Wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga, nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni.

While you were watching television, I was reading a newspaper in the living room.

Breakdown of Wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga, nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni.

• mimi: I
• wewe: you
• kuwa: to be
• kusoma: to read
• gazeti: the newspaper
• kutazama: to watch
• wakati: while
• runinga: the television
• sebuleni: in the living room

Questions & Answers about Wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga, nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni.

What is the tense/aspect in ulikuwa ukitazama and nilikuwa nikisoma, and how would you label it in English grammar terms?

Both ulikuwa ukitazama and nilikuwa nikisoma are past continuous / past progressive forms.

• ulikuwa ukitazama = you were watching

  • u- (you) + -li- (past) + -kuwa (to be) → ulikuwa (you were)
  • u- (you) + -ki- (incomplete/ongoing action) + tazama (watch) → ukitazama (watching)

• nilikuwa nikisoma = I was reading

  • ni- (I) + -li- (past) + -kuwa (to be) → nilikuwa (I was)
  • ni- (I) + -ki- (incomplete/ongoing) + soma (read) → nikisoma (reading)

So the pattern is essentially:
[subject]-li-kuwa [subject]-ki-VERB = subject was VERB‑ing.

This construction emphasizes that both actions were in progress at the same time.

Why do we need two verbs (like ulikuwa and ukitazama) instead of just one verb for each action?

Swahili uses kuwa (to be) plus another verb with -ki- to form a clear progressive (continuous) aspect in non‑present tenses.

• ulikuwa by itself just means you were (it needs something to describe what you were doing).
• ukitazama by itself can mean while you were watching / when you watched, but together with ulikuwa it strongly gives the sense of you were watching (in progress).

So:

• ulikuwa ukitazama = you were (in the middle of) watching
• nilikuwa nikisoma = I was (in the middle of) reading

Using just a simple past like ulitazama or nilisoma would describe finished actions and would lose the idea that both things were going on at the same time.

Could I just say ulitazama runinga, nilisoma gazeti instead? What would change?

You can say Ulitazama runinga, nilisoma gazeti, but it does not mean the same thing.

• Ulitazama runinga = You watched TV (simple past, completed event)
• Nilisoma gazeti = I read a newspaper (simple past, completed event)

This sounds more like two completed events, without clearly saying they were simultaneous or in progress.

The original:

• Wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga, nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni.

highlights that both actions were ongoing at the same time. It matches English “While you were watching TV, I was reading a newspaper in the living room.” Much closer to past continuous.

Why is the subject prefix u- / ni- repeated on the second verb (ukitazama, nikisoma)? Could we say ulikuwa kitazama or nilikuwa kisoma?

In standard Swahili, every finite verb form needs its own subject prefix, even when verbs are joined in one clause.

So you must say:

• ulikuwa ukitazama

  • u-likuwa
  • u‑ki‑tazama

• nilikuwa nikisoma

  • ni-likuwa
  • ni‑ki‑soma

Forms like ulikuwa kitazama or nilikuwa kisoma are ungrammatical in standard Swahili, because kitazama and kisoma are missing their subject markers.

Think of it like needing a separate “you” or “I” marker on each verb, not just on the first one.

What exactly does the -ki- in ukitazama and nikisoma mean?

The -ki- infix marks an incomplete, ongoing, or simultaneous action.

Common uses:

1. With another clause / verb, it can mean while / when:

   • Alipika chakula, watoto wakicheza nje.
     She cooked food while the children were playing outside.

2. With an auxiliary like kuwa, it gives a clear progressive meaning:

   • Alikuwa akisoma. = He was reading.
   • Watakuwa wakicheza. = They will be playing.

In your sentence:

• ukitazama (with ulikuwa) → were watching (in progress)
• nikisoma (with nilikuwa) → was reading (in progress)

So -ki- is the key to the “continuous / in-progress” feeling here.

Is wewe necessary in Wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga? Could I just say Wakati ulikuwa ukitazama runinga?

You can absolutely drop wewe here:

• Wakati ulikuwa ukitazama runinga, nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni.

This is still fully correct and natural, because the u- in ulikuwa and ukitazama already shows “you”.

Why include wewe then?

• Emphasis or contrast:
  It can highlight you in contrast to someone else:

  • Wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga, mimi nilikuwa nikisoma.
    While *you were watching TV, I was reading.*

• Clarity in longer or more complex sentences.

So wewe is optional and mainly used for emphasis or contrast.

Can I change the word order and say Nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga?

