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THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

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A GRAMMAR OF THE HAUSA
LANGUAGE

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

THE LANGUAGES OF WEST AFRICA.

2 vols. Demy 8vo. Each 125. 6d. net.

A linguistic survey of about three hundred
languages and dialects, with Classification and
inquiry into their origin.

THE MENDE LANGUAGE, including Gram-
mar, Vocabularies, Useful Phrases, and Reading
Exercises. Crown 8vo. 75. 6d. net.

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LARY. A description of the Fauna and Flora
of the District, with Notes. Crown 8vo. 43. 6d.
net.

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD.

A GRAMMAR

OF THE

HAUSA LANGUAGE

FREDERICK WILLIAM HUGH jMIGEOD

AUTHOR OF "THE LANGUAGES OF WEST AFRICA," " THE MENDE LANGUAGE,"
AND " MENDE NATURAL HISTORY VOCABULARY."

LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD.

BROADWAY HOUSE, 68-74 CARTER LANE, E.G.
1914

Library

ft-

PREFACE

x\ THIS Grammar is primarily for students who have already
acquired some knowledge of the Hausa language.

In its compilation the Author has been at pains to
make the vocabulary as diversified as possible, so that
there are few words in common use that have not been
made use of.

All rules, too, have been fully illustrated, and, as re-
gards such as have only been slightly noticed by other
writers, the Author has for preference selected sentences
from texts to which all students of the language have
access. In this way the existence of the rules themselves
is more readily recognised.

The origin of the Hausa language is not inquired into
here, and etymologies are only occasionally examined.
Both of these subjects were discussed by the Author in
his recently-published work, "The Languages of West
Africa," and a repetition seemed somewhat unnecessary.

The same observation applies to the native script,
which is Arabic slightly modified. It would have been

viii PREFACE

of little use to give here the alphabet alone, unless ac-
companied by instructions for its use and by literary
specimens with transliterations, translations, and critical
notes; and to treat this subject adequately a great deal
of space would be required : hence its entire omission.

The proof-sheets of this work have been read by the
Author's brother, Mr Charles Migeod, 2nd class Resident
in Northern Nigeria.

F. W. H. MIGEOD.

GOLD COAST COLONY,
March 1914

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE . vii

CHAPTER I
PHONETIC NOTES

Part I. — ACCENT
Penultimate — Ultimate — Antepenultimate — Movement of . 1

Part II. — INTERCHANGEABILITY OF LETTERS
Consonants — Vowels — Omission of Syllables .... 3

CHAPTER II

NOUN
Nature of 9

Part I. — DERIVATION OF NOUNS
Simple — Derived — Description of Classes of Derived . . 9

Part II. — GENDER

Remarks on — Exceptions for — Gender in Neighbouring
Languages — Common Gender — List of Nouns ending in
"a" which are Masculine . .16

x CONTENTS

PAGE

Part III. — NUMBER

Methods for forming Plural — Terminations — Plurals of
Simple Nouns — of Verbal Nouns — of Compound Nouns
— Nouns without Plural — Nouns without Singular— Use
of Singular for Plural — Plural Forms with Singular
Meaning . . . . . . . . .. . * . 20

Part IF".— CASE

Remarks on — Nominative and Accusative — Vocative —

Genitive — Dative — Ablative — Locative . 44

CHAPTER III

ADJECTIVE

General Remarks — Simple Adjectives — Compound Adjectives
— Present Participle — Past Participle — Nouns used as
Adjectives — Reduplication — Syntax — Predicative Use —
Circumlocution to avoid Use of Adjectives — Comparison
— Numerals 49

CHAPTER IV
PRONOUN

Personal — Relative — Demonstrative — Final "n" with Nouns
— Interrogative — Indefinite — Reflexive — Emphatic —
Reciprocal . . . . . . . ... 72

CHAPTER V
VERB

Part I. — DERIVATION
Description of Classes of Derived Verbs ..... 101

CONTENTS xi

PAGE

Part II. — DIVISION OF VERBS
Transitive — Intransitive 116

Part III. — AUXILIARY VERBS 119

Part IV. — CONJUGATION OF THE VERB

Remarks on — Conjugation — Uses of the Tenses — Passive
Voice — Infinitive — Present Participle — Past Participle —
Verbal Adverbs — Use of Inverted Personal Pronoun —
Impersonal Verbs . . . . . . . .125

CHAPTER VI

ADVERBS

Remarks on — Adverbs of Place — Time — Manner — Affirmation

and Negation — Interrogation . . . . . .158

CHAPTER VII

PREPOSITIONS
Simple — Compound — Examples of Uses — Omission of .183

CHAPTER VIII

CONJUNCTIONS

Co-ordinating — Subordinating — Nouns (with Particles) used

in Sense of Conjunctions — Examples of Uses . . . 201

CHAPTER IX

INTERJECTIONS 208

CONTENTS

CHAPTER X

SYNTAX
THE SUBJECT

PAGE

Nature of — Examples — Simple — Compound .... 210

THE PREDICATE

Simple, Nature of and Examples — Compound — Special

Notes on 211

THE OBJECT
Direct, Nature of, and Examples — Double — Indirect . .214

NATURE OF SENTENCES
Affirmative — Negative — Interrogative — Compound . . . 216

CHAPTER XI

COMMON IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS, ETC.

Salutations — Seasons, Months, Days, Hours — Che — Chika —
Chi — Da — Dama — Damre — Dau — Kai — Kara — Maida
— Sha — Sa — Samu — Saura — Yi — Examples of Circum-
locution 219

BIBLIOGRAPHY . 229

A GRAMMAR OF THE
HAUSA LANGUAGE

CHAPTER I
PHONETIC NOTES

PART I

ACCENT, POSITION OF
PENULTIMATE

The stress accent is as a general rule 011 the penultimate
syllable.

