Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kama ningekuwa na pesa nyingi, ningenunua nyumba ndogo karibu na bahari. - If I had a lot of money, I would buy a small house near the ocean.

It is very common but not absolutely required. In everyday speech, people sometimes drop kama if the context is clear, especially when the verb already has the conditional marker -nge-:

Ningekuwa na pesa nyingi, ningenunua nyumba ndogo karibu na bahari.

This is still understandable as If I had a lot of money, I would buy…, because the -nge- on both verbs shows the conditional mood.

What tense or mood are ningekuwa and ningenunua, and how are they formed?

Both are in the hypothetical conditional (often called the -nge- conditional). They describe an unreal or imagined situation, like English If I had… I would….

Breakdown:

ningekuwa
- ni- = I (1st person singular subject prefix)
- -nge- = conditional marker (would / would be)
- -kuw- = root of kuwa (to be)
- -a = final verb vowel
  → ningekuwa = I would be / I would have (when followed by na)
ningenunua
- ni- = I
- -nge- = conditional
- -nun- = root of kununua (to buy)
- (one nu merges with nun)
- -a = final vowel
  → ningenunua = I would buy

So the pattern is:
subject prefix + -nge- + verb root + -a

Why do both verbs have -nge-? In English only the second verb has “would”.

Swahili usually puts -nge- on both the verb in the if-clause and the verb in the result clause for unreal/hypothetical conditionals:

Kama ningekuwa na pesa nyingi, ningenunua nyumba ndogo…
If I had a lot of money, I would buy a small house…

Even though English uses had (past) in the if-clause and would buy in the main clause, Swahili uses the same -nge- form in both places.

You will also see the same pattern with other subjects:

Kama angekuwa na pesa nyingi, angenunua nyumba ndogo.
If he/she had a lot of money, he/she would buy a small house.

Can I change the order of the clauses, like in English?

Yes. Both orders are natural:

Kama ningekuwa na pesa nyingi, ningenunua nyumba ndogo karibu na bahari.
If I had a lot of money, I would buy a small house near the sea.
Ningenunua nyumba ndogo karibu na bahari kama ningekuwa na pesa nyingi.
I would buy a small house near the sea if I had a lot of money.

The meaning is the same. Just like in English, when the kama-clause comes first, there is usually a pause (a comma in writing), but when it comes second, often no comma is written.

How does ningekuwa na pesa nyingi mean “I would have a lot of money” if kuwa just means “to be”?

In Swahili, kuwa na literally means “to be with”, but functionally it means “to have”.

Nina pesa = I have money. (literally: I am with money.)
Nilikuwa na pesa = I had money.
Nitakuwa na pesa = I will have money.
Ningekuwa na pesa nyingi = I would have a lot of money.

So:

kuwa = to be
kuwa na = to have

What really expresses “have” is the combination [form of kuwa] + na + object.

Could I use a different form to talk about a real future possibility instead of a purely hypothetical one?

Yes. The -nge- form is for unreal or imagined situations (not true now, or unlikely). For a real, likely future condition, Swahili normally uses a different structure.

For example:

Nikikipata kiasi kikubwa cha pesa, nitanunua nyumba ndogo karibu na bahari.
If I get a lot of money, I will buy a small house near the sea.

Here:

nikipata = if/when I get (present/future conditional with -ki-)
nitanunua = I will buy (future: ta)

Compare:

Kama ningekuwa na pesa nyingi, ningenunua…
→ Imagined / not true now: If I had (but I don’t), I would buy…
Nikpata pesa nyingi, nitanunua…
→ Realistic plan: If/when I get a lot of money, I will buy…

What indicates “I” in ningekuwa and ningenunua? How would it change for other people?

The subject prefix at the start of the verb shows the person.

In our sentence:

ni- = I
-nge- = conditional
verb root + -a

So:

ningekuwa = I would be / have
ningenunua = I would buy

Other subjects use different prefixes:

u- = you (singular) → ungekuwa, ungenunua
a- = he / she → angekuwa, angenunua
tu- = we → tungekuwa, tungenunua
m- = you (plural) → mngekuwa, mngenunua
wa- = they → wangekuwa, wangenunua

Example:

Kama angekuwa na pesa nyingi, angenunua nyumba ndogo karibu na bahari.
If he/she had a lot of money, he/she would buy a small house near the sea.

Why is it nyumba ndogo, not ndogo nyumba?

In Swahili, most adjectives normally come after the noun they describe:

mtoto mdogo = small child
gari kubwa = big car
nyumba ndogo = small house

So the natural order is:

noun + adjective

Putting the adjective before the noun (ndogo nyumba) is not correct in standard Swahili.

Does ndogo agree with nyumba in any special way?

Yes. Swahili adjectives usually agree with the noun class of the noun they modify.

nyumba belongs to the N-class (class 9/10).
In this class, many adjectives take a form with n- or an unchanged form, such as ndogo.

Examples:

nyumba ndogo = small house
nyumba ndogo = small houses (same form; plural is understood from context)
nguo ndogo = small cloth / small clothes
safari ndefu = long journey

Here, ndogo is already in the right agreement form for a class 9/10 noun like nyumba, so you do not need any extra agreement marker between them.

Why is it karibu na bahari and not just karibu bahari?

Karibu on its own means:

karibu! = welcome!
karibu (as an adverb) = near / close

When you say near something, the usual pattern is:

karibu na + noun

So:

karibu na bahari = near the sea
karibu na mji = near the town
karibu na shule = near the school

You may sometimes hear karibu + noun without na in casual speech, but karibu na + noun is the standard, clear way to say near X.

Is there any idea of “the sea” versus “a sea” in bahari? Where is the article?

Swahili does not have articles like a / an / the. The noun bahari just means sea / ocean, and whether it translates as the sea or the ocean or the seaside depends on context.

In this sentence, English naturally prefers the sea:

nyumba ndogo karibu na bahari
→ a small house near the sea / by the sea

But Swahili does not explicitly mark that difference; it is all in how you translate it into English.

What exactly does pesa nyingi mean? Is pesa singular or plural?

Pesa is an N-class noun that usually refers to money in general, not to a single coin. In everyday use, it behaves like a mass noun:

pesa = money
pesa nyingi = a lot of money / much money
pesa kidogo = a little money

About number:

Grammatically, pesa is class 9/10; singular and plural often look the same.
In older or more specific usage, pesa could refer to coins, and you might see mapesa (class 6) meaning lots of coins / sums of money, but for most learners, pesa just works as “money”.

So pesa nyingi is best understood as a lot of money.

Could I say “I would buy that house” by adding an object marker to ningenunua?

Yes. To say “I would buy it” (referring to a specific house already known in context), you can add an object marker agreeing with nyumba (class 9/10: i-) inside the verb:

Ningeinunua. = I would buy it.

In the full sentence, if the house is already known and specific, you could say:

Kama ningekuwa na pesa nyingi, ningeinunua nyumba hii ndogo karibu na bahari.
If I had a lot of money, I would buy this small house near the sea.

But in your original sentence, nyumba ndogo karibu na bahari is just “a small house near the sea” (not a known, specific one), so it is normal not to use the object marker there.