Mwalimu alituonyesha benki ilipo kwenye ramani, kisha akatuuliza tutumie kikokotoo kuhesabu umbali.

It breaks down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense
• -tu- = us
• -onyesha = show

So alituonyesha means he/she showed us. In this sentence, the subject is Mwalimu, so the whole idea is the teacher showed us.

Swahili does not have articles like a and the.

So:

• mwalimu can mean a teacher or the teacher
• the exact meaning comes from context

In this sentence, the context clearly points to the teacher.

This is a very common Swahili pattern. Instead of using a separate standalone word exactly like English where, Swahili often uses a relative verb form.

Here, benki ilipo means roughly:

• where the bank was
• or, depending on context, where the bank is

The important part is ilipo, which gives the idea of its location / where it is-was located.

So the structure is very natural in Swahili:

• benki ilipo kwenye ramani = where the bank was on the map

Because benki belongs to noun class 9, and class 9 usually uses the subject marker i- in agreement.

So the verb agrees with benki:

• benki ... i-...

That is why you get ilipo, not a form with a-, u-, or something else.

This is one of the big things English speakers have to get used to in Swahili: verbs often agree with the noun class of the noun they refer to.

kwenye is a locative word that can mean in, on, or at, depending on context.

So:

• kwenye ramani = on the map

English uses on because locations are shown on the surface of a map. Swahili commonly uses kwenye for that kind of location.

kisha means then, after that, or next.

It links the two actions:

1. the teacher showed them where the bank was
2. then the teacher asked them to use a calculator

So kisha helps move the story forward.

akatuuliza uses the -ka- tense marker, which is very common for actions that happen next in a sequence.

It can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -ka- = and then / next in sequence
• -tu- = us
• -uliza = ask

So akatuuliza means something like:

• and then he asked us
• then he asked us

This is especially common in narration. Since the sentence already has kisha, the sense of sequence is even clearer.

Because after a verb like ask, Swahili often uses the subjunctive.

Here:

• tutumie = that we use / for us to use

It is built from the verb kutumia:

• tu- = we
• tumi- = use
• -e = subjunctive ending

So akatuuliza tutumie kikokotoo means:

• he asked us to use a calculator

If you said tutatumia, that would mean we will use, which is a normal future, not the form usually used after asked us to...

Because it shows purpose.

• tutumie kikokotoo kuhesabu umbali
• use a calculator to calculate the distance

So kuhesabu here means to calculate.

This is very common in Swahili:

• verb + infinitive = doing something in order to do something else

Because umbali is already stated directly after the verb.

So:

• kuhesabu umbali = to calculate the distance

Swahili often does not need an object marker when the object noun is right there in the sentence. The meaning is already clear.

A few useful ones are:

• mwalimu = class 1 singular, plural walimu
• benki = class 9 singular, class 10 plural form is also benki
• ramani = usually treated like class 9/10
• kikokotoo = class 7 singular, plural vikokotoo
• umbali = an abstract noun, commonly treated in class 14

The most visible agreement here is with benki, which is why you see i- in ilipo.

A very literal translation can sound awkward in English, because Swahili packages location information differently.

A more natural English translation is:

• The teacher showed us where the bank was on the map, then asked us to use a calculator to calculate the distance.

So even though the Swahili structure is different, the meaning is smooth and normal in Swahili.