ULTIMATE

1. It is on the last syllable in some few words, as
" kadan," little.

2. In nouns taking the plural termination "ai."

3. In verb forms ending in "a" or "o" as vowels of
direction.

4. When final " s " is added to a verb for " voice "
purposes, as " zubas," from " zuba," to pour.

ANTEPENULTIMATE

There are similarly a few words that take the accent
on the antepenultimate, as —

Magani medicine Takalmi shoe Taberma mat

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

MOVEMENT OF ACCENT

1. When an objective pronoun follows the verb, joined
by " n," as in Present tense No. I., it takes the nature
of a suffix to the verb, and the accent is shifted to the
new penultimate syllable —

Jna dubansa I am looking at him

2. When a word is reduplicated the accent usually
moves to the last syllable —

Chiye-chiye plural of infinitive form of " chi " to eat
Maza-maza quickly ; but if not emphasised it remains
" maza-maza "

In reduplicated colour adjectives, however, the accent
does not move.

3. In some derived nouns the accent moves towards
the suffix ; in not a few, however, it remains unaltered — •

Sayowa selling from saye to sell

Jefawa throwing „ jefa to throw

In the latter the final vowel is long, and so rather
attracts the stress accent.

4. In some plural forms the accent remains on the same
syllable as in the singular form, though the rule is that it
should move towards the suffix —

Watani months from wata

Hanaye hands ,, hanu

Hanua hands „ hanu

5. If "mai-" is prefixed to a noun or verb, it still
remains an accented syllable, and so the word it is prefixed
to does not change its accentuation —

Maimagani doctor from magani

Maimagana a person speaking ,, magana

Maidoki horseman „ doki

Maigaskia man of truth „ gaskia

PHONETIC NOTES 3

PART II

1NTERCHANGEABILITY OF LETTERS
CONSONANTS

(1) Variation of Consonants
Some variations are merely local peculiarities.

L, R, T

These letters are interchangeable in Hausa, for phonetic
reasons, the same as they are in other negro languages.

The word in most common use subject to this variation
is the preposition "na," of. In the feminine gender it is
" ta," which is commonly shortened to " t," and " t "
in its turn may become " 1 " or " r." For instance —

Ya-t-malam, Ya-1-malam, Ya-r-malam, the mallam's
daughter," are all equally correct.

Biar, bial, and biat, five, are all heard.

Halbi, harbi, to shoot ; • and in Maiharabi for Maihalbi,
shooter, an exaggeration of the " r " sound is shown.

This emphasis of the " r " sound is also found in con-
nection with the preposition " of." chiefly if not entirely
in the Hausa spoken in the more northerly parts. It
is especially found after a long "a." For instance —

Mine kamcriki ? What caught you 9

Kameriki = kamarki = kamaki

R, S

Saycr saycs sell

.Saycruwa saycsuwa selling

Arna asna heathen

Ycr yea throw away

llasso uk a bar so-uku up to three /////>•

Zuchias?u znohia-1-su 'heir heart

4 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

N or another letter for S

Benne bisne burial

Muka tarad da yaki for Muka taras da yaki We joined in battle

P and F

Fashe pashe break

Tafshi tapshi (also tabshi, taushi) soft

F and H (H is Katsina dialect).

Fudu hudu four

Funtu huntu naked person

Tali tahi go

Bafellanchi bahillachi Fula

T, K, R

Tutut, tutuk, tutur, tutu for ever

N and M, the latter before a labial.

Kulun kulum always

Em bika ? for En bika ? Shall I folloiv you ?

T, Ch, S

Wotika, wochika wosika letter
Tasubi chasubi bead

It is often doubtful whether "ts" or "ch" should be
written, though any doubt that there may be vanishes
when the word is seen written in Arabic character.

In this connection it should be noted that the Arabic
"ta" or "tsa" is often written in Hausa for ' dal," and
" shin " for " cha."

Gb for B

A very few words admit "gb " for " b," some speakers
sounding the "g" where others do not. The "gb" is a
sound of pure negro origin —

Gbache bache destroy
Gboye boye hide

PHONETIC NOTES

(2) Vocalisation of Consonants

In some parts of the Hausa country two consonants
coming together are readily admitted. Elsewhere, especially
nearer other negro influences, such combinations are not
much found. Two alternatives exist — either to insert an
intermediate vowel harmonising with the other vowels in
the word, or to vocalise the first consonant of the two.
Nearer Arabic or Berber influences the harder forms are
always found, but a negro of another tribe learning Hausa
invariably uses one of the softer forms.

It might possibly be supposed that it is the original
form of the word which has the intermediate vowelj
and that this vowel is eliminated to make the harder
form. That the reverse is the case is made clear by the
position of the accent, which is on the penultimate in the
shorter form of the word, and remains on the same syllable,
which becomes the antepenultimate, in the longer form of
the word.

