Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mwanafunzi huyu huuliza swali moja kila somo. - This student asks one question every lesson.

In this sentence, we have kila somo (“every lesson”), which clearly describes a repeated action. Using huuliza matches that idea: the student regularly asks one question in each lesson.

By contrast, anauliza is the ordinary present tense:

anauliza = “is asking / asks (now or around now)”

You could say Mwanafunzi huyu anauliza swali moja kila somo, and many speakers would still understand it as habitual because of kila somo, but huuliza is the classic and more clearly “habitual” form here.

Also note: in the hu- habitual, there is no subject prefix (no a-, wa-, etc.) on the verb. You just use hu- + verb stem, and the subject is the noun phrase in front:

Mwanafunzi huyu huuliza…
Wanafunzi hawa huuliza…
Watoto hulala mapema. – “Children (usually) sleep early.”

Why does huuliza have two u letters? Is that a mistake?

It’s not a mistake. The two u’s come from:

the habitual prefix hu-
plus the verb stem uliza (“to ask”)

So written out: hu- + uliza → huuliza

Both vowels are written. In careful pronunciation, there is a tiny boundary between them: hu-u-liza, though in natural speech they flow together and can sound like a slightly longer u.

The same thing happens with other verbs that start with a vowel:

hu- + andika → huandika (only one a, so no doubling here)
hu- + oga → huoga
hu- + enda → huenda

With uliza, the vowel is the same as in hu-, so they double in writing: huuliza.

In English we say this student, with this before the noun. Why is it mwanafunzi huyu (noun + demonstrative) in Swahili, not huyu mwanafunzi?

Swahili’s default word order is:

Noun + demonstrative

So:

mwanafunzi huyu = “this student”
kitabu hiki = “this book”
mji huu = “this town”

Putting the demonstrative after the noun is the normal, neutral way to say “this X”.

You can also say huyu mwanafunzi, but that usually has extra emphasis, closer to:

“this particular student”
“this student (as opposed to the others)”

So:

mwanafunzi huyu – neutral “this student”
huyu mwanafunzi – “THIS student (in particular)”

In your sentence, the neutral pattern mwanafunzi huyu is used.

What noun class is mwanafunzi huyu, and how does huyu agree with it?

Mwanafunzi (“student”) belongs to noun class 1 (singular humans). Its plural is wanafunzi, which is class 2.

Demonstratives agree with the noun class:

Class 1 singular (person close to the speaker): huyu
Class 2 plural (people close to the speaker): hawa

So:

mwanafunzi huyu = this student
wanafunzi hawa = these students

If you changed the sentence to talk about several students, you’d say:

Wanafunzi hawa huuliza… – “These students (habitually) ask…”

The demonstrative changes from huyu (class 1) to hawa (class 2) to match the plural noun wanafunzi.

Why is it swali moja and not moja swali? Where do numbers like moja go in Swahili?

In Swahili, most cardinal numbers (1–10) normally come after the noun:

swali moja – one question
vitabu vitatu – three books
watoto wawili – two children

So swali moja follows the regular pattern noun + number.

A few details:

moja is “one” and usually comes after the noun (as here).
Its exact form can change a bit with some noun classes:
- mtoto mmoja – one child
- mti mmoja – one tree
With class 5 nouns like swali, it’s just swali moja.

Putting moja before the noun (e.g. moja swali) is not normal; it would sound wrong in standard Swahili.

Why is somo singular after kila? If we’re talking about lots of lessons, shouldn’t it be plural masomo?

In Swahili, kila (“each / every”) is always followed by a singular noun form, even though the meaning involves many items.

So you say:

kila somo – every lesson
kila mtoto – every child
kila siku – every day
kila mtu – everyone / every person

You do not use the plural after kila:

❌ kila masomo
❌ kila watoto

So in your sentence, kila somo is exactly what we expect: grammatically singular noun after kila, but with the meaning “every lesson (all lessons, one by one)”.

Is kila masomo ever correct, or is it always wrong?

As a normal phrase meaning “every lesson” or “every subject”, kila masomo is wrong. Kila requires a singular noun, so you should say:

kila somo – every lesson / every subject

To talk about all the lessons in general, you would use other words:

masomo yote – all the lessons
katika masomo yote – in all the lessons
aina zote za masomo – all kinds of subjects

But kila masomo itself is not standard Swahili.

Does somo mean “lesson” or “subject”? How is it different from darasa?

Somo covers both meanings, depending on context:

Academic subject
- somo la hesabu – the subject of mathematics
- somo la historia – history (as a subject)
Lesson / teaching session / topic
- kila somo lina maswali – every lesson has questions
- In your sentence, kila somo is naturally understood as “each lesson (period)”.

Darasa usually means:

classroom (the physical room):
- niko darasani – I’m in the classroom
class / grade / group of students:
- darasa la tano – fifth grade
- darasa letu – our class (group of students)

So:

kila somo – each lesson (or subject)
kila darasa – each classroom / each class group (depending on context)

Could we say Mwanafunzi huyu anauliza swali moja kila somo instead? Would it still be correct, and how would the meaning change?

Yes, Mwanafunzi huyu anauliza swali moja kila somo is grammatical, but the nuance changes slightly.

huuliza – clearly habitual/general: this is his regular habit or a rule.
anauliza – ordinary present: “is asking / asks” (now, these days, or generally).

With kila somo (“every lesson”), both forms will usually be understood as habitual. However:

huuliza sounds more like a fixed habit or rule, very typical in descriptions and proverbs.
anauliza can sound a bit more like describing what happens currently or typically, but without the strong “habitual” flavor that hu- carries on its own.

Teachers often prefer huuliza in this kind of sentence because it matches the “every lesson” idea very neatly.

How would the sentence change if we were talking about these students instead of this student?

You change the noun and the demonstrative to the plural forms:

Mwanafunzi huyu → Wanafunzi hawa (“these students”)

The rest of the sentence can stay the same:

Wanafunzi hawa huuliza swali moja kila somo.
– “These students ask one question every lesson.”

Points to notice:

huuliza stays the same; in the hu- habitual, you don’t add a subject prefix like wa-.
swali moja is still singular (“one question”). Depending on context, that can mean:
- one question asked by the group together, or
- one question per student (if that has already been made clear in context; for full clarity you might say kila mmoja wao huuliza swali moja… – each one of them asks one question…).

Can we move kila somo to the front, like Kila somo, mwanafunzi huyu huuliza swali moja? Is that acceptable, and does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can move kila somo to the front:

Kila somo, mwanafunzi huyu huuliza swali moja.

This is still correct Swahili. The basic meaning remains the same, but the focus shifts slightly:

Mwanafunzi huyu huuliza swali moja kila somo.
– Neutral word order; just states the fact.
Kila somo, mwanafunzi huyu huuliza swali moja.
– Puts extra emphasis on kila somo (“In every lesson, this student asks one question.”)

You usually keep:

the noun and its demonstrative together (mwanafunzi huyu), and
the noun and its number together (swali moja),

but time/frequency expressions like kila somo, kila siku, mara kwa mara, etc., can be moved to the front or left at the end for emphasis or style.