Hatukujibu swali la mtego, achilia mbali swali la kuvunja sare.

Hatukujibu = ha- + tu- + -ku- + jibu.

• ha- = negative
• tu- = we
• -ku- = past tense marker used in the negative past
• jibu = answer

So the whole verb means we did not answer.

For comparison:

• tulijibu = we answered
• hatukujibu = we did not answer

Because hatukujibu is negative past: we did not answer.

By contrast, hatujibu is usually negative present/habitual: we do not answer or we are not answering, depending on context.

So:

• hatukujibu = we did not answer
• hatujibu = we do not answer / are not answering

That small -ku- makes a big difference here.

In Swahili, not all negative forms end in -i.

The negative present often changes the final vowel to -i:

• sijibu = I am not answering / I do not answer

But the negative past keeps the normal -a ending:

• sikujibu = I did not answer
• hatukujibu = we did not answer

So this sentence is following the normal pattern for the negative past.

Here achilia mbali means let alone, much less, or never mind.

It introduces something that is even more difficult, less likely, or more extreme than the first thing mentioned.

So the logic is:

• We did not even answer the trick question,
• let alone the tie-breaker question.

It is a very natural way in Swahili to build that kind of contrast.

Yes, achilia is originally an imperative form of the verb -achilia, meaning something like leave, let go, or set aside.

But in achilia mbali, the whole expression works like a fixed idiom. In normal use, speakers do not usually feel it as a literal command. It functions more like a connector meaning let alone.

So even though it looks like a command grammatically, in this sentence you should understand the whole phrase idiomatically.

La is the connective that matches the noun swali.

Swali belongs to noun class 5 singular, and the class 5 connective is la. That is why you get:

• swali la mtego
• swali la kuvunja sare

The connective agrees with the head noun (swali), not with the word that comes after it.

If it were plural, it would change:

• maswali ya mtego = trick questions

Literally, mtego means trap or snare.

So swali la mtego is literally a question of a trap or a trap question. In natural English, that is usually a trick question.

Depending on context, it can mean a question designed to confuse someone, catch them making a mistake, or test them in a sneaky way.

Kuvunja sare literally means to break a tie.

So swali la kuvunja sare is literally a question for breaking the tie, which is naturally translated as a tie-breaker question.

The infinitive kuvunja can behave like a noun phrase in Swahili, so it can come after la just like a regular noun can. That is why swali la kuvunja sare is perfectly normal.

Yes, sare can mean uniform or matching clothes in some contexts.

But in this sentence, sare means a tie or draw, especially in a competition or contest. So kuvunja sare means to break the tie.

Context tells you which meaning is intended. Since this sentence talks about questions, swali la kuvunja sare clearly means a tie-breaker question, not a question about uniforms.

Because the object is stated explicitly right after the verb: swali la mtego.

In Swahili, when the full object noun is present, the object marker is often omitted, especially with inanimate nouns. So hatukujibu swali la mtego is completely normal.

You could sometimes hear an object marker in other contexts, especially for emphasis or definiteness, but it is not required here.

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

So swali la mtego can mean:

• a trick question
• the trick question

The exact meaning depends on context. In English translation, you choose a or the based on what makes sense in the situation.

Yes. A common alternative is sembuse.

For example:

• Hatukujibu swali la mtego, sembuse swali la kuvunja sare.

That also means We didn’t answer the trick question, let alone the tie-breaker question.

Both are natural, though achilia mbali has a slightly more literal feel of leaving something aside, while sembuse is a very common direct equivalent of let alone.