The following are examples of the two processes —

Sarki
Ber

sariki
beri

chief
leave

Duk

duka

all

Girma
Damre

girima
darime, daure, dore

big
bind

Amre
Samri, samli

aure
sauri

marry
hasten

Samri
Kamna
Takalma

sauri
kauna, kona
takoma

young man
love
shoe

Zamna

zona

sit

It may here be noted that syllables ending in a consonant
occur more commonly in the middle of a word than at the
end, the tendency being, as here seen, to eliminate or soften
them —

Mafelfeohi fans

Sarki (sariki) chief

Tutuk (tutu) for ever

6 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

(3) Insertion of Semi-vowels after Consonants

" W " is commonly inserted after " k " and " g " when
followed by " o " —

Akwoi for akoi there is

Gwonda gonda pawpaw

Kwoi koi egg

Kwomi (rare) komi everything

Kwoiya koiya teach

The semi- vowel "y" may be introduced after "k" and
"g" before "i" and " e." This usage seems due to the
influence of other negro languages. It is comparatively
rare in the purest forms of Hausa, if the more northerly
be taken as such, but it is found to be almost invariably
made use of in the speech of negroes of tribes to the south-
west when they speak Hausa. This is especially so in the
Gold Coast Colony.

Chauta, kyauta for keauta (written kauta) a present

Kyetu ,, ketu flint

Kyanwa „ kenwa cat

Gyero ,, gero corn

Nevertheless this introduction of a semi-vowel plays a

very considerable part in the formation of nouns derived

. from verbs in Hausa, indicating that this same influence

existed long ago, even if there has been an interval in which

it has ceased to operate.

For example, when the root of a word ends in " t," the
final vowel being " a " or " o," and for some grammatical
reason this vowel is changed to " e " or " i," a " y " sound
creeps in, with the effect of adding a sibilation —

Sata sache = satye steal

Bata bache = batye destroy

Kotanta kotanche = kotantyi compare

This is very clearly seen in the participles —

Batache = batatye destroyed

Batachia (f.) = batatyia
But Batatu (plu.)

PHONETIC NOTES 7

For the same reason are —

Tarsa tarshe=tarsye help

llaii.su bahaushe = bahausye Hausa

Contraction of W and Y

These semi-vowels are often elided either in a derived
word or even when two words come together, the latter
applying to " y." It is often doubtful whether it is
more correct to write them or to omit them. It must,
however, be observed that their insertion seems preferable
in some words, and it is better to omit them in others —

Tafowa = tafoa coming

Tafiy a = tafia going

Zanowa = zanoa cloths

Gaisuwa=gaisua salutation

Sunkai = sunka yi they did

The appearance of " w " or " y." in the verbal nouns
depends on the associated vowels; — "a," " o," "u"
requiring " w " ; " i " requiring " y " ; and " e " either.
This interchangeability is seen in " na wuni " = " na yini,"
/ spend the day.

VOWELS
(1) Variation of Vowels

There is a great tendency in Hausa to use short vowels,
and many words are pronounced indifferently with long
and short sounds.

This practice may be possibly due to the former existence
of closed syllables now no longer recognisable. That they
have existed, however, may be seen from such words as
" tutuk," or " tutu," for ever.

" A " is in many words so short as to seem also " e "
or " u."

Teffi fc

r tafi

Serki

sarki

chief

Dere

.Seyesua
Mini

dare
saycsua

in. mi

night
netting
to me

Fudda

t'.nl.i

tell

8 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

The prefix " mai- " is usually pronounced as " may " in
English, and not as the sound in the word " might."

A and 0
Waje=woje side Wani = woni another Wannan = wonan this

A and U
Mamu = mumu to us Maku = muku to you

I and U

Filani (Hillani) = Fulani, Fulas Fukaf uke = fikafike feather

Rufe = riffe call Mutane = mittane men

(2) Omission of Vowels

Final " i " is the one most commonly elided. This
usually takes place when an objective pronoun is joined
to the verb —

Ban san'shi ba Ba na sani shi ba I do not know him
Na gan'sbi Na gani shi I saw him

Ber'sbi Beri shi Let him

The first personal pronoun " ni " is shortened to " n "
in " zani" —

Zan' for Zani / will go

Other elisions —

Gareshi = garesa = garuss towards him

Masa = muss to him

Akasa = akass on the ground

Ya manche tagia tass He forgot his hat

Omission of Syllables

There are found both long and short forms of words.
The short forms are usually poetical —

Dau, do, for dauka take up*

CHAPTER II
NOUN

NOUNS are simple and derived. They have gender and
number, but are not inflected for case.

PART I

DERIVATION OF NOUNS

Simple nouns are those of which the origin cannot be
traced beyond the present form —

Gona farm karifi strength

Derivatives are such nouns as can be traced to their
primary parts —

Mai-gona farmer Mai-karifi strong man

All infinitives may be used substantively without change
of form —

Kcdaya-n-sa da wuya To count it is difficult (lit., count-

ing of him with difficulty)

Chi-n-sa da dadi ft is nice to eat

Fade-fade ba yi ba (proverb) Talking is no good

Do-n-so, ya rasulu, domi-n-so- Because of love, 0 Prophet, because
n-fiyaye of love of God (lit., Excellence)

(For further examples see under the Verb (Infinitive).)

Derivation of nouns takes place by means of prefixes
and suffixes, and sometimes by means of both together.

10 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Derived nouns are formed in the following ways : —
Concrete nouns —

1. Noun with personal particle prefixed.

2. Noun with material particle prefixed.

3. Verb with personal particle prefixed.

4. Verb with material particle prefixed.

Abstract nouns —

5. Verb with prefix.

6. Noun with suffix.

7. Verb or adjective with suffix.

Verbal nouns —

8. With suffix or unchanged.

Concrete nouns —

9. Feminine nouns derived from masculine form.

10. Nouns ending in " ya."

11. Compound nouns.

12. Adjective used as noun.

13. Noun phrases.

Description of Classes of Derived Nouns

1 . Concrete nouns formed from other nouns with personal
particle prefixed. — There are four particles relating to
persons : " ba," " da," " mai," " ma."

