Learn Hardcore Swahili: Mwalimu alituletea sumaku darasani na kutuonyesha jinsi inavyovuta misumari. - The teacher brought us a magnet to class and showed us how it attracts nails.

The form -letea (with -ea) is the applicative form of leta, adding the idea of to/for someone. That is why alileta and alituletea are not interchangeable: alileta lacks the “to/for us” idea that -letea adds.

Why is it sumaku and not something like *musumaku or *masumaku? What noun class is it, and how does it affect the verb inavyovuta?

Sumaku (magnet) is a borrowed noun and belongs to noun class 9/10, which usually has no visible singular/plural prefix. Many class 9/10 nouns look the same in singular and plural.

singular: sumaku = a magnet
plural: sumaku = magnets (usually the same form; context clarifies)

Class 9/10 uses the subject prefix i- on verbs. That is why inavyovuta begins with i-: it agrees with sumaku.

So inavyovuta literally means “it (class 9, i.e. the magnet) is-how-pulling” → “how it attracts/pulls” (nails).

What does darasani literally mean, and why do we add -ni?

The base noun is darasa (classroom, class). Adding -ni makes it locative:

darasa = classroom
darasani = in the classroom / to the classroom / at the classroom

The exact English preposition depends on the verb:

niko darasani = I am in the classroom
ninaenda darasani = I am going to the classroom
alituletea sumaku darasani = he/she brought us a magnet to the classroom / in class

Swahili often uses -ni instead of a separate preposition like “in / at / to”.

How is kutuonyesha built, and why do we get this form after na?

Kutuonyesha consists of:

ku- = infinitive marker (to…)
-tu- = object marker for us
-onyesha = verb stem show

So kutuonyesha = “to show us”.

In the sentence, na kutuonyesha links a second action to the first:

alituletea sumaku darasani = he brought us a magnet to the classroom
na kutuonyesha… = and (to) show us…

After na, using an infinitive like kutuonyesha is a common way to chain actions: “brought us a magnet and (also) showed us…”, without repeating the full finite verb (akatutuonyesha, etc.).

What does jinsi mean here, and how is it different from vipi (another “how” word)?

Jinsi means “the way / the manner in which / how” and is normally followed by a verb in a relative-like form (with -vyo-, -avyo-, etc.):

jinsi inavyofanya kazi = the way/how it works
jinsi anavyosema = the way/how he/she speaks

Vipi is mostly used in direct questions:

Unasemaje? or Unasema vipi? = How do you say (it)?
Unaendeleaje? / Unaendeleaje vipi? = How are you getting on?

In this sentence:

kutuonyesha jinsi inavyovuta misumari
= to show us how it attracts nails / the way it attracts nails

Using jinsi plus the -vyo- form emphasizes “the manner in which” rather than asking a question.

How is inavyovuta formed, and what is the function of -vyo- in it?

Inavyovuta can be broken down like this:

i- = subject prefix for class 9 (it, here: the magnet, sumaku)
-na- = present/ongoing aspect (is …ing)
-vyo- = relative marker (“in the way that / as”)
-vuta = verb stem pull / attract

Literally: i-na-vyo-vuta → inavyovuta
Meaning: “as it is pulling / the way it pulls”, i.e. “how it attracts”.

The -vyo- is what connects the verb to jinsi:

jinsi inavyovuta misumari
≈ “the way in which it attracts nails” / “how it attracts nails”

If you removed -vyo- and said jinsi inavuta misumari, it would sound odd or incorrect to most speakers; jinsi normally pairs with this -vyo- / -avyo- / -ivyo- type relative form.

Where is the word “it” in jinsi inavyovuta misumari? How do we know inavyovuta refers to the magnet?

In Swahili, the subject prefix on the verb plays the role that “it/he/she” often plays in English.

i- at the start of inavyovuta is the subject prefix for class 9 nouns.
sumaku (magnet) is class 9, so it agrees with i-.

So:

sumaku … inavyovuta misumari
= (the magnet) … it‑is‑how‑pulling nails → “how it attracts nails”

There is no separate word for “it” because i- already encodes that information. From context (and agreement), you know that inavyovuta is talking about sumaku, not about misumari.

What does misumari mean exactly, and how is it related to the singular form?

Misumari means nails (metal nails for wood, etc.).

The singular is:

msumari = a nail
misumari = nails

This is noun class 3/4, which often has:

m- for singular
mi- for plural

Other examples:

mti / miti = tree / trees
mto / mito = river / rivers (also pillow/pillows, different noun)

So msumari → misumari follows the same pattern: m- → mi-.

Why does the sentence mix past tense (alituletea) and present-like inavyovuta? Is that normal?

Yes, that is normal and natural.

alituletea (a-li-tu-letea) = he/she brought us (completed action in the past)
inavyovuta (i-na-vyo-vuta) = how it attracts/is attracting (general/ongoing present)

The idea is:

In the past, the teacher brought us the magnet and showed us…
…a general fact about the magnet: how it (still) attracts nails.

So the bringing and showing are past events, but the property of the magnet (that it attracts nails) is expressed in the present, because it is still true in general.

Do we really need tu in both alituletea and kutuonyesha? What changes if we leave it out in the second verb?

The tu object marker appears twice:

alituletea = he/she brought us (something)
kutuonyesha = to show us (something)

If you say:

Mwalimu alituletea sumaku darasani na kuonyesha jinsi inavyovuta misumari.

then kuonyesha no longer has tu, so it just means “and (to) show how it attracts nails”, without explicitly mentioning to us in that second verb. It is still understandable from context that the showing is to the same people, but it’s not grammatically encoded.

When you keep tu in kutuonyesha, you make it explicit again:

na kutuonyesha = and (to) show us.

Both options are grammatical; the version with tu in both verbs simply keeps the object us overt in both actions.

Could this sentence be split into two simpler sentences in natural Swahili?

Yes, a very natural alternative is:

Mwalimu alituletea sumaku darasani. Alituonyesha jinsi inavyovuta misumari.

This keeps the same meaning but uses two full sentences instead of linking the actions with na and an infinitive.