Mwalimu alisema tufanye fotokopi ya cheti chetu kabla ya kujaza fomu ya usajili.

Tufanye is a subjunctive form, and it is used here because the teacher is giving an instruction or saying what should be done.

Breakdown:

• tu- = we
• -fany- = verb root do / make
• -e = subjunctive ending

So tufanye means something like:

• that we do
• we should do
• let us do

By contrast, tunafanya means we are doing / we do, which is a normal indicative statement, not an instruction or recommendation.

So after alisema in this sentence, tufanye gives the sense:

• The teacher said we should make...

Because in Swahili, kwamba (that) is often optional.

You can say:

• Mwalimu alisema tufanye...
• Mwalimu alisema kwamba tufanye...

Both are correct. The version without kwamba is very common and natural.

So this works much like English, where you can say both:

• The teacher said we should...
• The teacher said that we should...

Alisema is the past tense of -sema (to say).

Breakdown:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense marker
• -sem- = say
• -a = final vowel

So alisema means:

• he said
• she said

Since mwalimu can refer to either a male or female teacher, alisema can mean either the teacher said (he/she said).

In Swahili, possessives agree with the thing possessed, not with the people who own it.

Here, cheti means certificate, and cheti belongs to noun class ki-/vi-.

Because of that, our must appear in the form that matches cheti:

• chetu = our for this noun class

So:

• cheti chetu = our certificate

Compare:

• mtoto wetu = our child
• kitabu chetu = our book
• vyeti vyetu = our certificates

So wetu is not wrong in general; it is just the wrong agreement for cheti.

This uses the genitive connector -a, which often means of.

Breakdown:

• fotokopi = photocopy
• ya = of (matching the noun class of fotokopi)
• cheti chetu = our certificate

So:

• fotokopi ya cheti chetu = a photocopy of our certificate

A useful point: in this phrase, there are two different agreements:

1. ya agrees with fotokopi
2. chetu agrees with cheti

That is very normal in Swahili.

Kabla ya means before, and it is usually followed by an infinitive noun in ku- form.

So:

• kabla ya = before
• kujaza = to fill / filling in

Together:

• kabla ya kujaza = before filling in / before you fill in

This is a very common pattern in Swahili:

• kabla ya kwenda = before going
• kabla ya kula = before eating
• kabla ya kuanza = before starting

So kujaza is not a finite verb here; it functions more like the act of filling in.

Usajili is a noun meaning registration.

It comes from the verb -sajili, which means to register.

A common noun pattern in Swahili is:

• verb root + u- noun formation

So:

• -sajili = register
• usajili = registration

Therefore:

• fomu ya usajili = registration form

This is similar to how English forms:

• to register → registration

Swahili does not have articles that directly match English a/an and the.

So:

• mwalimu can mean a teacher or the teacher
• cheti can mean a certificate or the certificate
• fomu can mean a form or the form

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is why a single Swahili sentence can be translated into English in more than one natural way, for example:

• The teacher said we should make a photocopy...
• A teacher said we should make a photocopy...

Usually, context makes the intended meaning clear.

It is a loanword, ultimately from photocopy.

Swahili uses many borrowed words, especially for modern objects and administrative terms. Fotokopi is widely understood.

You may also hear related expressions such as:

• kupiga fotokopi = to photocopy / make a photocopy
• nakala = copy (more general, depending on context)

So the sentence is natural, but there can be other ways to express the same idea.

It is reported speech (indirect speech).

The teacher’s instruction is being reported as:

• Mwalimu alisema tufanye...
• The teacher said we should...

If it were a direct quote, it might look more like:

• Mwalimu alisema, Fanyeni fotokopi ya cheti chenu...
• The teacher said, Make a photocopy of your certificate...

Notice that in a direct quote, the form would likely change:

• tufanye = we should do / let us do
• fanyeni = do! addressed to several people

So the original sentence is not quoting the exact words directly; it is reporting the instruction.

Yes. A fairly literal breakdown is:

• Mwalimu = teacher
• alisema = said
• tufanye = that we should do / make
• fotokopi = photocopy
• ya cheti chetu = of our certificate
• kabla ya kujaza = before filling in
• fomu ya usajili = registration form

So the structure is roughly:

Teacher said [that] we should make a photocopy of our certificate before filling in the registration form.

This kind of breakdown helps show how Swahili builds meaning through:

• verb prefixes
• noun-class agreement
• -a connectors like ya
• infinitives such as kujaza