Bibi anasema beeti ni nzuri kwa afya, kwa hiyo hupenda kuitia kwenye saladi.

Anasema breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense
• sema = say / speak

So anasema means he/she says or he/she is saying. In this sentence, English usually translates it simply as says.

Swahili often leaves out kwamba, which means that.

So both of these are correct:

• Bibi anasema beeti ni nzuri kwa afya...
• Bibi anasema kwamba beeti ni nzuri kwa afya...

The version without kwamba is very common and natural.

Ni works as the copula, meaning is/are in sentences like this.

So:

• beeti ni nzuri = beetroot is good

It links the subject (beeti) with the description (nzuri).

Beeti is treated as a class 9/10 noun, which is common for loanwords in Swahili. Adjectives must agree with the noun class.

The adjective stem is -zuri (good / nice), and with class 9/10 it becomes nzuri.

So:

• beeti ni nzuri

means beetroot is good.

A useful point: in this noun class, the adjective form nzuri can be the same for both singular and plural.

Kwa afya means for health or more naturally good for health when used with nzuri.

So:

• nzuri kwa afya = good for health

Here, kwa is part of the normal way to express good for.

Yes, it uses the same word kwa, but kwa hiyo is best learned as a fixed expression meaning:

• so
• therefore
• as a result

So:

• ...kwa hiyo hupenda...

means:

• ...so she likes...

Don't try to translate kwa hiyo too literally word by word every time; as a phrase, it simply functions as a connector.

Hu- often gives a habitual or general meaning.

So hupenda suggests something like:

• usually likes
• tends to like
• likes to, as a habit

In this sentence, that fits well because the idea is about a regular preference or habit: she likes adding beetroot to salad.

By contrast, anapenda is a more straightforward present form meaning she likes.

The subject is already clear from context: it is still Bibi.

In this kind of construction, Swahili does not always repeat the subject if it is already understood. So:

• Bibi anasema ... kwa hiyo hupenda ...

is understood as:

• Grandma says ... so [she] likes ...

Swahili often avoids repeating words when the meaning is already clear.

Kuitia can be broken into:

• ku- = infinitive marker, to
• -i- = object marker, it
• tia = put / add / place

So kuitia means:

• to put it
• to add it

Here, it refers back to beeti.

Because beeti belongs to noun class 9/10, and the singular object marker for that class is -i-.

So the sentence does not need to repeat beeti again. Instead of saying the noun again, Swahili uses the object marker inside the verb:

• kuitia = to put it

This is a very common Swahili pattern.

Kwenye is a common locative word that can mean in, on, or at, depending on context.

Here:

• kwenye saladi = in the salad

With food, kutia kitu kwenye saladi means to put/add something into a salad.

Yes, you could. Katika saladi also means in the salad.

However, kwenye is very common in everyday Swahili and often sounds more natural in casual speech. In a sentence about adding an ingredient to salad, kwenye saladi is completely normal.

It can be understood either way depending on context.

Because Swahili does not have articles like a or the, kwenye saladi could mean:

• in the salad
• in a salad
• in salad, more generally

In this sentence, it often feels like a general habit: she likes adding beetroot to salad.