Ninakili faili sasa.

It breaks into three parts:

• ni- = I
• -na- = a present/current-action marker
• -kili = copy

So ninakili means I am copying or I copy, depending on context. In this sentence, sasa makes it clearly mean I am copying now.

Because Swahili usually puts the subject inside the verb.
So instead of using a separate word like English I, Swahili often uses a subject prefix:

• ni- = I
• u- = you (singular)
• a- = he/she
• tu- = we

That is why ninakili already includes the idea of I.

Usually -na- marks present time, and it often covers what English expresses with am/is/are ... -ing.

So ninakili can mean something like:

• I am copying
• I copy

The exact meaning depends on context. In Ninakili faili sasa, the word sasa = now, so the meaning is clearly I am copying the file now.

That is a normal Swahili pattern. Since the subject is already built into the verb, the sentence often goes like this:

verb + object + time word

So:

• Ninakili = I am copying
• faili = file
• sasa = now

This order is very natural in Swahili.

Swahili does not use articles like English a, an, and the.

So faili can mean:

• a file
• the file

Context tells you which one is meant. In this sentence, the intended meaning has already been given to the learner, so that removes the ambiguity.

Not in this sentence. When the full object noun is stated after the verb, Swahili often does not need an object marker.

So Ninakili faili sasa is a complete and natural sentence.

Object markers are more common when the object is already known from context, emphasized, or replaced by a pronoun-like idea. But for a basic sentence with the noun stated directly, leaving the object marker out is normal.

Yes. Sasa is flexible.

These are both natural:

• Ninakili faili sasa.
• Sasa ninakili faili.

If you leave sasa out and say Ninakili faili, the sentence still works, but it no longer explicitly says now. It just means I am copying the file or I copy the file, depending on context.

No, it is a loanword, borrowed from English file and adapted to Swahili pronunciation and spelling. Swahili uses many borrowed words, especially for modern objects and technical vocabulary.

So a learner should not be surprised if some Swahili words look familiar.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ni-na-ki-li fa-i-li sa-sa

A few helpful points:

• Swahili vowels are usually pronounced clearly.
• faili has three syllables: fa-i-li
• sasa is sa-sa, not say-sa

So the whole sentence is said smoothly with clearly pronounced syllables.