements change.

For the possessive -etu (our):

Class 9 singular uses yetu – e.g. sentensi yetu (our sentence)
Class 10 plural uses zetu – e.g. sentensi zetu (our sentences)

In this sentence we’re talking about sentences (plural), so we use the class‑10 form:

sentensi zetu – our sentences (plural)

What does wenyewe add to the phrase sentensi zetu wenyewe?

wenyewe adds emphasis, roughly like our own or by ourselves.

sentensi zetu – our sentences (neutral)
sentensi zetu wenyewe – our own sentences (emphasizing that we, not someone else, created them)

It can suggest:

the students will not copy; they will create their own sentences, or
the contrast between reading someone else’s text and then producing your own.

You’ll see similar patterns with other persons:

mimi mwenyewe – I myself
sisi wenyewe – we ourselves
yeye mwenyewe – he/she himself/herself

Why is it wenyewe and not mwenyewe or wetu wenyewe here?

There are two slightly different things going on:

mwenyewe / wenyewe as a “self/own” emphasis word:
- mimi mwenyewe – I myself
- sisi wenyewe – we ourselves
wenyewe after a noun phrase as an intensifier:
- sentensi zetu wenyewe – our own sentences

We don’t say sentensi zetu wetu wenyewe; zetu already expresses our. wenyewe just intensifies that relationship: our own sentences.

mwenyewe is used with singular persons like mimi mwenyewe (myself). wenyewe is the plural form, suitable when referring to our sentences (made by us).

Could we say Leo tutasoma kifungu kifupi na tutaandika sentensi zetu wenyewe instead of using kisha?

You can, and it’s grammatical:

Leo tutasoma kifungu kifupi na tutaandika sentensi zetu wenyewe.

Using na (and) simply joins the two actions and does not strongly highlight the order. kisha (then, afterwards) emphasizes sequence more clearly: first reading, then writing.

So:

With na – we will do both activities (sequence is less strongly marked).
With kisha – it’s clear: reading happens first, writing comes after.

In a classroom-instruction context, kisha is very natural because teachers often give tasks in order.

Is there any reason the future marker tuta- is repeated: tutasoma ... tutaandika? Could the second one be dropped?

In Swahili, each finite verb normally has its own full set of markers (subject, tense, etc.), so:

tutasoma ... kisha tutaandika... is the normal form.

You cannot just say:

✗ Leo tutasoma kifungu kifupi kisha andika sentensi zetu wenyewe.

That would sound like you switched from we will read to an imperative then write your sentences!

So the repetition of tuta- is required to keep the second verb in the future tense with the same subject we.

How would the sentence change if the subject were I instead of we?

You would change the subject prefix tu- (we) to ni- (I), and also adjust the possessive and wenyewe:

Leo nitasoma kifungu kifupi kisha niitaandika sentensi zangu mwenyewe.
(More natural: Leo nitasoma kifungu kifupi kisha nitaandika sentensi zangu mwenyewe.)

Breakdown:

nitasoma – I will read
nitaandika – I will write
sentensi zangu – my sentences (class 10 + my)
mwenyewe – myself / my own

So it becomes: Today I will read a short passage, then I will write my own sentences.

Why is the plural sentensi zetu used instead of a singular like sentensi yetu?

The teacher is presumably talking to a group of students who will each write more than one sentence. So:

sentensi yetu – our sentence (just one sentence shared by all of us)
sentensi zetu – our sentences (many sentences – typically several from each student)

Using the plural is more realistic in a classroom task: students will usually write multiple sentences, not just a single one.

Can you show the negative version of this sentence? How would you say “Today we will not read a short passage, then we will write our own sentences”?

In the negative future, -ta- becomes -ta- + negative subject, or more commonly the tense shifts to something like we won’t do X but will do Y. A simple, natural version that keeps the same structure is:

Leo hatutasoma kifungu kifupi, kisha tutaandika sentensi zetu wenyewe.
Today we will not read a short passage, then we will write our own sentences.

Breakdown of the negative verb:

hatutasoma = ha- (negative for we) + -ta- (future) + -soma (read)

So ha-...-ta- expresses will not. The second verb, tutaandika, stays positive.