Learn Hardcore Swahili: Nilipokuwa nikisoma, sikuona saa ya mkononi ikionyesha muda wa mtihani. - While I was studying, I did not see the wristwatch showing the exam time.

Together, Nilipokuwa nikisoma = “When I was (busy) studying” / “While I was studying”, with a strong sense of an ongoing activity in the past.

Why do we need both nilipokuwa and nikisoma? Isn’t that like saying “when I was while studying”?

It can look redundant from an English point of view, but in Swahili each part contributes:

nilipokuwa sets up a past time frame: “when I was …”.
nikisoma uses -ki- to show an ongoing action at that time: “(in the middle of) studying”.

So Nilipokuwa nikisoma is more specifically:

“At the time when I was in the middle of studying…”

Compare:

Niliposoma – “When I studied (when I read)” – more like a completed act.
Nilipokuwa nikisoma – “When I was studying” – in progress, ongoing.

In natural Swahili, this double-marking is very common and doesn’t feel redundant; it’s how you clearly set a past, ongoing background action.

What exactly does the -ki- in nikisoma and ikionyesha do?

The -ki- marker usually expresses:

“while / as / when (in the middle of)”
often for an action that is simultaneous with another action.

In this sentence:

nikisoma = “while I was reading/studying”
- ni- (I) + -ki- (while) + soma (read)
ikionyesha = “while it was showing / (as it was) showing”
- i- (it – agreeing with saa) + -ki- (while) + onyesha (show)

So -ki- here links background, ongoing actions to the main event (sikuona – I didn’t see).

How is sikuona formed? Why is it sikuona and not something like nilikuona for “I didn’t see”?

Affirmative past first:

niliwona / niliuona? No; for “I saw” it’s:
- nili-ona = ni- (I) + -li- (past) + ona (see) → “I saw.”

Negative past uses a different pattern:

si- = 1st person singular negative (“I don’t / I didn’t”)
-ku- = past in the negative
ona = see

So:

si-ku-ona → sikuona = “I did not see.”

The subject “I” is already included in si-, so you do not use ni- as well.
Compare:

nilienda – I went.
sikuenda – I didn’t go.
nilikula – I ate.
sikula – I didn’t eat.

Same pattern as sikuona.

What does saa ya mkononi literally mean, and why is it used for “wristwatch”?

Breakdown:

saa – hour / clock / watch
ya – “of” (agreement with saa – noun class 9)
mkono – hand / arm
-ni – locative suffix = “in / at / on”

So:

mkono = (the) hand
mkononi = “on the hand” / “at the hand”
saa ya mkononi = “the clock/watch of/on the hand” → wristwatch.

In idiomatic Swahili, saa ya mkononi is the normal way to say wristwatch.
By contrast:

saa ya ukutani – clock on the wall = wall clock (ukuta = wall → ukutani = on the wall).

Why is it mkononi and not just mkono in saa ya mkononi?

The -ni ending on mkono → mkononi is a locative marker, meaning “in / on / at”.

mkono = hand / arm
mkononi = “on the hand / at the hand”

Writing saa ya mkononi clearly expresses location: a watch that is on the hand (i.e., on the wrist).

Saa ya mkono (without -ni) would sound less natural and less clearly locative; mkononi is the standard form for “on the hand”.

What noun class is saa, and how does that affect ya mkononi and ikionyesha?

saa belongs to noun class 9/10 (like saa, nguo, ndizi, etc.).

This affects:

Agreement in the possessive/genitive:
- Class 9 singular takes ya for “of”.
- So:
  - saa ya mkononi – the watch of the hand
  - not saa wa mkononi.
Subject agreement on the verb:
- Class 9 subject prefix is i-.
- So:
  - ikionyesha = i- (it, class 9) + -ki- (while) + onyesha (show).
  - This verb agrees with saa.

If the subject were class 1 (a person), you’d see a- instead of i-:

mtu akikimbia – when the person runs / while the person is running
saa ikikimbia – when the clock runs (metaphorically), with i- matching class 9.

What does ikionyesha mean exactly, and how is it built?

ikionyesha is:

i- = subject marker for saa (class 9 – “it”)
-ki- = “while / as / when (in the middle of)”
onyesha = show

So ikionyesha ≈ “while it was showing / (as it was) showing”.

In the full phrase:

saa ya mkononi ikionyesha muda wa mtihani
= “the wristwatch (while it was) showing the time of the exam”.

So ikionyesha presents the state of the watch at that moment, not just a general fact about it.

In English we would say “the watch that was showing the exam time.” Why is there no “ambayo” (that/which) in saa ya mkononi ikionyesha…?

Swahili has several ways to express something like “the watch that was showing…”:

Using “ambayo” + normal verb:
- saa ya mkononi ambayo ilikuwa inaonyesha muda wa mtihani
  = “the watch that was showing the time of the exam.”
- Correct, but more wordy/formal.
Using a relative verb form:
- saa ya mkononi inayoonyesha muda wa mtihani
  = “the watch that shows/which shows the time of the exam” (more general property).
Using -ki- as in the original:
- saa ya mkononi ikionyesha muda wa mtihani
  = “the watch, (as it was) showing the time of the exam”
  – emphasizes the ongoing action at that moment.

In the original sentence, ikionyesha is not a classic relative “that/which” form; it’s a simultaneous-action form. Swahili often uses a verb with the right subject prefix (here i-) instead of an explicit word like “that”.

Could we use inaonyesha instead of ikionyesha here?

You can, but it slightly changes the feel:

saa ya mkononi inaonyesha muda wa mtihani
– “the wristwatch is showing the time of the exam.”
This is a normal present statement.

In the given sentence:

saa ya mkononi ikionyesha muda wa mtihani
– “the wristwatch, while it was showing the time of the exam…”
This presents it as an action simultaneous with sikuona.

So inaonyesha focuses more on what is (factually) happening now,
while ikionyesha fits better as a background, ongoing action tied to another past event.

What does muda wa mtihani mean, and how is wa used here?

Breakdown:

muda = time (especially duration / period / scheduled time)
mtihani = exam, test
wa = “of” (agreement for class 3/4 nouns like muda)

So:

muda wa mtihani = “the time of the exam” / “the exam time”.

The wa is the genitive connector matching muda’s noun class.
Compare:

muda wa kazi – work time
muda wa kulala – sleeping time / bedtime

What’s the difference between muda and wakati? Could I say wakati wa mtihani instead?

Both muda and wakati can be translated as “time”, but they have different typical uses:

muda – tends to mean measurable time / duration / slot
- muda wa dakika kumi – a period of ten minutes
- muda wa mtihani – the scheduled exam time.
wakati – tends to mean moment / period / when / occasion
- wakati wa mtihani – the exam period / the time during the exam
- wakati wa kula – mealtime; at the time of eating.

So:

muda wa mtihani → focuses on the exact “time of the exam”.
wakati wa mtihani → more like “the time/period of the exam” (when it takes place).

Both are understandable; muda wa mtihani is very natural here because a clock is showing a specific time.

If I want to say “my wristwatch”, where do I put yangu in this sentence?

You attach yangu (my) to saa, not at the very end:

Nilipokuwa nikisoma, sikuona saa yangu ya mkononi ikionyesha muda wa mtihani.

Structure:

saa (watch)
yangu (my – agrees with class 9)
ya mkononi (of/on the hand)

You would not say:

✗ sikuona saa ya mkononi yangu… – this sounds wrong/unnatural.

Correct order: noun + possessive + “ya mkononi”.