Watoto wanapenda kuchezea mpira nyumbani.

Children like to play with the ball at home.

Breakdown of Watoto wanapenda kuchezea mpira nyumbani.

• kupenda: to like
• mtoto: the child
• mpira: the ball
• nyumbani: at home
• kuchezea: to play with

Questions & Answers about Watoto wanapenda kuchezea mpira nyumbani.

What does the wa- at the beginning of watoto and wanapenda mean?

Wa- is a plural marker for people (noun class 1/2):

• mtoto = child
• watoto = children

The same wa- also appears as a subject prefix on the verb:

• wanapenda = wa- (they) + -na- (present) + -penda (like/love)

So wanapenda literally means they-like, and here they refers back to watoto (the children).

Why is it wanapenda and not just wapenda?

Swahili usually marks tense in the middle of the verb with a tense marker:

• -na- = present tense (often general present/habitual)
• -li- = past
• -ta- = future

So:

• wapenda = they like (but this form by itself is not normal modern Swahili)
• wanapenda = they like / they love (standard present tense)

In normal speech and writing, you need the -na- for present tense, so wanapenda is the correct form here.

What is the role of ku- in kuchezea?

Ku- is the infinitive prefix in Swahili. It’s like to in English:

• kupenda = to like / to love
• kucheza = to play
• kuchezea = to play with / to play using (something)

In this sentence, kuchezea mpira = to play with the ball, and this whole phrase is the thing the children like (the object of wanapenda).

What is the difference between kucheza and kuchezea?

• kucheza = to play (intransitive or with an explicit preposition)

  • Watoto wanacheza. = The children are playing.
  • Watoto wanacheza na mpira. = The children are playing with a ball.

• kuchezea = to play with / play on / play using (it includes the idea of “with/on/at” inside the verb itself).

  • Watoto wanapenda kuchezea mpira. = The children like to play with the ball.

So -e(a) here is an applicative suffix added to cheza, which builds in the idea of a location or instrument (with, on, at). Kucheza na mpira and kuchezea mpira are very close in meaning; kuchezea feels a bit more compact and natural in many contexts.

If kuchezea mpira already means “to play with the ball,” why is there no separate word for “with”?

The “with” meaning is built into the verb by the applicative suffix -ea:

• cheza = play
• chezea = play with / play at / play on / play using

So you do not need a separate preposition like English with.
English: “play with the ball”
Swahili: kuchezea mpira (no extra word; -ea does the job)

You could say kucheza na mpira, but kuchezea mpira is also fully correct and natural.

How is kuchezea mpira working grammatically in this sentence?

Kuchezea mpira is a verbal phrase acting like a noun phrase (i.e., “an activity”):

• wanapenda = they like
• kuchezea mpira = playing with the ball / to play with the ball

So the structure is:

• Watoto (subject)
• wanapenda (verb: like)
• kuchezea mpira nyumbani (what they like doing, i.e., their activity, including where)

Why is there no word for “the” before watoto or mpira?

Swahili usually does not use separate words for “a” or “the.” Nouns are bare:

• mtoto can be a child or the child, depending on context.
• mpira can be a ball, the ball, a game, the game, etc.

Context or prior mention decides whether English would use a or the. In this sentence, context tells you that it’s the children and the ball the speaker has in mind, but Swahili doesn’t mark that with a special word.

Does mpira always mean “ball”? Could it mean something else?

Mpira commonly means:

• a ball (physical ball)
• rubber
• a ball game / a match, especially football/soccer, by context

So depending on context, kuchezea mpira might mean:

• play with a ball (general)
• play football (soccer)

In many everyday situations, mpira is understood as football unless specified otherwise.

What does nyumbani literally mean, and how is it formed?

Nyumbani comes from:

• nyumba = house, home
• -ni = a locative suffix meaning “in/at/on”

So:

• nyumba = a house / the house
• nyumbani = in the house / at home

Here, nyumbani means at home (i.e., at their home / at home in general).

What is the difference between nyumba and nyumbani in use?

• nyumba: the noun “house”

  • Nina nyumba. = I have a house.

• nyumbani: “at/in the house” or “at home”

  • Niko nyumbani. = I am at home.

In your sentence, nyumbani is used because we’re talking about where the children like to play with the ball: at home, not just “house” as an object.

How would I say “at their home” more explicitly?

You can say:

• nyumbani kwao = at their home

So you could expand the sentence to:

• Watoto wanapenda kuchezea mpira nyumbani kwao.
  = The children like to play with the ball at their home.

But in many contexts, simple nyumbani already implies “at (their) home” and is enough.

Is the word order in Watoto wanapenda kuchezea mpira nyumbani flexible?

Swahili has a relatively fixed basic word order: Subject – Verb – (Object/Other parts).

So the usual order is:

• Watoto (subject)
• wanapenda (verb)
• kuchezea mpira (what they like doing)
• nyumbani (where)

You can sometimes move adverbials like nyumbani for emphasis, e.g.:

• Nyumbani watoto wanapenda kuchezea mpira. (Emphasis on “at home”)

But something like Watoto nyumbani wanapenda kuchezea mpira is less natural and can sound awkward unless it’s very specifically intoned in speech. For learners, sticking to the original order is safest.

How would I say “The children are playing with the ball at home” instead of “like to play”?

Change wanapenda kuchezea (“they like to play”) to wanachezea (“they are playing with”):

• Watoto wanachezea mpira nyumbani.
  = The children are playing with the ball at home.

Breakdown:

• wana- (they, present) + -chezea (are playing with)
• The action is actually happening now, not just something they like in general.

Why is there no object marker for mpira on the verb?

Swahili verbs can take an object marker (OM) between the subject prefix and the tense marker, e.g.:

• wa-u-na-penda = they like it (where u- refers to a class 3 noun like mpira)

But in your sentence:

• The object of wanapenda is kuchezea mpira nyumbani (the whole activity), not mpira directly.
• Within kuchezea mpira, mpira is already expressed as a full noun, so you don’t need an extra object marker.

You normally don’t repeat the object with both a full noun and an object marker unless there’s a specific discourse reason (like emphasis or topicalization).