Kabla ya sherehe, Amina hukata kucha zake, husafisha kola ya blauzi yake, na kuvaa nguo safi.

Kabla ya means before when it is followed by a noun phrase.

So:

• kabla ya sherehe = before the party / before a party

The ya is a linker that connects kabla to the noun that follows. You will see this pattern a lot:

• kabla ya kazi = before work
• kabla ya chakula = before the meal
• kabla ya kuondoka = before leaving

So it is best to learn kabla ya as a set phrase.

Swahili does not have articles like the and a/an. So sherehe by itself can be understood as:

• the party
• a party
• sometimes even the celebration

Context tells you which English translation fits best.

The prefix hu- marks a habitual or customary action. It often means something like:

• usually
• regularly
• as a habit

So:

• hukata = she usually cuts / trims
• husafisha = she usually cleans

In this sentence, it gives the idea that this is what Amina normally does before a party.

That is normal with the hu- habitual form.

In many other tenses, Swahili verbs show the subject with a prefix:

• anakata = she is cutting / she cuts
• atasafisha = she will clean

But with the habitual hu-, the usual subject prefix is not added separately. The subject is understood from the noun:

• Amina hukata...
• Watoto husoma...
• Mimi huenda...

So hukata does not need an extra a-.

Yes. Kukata kucha is the normal expression for cutting or trimming nails.

Literally, it is:

• kukata = to cut
• kucha = nails

So even if English often says trim nails, Swahili commonly uses the ordinary verb cut here.

Because the possessive agrees with the noun being possessed, not with the owner.

Here:

• kucha = nails
• kucha is plural, so the possessive uses za-
• -ake = his/her

So:

• za- + -ake = zake

That gives kucha zake = her nails.

This is a very important Swahili pattern:

• kitabu chake = her/his book
• vitabu vyake = her/his books
• nyumba yake = her/his house
• kucha zake = her/his nails

Yes. Swahili does not normally distinguish his and her in the possessive.

So:

• yake
• zake
• chake
• vyake

all contain -ake, which can mean his or her, depending on context.

In this sentence, we know it means her because the person is Amina.

Yes. Husafisha comes from the verb -safisha, which means to clean or more literally to make clean.

It is related to:

• safi = clean

So:

• safi = clean
• kusafisha = to clean, to make clean
• husafisha = she usually cleans

This is a common pattern in Swahili, where a verb is built from an adjective or noun.

This phrase is built in a very typical Swahili way:

• kola = collar
• ya = of
• blauzi yake = her blouse

So literally it is:

• collar of blouse her

In smoother English, that becomes:

• the collar of her blouse
• or her blouse collar

The first ya links kola to blauzi.
Then yake shows that the blouse belongs to her.

That is a good question, because many learners would expect na huvaa nguo safi to match the earlier verbs.

As written, kuvaa is the infinitive to wear. After na, it can be used as a shortened final item in the list.

So the sentence is understood as:

• Amina usually cuts her nails,
• usually cleans her blouse collar,
• and wears clean clothes.

For a learner, na huvaa nguo safi is also a very natural and very clear way to say it, because it keeps all three verbs parallel. So if this part feels unusual to you, that is a reasonable reaction.

Because in Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• nguo safi = clean clothes
• mtoto mdogo = small child
• nyumba kubwa = big house

That is the normal word order. English often puts the adjective first, but Swahili usually puts the noun first.

In this sentence, nguo is best understood as clothes or clothing.

A useful thing to know is that nguo often has the same form in singular and plural, so context matters. In everyday use, it very often refers to clothes in a general sense.

So:

• kuvaa nguo safi = to wear clean clothes / clean clothing

Both English translations can work, depending on context.