Mama alifungua mlango alipobisha Juma.

Mother opened the door when Juma knocked.

Breakdown of Mama alifungua mlango alipobisha Juma.

• Juma: Juma
• mama: the mother
• mlango: the door
• kufungua: to open
• alipobisha: when he knocked

Questions & Answers about Mama alifungua mlango alipobisha Juma.

In alifungua, what does each part of the verb mean?

alifungua breaks down like this:

• a- = subject marker for he/she (third person singular)
• -li- = past tense marker (simple past: did, opened)
• -fungu- = verb root meaning open / unlock
• -a = final vowel that most Swahili verbs take in the infinitive and finite forms

So alifungua literally means “he/she opened.”
From context (Mama), we understand it as “she opened.”

Why is there no separate word for “when” before alipobisha?

Swahili often doesn’t use a separate word like English “when.”
Instead, “when” is built into the verb through the infix -po-.

In alipobisha:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past
• -po- = when / at the time that (also sometimes “at the place that”)
• -bish- = knock
• -a = final vowel

So alipobisha on its own can mean “when he/she knocked.”
That’s why you don’t see a separate word like wakati (time, when) in this sentence.

What exactly does -po- add in alipobisha, and how is it different from -ki-?

-po- is a temporal/locative marker meaning roughly “when/where (specific)”.

• alipobisha = when he/she knocked (referring to a particular event)
• alipofika = when he/she arrived

By contrast, -ki- often suggests “when/whenever/as” with more of a background/ongoing or conditional feel:

• alipobisha, mama alifungua mlango
  = When he knocked (at that moment), mother opened the door.
• alipobisha emphasizes that specific time.

If we had:

• akibisha, mama hufungua mlango
  = When(ever) he knocks, mother (usually) opens the door.

So -po- here anchors the action to that particular moment when Juma knocked.

Why is it alipobisha Juma instead of Juma alipobisha?

Both orders are grammatically possible, but they have different flavors:

• Juma alipobisha, mama alifungua mlango.
  → More “neutral” word order: Subject – verb – rest.

• Mama alifungua mlango alipobisha Juma.
  → The sentence starts with what Mother did, then adds “when Juma knocked” as extra information at the end.

In the original sentence, alipobisha Juma works as a subordinate time clause:

• alipobisha Juma = when Juma knocked

Putting Juma after the verb is quite common in Swahili, especially when the verb already has a subject marker (a-), because the person is clear from the verb, and the name just specifies who that “he/she” is.

How do we know the subject of alipobisha is Juma and not Mama?

Grammatically, a- could mean “he” or “she”, so the subject is ambiguous until we see Juma.

The key points:

• alipobisha on its own = when he/she knocked.
• Then Juma follows immediately after, so it is understood as the subject of that verb.
• If the second clause were about Mama, we would normally clarify it:
  • Mama alifungua mlango alipobisha yeye (less natural but explicit)
  • Or repeat Mama: wakati Mama alipobisha…

In normal reading, alipobisha Juma is parsed as “when Juma knocked.”

What role does alipobisha Juma play in the whole sentence?

It is a subordinate time clause that tells you when the main action happened.

• Main clause: Mama alifungua mlango → Mother opened the door.
• Subordinate clause: alipobisha Juma → when Juma knocked.

Together: Mother opened the door when Juma knocked.
So alipobisha Juma functions like “when Juma knocked” in English.

Could I also say wakati Juma alipobisha, mama alifungua mlango? Is that equivalent?

Yes, that is correct and natural, and it makes the “when” idea more explicit.

• wakati = time / when
• wakati Juma alipobisha, mama alifungua mlango
  = When Juma knocked, mother opened the door.

Your original sentence simply builds “when” inside the verb with -po- instead:

• Mama alifungua mlango alipobisha Juma.

Both are fine; the original is a bit more compact and very common in speech and writing.

Why doesn’t the verb agree with mlango (door)? I only see agreement with Mama.

Swahili verbs agree with the subject, not with the object.

• Mama is the subject → class 1 (people, singular)

  • Subject marker: a-
  • So: a-li-fungu-a → she opened

• mlango is the object → class 3 (m-/mi-)

  • It does not control the subject marker.
  • If mlango were the subject, the verb would show u- or m-/u- depending on the dialect/verb.

So alifungua agrees with Mama, not with mlango.

What noun class is mlango, and what is its plural?

mlango belongs to noun class 3/4 (m-/mi- class).

• Singular: mlango = door
• Plural: milango = doors

You can see the class markers:

• m- → singular
• mi- → plural

Why is it just Mama and not Mama yangu (my mother)?

In Swahili, Mama is often used on its own in contexts where English would say “Mum/Mom” or “my mother.” The relationship is usually clear from context.

• Mama yuko wapi? = Where is Mum?
• Mama alifungua mlango = Mum/Mother opened the door.

If you specifically want to say “my mother”, you can say:

• Mama yangu alifungua mlango.

But in many everyday contexts, Mama alone is understood as “Mum.”

Could the sentence mean “Mother had opened the door when Juma knocked” (past perfect), or is it only simple past?

As written, alifungua + alipobisha are both in the simple past:

• alifungua = she opened
• alipobisha = when he knocked

Swahili simple past is flexible and often covers both English simple past and past perfect, but the default reading here is:

• Mother opened the door when Juma knocked. (actions closely linked in time)

If you really wanted to emphasize “had already opened”, you would typically use alikuwa amefungua:

• Mama alikuwa amefungua mlango Juma alipobisha.
  = Mother had (already) opened the door when Juma knocked.

Does bisha need an object (like knock the door), or can it stand alone?

The verb kubisha can appear:

1. Without an explicit object:

   • Juma alibisha.
     = Juma knocked. (context usually implies knocking on the door or gate)

2. With an object or complement:

   • Juma alibisha mlango. = Juma knocked on the door.
   • Juma alibisha hodi. = Juma called “hodi” (knocked/called to be let in).

In alipobisha Juma, it is used without a stated object, and that is perfectly natural; the idea of knocking at the door is understood from context.