Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mwalimu anapiga filimbi uwanjani. - The teacher is blowing a whistle on the field.

As present continuous:
- “The teacher is blowing the whistle (right now).”
As simple present / habitual:
- “The teacher blows the whistle (e.g., every morning at 8).”

Swahili hana-/ana- present tense does not sharply distinguish between “is doing” and “does” the way English does. Context or extra words (like sasa “now” or kila siku “every day”) clarify the nuance.

Can you say just anapiga to mean “he/she is whistling”?

Normally no.

Piga almost always needs an object to make sense:

anapiga filimbi – s/he is blowing a whistle
anapiga ngoma – s/he is playing the drum
anapiga kelele – s/he is making noise

If you say only anapiga, it sounds incomplete: “He/she is hitting/striking … (what?)”

To talk about whistling without naming the whistle, you could say, for example:

anapiga filimbi kwa mdomo – s/he is whistling with (his/her) mouth

What kind of word is filimbi, and is it singular or plural?

Filimbi is a noun in the N-class (one of Swahili’s noun classes).

Key points:

It can refer to a whistle (instrument) or whistling/whistle sound.
Its form doesn’t change between singular and plural in everyday use. Context tells you:
- mwalimu anapiga filimbi – “the teacher blows a whistle” / “blows the whistle”
- walimu wanapiga filimbi – “the teachers blow whistles / the whistle”

There is a possible plural filimbi nyingi (“many whistles”), but the noun itself stays filimbi.

How is mwalimu formed, and what is its plural?

Mwalimu means “teacher.”

It belongs to noun class 1/2 (people).
Singular: mwalimu – teacher
Plural: walimu – teachers

The class markers are:

m(u)- for singular people (mwalimu, mtoto, mwanafunzi…)
wa- for plural people (walimu, watoto, wanafunzi…)

So:

Mwalimu anapiga filimbi uwanjani. – The teacher …
Walimu wanapiga filimbi uwanjani. – The teachers …

Why is there no word for “at” or “in” before uwanjani?

Swahili usually doesn’t use separate prepositions like at / in before places.
Instead, it uses a locative suffix -ni attached to the noun.

uwanja – field / pitch / yard
uwanjani – at/in/on the field

So uwanjani by itself already contains the idea “at the field” or “on the field.”
You don’t say kwa uwanjani or katika uwanjani in a basic sentence like this; just uwanjani is normal.

What is the difference between uwanja and uwanjani?

uwanja is the plain noun: “field, pitch, open ground, yard, court.”
uwanjani is uwanja + -ni, which gives it a locative meaning:
- uwanjani = on/at/in the field

So in the sentence, uwanjani tells you where the action happens.

Can the word order change, for example to Mwalimu uwanjani anapiga filimbi?

Yes, word order in Swahili is relatively flexible, especially for emphasis, but some orders sound more neutral and natural.

Neutral, straightforward:
- Mwalimu anapiga filimbi uwanjani.

Possible, with different emphasis:

Mwalimu uwanjani anapiga filimbi.
- Focus a bit more on the teacher on the field, as opposed to some other teacher elsewhere.
Uwanjani, mwalimu anapiga filimbi.
- “On the field, the teacher is blowing the whistle” – strong emphasis on the location.

However, you normally keep the verb close to the subject; very unusual orders can sound forced or poetic.

Where is the “he/she” in this sentence? Why is there no separate pronoun?

In Swahili, the subject is built into the verb as a prefix.

In anapiga:

a- = he/she (3rd person singular subject marker)
-na- = present tense marker
-pig- = verb root (“hit/strike”)
-a = final vowel (basic verb ending)

So anapiga already means “he/she is hitting/striking.”
Adding a separate pronoun like yeye anapiga is possible, but usually only for emphasis (e.g., “HE is the one who’s blowing the whistle”).

Why is there no word for “the” in the sentence? How do you know it’s “the teacher” and not “a teacher”?

Swahili usually does not use a separate word for “the” or “a.”
Nouns like mwalimu, filimbi, uwanja are bare and can be translated as “a” or “the” depending on context.

So mwalimu can be:

“a teacher” (introducing a new teacher)
“the teacher” (when both speakers know which teacher is meant)

English has to choose between “a” and “the”; Swahili normally lets context decide.

How would you say “The teachers blow the whistle on the field” (plural)?

You would make both the subject and verb plural:

Walimu wanapiga filimbi uwanjani.

Breakdown:

walimu – teachers (plural of mwalimu)
wa- (in wanapiga) – they (subject prefix for “they”)
-na- – present tense
piga – hit/strike → “blow” (a whistle)
filimbi – whistle / whistles
uwanjani – at/on the field

Can anapiga filimbi also mean “he/she is whistling with the mouth, not using a physical whistle”?

Yes, it can.

Filimbi can mean:

a whistle instrument, or
whistling / a whistle sound (even made with the mouth).

So anapiga filimbi can be understood as:

“he/she is blowing a (metal/plastic) whistle,” or
“he/she is whistling (with the mouth).”

If you want to be very explicit that it’s with the mouth, you can say:

anapiga filimbi kwa mdomo – he/she is whistling with the mouth.

What tense would I use for “The teacher blew the whistle on the field (once, in the past)”?

You switch the present marker -na- to a past marker -li-:

Mwalimu alipiga filimbi uwanjani. – The teacher blew the whistle on the field.

Breakdown of alipiga:

a- – he/she
-li- – past tense marker
piga – hit/blow
So alipiga = he/she hit/struck → he/she blew (the whistle).