Learn Hardcore Swahili: Chumba cha kulia chakula kimesafishwa, na meza tayari imepangwa. - The dining room has been cleaned, and the table has already been set.

chumba – room (noun, class 7)
cha – of (possessive for class 7 nouns, agreeing with chumba)
kulia – to eat (here: to eat (at/in), from verb kula = to eat, with an applicative ending -ia)
chakula – food (noun, class 7)
So chumba cha kulia chakula = room of eating food → dining room.
ki- (in kimesafishwa) – subject marker for class 7 (chumba)
-me- – perfect aspect marker (has / have done)
safishwa – be cleaned (verb root safisha “to clean” + passive ending -w- → safishwa)
So kimesafishwa = it (class 7) has been cleaned.
na – and
meza – table (noun, class 9/10)
tayari – already, ready
i- (in imepangwa) – subject marker for class 9 (meza)
-me- – perfect aspect (has / have done)
pangwa – be arranged / be set (verb root panga “arrange, plan, set (a table)” + passive -w- → pangwa)

So imepangwa = it (class 9) has been arranged / has been set.

Overall structure:

Clause 1: Chumba cha kulia chakula kimesafishwa – The dining room has been cleaned
Clause 2: na meza tayari imepangwa – and the table is already set / has already been set

Why is it cha in chumba cha kulia and not ya or some other form of “of”?

In Swahili, possessive “of” words agree with the class of the noun that comes first, not the thing possessed.

chumba is a noun of class 7 (the ki/vi class: kitu, kiti, kitabu, chumba, chakula, etc.)
The class 7 possessive prefix is cha-.

So:

chumba cha kulia – room of eating → dining room
(cha agrees with chumba)

For comparison:

nyumba ya kulia – house of eating (if it were nyumba, class 9, you’d use ya)
gari la chakula – vehicle of food (for gari, class 5/6, you’d use la in singular)

So cha is chosen because of the noun chumba, not because of kulia or chakula.

Why does it say kulia when I thought kulia means “to cry”? Isn’t “to eat” kula?

You are right that:

kulia can mean to cry, to weep (from verb -lia = cry).

But in chumba cha kulia chakula, kulia is connected to the verb kula (to eat), not lia (to cry). What is going on?

kula = to eat
If you add the applicative ending -ia to many verbs, it gives meanings like do X at/for/with:
- kula → kulia = to eat at (a place), to eat something at/with …

So chumba cha kulia literally is room for eating at (it) → dining room.

Native speakers treat chumba cha kulia as a fixed, very normal expression for dining room. Context keeps it from being confused with kulia = to cry.

What exactly does chakula add here? Could I just say chumba cha kulia?

chakula means food. The phrase kulia chakula literally means to eat food.

chumba cha kulia chakula – room of eating food
chumba cha kulia – dining room (literally: room for eating)

In everyday Swahili, chumba cha kulia on its own is perfectly clear and is the normal way to say dining room. Adding chakula simply makes the idea of eating food a bit more explicit or more literal, but it’s not usually necessary.

So yes, in most situations you can just say:

Chumba cha kulia kimesafishwa – The dining room has been cleaned.

Why does kimesafishwa start with ki-, while imepangwa starts with i-?

Those initial vowels are subject markers agreeing with the noun class of the subject.

kimesafishwa
- ki- – subject marker for class 7
- Subject: chumba (class 7)
- So ki- = “it (the room)”
imepangwa
- i- – subject marker for class 9 (also for class 10 in some tenses)
- Subject: meza (class 9/10)
- So i- = “it (the table)”

Pattern:

Class 7 noun (like chumba, chakula, kitabu) → verb usually starts with ki- (present/past perfect)
Class 9 noun (like meza, nyumba, nyumba, many animals, etc.) → verb often starts with i- in the same tense.

So:

Chumba kimesafishwa – The room has been cleaned.
Meza imepangwa – The table has been set.

What tense/aspect is used in kimesafishwa and imepangwa, and what does -me- mean?

Both verbs use the -me- marker, which is the perfect aspect in Swahili.

Structure:

kimesafishwa
- ki- – subject marker (class 7: chumba)
- -me- – perfect aspect
- safishwa – be cleaned (passive form) → has been cleaned / is (now) cleaned
imepangwa
- i- – subject marker (class 9: meza)
- -me- – perfect aspect
- pangwa – be arranged/set (passive) → has been set / is (now) arranged

The -me- perfect often corresponds to English “has/have (done)”, and also often implies a present result:

kimesafishwa – it has been cleaned (and is clean now)
imepangwa – it has been arranged/set (and is set now)

What kind of verb forms are kimesafishwa and imepangwa? Are they passive?

Yes, both are passive forms.

Base verbs:

safisha – to clean
panga – to arrange, organize, plan, set (a table)

Passive formation:

Swahili usually adds a passive extension -w- (or variants like -wa, -iwa, -ewa depending on the root):
- safisha → safish
  - w
    - a = safishwa – be cleaned
- panga → pang
  - w
    - a = pangwa – be arranged / be planned / be set

Then you add subject marker and tense:

ki-me-safishwa – it has been cleaned
i-me-pangwa – it has been arranged / has been set

So the sentence is clearly passive:

The room has been cleaned
The table has been set
We do not say who did the cleaning or setting.

Why is tayari placed before imepangwa instead of after it? Could we say meza imepangwa tayari?

tayari means already or ready and is fairly flexible in position.

In your sentence:

meza tayari imepangwa
- Emphasis feels like: the table is already arranged/set.

You can also say:

meza imepangwa tayari
- Very natural as well: the table has been set already.

The meaning is basically the same. Both word orders are acceptable.

Rough nuance:

meza tayari imepangwa – sounds a bit like stressing “already” before mentioning the action.
meza imepangwa tayari – sounds more like describing what has happened, then adding “already” at the end, similar to English rhythm.

In practice, both are common and correct.

Could I say Chumba cha kulia chakula kimesafishwa na meza tayari imepangwa without the comma?

Yes, you can. Swahili punctuation is quite flexible in this case.

With comma:
Chumba cha kulia chakula kimesafishwa, na meza tayari imepangwa.
The comma gives a small pause after the first clause.
Without comma:
Chumba cha kulia chakula kimesafishwa na meza tayari imepangwa.
Still correct; many Swahili texts would write it this way.

The meaning is the same:
The dining room has been cleaned and the table has already been set.

If I wanted to say this in the simple present instead of “has been cleaned / has been set,” how would the verbs change?

To move from the perfect (-me-) into the present (-na-) while keeping the passive, you change -me- to -na-:

kimesafishwa → kinasafishwa
- ki- – subject marker (class 7: chumba)
- -na- – present tense (is/are doing)
- safishwa – be cleaned → is being cleaned / is cleaned
imepangwa → inapangwa
- i- – subject marker (class 9: meza)
- -na- – present tense
- pangwa – be arranged/set → is being set / is arranged

So:

Chumba cha kulia chakula kinasafishwa, na meza tayari inapangwa.
→ The dining room is being cleaned, and the table is already being set.

If you want a habitual sense (is usually clean / usually set), context and adverbs like kila siku (every day) would clarify that.