" Ba " means inhabitant of a country, and is compounded
with place names for the most part —

Ba-haushe Hausa man Ba-hausa Hausa woman
Ba-kano Kano man Bature white man

(Further examples are given in the tables of plurals.)

Da (" ya " feminine)

" Da," meaning child, is compounded with place names
when it means native of. With other nouns it acts as

NOUN 11

a diminutive. Unlike '; ba," the preposition " n," of, is
inserted —

Da-n-Kano native of Kano Da-n-birni native of the city
Da-n-akwia kid Da-n-zunzua a little bird

Feminine.
Ya-l-Kano femal': native of Kano, daughter of Kano

Also in some idiomatic cases.
Da-n-zane a fragment of cloth Da-n-bindiga soldier

Mai
" Mai " means ovmer of or doer, and expresses the agent,

Mai-gona owner of a farm

Mai-gaskia a man of truth, or one speaking the truth

Mai-wayo a cunning person

Mai-shi the owner of it (shi is the 3rd personal pronoun)

NOTE. — " Mai " also forms adjectives and the present participle,
which see.

" Ma " is a personal particle as well as a material particle.
It has a similar sense to " mai," as a personal particle,
but it is not compounded with nouns in their simple
form —

Mafauta, butcher, from fauta, slaughter, itself derived from fawa,

to slaughter

Mafauchi, butcher, from fawa (fauchi is not found)
Makaranchi, scholar, from karanta, to read (karanchi is not found)

2. Concrete nouns with material particle prefixed. — There
is only one prefix, " ma-."

As in the preceding class, it is prefixed, not to the pure
noun form, but to a derived form —

Matsorachi, cowardice, from tsorachi, which is a derivation of tsoro,

to fear, but is not found alone
Mafauta, place of slaughter, from fauta, slaughter.

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

3. Concrete nouns formed from a verb with a personal
particle prefixed. — These particles are " mai " and " ma" —

Maihalbi
Maikoiyo
Mai-aski
Mai-giri-baba

marksmen, hunter

learner

one that shaves

she of the big eyebrows

from

halbi to shoot
koiyo to learn
aski to shave

The final vowel is " i " generally —

Makami one that catches

Makiyi hater

Makoiyi teacher

Makeri blacksmith

Maso one that loves

Makiayi herdsman

Makiaji one who refuses to hear

from kama to catch

koiya

kira

kiwo

to hate

to teach

to forge

to love, to want

to tend cattle

to refuse, ji to hear

4. Concrete nouns formed from verb wiih material particle
prefixed. — These are the particle " ma," and also the nouns
" abu," thing, and " wuri," place.

Ma
The final vowel of the verb changes to " i " —

Madafi

Madubi

Makami

Mashidi

Mazamni

kitchen

looking-glass

trap

halting-place

seat

from

dafa

duba

kama

shida

zamna

to cook

to look at

to catch

alight, to encamp

to sit down

Abu, Thing

The preposition " n," of, enters into the composition
of the word, and " abu " usually takes the form " obi,"
which is never found alone —

Abi-n-chi
Abi-n-sha
Abin-mamaki or
Abu-n-mamaki
Abin-sara
Abin-tsoro
Abin-worigi

food
drink
a wonder, miracle

accusation
a thing to fear
plaything

from

chi
sha

raamaki

sara
tsoro
worigi

to eat

to drink

a marvel (is

a noun)
to accuse
to fear
play (a noun)

NOUN

Wuri, Place.
This prefix also requires the preposition " of

Wuri-n-kwana

Wuri-n-kiwo

Wuri-n-rubutu

Wuri-n-sabka

Wuri-n-shida

sleeping-place

pasture

writing-place

halting-place

from

kwana

kiwo

rubutu

shida

to sleep
to feed cattle
to write
to alight

to alight, (i.e., from
horse or camel)

5. Abstract nouns formed from verbs with prefix " ma-." —
The final vowel becomes " i " —

Makari
Mabani
Mafari

end

hindrance

beginning

from

kare
hana
fara

to finish
to hinder
to begin

6. Abstract nouns can be formed from concrete simple
nouns with the suffixes —

-chi (m.) and -ta (f.)
-n-chi (m.) -n-taka (f.) " n " being the preposition of

" -N-chi
origin —

Bauchi

is of Kano origin and " -n-taka " of Sokoto

bauta

kauta

kariata

makafta

wauta

sarauta

-chi (m.) and -ta (f.)

slavery from bawa

present beauty , keao

lying
blindness
folly
kingdom

karia
makafo
wawa
sariki

slave

beauty

lie

blind man

fool

king

-n-chi (m.) -n-taka (f.)

Bakunchi

bakuntaka

strangeness

bnko

stranger

Baranchi

barantaka

service

bara

servant

Daianchi

daiantaka

singleness

daia

one

Diyanchi or

diyantaka

freedom

diya

free person,

diyauchi

offspring

Gadonchi

gadontaka

inheritance

gado

inheritance

(abstract)

(concrete)

Malanchi

raalantaka

priestcraft

malam

priest

Raganchi

ragantaka

laziness

rago

idler

Sarkanchi

sarkantaka

kingship

sariki

king

Tsiranchi

tsirantaka

safety, salvation

tsira

save

Ubanchi

ubantaka

fatherhood

uba

father

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Yaranchi
Yawanchi
Zarumchi

Fulanchi

Hausanchi

Turanchi

yarantaka

yawantaka

zarumtaka

youth (abstract)

multiplicity

bravery

what belongs to

the Fula
what belongs to

the Hausa
what belongs to

the white man

yaro

yawa

zarumi

boy
many
brave man,

or zarmi body-guard
Fula Fula

Hausa Hausa

ture

the white
man's country

7. Abstract nouns formed from a verb or adjective with
suffix. — The suffixes are " -chi " and " -ta."

-chi (m.)

