Mkulima anatumia ardhi hii.

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

So mkulima can mean:

• a farmer
• the farmer

Which one is intended depends on context. In this sentence, the full meaning is understood from the situation, not from a separate article word.

Anatumia can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she subject marker
• -na- = present tense marker
• -tumia = use

So anatumia literally means he/she is using or he/she uses.

In this sentence, since mkulima is singular and refers to a person, a- matches it.

In Swahili, demonstratives such as this and that usually come after the noun.

So:

• ardhi hii = this land
• not hii ardhi in the basic neutral pattern

This is a very common word order difference from English.

Swahili nouns belong to noun classes, and words that go with them must agree with their class.

Ardhi belongs to the noun class that takes the demonstrative hii for this.

So:

• ardhi hii = this land

You cannot normally say ardhi huu or ardhi hili, because those forms belong to other noun classes.

Ardhi can mean several related things depending on context, including:

• land
• earth
• soil
• sometimes even ground

In Mkulima anatumia ardhi hii, the most natural meaning is this land or this piece of land, especially because a farmer is involved.

Yes. Mkulima is related to the verb kulima, which means to farm, to cultivate, or to till.

A helpful connection is:

• kulima = to farm / cultivate
• mkulima = farmer

So mkulima is basically a person who farms.

Yes. The Swahili present tense with -na- often covers both ideas:

• he/she is using
• he/she uses

The exact meaning depends on context.

So Mkulima anatumia ardhi hii could mean:

• The farmer is using this land
• The farmer uses this land

If the surrounding context is about something happening right now, is using is more natural.

Mostly yes. The basic order here is:

• Mkulima = subject
• anatumia = verb
• ardhi hii = object

So it follows a basic Subject–Verb–Object pattern, just like English:

• The farmer / is using / this land

The main difference is inside the object phrase: Swahili says land this, not this land.

Yes. The subject marker a- means he or she.

So anatumia does not tell you the person's gender. You understand that from context or from another word in the sentence.

Here, mkulima just means farmer, so the sentence could refer to:

• a male farmer
• a female farmer

Yes, because the demonstrative would need to match the plural noun form.

However, ardhi is a noun whose singular and plural often look the same. What changes clearly is the agreement word:

• ardhi hii = this land
• ardhi hizi = these lands

So the demonstrative shows the difference:

• hii = this
• hizi = these