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Kesho, tutakapomaliza mtihani, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo.

Kesho, tutakapomaliza mtihani, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo.
Tomorrow, when we finish the exam, we will walk together to the sports field.

Breakdown of Kesho, tutakapomaliza mtihani, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo.

kesho
tomorrow
kutembea
to walk
pamoja
together
hadi
to
mtihani
the exam
tutakapomaliza
when we finish
uwanja wa michezo
the sports field
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Questions & Answers about Kesho, tutakapomaliza mtihani, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo.

What exactly does tutakapomaliza mean, and how is this long word built up in Swahili?

tutakapomaliza is a single verb form that already includes the idea of when.

You can think of it as:

  • tu- = we (subject prefix)
  • -takapo- = when (in the future) / at the time when
    (a future relative form)
  • -maliza = finish

So tutakapomaliza mtihani means approximately when we have finished the exam or when we finish the exam (in the future).

In English we need two words (when + a verb), but in Swahili the when idea is built into the verb using this relative form -takapo-.

What is the difference between tutakapomaliza mtihani and tutamaliza mtihani or tukimaliza mtihani?

All three are related, but they have different uses:

  1. tutamaliza mtihani

    • tu- (we) + -ta- (future) + -maliza (finish)
    • Meaning: we will finish the exam.
    • This is a simple future statement and does not mean when we finish.

  2. tukimaliza mtihani

    • tu- (we) + -ki- (when/if) + -maliza (finish)
    • Often means when we finish the exam or if we finish the exam.
    • It’s more general and can sound slightly more conditional (when/if).

  3. tutakapomaliza mtihani

    • Future relative form: when we (will) have finished the exam.
    • Refers to a specific future time that is understood (for example, tomorrow’s exam).
    • Often feels a bit more precise and “scheduled” than tukimaliza, though in everyday speech both tukimaliza mtihani, tutatembea… and tutakapomaliza mtihani, tutatembea… are acceptable and very common.

So in your sentence, tutakapomaliza mtihani nicely matches the idea tomorrow, when we finish the exam….

If kesho already means tomorrow, why do we also use the future marker -ta- in tutakapomaliza and tutatembea? Isn’t that redundant?

Swahili normally marks future in two ways here:

  1. A time word like kesho (tomorrow), baadaye (later), kesho kutwa (the day after tomorrow), etc.
  2. The future tense marker -ta- in the verb: tutatembea, tutakapomaliza.

You can:

  • Keep -ta- and drop kesho if the time is clear from context:
    Tutaenda uwanja wa michezo = We will go to the playground.
  • Keep kesho and still use -ta-, which is what your sentence does. That’s normal and sounds natural.

What you generally don’t do (for planned future like this) is drop -ta- and only rely on kesho. There are cases where the present tense can refer to the future (e.g. for schedules: Kesho safarini naenda), but the safest learner pattern is:

time word (kesho) + future form (-ta-).

What does hadi mean in tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo, and how is it different from mpaka?

In this sentence, hadi means up to / as far as / to and marks the destination of movement:

  • tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo
    = we will walk together to the playground / sports field.

About hadi vs mpaka:

  • In place / movement contexts, hadi and mpaka are near-synonyms:
    • Tutatembea hadi uwanja wa michezo.
    • Tutatembea mpaka uwanja wa michezo.
      Both are fine: we will walk to the playground.
  • In time contexts, both can also mean until:
    • Tutacheza hadi saa kumi. / Tutacheza mpaka saa kumi.
      = We will play until four o’clock.

So here, hadi = to / up to, and you could almost always swap it with mpaka without changing the meaning.

What exactly does pamoja add in tutatembea pamoja, and how is it different from pamoja na?

pamoja on its own is an adverb meaning together.

  • tutatembea pamoja
    = we will walk together.

Differences:

  1. pamoja (by itself)

    • Modifies the verb: how will we walk? → together.
    • Watafanya kazi pamoja. = They will work together.

  2. pamoja na

    • Means together with (often similar to with):
    • Tutatembea pamoja na rafiki zetu.
      = We will walk together with our friends.
    • Here pamoja na introduces the companion(s).