This is never added to a verb alone. The prefix " ma- '
is added as well. Some of these words have a concrete
as well as an abstract meaning —

Maaikachi
Mafauchi
Marokachi
Marowachi

Matsorachi

labour and labourer aiki

slaughtering and butcher fawa

begging and beggar roko

greediness rowa

cowardice

-ta (f.)

Chiwuta sickness chiwo

Gajerta shortness gajere

Kasamta uncleanness kasami

Kuturta leprosy kuturu

Mugunta evil mugu

work (n. and v.)
to slaughter
to beg
to be greedy and

covetousness
fear (n. and v.)

sick (n. and v.)

short

unclean

to be leprous

bad

8. Verbal nouns are formed with the suffix " -wa." a
Many verbs do not take this suffix, but the infinitive is
used with the same sense. Verb forms ending in " -da;"
for instance, do not admit of it.

A few nouns in this list have practically a concrete
sense. Their gender is feminine —

Baiwa

giving, gift

to give

Chewa

saying

che

to say

Dubawa

looking

duba

to look at

Fitowa

coming out

fito

to come out

1 See also under Derived Verbs, class 8, and Present Participle.

NOUN

Gamuwa

meeting

Gaisua

saluting, salutation

Kaiwa

bringing (a present

to a chief)

Kamuwa

catching

Karewa

ending

Koiyawa 1
Koiyasuwaj

\ teaching

Lalachewa

idling, idleness

Mutuwa

dying, death

Rabuwa

separating

Rantsuwa

swearing, oath

Tafia

travelling

Tareya

assembling

Tsirawa

saving

Tadowa

raising

gamu

to meet

gaishe

to salute

kai

to bring

kamu

to catch

kare

to finish

koiya

to teach

lalache

to be idle

mutu

to die

rabo

to separate

rantse

to swear

tafi

to go

tara

to assemble

tsira

to scwe

tada

to raise

(For other examples, see under plural.)

It will be noticed that for translation into English the
present participial construction is used.

The verb form in " -as " also admits of this suffix —

Tayesuwa
Fitasuwa

helping taycs (taya)

coming out fitas (fita)

to help

to come out

9. A few nouns with a feminine meaning are derived from
the masculine by some slight modification of the word,
together with the addition of " a " as the terminal vowel.

Kane younger brother kanua younger sister

Da son dia daughter

Sariki king saraunia king's wife

Yaro boy yarinia girl

(For other examples, see under gender.)

10. " -Ya " is suffixed to a few verbs to make concrete
nouns —

Kaya (m.) load kai to bring

Mashaya drinking -place sha to drink

11. There are no real compound nouns in the Hausa
language, but two nouns may be joined by the preposition
"of"—

Kada-n-gari lizard (lit., crocodile of the town)
Ka-n-duki upper room (lit., head of room)

Rua-n-sha drinking-water

16 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

12. An adjective may be used as a noun.

Ko gida-n-sariki ko na talaka Whether the house of a chief or of a

poor man

13. Noun phrases or noun sentences, — These are mostly
found in proverbs—

Hauka-1-ba-ni magani-n-ta: (For) the madness of "give me,"

Ungo the remedy is : " take it "

Yao da gobe ke sa gini- " To-day and to-morrow " is likt

n-rijia da alura having a well dug with a needle

Magani-n-kada aji, kada The remedy for " let it not be

ayi heard " is " don't do it "

Also Ya tafo wurina do-n-gaishe-ni He came to salute me

PART II
GENDER

Gender is grammatical. It is divided into masculine
and feminine, and there is no neuter. The names of males
are all masculine, and of females all feminine. The names
of things and abstractions are either masculine or feminine
according to their termination, the same applying to verbs
when used in a noun form. A noun cannot be feminine
except it ends in "a."

Nouns ending in " e," " i," " o," " u," and consonants
are with the few exceptions of nouns representing the
female sex, masculine.

Those ending in " a " are feminine, excepting those
which represent the male sex and a few others.

The gender of each noun is given later under the plural.

Gender could be ignored as having a separate existence
in a language if there were not other words, such as adjec-
tives and pronouns, modified to agree with the noun
according to the idea it represents. This is strictly so
as regards plural, for, as will be seen in the chapter on the
adjective, no distinction of gender is made in a noun when
in the plural number. For instance —

Mutum nagari good man mache tagari good woman

Mutane nagargaru good men mata nagargaru good women

NOUN 17

Exceptions for Gender

Although there is a gender to every noun, and nouns
ending in " a " are assigned to the feminine gender, there
is a great tendency to classify as masculine many nouns
ending in " a " which are not the names of human beings
or animals. This is especially common with those nouns
which are used for prepositions, and is usually put down
to carelessness in speaking. It is, however, a debatable
point whether carelessness is possible to any appreciable
extent with the mother tongue. It certainly exists with
the written language, but the written form of a language
always differs from the spoken form. The latter is the
mother tongue, and it is learnt naturally much the same
as the other functions of life, and accordingly varies but
little from century to century unless subjected to some
strong foreign influence.

It may therefore be taken that the apparent mistakes
in gender are in reality idioms of the language which admit
of perfect explanation, and their existence may be in
accordance with a more influential rule of the language.

