Usitumie mkasi karibu na wembe; weka vifaa hivyo pamoja na sega ndani ya droo.

Usitumie is a negative command addressed to one person. It means don’t use.

It can be broken down like this:

• u- = you (singular)
• -si- = negative marker
• -tumie = verb form from tumia (use)

So usitumie mkasi means don’t use the scissors.

If you were speaking to more than one person, you would say msitumie.

Because Swahili usually uses the -e ending in this kind of negative command.

Compare:

• tumia! = use!
• usitumie! = don’t use!

So the -a form is the basic verb form, but in negative commands Swahili switches to the -e form.

Yes. Weka is the affirmative imperative form of kuweka, meaning to put or to place.

So:

• weka = put/place! (to one person)
• wekeni = put/place! (to more than one person)

In this sentence, weka vifaa hivyo... means put those items/tools...

The sentence gives two instructions:

1. Usitumie mkasi karibu na wembe = don’t use the scissors near the razor
2. weka vifaa hivyo pamoja na sega ndani ya droo = put those items together with the comb in the drawer

This is very normal in Swahili, just as in English: one part tells you what not to do, and the next part tells you what to do instead.

Mkasi is the Swahili word for scissors. Even though English uses a plural-looking word, Swahili just uses its own noun mkasi for the tool.

So you should not try to force English grammar onto it. Just learn mkasi as the normal Swahili word for scissors.

Karibu na means near or close to.

So:

• karibu na wembe = near the razor

The na is part of the expression here. It is not simply the basic and/with meaning of na.

Wembe means razor. In context, it could refer to a razor used for shaving or a razor blade tool.

So:

• mkasi = scissors
• wembe = razor

Vifaa means tools, items, equipment, or utensils, depending on context.

Here it refers to the objects being discussed. Since the sentence has just mentioned mkasi and wembe, vifaa hivyo means something like those items/tools.

The singular form is kifaa = tool/item/device.

Hivyo means those and agrees with vifaa.

So:

• vifaa = tools/items
• vifaa hivyo = those tools/items

In this sentence, hivyo points back to the things already mentioned, especially the scissors and the razor.

Swahili demonstratives have to agree with the noun class of the noun they describe.

Since vifaa is a plural noun in the vi- class, the demonstrative also takes the matching form:

• kifaa hiki = this tool/item
• vifaa hivi = these tools/items
• vifaa hivyo = those tools/items

So hivyo is there because it matches vifaa.

Pamoja na means together with or along with.

So:

• pamoja na sega = together with the comb

It tells you that the tools should be placed in the same place as the comb.

Sega means comb.

So the sentence is talking about three types of objects:

• mkasi = scissors
• wembe = razor
• sega = comb

Ndani ya droo means inside the drawer.

Literally:

• ndani = inside/interior
• ya = of
• droo = drawer

So ndani ya droo is literally something like in the inside of the drawer, but in natural English we simply say in the drawer or inside the drawer.

Droo is a loanword, ultimately from English drawer. Swahili uses many loanwords, especially for household or modern objects.

That is completely normal, and learners should get used to seeing both native words and borrowed words in everyday Swahili.

Because Swahili does not use articles like English a, an, and the.

So:

• mkasi can mean scissors, the scissors, or a pair of scissors, depending on context
• wembe can mean razor or the razor
• droo can mean a drawer or the drawer

You understand which one is meant from context, not from a separate article word.

It has two commands joined by a semicolon:

• Usitumie mkasi karibu na wembe
• weka vifaa hivyo pamoja na sega ndani ya droo

So the pattern is:

1. negative instruction
2. positive follow-up instruction

This is a very natural way to give safety or organization instructions in Swahili.