Mama akifika nyumbani, nitamwonyesha shajara yangu binafsi.

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Breakdown of Mama akifika nyumbani, nitamwonyesha shajara yangu binafsi.

• mama: the mother
• yangu: my
• kuonyesha: to show

Questions & Answers about Mama akifika nyumbani, nitamwonyesha shajara yangu binafsi.

What does akifika mean, and how is it built?

Akifika breaks down as:

• a- = he/she
• -ki- = if/when/as
• -fika = arrive

So akifika means if/when she arrives here. Since the subject is Mama, the meaning is when Mom arrives.
A useful thing to remember: Swahili uses the same subject marker a- for both he and she.

Why isn’t there a separate word for when in this sentence?

Because Swahili often puts that meaning inside the verb itself. The marker -ki- can mean:

• when
• if
• as/while

In this sentence, because the second clause is about a future action (nitamwonyesha = I will show her), akifika is most naturally understood as when she arrives.

Could I also say Mama atakapofika nyumbani?

Yes. That is also correct.

There is a nuance:

• Mama akifika nyumbani... = when/if Mom arrives home...
• Mama atakapofika nyumbani... = more explicitly when Mom arrives home in the future