Seeing that it is by the adjuncts alone that the gender
of a noun can be ascertained, the use of the masculine
form for the feminine naturally requires some explanation,
and it is in connection with the preposition " of " (" na,"
"n" for masculine, and " ta," " t," "1," " r," "t" for
feminine) that the greatest uncertainties are found. This
preposition as a copula, it may here be stated, plays a
very important part in the structure of sentences.

The reason for the apparent exceptions that are found
can only be ascribed to the more exigent rules of euphony.
It is a common feature in some languages for words in a
series to be made to agree with each other either in an
initial syllable or in some other way. In Hausa itself this
is found in the pronouns, in which " mini " is found for
" mani," " mumu " for " mamu," etc. ; and grammatical
gender is probably largely assignable to the same reason.1

When, therefore, apparent mistakes in gender are made,
they must be put down to a rule of euphony over-riding a
rule of grammatical gender, the latter being but the offspring
of the former.

1 #ee Languages of West Africa — chapter on Gender

18 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Gentler in Neighbouring Language.*

Hausa together with a few languages to the south and
east of it are the only ones in West Africa which indicate
masculine and feminine gender. In Hausa gender is
further developed than in Angas and Bolanchi — to mention
only two of these languages — and so far as is at present
known the latter only distinguish it in the pronouns, and
not in the adjective as in Hausa. To such an extent is
the gender idea developed in Hausa that adjectives, pro-
nouns, verbs, and prepositions are all under its influence.

A great many other languages in West Africa have a
neuter gender, Avhich distinguishes things from persons
effected by means of the 3rd personal pronoun singular,
but they do not in any way recognise masculine and
feminine gender. Hausa with its neighbouring languages
form, therefore, a little group by themselves as regards
gender.

The sex of living things is distinguished in three ways : —
1. By different words for male and female —

Uba

father

uwa

mother

Uba-n-gi ji

master

uwa-1-gida or

mistress of the house

uworigida

Miji

husband

mata

wife

Mutum

man

mache

woman

Namiji

male

tamata

female

Ango

bridegroom

amaria

bride

Sarmayi

youth

budurua

virgin

elder brother

ya or iya

elder sister

Bunsuru

he-goat

akwia

she-goat

Rago

ram

tumkia

ewe

ToroJ

male elephant

giwa

female elephant

Doki

horse

godia

mare

Rakumi

camel

tagua

female camel

Zakara

cock

kaza

hen

(Other examples will be seen in the tables of plurals.)
2. By adding words representing male or female —
Da-n-gari townsman ya-1-gari townswoman

Da-n-uwa brother ya-l-uwa sister

Zakara-zabi male guinea-fowl zabua female guinea-fowl

NOTE. — " Zabi " is apparently the plural form of the word
" zabua." As the common form of many animals, birds, etc.,

NOUN

is the feminine form, it is to this that the word " male "
(" na-miji ") is added when it is necessary to indicate
the sex. For birds " zakara," cock, is more generally
used,

3. The feminine may be formed from the masculine by
a different termination to the same root. The masculine
may end in any vowel, but the characteristic termination
of the feminine is " a " in the syllable " ia," " ania,"
" nia," or " unia," as —

Anabi
Ba-fulache

prophet
Fula man

anabia
ba-fulata

prophetess
Fula woman

Ba-haushe

Hausa man

ba-hausa

Hausa woman

Ba-ture

white man

ba-turia

white woman

Bara
Barao
Bawa
Da

servant
thief
slave
son or free-

barania
baraunia
bauya or baiwa
diya

female servant
female thief
female slave
daughter or free-

man

woman

Gobro
Jariri
Kane

Mayi

bachelor
infant boy
younger brother
wizard

gobrua
jariria
kanua
mayia

spinster
infant girl
younger sister
witch

Mafauchi

butcher

mafauchia

female butcher

(See further under derived nouns, supra.)

Sariki
Tsofo
Yaro

Alfadari
Babe
Gado
Rare
Maraki \
Marcki /
Sa
San

Safe

chief, king
old man

saraunia
tsofua

boy

yarinia

mule

alfadara

locust

babania

hog
dog

gadonia
kariya

calf

maraka

butt

sania

young horse

safia

morning

safia

king's wife
old woman
girl

female mule
female locust
sow
bitch

female calf

cow
young mare

morning

To these may be added a number of abstract nouns,
which, if formed with the termination " -n-chi " (K) are
masculine, but if with the termination " n-taka " (S)
are feminine —

Yaranchi yarantaka youth

(See list of derived nouns in Part I.)

20 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Common Gender

Some nouns relating to persons are of both genders.
These include most nouns formed with the prefix " mai-,"
as —

Mai-aiki worker Mai-karia liar Mai-gaskia speaker of the

truth

Others with the prefix " mai- " so exclusively represent
the duties of men that they can only be of the masculine
gender, as —
Mai-yaki warrior mai-gona farmer mai-doki horseman

It is to be noted that nouns with the prefix " mai- " are
unchanged for gender, but those with the equivalent
prefix " ma- " take a gender termination.

List of Some Nouns ending in" a" which are Masculine

(Names of human beings and animals of the male sex

are not included).

Baba1

Baka

Baya2

Bisa2

Gaba2

Gida

Guga

Igia

Kama2

Kasa

Kaya

Kusa

Kwaya

greatness

Magana2

speech

bow

Nama

flesh

back

Rana

day (m. and f.) 3

top

Rijia *

well

front

Rua

water

house

Suna

name

bucket

Taberma

mat

rope

Tsaka 2

middle

likeness

Tsofa

old age

ground

Wata

moon and month

load

Yawa

crowd

nearness

Zuma

honey

ear of grain

(See further

under plural forms.)

