Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mwalimu wetu wa biolojia ana tabia ya kuanza darasa kwa swali rahisi. - Our biology teacher has the habit of starting class with an easy question.

Swahili possessives agree with the noun class of the thing possessed.
Mwalimu (teacher) is in noun class 1 (people, singular), and the class‑1 form of -etu (our) is wetu.

Some examples with -etu in different classes:

mwalimu wetu – our teacher (class 1)
walimu wetu – our teachers (class 2, still wetu)
kitabu chetu – our book (class 7 → chetu)
vitabu vyetu – our books (class 8 → vyetu)
shule yetu – our school (class 9 → yetu)

So it’s mwalimu wetu because mwalimu is class 1 and takes the form wetu.

What is the role of wa in mwalimu wetu wa biolojia?

Here wa is the associative / connective meaning of.

It links two nouns:

mwalimu wa biolojia = teacher of biology
mwalimu wa kihistoria = history teacher
kitabu cha biolojia = book of biology

The exact form of the connective (wa / ya / cha / la / etc.) depends on the class of the first noun:

mwalimu wa biolojia – mwalimu (class 1) → wa
vitabu vya biolojia – vitabu (class 8) → vya
kitabu cha biolojia – kitabu (class 7) → cha

So wa is agreeing with mwalimu, not with biolojia.

Why is it tabia ya kuanza and not tabia wa kuanza?

Here the connective is agreeing with tabia, not mwalimu.

tabia (habit, behaviour) is a class 9 noun.
For class 9, the associative form is ya.

So:

tabia ya kuanza = habit of starting
tabia ya kuchelewa = habit of being late
tabia ya kuongea sana = habit of talking a lot

If we wrongly said tabia wa kuanza, wa would be matching class 1, not class 9, so it would be ungrammatical.

What exactly does ana tabia ya kuanza mean, and how is it built?

Ana tabia ya kuanza literally breaks down as:

a- – subject prefix he/she (class 1)
-na – present tense marker (“has/is in state of”)
ana – he/she has
tabia – habit / behaviour
ya – of (agreeing with tabia)
kuanza – to start / starting

So ana tabia ya kuanza = “he/she has a habit of starting”.

Pattern:

[subject] ana tabia ya + verb in ku‑ form
= [subject] has a habit of verb‑ing

Examples:

Ana tabia ya kuchelewa. – He/She has a habit of being late.
Wana tabia ya kuongea darasani. – They have a habit of talking in class.

What is the function of ku- in kuanza?

Kuanza is the infinitive or verbal noun form: to start / starting.

In Swahili, the infinitive is formed with ku‑ + verb root:

ku-
- anza = kuanza – to start
ku-
- soma = kusoma – to read/to study
ku-
- andika = kuandika – to write

This form is used:

after tabia ya: tabia ya kuanza
after kuweza (to be able): naweza kuzungumza – I can speak
as a noun: kula ni muhimu – eating is important

Why is the verb ana used, and not something like yuko na tabia?

Ana here means “has” in the sense of possesses:

Ana tabia – He/She has a habit (possesses that habit).

In Swahili:

ana = has (permanent or characteristic possession)
yuko na / ako na (regional) = is (located) with, often more temporary or physical

For habits and personal traits, the normal idiom is:

ana tabia nzuri – he/she has good behaviour
ana tabia mbaya – he/she has bad habits
ana tabia ya kuanza darasa kwa swali rahisi – he/she has the habit of starting class with an easy question

So ana is the correct, natural choice here.

Does ana here mean present progressive (“is having”) or general habit (“usually has”)?

In Swahili, the -na- tense marker often covers both present and general/habitual present, and the context clarifies.

In this sentence, ana tabia ya kuanza… clearly refers to a characteristic habit, not something temporary. So it should be understood as:

“Our biology teacher has a habit of…” (habitual)

If you really wanted to emphasize habitual meaning, you could also say:

Mwalimu wetu wa biolojia huwa anaanza darasa kwa swali rahisi.
(huwa / hu‑ strongly marks “usually/typically”.)

What does darasa mean here? Class as in classroom or class as a lesson?

Darasa can mean both:

the class group (the students), or
the lesson/session itself.

In this context, kuanza darasa most naturally means “to start the lesson / to start class”.

Some examples:

Darasa linaanza saa tatu. – The class/lesson starts at nine.
Nina darasa la Kiswahili leo. – I have a Swahili class today.
Walimu wanaingia darasani. – The teachers are entering the classroom (darasani = in/into the class).

Why is it kwa swali rahisi and not na swali rahisi?

Both kwa and na can sometimes translate as “with”, but they have different main uses:

na – with (together with, and)
kwa – with/by/using (by means of, using something as a tool or method)

In kuanza darasa kwa swali rahisi:

kwa swali rahisi = by means of an easy question / using an easy question

That is, the easy question is the method the teacher uses to start the class.
Using na (kuanza darasa na swali rahisi) would sound more like “start class and an easy question (also happens)”, which is less idiomatic in this meaning.

So kwa is chosen because the question is the instrument/means of starting the class.

Why is rahisi after swali? Shouldn’t adjectives come before nouns like in English?

In Swahili, adjectives normally follow the nouns they describe.

swali rahisi – easy question
mtu mzuri – good person
mji mkubwa – big town
kitu muhimu – important thing

So swali rahisi is the normal order.

Also, some adjectives change form to agree with the noun class; rahisi is one of those that do not change:

swali rahisi – easy question (class 5)
maswali rahisi – easy questions (class 6)
mtihani rahisi – easy exam (class 3)

Same adjective form in all of them.

Can rahisi also mean “cheap”? If so, how do you know it means “easy” here?

Yes, rahisi can mean both:

easy (not difficult)
cheap/inexpensive (for prices)

The meaning is decided by context:

mtihani rahisi – easy exam (not cheap exam)
chakula rahisi – could be “simple/easy food” or “cheap food”, depending on context
bei rahisi – cheap price

In swali rahisi (a question in a class context), the natural interpretation is easy question, because questions don’t have “prices” in this situation.

Why is no explicit word for “he” or “she” written in the sentence?

Swahili usually does not use separate subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.) before the verb, because the subject is built into the verb.

In ana tabia:

a- = he/she (class 1 subject prefix)
-na = present tense marker

So ana already means “he/she has”.

If you said yeye ana tabia…, that is also correct, but yeye (“he/she”) is just added for emphasis or clarity. Normally, Swahili speakers rely on the verb prefix plus context:

Mwalimu wetu wa biolojia ana tabia… – It’s obvious the subject is “our biology teacher”, so no extra “he/she” is needed.

How would you say “Our biology teacher usually starts the class with an easy question” in another natural way?

A very natural habitual version is:

Mwalimu wetu wa biolojia huwa anaanza darasa kwa swali rahisi.

Breakdown:

huwa (or hu‑ before the verb) – marks usual/habitual action
anaanza – he/she starts (present)

You could also use hu‑ directly on the verb:

Mwalimu wetu wa biolojia huanza darasa kwa swali rahisi.

This huanza form is another standard way to say “usually/typically starts”.