You’ll also see kwa pamoja (literally in togetherness), which emphasizes as a group / all together:

  • Tuliamua kwa pamoja. = We decided together / jointly.
How does uwanja wa michezo work grammatically, and what is its more literal meaning?

uwanja wa michezo is a noun phrase made of:

  • uwanja = field, ground, (sports) ground, pitch, playground
  • wa = of (possessive/associative marker agreeing with uwanja)
  • michezo = games, sports, plays (plural of mchezo)

So literally, uwanja wa michezo is:

field/ground of games/sports

which corresponds to English playground, sports field, sports ground, or playing field, depending on context.

Grammar point:

  • uwanja is in a noun class that takes wa as its possessive marker (so uwanja wa…).
  • If the head noun were different, the possessive would change, e.g.
    • shule ya michezo = school of sports (using ya for shule).
Could we say Kesho, baada ya kumaliza mtihani, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo instead? Is there any difference in meaning from tutakapomaliza mtihani?

Yes, that alternative is perfectly good Swahili:

  • Kesho, baada ya kumaliza mtihani, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo.
    = Tomorrow, after finishing the exam, we will walk together to the playground.

Nuance:

  • tutakapomaliza mtihani = when we (have) finished the exam
    (single future-time point, built into the verb form)
  • baada ya kumaliza mtihani = after finishing the exam
    (uses the preposition baada ya
    • infinitive)

In everyday speech, for this sentence the meaning is practically the same.
tutakapomaliza is a little more compact and slightly more “grammatical” (using a relative future tense), whereas baada ya kumaliza uses a preposition. Both are very natural.

Is tutakapomaliza mtihani fixed in the middle of the sentence, or can we move that clause to the beginning or the end?

You can move the time clause around, just as in English. All of these are possible:

  1. Original pattern (time clause in the middle):

    • Kesho, tutakapomaliza mtihani, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo.

  2. Time clause at the beginning (very common):

    • Kesho, tutakapomaliza mtihani, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo.
      (Actually identical to the original in this case, since Kesho is already at the start.)

  3. Time clause after the main clause:

    • Kesho, tutatembea pamoja hadi uwanja wa michezo tutakapomaliza mtihani.

All are grammatical; what changes is the focus:

  • Putting tutakapomaliza mtihani early highlights the condition/time first:
    When we finish the exam, we’ll walk…
  • Putting it at the end lets you state what will happen, then add when:
    We’ll walk… when we finish the exam.

Punctuation (commas) is flexible in Swahili writing; speakers usually rely on intonation to mark these pauses.

Does tutatembea always mean we will walk on foot, or can it just mean we will go?

The main meaning of kutembea is to walk (on foot), often with a flavour of strolling / taking a walk.

  • Tutatembea pamoja = We will walk together (on foot).

For a more general go (by any means), Swahili usually prefers:

  • kwenda / enda = to go
    • Tutaenda hadi uwanja wa michezo. = We will go to the playground.

So:

  • tutatembea hadi uwanja wa michezo
    → We will walk to the playground (specifically on foot).
  • tutaenda hadi uwanja wa michezo
    → We will go to the playground (mode of transport not specified).

In your sentence, tutatembea clearly suggests walking, not just “going” in any way.

How should I pronounce and break up the long words tutakapomaliza and tutatembea?

Swahili pronunciation is very regular. Break them into syllables:

  • tutakapomaliza → tu-ta-ka-po-ma-li-za

    • Stress is on the second-to-last syllable: ma-LI-za
    • Each vowel is pronounced clearly:
      • a like in father
      • i like in machine

  • tutatembea → tu-ta-tem-be-a

    • Stress on BE: tem-BE-a
    • The ea at the end is two separate vowels: e-a, not a single sound. So it’s tem-BE-a, not tem-BYA.

A full, slow pronunciation of the whole sentence:

Ke-sho, tu-ta-ka-po-ma-li-za m-ti-ha-ni, tu-ta-tem-be-a pa-mo-ja ha-di u-wan-ja wa mi-che-zo.

(with main word stress always on the second-to-last syllable of each word).