Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kocha wetu ni mchapakazi sana, na huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi mapema kila wiki. - Our coach is very hard‑working, and usually prepares the training schedule early every week.

huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi = he prepares the training schedule (as a regular habit, routinely)
anaandaa ratiba ya mazoezi = he is preparing / he prepares (now, currently, or more generally present)

Because the English meaning here is about something he does every week as a routine, huandaa is more accurate than anaandaa.

Where is the subject marker (like a- for “he”) in huandaa?

In the hu- habitual tense, there is no subject prefix on the verb. The form is simply:

hu- + verb root → huandaa, hula, hufanya, hucheza, etc.

The subject is understood from context. In this sentence, the subject is already clear from the first part:

Kocha wetu … huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi…
→ Our coach … prepares the training schedule…

So we know he is the one who prepares, even though there is no a- before huandaa.

What exactly does the prefix hu- mean, and is it used for all persons?

hu- marks a habitual or general, timeless action, like a routine, custom, or general truth.

Mtu akiamka, huoga. – When a person wakes up, (they) bathe.
Watu wengi hula ugali. – Many people eat ugali.

Key points:

hu- is the same for all persons:
- huenda – I/you/he/she/we/they go (habitually), depending on context.
It does not take subject prefixes.
It’s not typically used in the negative; for “does not usually…”, Swahili often uses other tenses plus adverbs (for example: haandai ratiba kila wiki – he doesn’t prepare the schedule every week).

Is mchapakazi an adjective or a noun, and what does it literally mean?

mchapakazi is essentially a noun for a person, meaning a hardworking person / a hard worker, but it often functions like an adjective in sentences such as this.

It comes from the phrase kuchapa kazi – to work hard (literally, something like “to beat/work the job”).

Add the person prefix m- → mchapakazi: someone who works very hard.

So in Kocha wetu ni mchapakazi sana, it’s like saying:

Our coach is a real hard worker / is very hardworking.

Why is it kocha wetu and not kocha yetu?

Possessive forms in Swahili agree with the noun class of the noun they modify.

kocha (coach) is a person, so it behaves like class 1 (people).
The base possessive stem is -etu (our).
For class 1, the agreement prefix is w- → wetu.

So:

kocha wetu – our coach (class 1 agreement)
If the noun were class 9 (for example shule – school), we would say shule yetu – our school.

That’s why wetu is correct with kocha.

Can I say wetu kocha, or must the possessive come after the noun?

In standard Swahili, possessive adjectives like wetu, wangu, wao, etc. come after the noun they describe:

kocha wetu – our coach
mwalimu wangu – my teacher
rafiki yao – their friend

You do not say wetu kocha. The normal pattern is [noun] + [possessive].

What does sana mean here, and why does it come after mchapakazi?

sana means very, very much, or a lot, depending on context. Here it intensifies the idea of being hardworking:

mchapakazi sana – very hardworking / a really hard worker

In Swahili, sana is usually placed after the word or phrase it modifies:

anajitahidi sana – he tries very hard
mzuri sana – very good

So mchapakazi sana is the natural order.

What does mapema mean exactly, and what kind of word is it?

mapema is an adverb meaning early or ahead of time.

In this sentence:

huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi mapema – he prepares the training schedule early.

It can also carry the idea of earlier than usual or in good time, depending on context. It behaves like an adverb, so it doesn’t change form for gender or number.

Why is it ratiba ya mazoezi, and what is the role of ya?

ratiba ya mazoezi literally means schedule of exercises / training schedule.

ya is the of connector (possessive linker) and agrees with the first noun, ratiba:

ratiba is class 9.
The class 9 agreement for -a (of) is ya.

So:

ratiba ya mazoezi – schedule of exercises
If the head noun were class 1, you would use wa: mwalimu wa mazoezi – teacher of training.
If it were class 5, you might use la: jina la kocha – the coach’s name.

Here, ya correctly agrees with ratiba (class 9).

Why is it kila wiki with singular wiki, even though the meaning is “every week (weeks)”?

The word kila means every / each, and in Swahili it is always followed by a singular noun:

kila siku – every day
kila mwezi – every month
kila mwaka – every year
kila wiki – every week

The idea of repetition over time (many weeks) is built into kila, so the noun itself stays in the singular form.

What exactly does na do in this sentence? Could we leave it out?

Here na functions as the conjunction and, linking two clauses about the same subject:

Kocha wetu ni mchapakazi sana, na huandaa ratiba…
→ Our coach is very hardworking, and (he) prepares the schedule…

Without na, you could still say:

Kocha wetu ni mchapakazi sana. Huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi…

This is also correct; it just makes the two statements feel more separate. Using na joins them in a single, flowing sentence: he is hardworking and he does this regular task.

Can we change the order of mapema kila wiki? For example, say kila wiki huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi mapema?

Yes, Swahili allows some flexibility in adverb placement. These are all natural:

… huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi mapema kila wiki.
… huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi kila wiki mapema.
Kila wiki huandaa ratiba ya mazoezi mapema.

The meaning remains essentially the same: he prepares the schedule early, every week.
Changing the order can slightly shift the emphasis (for example, starting with kila wiki puts extra focus on the “every week” part), but the core meaning doesn’t change.