Baada ya kugombana, Asha na dada yake walipatana.

Baada ya means after. It is a very common way to introduce something that happens later than another event.

So Baada ya kugombana means after quarrelling / after arguing.

A useful pattern is:

• baada ya + noun
• baada ya + infinitive

Examples:

• baada ya kazi = after work
• baada ya kula = after eating

The ku- form is the infinitive, similar to English to ... or sometimes an -ing form in meaning.

After baada ya, Swahili often uses the infinitive to talk about an action:

• baada ya kusoma = after studying
• baada ya kuja = after coming
• baada ya kugombana = after quarrelling

So here kugombana functions like quarrelling in English.

The ending -ana often gives a reciprocal meaning, meaning the action happens to each other.

So gombana means something like quarrel with each other.

That fits this sentence well, because the two people involved are Asha and her sister.

Other common reciprocal-type verbs include:

• kupendana = to love each other
• kuonana = to see each other
• kusaidiana = to help each other

The comma separates the opening time phrase from the main clause.

So the sentence is structured like this:

• Baada ya kugombana, = introductory phrase
• Asha na dada yake walipatana. = main statement

This is similar to English punctuation in sentences like After arguing, they made up.

The comma is helpful and natural, though in casual writing some people might leave it out.

Here na means and.

It joins the two parts of the subject:

• Asha
• dada yake

So Asha na dada yake = Asha and her sister

Swahili na can also mean with, but here it clearly means and because it is joining two nouns as the subject of the sentence.

Dada means sister, and yake means his/her.

So dada yake means his sister or her sister, depending on context.

In this sentence, the natural reading is Asha and her sister.

Also, Swahili yake does not show gender, so the same word can mean:

• his
• her
• sometimes its, depending on context

Swahili possessives change according to noun class, and kinship words like dada can be a little tricky for learners.

The important thing to learn is that dada yake is the normal and correct way to say his/her sister.

Similar phrases are:

• dada yangu = my sister
• dada yako = your sister
• dada yetu = our sister

So this is a phrase worth learning as a set pattern.

Wa- is the subject marker for they.

The subject is Asha na dada yake, which is plural because it refers to two people together.

So:

• wa- = they
• -li- = past
• patana = reconcile / get along / make up

That gives walipatana = they reconciled / they made up

-li- is the past tense marker.

So the verb breaks down like this:

• wa- = they
• -li- = past tense
• patana = reconcile / make up / get along

Therefore walipatana is in the past tense: they made up or they reconciled.

Patana can mean things like:

• get along
• agree
• reconcile
• make up

The exact English translation depends on context.

Because the sentence starts with Baada ya kugombana, the best sense here is reconciled or made up after a quarrel.

So this is not just they met or they matched; it specifically suggests that harmony was restored.

No. The verb works fine without a direct object here.

The idea is simply that they reconciled or they made up.

Since the two people involved are already the subject of the sentence, Swahili does not need to add an object.

Yes. You could also say:

Asha na dada yake walipatana baada ya kugombana.

That is also natural.

The version with Baada ya kugombana at the beginning gives extra emphasis to the sequence of events: first the quarrel, then the reconciliation.

Not always.

Depending on context, dada can mean:

• a sister
• a female sibling
• sometimes a polite way to refer to a woman or young woman

But in this sentence, because of Asha na dada yake, the meaning is clearly Asha and her sister.