Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.

I have not finished the work yet, so I cannot watch a movie.

Breakdown of Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.

• mimi: I
• kazi: the work
• kwa hiyo: so
• kuweza: to be able
• kumaliza: to finish
• bado: yet
• filamu: the movie
• kuangalia: to watch

Questions & Answers about Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.

What exactly does bado mean here, and why is it at the beginning of the sentence?

Bado means still / not yet.

In Bado sijamaliza kazi, it gives the meaning I still haven’t finished work / I haven’t finished work yet.

Putting bado before the verb is a very common way to say someone still has not done something:

• Bado sijala – I still haven’t eaten / I haven’t eaten yet.
• Bado hajafika – He/She still hasn’t arrived.

You could say Sijamaliza kazi bado, and people would understand, but Bado sijamaliza kazi is more natural and emphasizes the “still not (yet)” idea right away.

How is sijamaliza formed, and what tense/aspect is it?

Sijamaliza breaks down like this:

• si- = I … not (1st person singular negative subject prefix)
• -ja- = perfect tense marker in the negative
• -maliza = verb root finish

So sijamaliza literally means I-have-not-finished.

This is the negative perfect (sometimes called “negative present perfect”). It is used for actions that have not been completed up to now.

Compare:

• Nime maliza kazi – I have finished work.
• Sija maliza kazi – I have not finished work.

Adding bado:

• Bado sijamaliza kazi – I still haven’t finished work / I haven’t finished work yet.

Why is there no word for “have” in sijamaliza if the meaning is “I haven’t finished”?

Swahili does not use a separate verb like English “have” for the perfect tense.

Instead, the tense/aspect is shown by the tense marker inside the verb:

• Nime maliza – I have finished.
  
  • ni- (I), -me- (perfect), maliza (finish)
• Sija maliza – I have not finished.
  
  • si- (I, negative), -ja- (perfect, negative forms), maliza

So the idea of “have (done something)” is expressed inside the single verb form, not with a separate word.

What is the difference between kazi here and kutafanya kazi (“to work”)? Why is it just kazi?

In this sentence, kazi is a noun meaning work / job / task.

• Bado sijamaliza kazi – I still haven’t finished the work / my work / this task.

Kufanya kazi is a verb phrase: to work, to do work.

• Ninafanya kazi – I am working / I work.
• Bado sijamaliza kufanya kazi – I still haven’t finished working.

Both are possible, but they focus slightly differently:

• kazi (noun) → finishing a specific piece/amount of work.
• kufanya kazi (verb phrase) → finishing the activity of working.

In everyday speech, Bado sijamaliza kazi is very natural and covers “I’m not done with my work yet.”

Why is there no word for “the/my” before kazi or filamu? Shouldn’t it be “the work / a movie”?

Swahili generally does not use articles like a, an, the.

Words like kazi and filamu can correspond to:

• work / the work / my work
• a movie / the movie / movies (depending on context)

If you need to be more specific, you use possessives or other determiners:

• kazi yangu – my work
• filamu ile – that movie
• filamu hii – this movie

But in a normal conversation, kazi and filamu alone are enough; the context tells you whether it’s “the work” or “a movie”.

What does kwa hiyo mean exactly, and how is it different from kwa sababu?

Kwa hiyo is a linking phrase meaning so / therefore / for that reason.

In the sentence:

• Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.
  → I still haven’t finished work, so I can’t watch a movie.

Compare with kwa sababu, which means because:

• Siwezi kuangalia filamu kwa sababu bado sijamaliza kazi.
  → I can’t watch a movie because I still haven’t finished work.

So:

• kwa hiyo → introduces the result / consequence (so, therefore).
• kwa sababu → introduces the reason / cause (because).

They often appear in opposite orders in the sentence, but they’re expressing the same relationship from different sides.

Is kwa hiyo the same as kwa hivyo or hivyo?

