Mkutano utaanza lini kesho asubuhi?

Utaanza can be divided into:

• u- = subject marker agreeing with mkutano
• -ta- = future tense marker, will
• -anza = verb root, start / begin

So utaanza means it will start.

In this sentence, the it refers to mkutano (meeting).

Because mkutano belongs to the noun class that takes the subject marker u- in the singular.

So:

• mkutano = singular, meeting
• its verb agreement marker = u-

That gives:

• mkutano utaanza = the meeting will start

This may feel surprising to an English speaker, because English does not make verbs agree with noun classes in this way. In Swahili, this agreement is very important.

Not in this sentence.

In Swahili, u- can sometimes mean you (singular) as a subject marker, but here it is not you. Here it agrees with mkutano.

So:

• utaanza could mean you will start in another context
• but in Mkutano utaanza..., it clearly means the meeting will start

The noun mkutano makes the meaning clear.

Lini means when.

It is the question word asking about time:

• Mkutano utaanza lini? = When will the meeting start?

Then kesho asubuhi adds the time frame tomorrow morning.

So the full sentence is asking: At what time tomorrow morning will the meeting start?

In Swahili, question words like lini often stay in the normal sentence position rather than moving to the front the way they often do in English.

Compare:

• English: When will the meeting start?
• Swahili: Mkutano utaanza lini?
  • literally: Meeting will-start when?

This word order is completely normal in Swahili.

Kesho asubuhi means tomorrow morning.

It is made of:

• kesho = tomorrow
• asubuhi = morning

Together they narrow the question to that part of the day.

So the sentence is not just asking when will the meeting start? but specifically when tomorrow morning will it start?

Yes, Swahili allows some flexibility.

For example, these are natural:

• Mkutano utaanza lini kesho asubuhi?
• Kesho asubuhi mkutano utaanza lini?

Both mean essentially the same thing. The difference is mostly one of emphasis or style.

The version you were given is very natural and straightforward.

Swahili does not have articles like a, an, and the.

So mkutano can mean:

• a meeting
• the meeting

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English naturally uses the meeting, but Swahili does not need a separate word for the.

The plural is mikutano.

So:

• mkutano = meeting
• mikutano = meetings

If you made the sentence plural, the verb agreement would change too:

• Mikutano itaanza lini? = When will the meetings start?

Notice the singular/plural agreement change:

• mkutano utaanza
• mikutano itaanza

Yes, kuanza is the normal verb meaning to start or to begin.

Examples:

• Mkutano umeanza. = The meeting has started.
• Mkutano unaanza sasa. = The meeting is starting now / starts now.
• Mkutano utaanza kesho. = The meeting will start tomorrow.

So in your sentence, utaanza is simply the future form of kuanza.

A more word-for-word translation would be:

• Meeting will-start when tomorrow morning?

That is not natural English, but it helps show the Swahili structure:

• Mkutano = meeting
• utaanza = will start
• lini = when
• kesho asubuhi = tomorrow morning

Natural English rearranges this as:

• When will the meeting start tomorrow morning?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• Mkutano ≈ m-koo-TAH-no

A few helpful points:

• m at the beginning is pronounced, even before k
• u sounds like oo
• stress usually falls near the second-to-last syllable, so TA

Swahili pronunciation is generally regular, so once you know the vowels, it becomes much easier to read aloud.