Mwalimu alisema, “Zidisha tatu kwa nne.”

• Mwalimu = teacher
• alisema = he/she said
• Zidisha = multiply
• tatu = three
• kwa = by
• nne = four

So the structure is: subject + verb of saying + direct command.

alisema has three parts:

• a- = he/she
• -li- = past tense
• -sema = say / speak

So alisema literally means he/she said.

A useful thing to notice: Swahili verbs often pack subject and tense into one word.

Because it is an imperative, meaning a command.

In Swahili, a command to one person is often just the verb form itself:

• Zidisha = Multiply!

Here it introduces the instruction Zidisha tatu kwa nne.

If you were speaking to more than one person, or using a more polite plural-style command, you would normally say Zidisheni.

Here kwa links the two numbers in a multiplication expression. It works like English by in multiply three by four.

So:

• tatu kwa nne = three by four

kwa has many meanings in Swahili depending on context, but in arithmetic this is a very common use.

Not here. In a math instruction, the numbers are being used on their own, so you use the basic number forms:

• tatu
• nne

Number agreement matters when numbers modify nouns, for example:

• vitabu vitatu = three books

But in arithmetic expressions like this one, you normally just use the plain numeral forms.

mwalimu belongs to the human noun class, usually treated as class 1/2.

• singular: mwalimu = teacher
• plural: walimu = teachers

So the plural would be:

• Walimu walisema = The teachers said

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Mwalimu → mwa-LEE-moo
• alisema → ah-lee-SEH-mah
• Zidisha → zee-DEE-shah
• tatu → TAH-too
• kwa → kwah
• nne → roughly nn-eh

A few helpful points:

• Swahili usually stresses the second-to-last syllable.
• mw in mwalimu is pronounced together.
• nne begins with a strong n sound, almost like a doubled n.

Mostly yes. In modern written Swahili, direct speech is often punctuated much like English:

• statement of speaking
• comma
• quoted words

So after alisema, the exact words spoken are given as direct speech: Zidisha tatu kwa nne.

In everyday printed Swahili, punctuation conventions can vary a little, but this pattern is very normal and easy for English speakers to recognize.