Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kesho saa tatu asubuhi, ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika insha zenu wenyewe kuhusu familia. - Tomorrow at nine in the morning, you will be writing your own compositions about family.

Swahili time	Approx. Western time
saa moja asubuhi	7:00 a.m.
saa mbili asubuhi	8:00 a.m.
saa tatu asubuhi	9:00 a.m.
saa nne asubuhi	10:00 a.m.
saa tano asubuhi/mchana	11:00 a.m.
saa sita mchana	12:00 noon

So tatu is “three”, but it is the third hour after sunrise, which is around 9 a.m.

Do we need to say kesho, saa tatu, and asubuhi together? What extra meaning do we get from this long time expression?

Each part adds a piece of time information:

kesho = “tomorrow” (which day)
saa tatu = “at three o’clock (Swahili time)” → about 9 a.m. (which hour)
asubuhi = “in the morning” (which part of the day, also clarifies that we mean the morning three, not the night one)

You can shorten it, depending on how specific you want to be:

Kesho asubuhi, ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika…
= Tomorrow morning you will be writing…
Kesho saa tatu, ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika…
= Tomorrow at nine you will be writing… (the “morning” is implied from context)
Saa tatu asubuhi, ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika…
= At nine in the morning you will be writing… (day might be clear from context)

Using all three (kesho saa tatu asubuhi) is just very precise: tomorrow, at 9 a.m., in the morning.

Why is the time expression Kesho saa tatu asubuhi at the beginning? Could I say Ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika… kesho saa tatu asubuhi instead?

You can move it, but putting time at the beginning is very normal and sounds natural in Swahili.

Typical word order patterns:

Time
- subject
  - verb
    - object
      - Kesho saa tatu asubuhi, ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika insha zenu…

You could also say:

Ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika insha zenu… kesho saa tatu asubuhi.

This is still grammatical, but:

Fronting the time (Kesho saa tatu asubuhi, …) makes it very clear when something happens before you say what happens.
In instructions and schedules (like in a classroom), this fronted style is especially common.

So both orders are possible; the original is the more typical and natural one.

Do we have to say ninyi here, or could we just say Mtakuwa mkiandika insha zenu wenyewe kuhusu familia?

You can absolutely drop ninyi:

Mtakuwa mkiandika insha zenu wenyewe kuhusu familia.

is grammatically complete and natural. The m- on mtakuwa already tells us the subject is you (plural).

Adding ninyi does two main things:

Emphasis / contrast
- Ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika… (but someone else will be doing something different), or to stress you all in a classroom context.
Clarity
At the start of a new instruction or paragraph, using an independent pronoun can make the subject extra clear, especially in spoken language.

So:

Without ninyi → neutral “you (all) will be writing…”
With ninyi → “you (all) will be writing…”, with some emphasis on the group being addressed.

What tense/aspect is mtakuwa mkiandika? How is it different from mtaandika?

Mtakuwa mkiandika is a future continuous / future progressive form:
you (all) will be writing / will be in the middle of writing.

m‑ta‑kuwa = you (pl.) will be
m‑ki‑andika = (while) you are writing / in the process of writing

Together: mtakuwa mkiandika = “you will be (in the process of) writing.”

Compare:

Mtaandika insha zenu…
= You will write your essays… (simple future; the action will happen at some point in the future)
Mtakuwa mkiandika insha zenu…
= You will be writing your essays… (focus on what you will be doing at that time; an ongoing activity)

In a classroom context, the teacher cares about what you’ll be doing at 9 a.m. tomorrow, so the future continuous mtakuwa mkiandika is a very natural choice.

Can you break down mtakuwa mkiandika piece by piece?

Yes.

mtakuwa

m‑ = subject prefix for you (plural)
‑ta‑ = future tense marker
‑kuwa = verb “to be”

So mtakuwa = you (all) will be.

mkiandika

m‑ = subject prefix for you (plural) again
‑ki‑ = aspect marker (here, showing an ongoing/process action, often translated as “while doing / when doing”)
‑andika = verb root “write”

So mkiandika = (while) you are writing / as you write.

Together:

mtakuwa mkiandika = you (all) will be writing.

Why is it mkiandika and not kuandika after mtakuwa?

Because Swahili forms the progressive (“be doing”) differently from English.

English: “will be writing” = “will be [‑ing form]”
Swahili: mtakuwa mkiandika
= literally “you will be you‑KI‑write” (future of to be
- KI‑progressive form)

The pattern is:

kuwa
- KI‑verb → be doing something
  - alikuwa akiandika = he was writing
  - watakuwa wakicheza = they will be playing

Using kuandika here:

mtakuwa kuandika is not how Swahili expresses “will be writing”; it sounds wrong.
kuandika is the infinitive “to write,” which you use after verbs like anza (to start), penda (to like), etc.:
- Mtaanza kuandika insha zenu.
  = You will start to write your essays.