Yes, that is perfectly grammatical and natural.

Both orders work:

• Wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga, nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni.
• Nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga.

Swahili is flexible about putting the wakati… clause first or last. The meaning stays the same: the two actions were simultaneous in the past. Changing the order just changes the focus or flow of the sentence a bit, like in English:

• When you were watching TV, I was reading…
• I was reading… when you were watching TV.

What is the role of wakati here, and how does it compare to something like ulipokuwa?

wakati means “time / when / while” in this kind of sentence.

• Wakati wewe ulikuwa ukitazama runinga…
  = When/While you were watching TV…

An alternative is to use the verb kuwa with the relative marker -po-:

• Ulipo kuwa ukitazama runinga, nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni.
• More commonly joined: Ulipokuwa ukitazama runinga…

This ulipokuwa basically means “when you were”.

Differences:

• wakati + clause:

  • Very clear and explicit, close to English “when/while”.
  • Common and easy for learners.

• ulipokuwa + clause:

  • Slightly more compact and a bit more formal or literary.
  • Still very common and good to learn.

Both are correct; wakati + [clause] is often the more straightforward choice for learners.

Why is sebuleni used instead of just sebule? What does the -ni ending do?

The base noun is sebule = living room.

Adding -ni gives a locative meaning: in/at the living room.

• sebule = the living room (as a thing)
• sebuleni = in the living room / at the living room

So nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni =
I was reading a newspaper *in the living room.*

You could also express location with a preposition:

• nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti katika sebule
  (in the living room)

But using -ni directly on the noun is very common and usually more natural.

What is the difference between runinga and televisheni? Are they interchangeable?

Both basically mean “television / TV”, but there are some nuances:

• runinga

  • A more “pure” Swahili-derived word.
  • Commonly used in Tanzania and in many standard-Swahili contexts.
  • Slightly more neutral/standard in East African Swahili.

• televisheni

  • A loanword from “television”.
  • Widely understood.
  • Often heard in everyday speech and media, depending on region and style.

In most casual contexts, they are interchangeable:

• kutazama runinga = kutazama televisheni = to watch TV

In formal teaching materials or exams, runinga is often preferred, but both are good to know.

Swahili doesn’t use a word like “a” or “the” before gazeti. How do I know if it’s “a newspaper” or “the newspaper”?

Swahili has no separate articles like a/an/the. Nouns like gazeti are neutral by themselves. The exact English article depends on context.

In your sentence:

• nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni

can be translated as either:

• I was reading *a newspaper in the living room.*
• I was reading *the newspaper in the living room.*

If you want to be more specific in Swahili, you usually add a demonstrative or other modifier:

• gazeti hili = this newspaper
• gazeti lile = that newspaper
• gazeti langu = my newspaper

But with just gazeti, the listener figures out a/the from context, just as in many article‑less languages.

Are ulikuwa ukitazama and nilikuwa nikisoma special forms that can only appear with wakati, or can they stand alone?

They can definitely stand alone; they are general past continuous forms.

Examples without wakati:

• Jana saa mbili, ulikuwa ukitazama runinga.
  Yesterday at eight, you were watching TV.

• Nilikuwa nikisoma gazeti sebuleni wakati mvua ilipoanza kunyesha.
  I was reading a newspaper in the living room when it started to rain.

So [subject]-li-kuwa [subject]-ki-VERB is a standard way to express “was/were VERB‑ing”, whether or not you use wakati.

Could I say Ulikuwa unatazama runinga or Nilikuwa nasoma gazeti instead of ulikuwa ukitazama / nilikuwa nikisoma?

You will hear patterns like ulikuwa unatazama and nilikuwa nasoma in some colloquial speech, but from a standard grammar point of view, the combination kuwa + -ki- is the canonical way to form the past continuous:

• ulikuwa ukitazama (standard) = you were watching
• nilikuwa nikisoma (standard) = I was reading

Why is -na- (as in unatazama, nasoma) tricky here?

• -na- is the usual present progressive marker:
  
  • unatazama = you are watching
  • nasoma = I am reading
• But kuwa na also means “to have”:
  
  • nilikuwa na gazeti = I had a newspaper.

So using kuwa + -na- with another verb can create ambiguity or sound odd in careful Swahili. That’s why grammars typically teach:

• alikuwa akisoma (he was reading), not alikuwa anasoma in standard usage.

As a learner, it’s safest and clearest to use the kuwa + -ki- + verb pattern for past continuous.