Bunge litajadili katiba na sera mpya kesho asubuhi.

litajadili can be split like this:

• li- = subject marker for the noun class of bunge
• -ta- = future tense marker, will
• -jadili = verb stem, discuss / deliberate on

So the verb literally means something like it-will-discuss, where it refers to Bunge.

This is a very common confusion.

In litajadili, the first li- is not the past tense marker. It is the subject agreement prefix for bunge.

Swahili verbs often follow this pattern:

subject marker + tense marker + verb stem

So here you have:

• li- = subject marker for bunge
• -ta- = future
• -jadili = discuss

The past tense marker is also -li-, but it comes in the tense slot, after the subject marker. For example:

• Bunge lilijadili = Parliament discussed

There, the first li- agrees with bunge, and the second -li- marks past tense.

Bunge belongs to noun class 5 in the singular. That matters because the verb has to agree with the subject’s noun class.

That is why you get:

• Bunge litajadili...

and not:

• Bunge itajadili...
• Bunge watajadili...

In Swahili, subject-verb agreement is very important, and noun class determines the subject prefix on the verb.

Swahili usually does not use articles like the or a/an.

So:

• Bunge can mean Parliament or the parliament
• katiba can mean constitution or the constitution
• sera mpya can mean a new policy, the new policy, or new policies, depending on context

Definiteness is usually understood from context rather than shown with a separate word.

As written, mpya most naturally goes with the nearest noun, sera:

• katiba na sera mpya = the constitution and the new policy/policies

However, because both katiba and sera are nouns that use the same adjective form here, context can sometimes make it feel a little ambiguous.

If you want to be completely clear that both are new, you could say:

• katiba mpya na sera mpya

If you want to be clear that only sera is new, the original sentence already does that fairly naturally.

Yes. Sera is one of those Swahili nouns whose singular and plural often have the same form.

So sera mpya can mean:

• new policy
• new policies

Context tells you which is meant.

This is normal in Swahili, especially with many nouns in classes 9/10.

Swahili adjectives usually agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

The adjective stem is -pya = new. With nouns like sera and katiba, the correct agreement form is mpya.

So you get:

• sera mpya
• katiba mpya

Even though English just has new everywhere, Swahili changes the adjective form depending on noun class.

Literally:

• kesho = tomorrow
• asubuhi = morning

Together, kesho asubuhi means tomorrow morning.

Swahili often does not need a preposition where English does. Time expressions can simply appear as adverbs:

• leo = today
• kesho = tomorrow
• jana = yesterday
• asubuhi = in the morning / morning

So kesho asubuhi works naturally without adding anything extra.

The basic word order here is very natural:

• Bunge litajadili katiba na sera mpya kesho asubuhi.

But Swahili allows some flexibility, especially with time expressions. You could also say:

• Kesho asubuhi, Bunge litajadili katiba na sera mpya.

That puts more focus on tomorrow morning.

So the original order is normal, but time phrases can often be moved for emphasis.

Because Swahili does not require an object marker just because there is an object.

Here the direct objects are stated openly after the verb:

• katiba
• na sera mpya

That is enough.

Object markers are often used when the object is already known, emphasized, or not repeated as a full noun phrase. In a simple sentence like this, just using the full nouns after the verb is perfectly normal.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Bunge = BOON-geh
• litajadili = lee-ta-ja-DEE-lee
• katiba = ka-TEE-ba
• sera = SEH-ra
• mpya = roughly M-pya, with the m pronounced
• kesho = KEH-sho
• asubuhi = a-soo-BOO-hee

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• Swahili vowels are usually very consistent:
  • a as in father
  • e as in bed but clearer
  • i as in machine
  • o as in go but pure
  • u as in rule
• Stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable:
  • bunGE
  • litajaDIli
  • kaTIba
  • asuBUhi

That makes the rhythm of the whole sentence quite regular.