So:

mtakuwa mkiandika → “will be writing” (progressive)
mtaanza kuandika → “will start to write” (infinitive after “start”)

Is mkiandika always progressive like this, or can it also mean “when you write”?

‑ki‑ has two common uses:

Progressive aspect (with kuwa)
- alikuwa akiandika = he was writing
- mtakuwa mkiandika = you (pl.) will be writing
In this structure (kuwa
- KI‑verb), ‑ki‑ marks an ongoing action.
“When / if / while” (without kuwa)
- Mkiandika, mtanipa.
  = When you write (it), you will give it to me. / If you write it, you will give it to me.

So mkiandika by itself can mean “when/if you write”.
In mtakuwa mkiandika, because it’s combined with mtakuwa, it is clearly the progressive use: “will be writing.” Context + the preceding kuwa decide the meaning.

Why is it insha zenu and not insha yenu?

Because insha here is plural (“essays”), and in Swahili the possessive must agree with the noun class and number.

insha (essay/essays) belongs to noun class 9/10.
Singular: insha (one essay)
Plural: insha (many essays), but agreement changes.

For class 9/10:

singular possessive: y‑angu, y‑ako, y‑ake, y‑etu, y‑enu, y‑ao
- insha yangu = my essay
plural possessive: z‑angu, z‑ako, z‑ake, z‑etu, z‑enu, z‑ao
- insha zenu = your (plural) essays

So:

insha yenu → your (plural) essay (one essay)
insha zenu → your (plural) essays (more than one essay)

In the sentence, the teacher is telling the students they will each write their essays, so insha zenu (plural) is appropriate.

What does wenyewe add in insha zenu wenyewe? Is it necessary?

Wenyewe adds the idea of “own / by yourselves” or “not shared, not someone else’s”.

insha zenu = your (plural) essays
insha zenu wenyewe = your own essays; essays that you write yourselves

Here, the teacher is probably stressing:

Don’t copy.
Don’t write together.
Each person should write their own essay.

Is it necessary?
Grammatically, no. You can say:

Kesho saa tatu asubuhi, ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika insha zenu kuhusu familia.

That simply lacks the extra emphasis on “your own (not copied, not shared)”. Adding wenyewe strengthens that idea.

Does wenyewe agree with insha or with ninyi? How would it change with different people?

In insha zenu wenyewe, the emphasis is on the owners (“you all”), so zenu wenyewe goes together: your own.

Some patterns:

mimi mwenyewe = I myself
wewe mwenyewe = you (sg.) yourself
sisi wenyewe = we ourselves
ninyi wenyewe = you (pl.) yourselves

With possessives:

kitabu changu chenyewe / kitabu changu mwenyewe
= my own book (you will hear both in real usage)
vitabu vyenu vyenyewe
= your own books
insha zenu wenyewe
= your own essays

So in this sentence, wenyewe is linked to the possessors (you all), not really to the noun class of insha. It is heard as “the essays that you yourselves own / have written.”

What does kuhusu mean here, and can it be replaced with something like juu ya?

Kuhusu means “about / concerning / regarding”.

insha zenu wenyewe kuhusu familia
= your own essays about family.

Yes, you can often replace kuhusu with juu ya:

insha zenu wenyewe juu ya familia
= your own essays about family.

Both are widely understood.

Rough nuance:

kuhusu is a very standard, neutral word, common in both spoken and written Swahili.
juu ya is also common, perhaps felt as a bit more informal in some contexts, but it is perfectly acceptable in everyday speech.

In this sentence, kuhusu familia is the most straightforward way to say “about family.”

Why does familia come at the very end of the sentence? Could kuhusu familia go earlier?

Kuhusu familia forms a prepositional phrase meaning “about family”. It naturally comes after the object insha zenu wenyewe:

[verb phrase] mkiandika
[object] insha zenu wenyewe
[prepositional phrase] kuhusu familia

This is a common pattern:

Watoto wanasoma vitabu vizuri kuhusu historia.
= The children are reading good books about history.

You could theoretically move kuhusu familia, but typical alternatives either sound marked or split things awkwardly, for example:

Kesho saa tatu asubuhi, ninyi mtakuwa mkiandika kuhusu familia insha zenu wenyewe.
(grammatical but a bit clumsy; “about family” breaks up the close unit “your own essays”)

The original order …mkiandika insha zenu wenyewe kuhusu familia is the most natural and clear.

Is the comma after asubuhi required in Swahili, or is it just stylistic?

It is stylistic, not grammatically required.

Writers often put a comma after a long introductory time phrase to mark a natural pause:

Kesho saa tatu asubuhi, ninyi mtakuwa…

You could also write it without the comma:

Kesho saa tatu asubuhi ninyi mtakuwa…

Both are acceptable. The comma simply reflects how a speaker would usually pause slightly after the long time expression.