Learn Hardcore Swahili: Gari letu linatengenezwa na fundi, kwa hiyo hatutaenda kijijini leo. - Our car is being repaired by the mechanic, so we will not go to the village today.

So linatengenezwa literally = “it is being repaired” (by someone).
Because gari is class 5, the verb must start with li- to agree with gari:

Gari letu linatengenezwa… = “Our car is being repaired …”

Why do we say linatengenezwa na fundi instead of something like “linatengenezwa kwa fundi”?

In a passive sentence, na is used to mark the agent (the person doing the action), similar to English “by”:

linatengenezwa na fundi = “is being repaired by a mechanic”

Kwa is usually used for “at, to, with (instrument), because of, by means of,” etc., but not for the agent in the passive.
So:

✅ Gari letu linatengenezwa na fundi.
❌ Gari letu linatengenezwa kwa fundi. (ungrammatical in this sense)

Does fundi here mean “the mechanic” or “a mechanic”? There is no “a/the” in Swahili, so how do I know?

Swahili does not use separate words for “a / an / the”. The noun fundi by itself can be understood as:

“a mechanic” (non-specific), or
“the mechanic” (one both speakers know about from context)

Context decides.
In this sentence, na fundi likely means “by the mechanic” (the one who normally repairs your car, or the one already mentioned in conversation), but grammatically it could also be understood as “by a mechanic.”

Why is it gari letu and not gari yetu? How does letu agree with gari?

Possessive adjectives (-angu, -etu, -ako, -yetu, etc.) must agree with the noun class of the word they describe.

Gari belongs to noun class 5 (the ji-/ma- class, though many nouns like gari don’t show ji- on the surface).

For class 5, the “our” form is -letu, not -yetu.

Examples:

gari letu = our car
tunda letu = our fruit
jicho letu = our eye

Compare with other classes:

mtoto wetu = our child (class 1)
kitabu chetu = our book (class 7)
vitabu vyetu = our books (class 8)

So gari letu is the correct agreement for gari (class 5).

How is the negative future hatutaenda formed from the verb “to go”?

Start from the positive future:

tutaenda = “we will go”

Breakdown:

tu- = “we” (subject prefix)
-ta- = future tense marker
-enda = go

To make it negative, Swahili uses ha- + subject, and keeps -ta-:

ha-
- tu-
  - -ta-
    - enda
      → hatutaenda = “we will not go”

So the pattern is:

tutaenda = we will go
hatutaenda = we will not go

What’s the difference between kijiji and kijijini?

Kijiji = “village” (basic noun form)
Kijijini = “in / at / to the village” (locative form)

The suffix -ni often marks location (and sometimes movement toward a location). So:

kijiji = a village (as an object)
kijijini = in/at/to the village (as a place)

In this sentence, hatutaenda kijijini is naturally understood as “we will not go to the village.” Swahili often uses the -ni locative instead of a preposition like “to” or “in.”

Why don’t we need a separate word for “to” in hatutaenda kijijini?

The directional or locative meaning “to / in / at” is built into the -ni ending.

enda (go) + kijijini (“in/at/to the village”)
→ enda kijijini = “go to the village”

You could add a preposition like kwenye or katika in some contexts, but it’s not needed here:

hatutaenda kijijini = we will not go to the village
hatutaenda kwenye kijiji = we will not go to the village (also possible, but a bit different in feel and less idiomatic here)

What does kwa hiyo mean here, and is it different from kwa hivyo?

In this sentence, kwa hiyo means “therefore / so / because of that.”

Gari letu linatengenezwa na fundi, kwa hiyo hatutaenda kijijini leo.
= Our car is being repaired by the mechanic, so we will not go to the village today.

Kwa hiyo and kwa hivyo are very close in meaning and usage. In many contexts:

kwa hiyo ≈ kwa hivyo ≈ therefore / so

There can be slight regional or stylistic preferences, but for most learners you can treat them as near-equivalents in this “so / therefore” sense.

Why is there a comma before kwa hiyo? Is that required in Swahili?

The comma before kwa hiyo is mainly a matter of writing style and clarity, not a strict grammatical requirement.

It marks a pause between the reason and the result:
- Reason: Gari letu linatengenezwa na fundi
- Result: kwa hiyo hatutaenda kijijini leo

You may see it written both ways:

Gari letu linatengenezwa na fundi, kwa hiyo hatutaenda kijijini leo.
Gari letu linatengenezwa na fundi kwa hiyo hatutaenda kijijini leo.

The version with the comma is clearer to read, especially for learners, but both are accepted in practice.

Could I also say Gari letu liko kwa fundi instead of Gari letu linatengenezwa na fundi? What is the difference?

Yes, you could say:

Gari letu liko kwa fundi, kwa hiyo hatutaenda kijijini leo.
= Our car is at the mechanic’s, so we will not go to the village today.

Difference in nuance:

linatengenezwa na fundi
- Focuses on the action: the car is being repaired (the repair work is in progress).
liko kwa fundi
- Focuses on the location: the car is (located) at the mechanic’s; it may be being repaired, but that’s not stated explicitly.

Both can explain why you are not going to the village, but the original sentence highlights that the car is currently under repair.