Dada anatafuta bisibisi ili akaze skrubu za kiti.

Anatafuta breaks down like this:

• a- = she/he
• -na- = present-time marker
• tafuta = look for / search for

So anatafuta literally means she is looking for or she looks for, depending on context. In this sentence, is looking for is the most natural English translation.

Not always. Dada can mean:

• sister
• young woman
• lady

In many learning examples, it is translated as sister, but in real life the exact meaning depends on context. Swahili often leaves some things for the situation to make clear.

Swahili normally does not use articles like English a, an, or the.

So:

• dada could mean a sister, the sister, or just sister
• bisibisi could mean a screwdriver or the screwdriver

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Ili means so that or in order that.

It introduces a purpose clause. So the structure is:

• Dada anatafuta bisibisi = Sister is looking for a screwdriver
• ili akaze skrubu za kiti = so that she can tighten the chair screws

So ili shows the reason or purpose for looking for the screwdriver.

Because after ili, Swahili usually uses the subjunctive form, not the normal present form.

Compare:

• anakaza = she is tightening
• akaze = that she tighten / so that she may tighten

Here akaze comes from kukaza, meaning to tighten.

Its parts are:

• a- = she
• kaz- = verb root
• -e = subjunctive ending

So ili akaze means so that she may/can tighten.

Because in Swahili, the verb normally still carries a subject marker, even when the subject noun is already stated.

So in:

• Dada anatafuta...
• ...ili akaze...

both verbs show who is doing the action:

• a- in anatafuta = she
• a- in akaze = she

This is completely normal in Swahili. The second clause still needs its own subject marking.

Because za agrees with skrubu, and here skrubu is understood as plural: screws.

In Swahili, words like ya, za, wa, cha, and so on must agree with the noun class of the noun they refer to.

So:

• skrubu ya kiti = the screw of the chair / the chair screw
• skrubu za kiti = the screws of the chair / the chair screws

The za tells you that skrubu is plural here.

That is very common in Swahili, especially with some loanwords. The noun itself may stay the same, and the grammar around it shows whether it is singular or plural.

Here, za is the clue:

• skrubu ya kiti = chair screw
• skrubu za kiti = chair screws

So even though skrubu does not change form, the agreement word tells you the number.

Yes. Za kiti literally means of the chair.

So:

• skrubu za kiti = screws of the chair

In natural English, we usually say:

• the chair screws
• the screws of the chair
• the screws for the chair

depending on context.

This pattern is very common in Swahili: noun + agreement word + noun.

Yes, it is very normal.

The basic order here is:

• Subject: Dada
• Verb: anatafuta
• Object: bisibisi
• Purpose clause: ili akaze skrubu za kiti

So the full structure is:

Dada + anatafuta bisibisi + ili akaze skrubu za kiti

That is a natural and clear way to say it in Swahili.

A natural grammatical reading is:

• Dada = the woman/sister
• anatafuta = is looking for
• bisibisi = screwdriver
• ili = so that / in order that
• akaze = she may tighten
• skrubu za kiti = the chair screws

So the sentence means something like:

The sister is looking for a screwdriver so that she can tighten the chair screws.

The important grammar points are:

• no articles like a/the
• verb subject marking on both verbs
• ili introducing purpose
• subjunctive akaze
• noun-class agreement in za kiti