Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kesho tutamtembelea babu kijijini na kula chakula cha pamoja. - Tomorrow we will visit grandfather in the village and eat a meal together.

So tu-ta-m-tembele-a literally encodes we – will – him/her – visit → we will visit him/her.
Because babu follows, we know -m- here refers to grandfather.

If -m- already means him/her, why do we also say babu? Isn’t that redundant?

In Swahili it’s very normal to have both:

an object marker in the verb (-m-), and
the full noun after the verb (babu).

So tutamtembelea babu literally feels like we will him-visit grandfather.

Why do both?

It’s often used for clarity and emphasis, especially for people.
It sounds very natural and fluent.

You could say just tutatembelea babu (without -m-).
That’s still correct, but in many everyday contexts, speakers like to include the object marker when the object is a specific person they have in mind.

Does the -m- in tutamtembelea specifically mean him, or could it also mean her?

The Swahili object marker -m- (for noun class 1, people) is not gendered. It just means that person (singular), matching class 1 nouns like babu (grandfather), mtu (person), rafiki (friend), etc.

So tutamtembelea could mean:

we will visit him
we will visit her

Context (or the noun that follows) tells you whether it’s a man, woman, or just “that person.” In this sentence, babu makes it clearly him (grandfather).

What exactly is the difference between kijiji and kijijini?

kijiji = village (basic noun)
kijijini = in the village / at the village

The -ni ending is a locative suffix. It often adds meanings like in, at, or on to a place noun.

So:

babu kijijini ≈ grandfather (who is) in the village
babu katika kijiji = grandfather in the village (using the preposition katika)

Both are possible, but kijijini is shorter and very natural.

Why is it babu kijijini without a word for in between them?

In Swahili, you can simply put two nouns (or a noun + locative form) next to each other, and the relationship is understood from context and form:

babu kijijini = grandfather (who is) in the village
- babu → grandfather
- kijijini → in/at the village

The -ni on kijijini already carries the in/at meaning, so you don’t need an extra preposition like in or at between the two words.

Other similar patterns:

rafiki shuleni = friend at school
mwalimu darasani = teacher in the classroom

What is the role of na before kula? Does na mean and, and do we need to repeat tu- and -ta- on kula?

In this sentence, na = and.

The pattern is:

tutamtembelea babu kijijini = we will visit grandfather in the village
na kula chakula cha pamoja = and (we will) eat a shared meal

Swahili often doesn’t repeat the subject and tense on the second verb if they are the same as the first verb. So instead of:

Kesho tutamtembelea babu kijijini na tutakula chakula cha pamoja.

it is very natural to say:

Kesho tutamtembelea babu kijijini na kula chakula cha pamoja.

The na links the two actions:

(We) will visit … and (we will) eat …

The subject we and future tense will are understood to carry over from the first verb.

What form is kula here? Is it like an infinitive (to eat) in English?

Kula is the basic verb form (dictionary form) of to eat in Swahili.

It can correspond to English eat, to eat, or eating, depending on context.
In this sentence, after na, it works like:

(and) eat / (and) to eat

Because the subject and tense are already expressed in tutamtembelea, Swahili just uses the bare verb kula for the second action. No tu- or -ta- is needed again.

What does chakula cha pamoja literally mean, and how does it differ from just saying tutakula pamoja?

Breakdown:

chakula = food / meal
cha = of (possessive/associative for class 7, agreeing with chakula)
pamoja = together

So chakula cha pamoja is literally food of togetherness → a shared meal / communal meal.

Difference in nuance:

tutakula pamoja = we will eat together (focus on eating together, whatever the food is)
tutakula chakula cha pamoja = we will eat a shared meal together (focus on a specific communal meal, often something planned or special)

In your sentence, chakula cha pamoja suggests a special shared meal with grandfather in the village, not just casually eating at the same time.

Why is the future marker -ta- used when there is already kesho (tomorrow)? Isn’t that double-marking the future?

Swahili typically uses both:

a tense marker in the verb (here -ta- for future), and
a time expression like kesho (tomorrow), leo (today), etc.

So:

Kesho tutamtembelea babu… = Tomorrow we will visit grandfather…

The -ta- is still needed to show it is future tense.
If you changed the verb tense, the meaning would change:

Kesho tunamtembelea babu… = Tomorrow we are visiting grandfather…
- This can sound like a fixed plan in the near future, similar to English present continuous for future.
Kesho tutamtembelea babu… = Tomorrow we will visit grandfather…
- Neutral future, very standard and clear.

Using -ta- with kesho is perfectly normal and not considered redundant.

Can kesho go in another position, like at the end of the sentence?

Yes. Kesho is flexible in position. All of these are possible and natural:

Kesho tutamtembelea babu kijijini na kula chakula cha pamoja.
Tutamtembelea babu kijijini kesho na kula chakula cha pamoja.
Tutamtembelea babu kijijini na kula chakula cha pamoja kesho.

The most common is to put kesho near the beginning, but moving it mainly changes emphasis, not the basic meaning.

How would I say my grandfather instead of just grandfather? Is babu here automatically understood as my grandfather?

To say my grandfather, you use a possessive:

babu yangu = my grandfather

So your sentence could be:

Kesho tutamtembelea babu yangu kijijini na kula chakula cha pamoja.

In many contexts, simply saying babu (without yangu) is understood as our/my grandfather from context, especially in family talk. But if you want to be explicit, add the possessive:

babu yangu = my grandfather
babu yetu = our grandfather

Swahili doesn’t have articles like the or a, so babu on its own can mean a grandfather, the grandfather, or grandfather in a general/familiar sense, depending on context.

Does na always mean and, or can it also mean with? Could this sentence mean visit grandfather with eating food?

Na has two very common uses:

Conjunction: “and”
- Joining nouns: chai na kahawa = tea and coffee
- Joining verbs/clauses: alikuja na akaondoka = he came and left
Preposition: “with”
- ninaenda na rafiki yangu = I am going with my friend

In your sentence:

…babu kijijini na kula chakula cha pamoja

Na is working as and, linking two actions:

visit grandfather in the village
(and) eat a shared meal

It is not “with” here. The structure is [Verb 1 …] na [Verb 2 …], so the natural reading is and eat, not with eating.