Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kama mngeuliza swali lolote, mwalimu angefurahi kuwajibu. - If you all asked any question, the teacher would be happy to answer you.

It would still mean If you asked any question, the teacher would be happy to answer you. Including kama just makes the conditional relationship explicit and is very common, especially in more formal or careful speech.

What does the -nge- part in mngeuliza and angefurahi mean?

The infix -nge- is a conditional / hypothetical marker. In this sentence it plays the role that would often plays in English.

mngeuliza ≈ you (plural) would ask / if you were to ask
angefurahi ≈ he/she would be happy

Using -nge- in both clauses creates an unreal or hypothetical condition: this is not something that is actually happening; it is talking about what would happen if you did something.

Why do both verbs (mngeuliza and angefurahi) have -nge-? Could we put it in only one of them?

In standard Swahili conditionals of this type, both the if-clause and the result clause usually take -nge-:

Kama mngeuliza…, mwalimu angefurahi…

This is the normal pattern for a hypothetical / unreal condition: If X *would happen, Y would happen.*

If you only put -nge- in one part, it can sound incomplete or non-standard. For example:

Kama mngeuliza, mwalimu atafurahi – mixes would ask with will be happy, so the time and reality level don’t match well.
Kama mkiuliza, mwalimu angefurahi – mixes a more real condition (if you ask) with a hypothetical result (the teacher would be happy). This is possible but changes the nuance.

So using -nge- in both verbs keeps the whole sentence clearly hypothetical.

How is mngeuliza built, and how do we know it means “you (plural) would ask”?

Mngeuliza can be broken down as:

m- = subject prefix for you (plural)
-nge- = conditional/hypothetical marker (would)
-uliza = verb root ask

So: m- + -nge- + -uliza → mngeuliza = you (plural) would ask / were to ask.

If it were you (singular), the subject prefix would be u-:

ungeuliza = you (singular) would ask
mngeuliza = you (plural) would ask

How would the sentence change if it were talking to just one person instead of several?

You would switch the subject prefix m- (you plural) to u- (you singular) in the first verb, and keep the rest the same:

Kama ungeuliza swali lolote, mwalimu angefurahi kukujibu.

Notice two things:

ungeuliza = you (singular) would ask
To keep the object singular as well, you’d normally also change kuwajibu (to answer you plural) to kukujibu (to answer you singular).

So:

Plural: Kama mngeuliza… mwalimu angefurahi kuwajibu.
Singular: Kama ungeuliza… mwalimu angefurahi kukujibu.

What does swali lolote literally mean, and what does lolote do here?

Literally:

swali = question
-ote = all / any (depending on context)
lo- = agreement prefix for noun class 5/6 (the class of swali)

So lolote is lo- + -ote, agreeing with swali and meaning any (at all) in this context. Swali lolote is best understood as:

any question whatsoever / any question at all

So the phrase emphasizes that there is no restriction on which question.

Why is it lolote and not yoyote after swali?

The choice between forms like lolote, yoyote, chochote, yo yote etc. depends on the noun class of the noun.

Swali belongs to noun class 5 (singular: swali, plural: maswali).
For class 5, the agreement prefix used with -ote is lo-.

So:

swali lolote = any question (singular, class 5)
maswali yoyote = any questions (plural, class 6 → yo-)

If the noun were in a different class, we’d use a different agreement prefix:

mtu yeyote (any person – class 1 → ye-)
kitu chochote (anything – class 7 → cho-)

So lolote is simply the correct agreement form for swali.

What exactly does kuwajibu mean piece by piece?

Kuwajibu breaks down like this:

ku- = infinitive marker (to…)
-wa- = object marker for them / you (plural), depending on context
-jibu = verb root answer, reply

So kuwajibu = to answer them / to answer you (plural).

In this sentence, because the subject of mngeuliza is you (plural), kuwajibu is naturally understood as to answer you (plural).

Why do we say kuwajibu and not just kujibu?

Kujibu by itself just means to answer without specifying whom is being answered.

By adding the object marker -wa- inside the infinitive (ku- + -wa- + -jibu → kuwajibu), the verb now includes the object you (plural) (or them, from context).

kujibu = to answer (someone)
kuwajibu = to answer them / to answer you (plural)

English uses a separate pronoun: answer you. Swahili tends to put the object inside the verb as an object marker.

Can we put the kama-clause at the end, like: Mwalimu angefurahi kuwajibu kama mngeuliza swali lolote?

Yes. Swahili allows both orders:

Kama mngeuliza swali lolote, mwalimu angefurahi kuwajibu.
Mwalimu angefurahi kuwajibu kama mngeuliza swali lolote.

Both are grammatical and mean the same thing. Starting with kama gives the classic If X, then Y structure; placing it at the end sounds slightly more like a comment added after the main point, but the difference in meaning is minimal.

How would the sentence look with a more “real” condition, like “If you ask any question, the teacher will be happy to answer you”?

For a more realistic / likely condition about the present or future, Swahili often uses -ki- (or just a present tense) in the if-clause and a normal future or present in the result clause. For example:

Mkiuliza swali lolote, mwalimu atafurahi kuwajibu.
- m- = you (plural)
- -ki- = when/if (real condition)
- -uliza = ask
- atafurahi = will be happy

This is closer to:
If you (really) ask any question, the teacher will be happy to answer you.

So:

-nge- version: more hypothetical / not necessarily expected to happen.
-ki- (or simple present) version: more real / expected possibility.