Kwa sababu koo lake liliuma, daktari alimpa kidonge kimoja na plasta kwa kidole chake kilichojeruhiwa.

Kwa sababu is used before a whole clause, like koo lake liliuma = his/her throat hurt.

• kwa sababu + clause = because ...
• kwa sababu ya + noun = because of ...

So:

• Kwa sababu koo lake liliuma = Because his/her throat hurt
• Kwa sababu ya maumivu ya koo = Because of throat pain

In this sentence, what follows is a full clause, so kwa sababu is the right choice.

Yes, koo can have more than one meaning depending on context. It can mean throat, but in other contexts it can also refer to lineage/clan.

Here, the verb liliuma means hurt/ached, so koo lake liliuma can only sensibly mean his/her throat hurt. Context removes the ambiguity.

In Swahili, possessives agree with the noun being possessed, not with the person who owns it.

Koo belongs to noun class 5, so the possessive form of -ake becomes lake.

So:

• koo lake = his/her throat

If the noun were from a different noun class, the possessive form would change. That is why Swahili learners often see forms like wake, yake, chake, lake, etc.

Liliuma can be broken down as:

• li- = subject marker for a class 5 noun like koo
• -li- = past tense
• -uma = hurt / ache / bite, depending on context

So:

• koo liliuma = the throat hurt / ached

The two li parts are doing different jobs:

• first li = agreement with koo
• second li = past tense

That is why you get liliuma.

Alimpa already includes the idea of gave him/her.

It breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense
• -m- = him/her
• -pa = give

So alimpa means he/she gave him/her.

Then the things being given come after it:

• kidonge kimoja na plasta = one pill and a plaster/bandage

So the structure is basically:

• daktari alimpa ... = the doctor gave him/her ...

Swahili often packs pronoun objects into the verb itself this way.

Two things are happening here:

1. In Swahili, the noun usually comes first.
2. Numbers and adjectives must agree with the noun class.

Kidonge is a class 7 noun, so moja becomes kimoja.

So:

• kidonge kimoja = one pill/tablet

Not:

• moja kidonge — wrong word order
• kidonge mmoja — wrong agreement

A useful pattern is:

• kitabu kimoja = one book
• kidole kimoja = one finger
• kidonge kimoja = one pill

Here plasta means something like a plaster, bandage, or Band-Aid-type covering.

It is a borrowed word. In everyday usage, the exact English translation can vary a bit by region and context, but in this sentence it clearly refers to something used to cover or protect the injured finger.

Here kwa means something like for.

So:

• plasta kwa kidole chake = a plaster for his/her finger

It shows what the plaster is intended for.

This is not exactly the same as saying the doctor physically put it on the finger. If you wanted to emphasize physical placement, Swahili might use a different structure, such as kwenye kidole chake or a verb like akaweka = and then put.

But in this sentence, kwa naturally means for.

Again, the possessive has to agree with the noun class.

Kidole is a class 7 noun, so -ake takes the class 7 agreement and becomes chake.

So:

• kidole chake = his/her finger

Compare:

• koo lake = his/her throat
• kidole chake = his/her finger

The owner is the same kind of person in both cases, but the possessive form changes because the nouns belong to different classes.

Kilichojeruhiwa means which was injured or that was injured.

It describes kidole.

A rough breakdown is:

• ki- = agreement with a class 7 noun like kidole
• -li- = past tense
• -cho- = relative marker for class 7, giving the idea of which/that
• jeruhiwa = be injured (passive form)

So:

• kidole chake kilichojeruhiwa = his/her injured finger
• more literally: his/her finger that was injured

This relative-clause style is very common in Swahili.

No. Swahili does not normally distinguish his from her or he from she in forms like these.

So all of these can refer to either a male or a female person, depending on context:

• lake = his/her
• chake = his/her
• alimpa = he/she gave him/her

That means the sentence leaves gender unspecified unless the wider context tells you.