Mtoto alipokuwa akikohoa, daktari aliangalia ulimi wake na akamwambia apumzike.

alipokuwa is built from several pieces:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense
• -po- = when / at the time when
• kuwa = to be

So alipokuwa means something like when he/she was or at the time when he/she was.

In this sentence, it introduces the background situation: Mtoto alipokuwa akikohoa = When the child was coughing / While the child was coughing.

Yes, both relate to a past situation, but they do different jobs.

• alipokuwa sets up the time frame: when he/she was...
• akikohoa describes the ongoing action happening during that time: coughing

So together they mean:

• when the child was coughing
• while the child was coughing

This is a very common Swahili pattern for background actions.

akikohoa comes from:

• a- = he/she
• -ki- = marker often used for an ongoing, simultaneous, or contextual action
• kohoa = cough

So akikohoa means he/she is coughing in a contextual sense, or while he/she was coughing depending on the sentence.

In this sentence, because the whole situation is in the past, it is best understood as: while the child was coughing.

Yes, Mtoto alikuwa akikohoa is possible, but it means something slightly different.

• Mtoto alikuwa akikohoa = The child was coughing
• Mtoto alipokuwa akikohoa = When the child was coughing / While the child was coughing

So:

• alikuwa akikohoa is a full statement by itself.
• alipokuwa akikohoa is more like a time clause that sets the scene for another action.

That is why alipokuwa akikohoa fits naturally before daktari aliangalia...

wake means his/her here.

Swahili usually does not show gender in this kind of possessive form, so wake can mean:

• his
• her

So ulimi wake means his tongue or her tongue.

Because the sentence begins with mtoto (child), the most natural interpretation is that the doctor looked at the child’s tongue.

Grammatically, wake could in theory refer to either person, because Swahili often allows this kind of ambiguity if context is clear.

But in normal interpretation, it refers to the child, because:

• The child is the patient.
• A doctor checking a tongue normally means the doctor is examining the patient’s tongue.
• The next verb akamwambia also strongly suggests the doctor is speaking to the child.

So context resolves the ambiguity.

akamwambia can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -ka- = narrative and then
• -m- = him/her object marker
• -ambia = tell, say to

So akamwambia means:

• and then he/she told him/her
• and told him/her

In this sentence, the subject is daktari, so it means: the doctor told him/her.

aka- is very common in storytelling and narration. It often means something like:

• and then
• so then
• next

So:

• aliangalia = looked
• na akamwambia = and then told him/her

Using aka- helps show sequence: first the doctor looked, then the doctor spoke.

If you used alimwambia, the sentence would still be understandable, but akamwambia sounds more natural for a chain of actions.

na here means and.

So the structure is:

• daktari aliangalia ulimi wake
• na akamwambia apumzike

= the doctor looked at his/her tongue and then told him/her to rest

The combination na + aka- is very common when linking actions in sequence.

apumzike is in the subjunctive form.

It comes from the verb pumzika = rest, with:

• a- = he/she
• final -e = subjunctive ending

So apumzike means:

• that he/she should rest
• to rest after a verb like tell

After verbs of telling, ordering, advising, wanting, or requesting, Swahili often uses the subjunctive.

So:

• akamwambia apumzike = he told him/her to rest = literally, he told him/her that he/she should rest

The person who is supposed to rest is the one marked by -m- in akamwambia.

• akamwambia = he told him/her
• apumzike = that he/she should rest

In context, this means: the doctor told the child to rest.

Again, Swahili does not mark gender here, so it could be him or her.

No. The subject changes.

Here is the subject of each part:

• Mtoto alipokuwa akikohoa
  Subject = the child

• daktari aliangalia
  Subject = the doctor

• akamwambia
  Subject is still the doctor

• apumzike
  The understood subject is the child, the person being told to rest

So the sentence shifts from the child’s action to the doctor’s actions, and then back to the child as the person who should rest.

In Swahili, the normal third-person singular subject marker is a-, which can mean:

• he
• she

Similarly, object markers like -m- can mean:

• him
• her

And possessives like wake can mean:

• his
• her

So Swahili often leaves gender unspecified unless context makes it clear. This is completely normal and very common.

The structure is:

1. Time/background clause
   Mtoto alipokuwa akikohoa
   = When the child was coughing

2. Main action
   daktari aliangalia ulimi wake
   = the doctor looked at his/her tongue

3. Next action/result
   na akamwambia apumzike
   = and then told him/her to rest

So the whole sentence follows a very natural narrative pattern:

background situation → main action → follow-up action.