PART III

NUMBER

There are two numbers in Hausa — the singular and
plural. The plural is formed in a great variety of ways,

1 Commonly used as an adjective.

2 These nouns, though commonly masculine, are also met with in
the feminine gender. When used as prepositions the masculine
gender is commonly preferred.

8 Rana=«ttw is fern.

NOUN 21

and is extraordinarily rich in forms. Many nouns have
as many as four plural forms. Most of these forms were
originally, no doubt, of dialectic origin, but with the spread
of the Hausa language as a lingua franca they have come
to be used indiscriminately or so as to suit the harmony
of the sentence. Some are more commonly used than
others, and it is possible that there are slight distinctions
of meaning, which are now quite disregarded, or, at
all events, rarely paid any attention to. Among such
possible distinctions are the definite as against the indefinite
state, a collective sense as against one that preserves the dis-
tinctions of the individuals, or duality as against plurality.

In the present state of knowledge no etymology offers
itself for any of these plural suffixes.

The plural in any language has probably originated in
one of the following three methods l which, however, often
become greatly corrupted, and when adopted into another
language cease to be recognisable —

1. Reduplication.

2. Addition of an adjective meaning " many " or " all."

3. Addition of the word " they " or " them."

1 . The first method is found in Hausa both in its purity
and also modified. When modified the last syllable of the
word is duplicated, and some change is also made in the
final vowel, as —

Iri-iri from iri kind, sort

Hainyaiyai hainya road

Dakunkuna

Hakukua

Takardodi

Kofofi

Yasosi

daki hut, room

haki grass

takarda paper

kofa door

yasa finger

The reduplication of the last syllable takes the forms
"(b)obi," "(d)odi," «(f)ofi," "(g)ogi," «(k)oki" «(s)osi,"
"(t)oti" or "(t)oshi," " (w)owi," " (y)oyi," etc.

All these terminations must in reality be regarded as
one alone, for the last consonant in the word — that is, the
one in the appended termination — is made to agree with
the last consonant in the stem. This adaptation rather
recalls what is not dissimilar in Wolof and Temne, the

1 See the languages of West Africa — chapter on Plural.

22 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

article in those languages being made to agree consonantly
with the radical consonant in the noun ; and a similar har-
monisation also exists in the Ba-Ntu languages.

2. As regards the second method, there is not a single
one of the many terminations that can be connected with
such words as " many " or "all."

3. As regards the third, the same may be said, though
this method is found in Angas. On the other hand,
in Bolanchi, a language similarly related to Hausa, the
plural forms are as varied almost as they are in Hausa.

The Terminations

The commonest plural termination is " ai," which is
substituted for the last vowel of the noun, as " haske,"
" haskai," light.

Almost all, if not entirely all, nouns taking this ter-
mination can take also the termination " (-)o(-)i," the last
consonant' of the noun which stands before " o " standing
also between " o " and '' i," as " haske," " haskoki."

Further, these same nouns can probably all take the ter-
mination " una," the last vowel of the noun being changed
to " u."

Other terminations are " ni " and " ki," usually added
to nouns ending in "a," as —

wata watani month

rana ranaki day

kwana kwanaki day of twenty-four hours

Nouns ending in " a " will often change " a " into
" u," as—

takarda takardu paper
fitila fitilu lamp

Some nouns add " aye " or " aje," changing the final
vowel to " a " if necessary, as —

Sana sunaye name

Gida gidaje house

Hanu nanaye hand

Kifi kifaye fish

The foregoing are the commonest ways of forming the
plural number, but, as can be seen in the following lists,

NOUN 23

there are a great many other methods, and some nouns
may have several different forms.

Use of Plural Terminations.

TERMINATION TO
UNBROKEN STEM

una

(-)o(-)i

Jc
ye

INANIMATE THINGS
AND ABSTRACT NOUNS

common

used

not used

used

very rare

common
common
common
not used
not used
common
rare

found more frequently than '• je" but not so

commonly used as other terminations
ni used used used

Other plural terminations occasionally met with are
a," and " i," and other variations.

Accent

ai the accent falls on ai — last syllable

una „ u as a rule, but sometimes on the ante-

penultimate syllable

SIMPLE NOUNS — PLURAL

(The form in common use is marked with an asterisk.)
Persons — Common Formation

MASC.

Aboki

Alkali
Almajiri
Ango
Barao

Dogari
Fasiki

FEM.

•O-I

abukia
aimajira

abokai
abokai
alkalai
almajirai

abukiyoyi

baraunia
fasika

barai and
barayi
dogarai
fasikai

anguna

friend

judge

disciple

bridegroom

thief

soldier
2>rojligale

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

MASC.

FEM. AI -O-I UNA ENGLISH

Jagaba

jagabai

guide

Jariri

jarirai

baby

Galadima

galadimai

minister

Hakimi

hakimai

governor,

ruler

Jika

jikata jikoki

grandchild

Kafira

kafirai and

heathen

kafirawa

Kane

kanua kanai kanoni and

young

kanena

brother,

young

sister

kwuyanga kuyangai

female slave.

kwiyanga

In plural

applied to

both sexes

Kisbia

kishiyoyi

rival wife

Kuruma

kurumai

deaf person

Munafiki

munafikai

hypocrite

Musulmi

musulmai

Moslem

Shagiri

shagirai

beardless

person

Sbaida

shaidai shaidodi shaiduna witness

and shaidu

Turdi

turdodi and

snake

turdawa

charmer

Zabiya

zabiyoyi

musician

Zabiya

zabiyoyi

albino,

species

of date

Zarumi

zarumai

bodyguard,

brave man

Zuma or

zumuna friend

zumu

Not used

Anabi

anabawa

prophet

Kafiri

kafirai kafirawa

heathen

Majusi

majusawa

magician

Madugu
Turdi

raadugawa
turdodi turdawa

chief of a caravan
snake charmer

Mafada

mafadawa

counsellor

See also example in par. 1.

