Mwalimu alitukumbusha kutumia koma mahali pake, nukta mwishoni, na alama ya kuuliza mwishoni mwa swali.

It is one verb made of several parts:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense
• -tu- = us
• kumbusha = remind

So alitukumbusha means he/she reminded us.

This is very normal in Swahili: subject, tense, and object can all be built into one verb word.

Yes.

• kumbuka = remember
• kumbusha = remind

So kumbusha has a causative idea: to make someone remember. That is why it means to remind.

Kutumia is the infinitive form, meaning to use.

After kumbusha, Swahili often uses an infinitive to show what someone was reminded to do:

• alitukumbusha kutumia... = he/she reminded us to use...

So this structure works a lot like English remind someone to do something.

These are punctuation words:

• koma = comma
• nukta = period / full stop
• alama ya kuuliza = question mark

Literally, alama ya kuuliza is something like mark of asking.

Mahali means place.

Pake here means its place or the place it belongs. So koma mahali pake means a comma in its proper place or a comma where it belongs.

This is a natural way in Swahili to talk about correct placement.

Because mahali is treated as a locative idea, and Swahili often uses pa- forms for place-related possession.

So:

• pake = its place / there / in its proper place

This is one of those forms that learners often just get used to as a set expression: mahali pake = in the right place.

Mwisho means end.

When you add -ni, it becomes locative:

• mwisho = end
• mwishoni = at the end

The ending -ni is very common in Swahili for location. It often gives the sense of in, at, or on, depending on context.

This means at the end of the question.

• mwishoni = at the end
• mwa = a connector here meaning roughly of
• swali = question

So mwishoni mwa swali is the Swahili way to say at the end of the question.

You should think of mwa here as part of the pattern used after this kind of locative expression, rather than trying to translate it word-for-word every time.

Yes.

The sentence says:

• kutumia koma mahali pake
• nukta mwishoni
• na alama ya kuuliza mwishoni mwa swali

Even though kutumia is only stated once, it applies to all the items in the list. So the idea is:

• use commas in the proper place,
• use a period at the end,
• and use a question mark at the end of a question.

Swahili often avoids repeating the same verb when it is already understood.

Because Swahili usually does not use articles the way English does.

So:

• Mwalimu can mean the teacher or a teacher
• swali can mean the question or a question

The exact meaning depends on context, not on a separate word like the or a.

No. Mwalimu is gender-neutral.

It can mean:

• male teacher
• female teacher
• simply teacher

Also, the verb prefix a- in alitukumbusha means he/she, without specifying gender. Swahili usually does not force you to mark gender the way English sometimes does.