Learn Hardcore Swahili: Babu hutoka asubuhi na mapema kuwapeleka ng’ombe malishoni kando ya mto. - Grandfather goes out very early in the morning to take the cows to graze by the river.

In Swahili, babu means grandfather.
Here, it is capitalized as Babu because it is being used almost like a name or title, referring to a specific grandfather (for example, “Grandpa” in English).

You could also say:

babu yangu – my grandfather
yule babu – that old man / that grandfather

So Babu hutoka… is best understood as Grandpa leaves…, not just any grandfather in general.

What does hutoka mean here, and how is it different from anatoka?

The verb hutoka uses the special hu- tense marker, which expresses habitual or regular actions – things that generally happen or happen every day.

Babu hutoka… ≈ “Grandpa (usually / always) leaves…”, “Grandpa leaves (as a routine)…”
Babu anatoka… ≈ “Grandpa is leaving / leaves (now / today / this time)…”, more about the present or near future, not necessarily a long‑term habit.

So hu- here tells you this is something Grandpa regularly does, not a one‑off event.

Why doesn’t hutoka have a subject prefix like a- for “he/she”? I thought it should be anatoka.

The hu- habitual marker in Swahili does not take a subject prefix.
You cannot combine the normal subject prefixes (ni-, u-, a-, tu-, m-, wa-) with hu- on the same verb.

So you say:

Mimi hutoka asubuhi. – I (usually) leave in the morning.
Babu hutoka asubuhi. – Grandpa (usually) leaves in the morning.

You do not say anahutoka or wahutoka.
The subject is expressed by the noun or pronoun (Babu, mimi, wao, etc.) outside the verb, while hu- inside the verb shows the habitual meaning.

What does the phrase asubuhi na mapema literally mean, and why are both words used?

asubuhi – morning
mapema – early
na – and

Literally, asubuhi na mapema is “morning and early”, but as an idiomatic phrase it means “early in the morning” or even “very early in the morning”.

You could also say:

mapema asubuhi – also “early in the morning”, but asubuhi na mapema is a very common fixed expression used to emphasize the earliness.

How is kuwapeleka built up, and what does each part mean?

kuwapeleka is made of three parts:

ku- – infinitive marker (“to …”)
-wa- – object marker: them (here referring to the cows)
-peleka – verb root meaning take / send / lead (someone/something somewhere)

So kuwapeleka means “to take them” or “to lead them”.
In the sentence, kuwapeleka ng’ombe malishoni… = to take them, the cows, to pasture…

Why is the object marker -wa- used in kuwapeleka, when ng’ombe (the cows) is also mentioned? Is it optional?

In Swahili, it is very common to use both:

the object marker on the verb (-wa- here), and
the full noun phrase (ng’ombe) in the same clause.

So:

kuwapeleka ng’ombe – literally “to-them-take cows”, i.e. “to take them, the cows…”

If the cows are specific and already known in the context, adding -wa- sounds natural and often a bit more definite or emphatic.

You could also say:

kupeleka ng’ombe malishoni… – “to take the cows to pasture…”

This is grammatically fine.
Using -wa- just makes the link to the cows clearer and is very typical when talking about known, specific animals or people.

Why is the object marker -wa- used for ng’ombe? I thought cows are class 9/10 and would take -zi-.

You’re right that ng’ombe (cow/cows) is normally a class 9/10 noun, and the “default” object marker for class 10 would be -zi-.

However, Swahili often treats animate beings (people and animals) as if they belonged to the human class (1/2) in agreement. In that case they take wa- agreement in the plural.

So you can get:

kuwapeleka ng’ombe – “to take them (the cows)”, treating the cows like animate “them” (class 2 style agreement).

This kind of animate agreement override is very common with animals, especially ones people interact with regularly (dogs, cows, goats, etc.).
So -wa- here is natural and idiomatic.

Is ng’ombe singular or plural? How do you say “one cow” or “two cows”?

ng’ombe can be singular or plural; the form itself does not change.

You show number by adding numerals or other words:

ng’ombe mmoja – one cow
ng’ombe wawili – two cows
ng’ombe kumi – ten cows

Context usually makes it clear whether ng’ombe means “cow” or “cows”.
In this sentence, because we are taking them to pasture, it naturally suggests several cows.

What is the little mark in ng’ombe, and how is the word pronounced?

The mark in ng’ombe (the curly apostrophe) shows that this is ng’ and not just ng.

Pronunciation:

ng’ before a vowel (as in ng’ombe) is pronounced like the “ng” in English “singer” [ŋ], without a “g” sound.
ng before a consonant (as in ngoma) is pronounced like the “ng” in English “finger” [ŋg], with a “g” sound.

So ng’ombe is roughly [ŋombe] (NO hard “g” sound), not [ŋgombe].

What does malishoni mean exactly, and how is it related to malisho?

malisho – pasture, grazing land, fodder
-ni – a locative ending meaning “at / in / to (a place)”

When you add -ni to malisho, you get malishoni, which means “at the pasture / in the grazing area / to the grazing place”.

So kuwapeleka ng’ombe malishoni = to take the cows to pasture.

The -ni locative is very common:

shule → shuleni – at school
nyumba → nyumbani – at home / to home
kanisa → kanisani – at church

What does kando ya mto mean, and why is it ya and not wa?

kando – side, edge, bank
mto – river
kando ya mto – “the side of the river”, i.e. by the river / by the river bank

The connector ya is an associative that agrees with the head noun, which is kando, not mto.

kando is class 9/10 → associative is ya
So: kando ya mto (side of the river)

If mto were the head, you would see wa, for example:

mto wa Nile – the River Nile

In our phrase, we are really saying “the side of the river”, so kando is the head, and ya is correct.

What is the function of kuwapeleka after hutoka? Does it mean “in order to take them”?

Yes. An infinitive with ku- after another verb often expresses purpose:

Babu hutoka … kuwapeleka ng’ombe malishoni…
→ “Grandpa (habitually) leaves … to take the cows to pasture …”
→ more literally: “Grandpa regularly goes out in order to take the cows to pasture…”

This is similar to English “leave to do something” or “go out to do something”.
So the whole part kuwapeleka ng’ombe malishoni kando ya mto explains why he leaves early in the morning.