Breakdown of Kesho atakapokuja shuleni, atabeba begi hilo la mgongoni badala ya mkoba wa mkononi.
Questions & Answers about Kesho atakapokuja shuleni, atabeba begi hilo la mgongoni badala ya mkoba wa mkononi.
Atakapokuja is a complex verb form that means “when he/she comes (in the future)”.
Rough breakdown:
- a- = he/she (3rd person singular subject)
- -ta- = future tense
- -ka- ... -po- combine here to make a future time “when” idea
- -kuja = come
You can think of atakapokuja as “when he/she will come” → natural English: “when he/she comes (later)”.
Comparison:
atakuja shuleni kesho
= he/she will come to school tomorrow (simple future statement)kesho atakapokuja shuleni, ...
= tomorrow, when he/she comes to school, ...kesho akija shuleni, ...
also possible; akija (a- + -ki- + -ja) often means “when/if he comes / whenever he comes”.
It’s more general; atakapokuja points more clearly to a specific future occasion.
Swahili is quite flexible with adverbs of time like kesho (tomorrow).
The sentence begins with Kesho to set the time frame right away, but you could also say:
- Atakapokuja shuleni kesho, atabeba…
- Atabeba begi hilo la mgongoni kesho atakapokuja shuleni.
All of these are grammatically fine.
Putting Kesho at the front just makes the time element very prominent, a bit like English:
- Tomorrow, when he/she comes to school, ...
Shuleni comes from shule (school) + the locative suffix -ni.
- shule = school (as a plain noun)
- shuleni = at school / in school / to school (location or destination)
- kwenye shule = at/in/to school (using the preposition kwenye)
In many contexts:
- atakapokuja shuleni ≈ atakapokuja kwenye shule
But shuleni is:
- shorter
- very natural and common
- often preferred for institutions or places like shuleni, kazini, nyumbani, hospitalini.
Atabeba is in the simple future tense.
Breakdown:
- a- = he/she (3rd person singular subject)
- -ta- = future tense marker
- -beba = carry
So atabeba = “he/she will carry”.
If you changed the tense:
- anabeba = he/she is carrying / carries (present or ongoing)
- alibeba = he/she carried (past)
In this sentence, the action will happen in the future, which is why -ta- is used.
Swahili usually puts demonstratives after the noun:
- begi hilo = that bag
- begi hili = this bag (near the speaker)
Begi is treated like a class 5 noun, so its demonstratives are:
- hili = this (near the speaker)
- hilo = that (a bit further away / previously mentioned)
- lile = that (far away)
Here hilo means roughly “that (particular) bag”, probably one already known in the context.
Word order:
- begi hilo (normal, most common)
- hilo begi is also possible in some contexts, but begi hilo is the default order in neutral speech.
La and wa are possessive/associative markers that must agree with the noun class of the first noun.
begi is class 5 → its possessive is la
- begi la mgongoni = the bag of the back (backpack)
mkoba is class 3 → its possessive is wa
- mkoba wa mkononi = the bag of the hand (handbag)
Very simplified pattern:
- Class 5 (e.g. begi, gari) → la (sing.), ya (pl.)
- Class 3 (e.g. mkoba, mti) → wa (sing.), ya (pl.)
So:
- begi la mgongoni = “back bag” → backpack
- mkoba wa mkononi = “hand bag” → handbag
Both are locative forms built from body-part nouns plus -ni.
mgongo = back
- mgongoni = on the back / at the back
mkono = hand / arm
- mkononi = in the hand / on the hand
The suffix -ni often adds a “place / location” meaning:
- nyumba → nyumbani (at home)
- kazi → kazini (at work)
So:
- begi la mgongoni = a bag worn on the back (backpack)
- mkoba wa mkononi = a bag held in the hand (handbag)
Badala ya means “instead of” and it always takes ya after it.
In a noun phrase:
- badala ya mkoba wa mkononi
= instead of (the) handbag
You can also use badala ya before a verb in the infinitive:
- badala ya kubeba mkoba wa mkononi
= instead of carrying a handbag
So the pattern is:
- badala ya + [noun]
- badala ya + [ku-verb]
Yes, you can reverse the order of the main clause and the “when” clause:
Original:
- Kesho atakapokuja shuleni, atabeba begi hilo la mgongoni badala ya mkoba wa mkononi.
Alternative:
- Kesho atabeba begi hilo la mgongoni badala ya mkoba wa mkononi atakapokuja shuleni.
Both are grammatical. The difference is mainly in focus and naturalness:
- Starting with atakapokuja shuleni makes the condition/time very clear first: when he comes to school, then…
- Starting with atabeba begi hilo… puts more immediate focus on what will happen (the backpack vs handbag).
The original order (time clause first) is very common and sounds very natural.
Swahili 3rd person singular does not mark gender:
- ata- = he will / she will
- anafanya = he does / she does
- alikuja = he came / she came
So in this sentence, Kesho atakapokuja shuleni, atabeba…, the subject could be:
- he
- she
- or even “it” in some contexts
If speakers need to be clear, they can add yeye plus a context word:
- yeye, yule mvulana, atakapokuja shuleni… = he, that boy, when he comes to school…
- yeye, yule msichana, atakapokuja shuleni… = she, that girl, when she comes to school…
In Swahili, the locative ending -ni on shuleni already carries the idea of “to/at”:
- kuja shuleni = come to school / come to the school
- kuenda nyumbani = go home / go to the house
You don’t need an extra word like English “to”.
If you want, you can use a preposition phrase like kwenye shule, but with many common places, -ni is enough and very natural:
- shuleni (to/at school)
- kanisani (to/at church)
- sokoni (to/at the market)
Both are types of bags, but they’re used differently here:
- begi (especially with la mgongoni) typically suggests a backpack or school bag worn on the back.
- mkoba (especially with wa mkononi) usually suggests a handbag, purse, or small bag carried in the hand or over the arm.
So the contrast is:
- begi la mgongoni = backpack
- mkoba wa mkononi = handbag / purse
The sentence is describing a change from carrying a handbag to carrying a backpack.