Asipotulia, mama atambembeleza tena.

It can be split as:

• a- = he/she or another singular animate subject
• -si- = negative
• -po- = part of the if/when not conditional pattern
• tulia = calm down / settle down

So asipotulia means if he/she does not calm down.

Because kutulia is intransitive: it means to become calm / settle down.

By contrast, kutuliza is transitive: it means to calm someone or something down.

So in this sentence, the person is the one who needs to calm down, so kutulia is the right verb.

Here, -po- is part of a common negative conditional structure:

• nisipo- = if I do not ...
• usipo- = if you do not ...
• asipo- = if he/she does not ...
• wasipo- = if they do not ...

So asipotulia follows the pattern subject + si + po + verb, giving the idea if he/she doesn’t ....

It breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she; here it agrees with mama
• -ta- = future, will
• -m- = object marker, him/her
• bembeleza = soothe, coax, cajole, pamper

So atambembeleza means she will soothe/coax him/her.

It refers to the person from the first clause — the one who is not calming down.

So the idea is:

• someone is not settling down
• then mama will soothe that person again

The object marker -m- does not show gender, so English may translate it as him or her depending on context.

Because Swahili usually puts that information inside the verb.

In this sentence:

• a- in asipotulia already tells you the subject is he/she
• a- in atambembeleza agrees with mama
• -m- in atambembeleza already tells you the object is him/her

Separate pronouns such as yeye are usually added only for emphasis or contrast.

Kubembeleza often means something like:

• to coax
• to soothe
• to cajole
• to pamper
• to sweet-talk gently

With a mother and a child, it often suggests trying to calm the child in a soft, indulgent, or comforting way. It is a bit more specific than a plain comfort.

Here, tena means again or once more.

So the sense is that this is not the first time the mother is doing it.

In other contexts, tena can also mean also or further, but again is the natural meaning in this sentence.

Not really. Swahili verb agreement is based on noun class, not grammatical gender.

Mama is treated as a singular animate noun, so it takes the class 1 subject marker a-.

The same a- would also be used with words like:

• mtoto = child
• baba = father
• mwalimu = teacher

So a- does not specifically mean female. It just matches a singular animate subject.

Because this is a negative conditional form, not a subjunctive form.

With this asipo- pattern, the verb stays with its normal final -a:

• asipoenda = if he/she does not go
• asipolala = if he/she does not sleep
• asipotulia = if he/she does not calm down

A form like asitulie is different in meaning and grammar; it is not the same as if he/she does not calm down.

Because Swahili does not have articles like a, an, or the.

So mama can mean things like:

• mother
• the mother
• mum

Which one sounds best in English depends on context.

Yes. Swahili can put the condition first or after the main clause.

So both of these are possible:

• Asipotulia, mama atambembeleza tena.
• Mama atambembeleza tena asipotulia.

Putting asipotulia first is very natural because it sets up the condition before the result.