They are very similar and often interchangeable in everyday speech:

• Kwa hiyo – so, therefore
• Kwa hivyo – so, therefore
• Hivyo – like that / that way; in context, sometimes “so, in that way”

Examples:

• Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.
• Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hivyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.

Both mean: I still haven’t finished work, so I can’t watch a movie.

Kwa hiyo and kwa hivyo are both common as “so / therefore”. Context and personal preference decide which one is used.

How is siwezi formed, and what is the positive form?

Siwezi comes from the verb kuweza – to be able (to), can.

In the positive present:

• Naweza – I can / I am able
• Unaweza – You can
• Anaweza – He/She can

In the negative present, this verb behaves a bit irregularly:

• Siwezi – I cannot / I’m not able
• Huwezi – You cannot
• Hawezi – He/She cannot
• Hatuwezi – We cannot
• Hamwezi – You (pl.) cannot
• Hawawezi – They cannot

So siwezi = si- (I, negative) + -wezi (can/able).

In the sentence:

• siwezi kuangalia filamu – I can’t watch a movie.

Why do we need ku- in kuangalia after siwezi?

In Swahili, when one verb follows another (like “can watch”, “want to go”), the second verb is usually in its infinitive form with ku-:

• Naweza kuangalia – I can watch.
• Nataka kuangalia – I want to watch.
• Siwezi kuangalia – I can’t watch.

Here, kuangalia is the infinitive form of angalia (look at, watch). It’s similar to English “to watch”:

• siwezi kuangalia filamu ≈ “I can’t (to) watch a movie.”

So ku- marks the verb as “to + verb” in this type of construction.

What is the difference between kuangalia, kutazama, and kuona?

All three involve seeing, but the nuances are slightly different:

• kuangalia – to look at, to watch (fairly general; very common for watching TV, movies, etc.)

  • kuangalia filamu – to watch a movie
  • kuangalia televisheni – to watch TV

• kutazama – to look at, to observe (often a bit more deliberate, but often interchangeable with kuangalia in many contexts)

  • kutazama filamu – to watch a movie

• kuona – to see; to perceive with the eyes; also “to experience, to feel” in some contexts

  • Nimeona filamu hii – I have seen this movie.

In the given sentence, kuangalia filamu is the most natural way to say to watch a movie, but kutazama filamu would also be understood.

Can I change the word order, for example say Sijamaliza kazi bado, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu?

Yes, you can say:

• Sijamaliza kazi bado, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.

It still means the same thing and is understandable.

However:

• Bado sijamaliza kazi is more typical for expressing “I still haven’t finished work / I haven’t finished yet.”
• Placing bado at the start highlights the ongoing, incomplete state right away.

So both are grammatically fine, but Bado sijamaliza kazi is more natural and common.

Where is the word for “I” in this sentence? Why don’t we see a separate pronoun?

Swahili usually does not use a separate subject pronoun like I, you, he, she inside the sentence. The subject is built into the verb.

In the sentence:

• Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.

The “I” is encoded in:

• sijamaliza – si- is the 1st person singular negative subject prefix (I … not)
• siwezi – si- again is I … not

So:

• sijamaliza = I have not finished
• siwezi = I cannot

You can add mimi for emphasis:

• Mimi bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.
  → I still haven’t finished work, so I can’t watch a movie. (emphasizing “I”)

Is this sentence polite and natural in everyday conversation, or should it be said differently?

This sentence is natural and fine in everyday conversation:

• Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.

You might hear small variations, for example:

• Bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu sasa.
  → adding sasa (“now”) for extra clarity: “…so I can’t watch a movie now.”

• Bado nina kazi, siwezi kuangalia filamu.
  → “I still have work, I can’t watch a movie.”

For polite refusal, you could soften it further with samahani (sorry/excuse me):

• Samahani, bado sijamaliza kazi, kwa hiyo siwezi kuangalia filamu.

But the original sentence itself is already polite and very typical.