Rana duka All day

Sun tafi duka They have all gone

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Predicative Use of the Adjective

The verb " to be " is employed, the form " ne " being
enclitic, as also is its feminine form " che " ; but the
form " ke " is used with a pronoun —

Ni talaka ne
Daki-n-nan kankane ne
Karre da kurege ramamu su ke
Masa - n - nan antoya su ? ii,

toyayu ne
Ba duka mutane su ke miagu ba

/ am poor

This room is small

The dog and the fox were lean

Are these cakes baked ? Yes, they

are baked
Not all men are bad

All adjectives formed with " da," being from their nature
only predicative, the verb " to be " is usually implied.

The form of pronoun that is used is that ending in
"na" for the most part. It is to be noted that in the
negative form the " na " is cast off—

Shina da keao

Suna dabam

Bisa tana da rai tukun

Shina da araha (tsada)

Doki maigudu shina da anfani

kwarai

Ba ni da yungwa
Ba shi da nauyi kama-n-saura-

n-kaya

It is fine (lit., It is with fineness)

They are different

The animal is still alive

It is cheap (dear)

A horse which gallops well is of

great use
I am not hungry
It is not heavy like the rest of the

loads

Circumlocution to avoid Use of Adjectives

In most West African languages it is found that the
number of adjectives is very small.

They are numerous in Hausa, but, nevertheless, many
compound words which are treated as adjectives are
readily divisible into their component parts which are
not adjectives, and any idea that an adjective is being
made use of can be cast aside.

Besides the use of " da," the two commonest methods
in Hausa for expressing the equivalent of the adjective
is the use of the preposition "gare," to, towards, with
a noun, and to use the verb "yi " also with a noun. The

ADJECTIVE

verb "ji," to hear, feel, is also so used, but to a more
limited extent : —

Gare

Abinchi-n-nan zafi gare shi for
Abinchi-n-nan shina da zafi

Zuma dadi gare ta

Mutume-n-wofi ba ya taba fada-
n-gaskia ba, reshi - n - kumia
gare shi

This food is hot

Honey is sweet

A worthless man never speaks the
truth ; he is shameless

Na yi murna
Ya yi mini kunche
Ruanga shina da zafi, bai yi
sanyi ba

Na ji dadi

/ am glad (lit., I make joy)
It is (too) narrow for me
This water is hot, and not cold

I am happy (lit., I feel sweetness)

COMPARISON

The degrees of comparison are expressed by a circum-
locution in Hausa the same as in other languages in West
Africa.

Comparative Degree

1. Use of "fi," surpass, with an abstract noun.

Ya fi ni karifi

Ya fi ni da karifi
Doki ya fi rago girinia
Ya fi shi karami or ya fi
kankanta

shi

Ya fi kowa girima

Daki-n-nan ya fi daki-n-chan

girima

Mi kuna so ya fi wannan ?
Riga-1-nan ta fi wachan keao
Dana ya fi naka tsawo, amma

naka ya fi nawa kauri

Mutum wand a ya bi ta gaskia
ya fi wanda ke
fari-n-zuchia

,-a fi wanda ke ratso hainya

Shi maifadda ne, amma matasa
ta fi shi yawa-n-magana

He is stronger than I (lit.,

surpasses me (in) strength)
(Not so good as the foregoing)
A horse is bigger than a ram
He is smaller than he (The latter
is the more correct usage, " kan-
kanta " being a noun, whereas
" karami " is an adjective)
He is greater than any one
This room is bigger than that

What do you want better than this ?

This coat is better than that

My son is taller than yours, but

yours is stouter than mine
The man who pursues truth is

happier than he who follows

error
He is a quarrelsome man, but his

wife can wrangle more than he

58 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Tafia da rana ta fi tafia da fari- Travelling by day is more tiring

n-wata gajia than travelling by moonlight

Minene ka ke so wanda ya fi What do you want better than this ?
wannan ?

In sentences where in English comparison is expressed
by adverbs, " fi " with an abstract noun is used in
Hausa —

Da-n-chiako-n-zabua ya fi da-n- The young guinea-fowl grows more
chiako-n-kaza samli-n-girima quickly than the young chicken

(sainli - n - girima =quickness of

growth)
Jiki ya fi kune ji (proverb) The body hears better than the ear

Ka fi shi yi-n-chiniki, don You trade better than he, for this
wannan na fi sonka da shi reason I prefer you to him

Note also—
Allah akber da ku God is more powerful than you

2. To compare ideas, not things, the words " gara "
and "guma" ("gwoma") are used; also "gwanda" in a
similar sense in Kano principally —

Gara hakka It is better so

Guma yao da jia Better to-day than yesterday

Da na yi karia gara en mutu / would rather die than tell a lie

Da na amre shi guma mugu-n- Rather than marry him may an evil

chiwo ya kama ni sickness seize me

Da babu wawa gwanda da wawa It is better to have a fool than no

(proverb) one

3. " Better " as applied to health is expressed by the
nouns "dama" and "rongomi" with "ji," to feel.

Ka ji dama ya fi jia ? Do you feel better than yesterday ?

Na ji rongomi yao / feel better to-day

Na ji dama yanzu ; zazabi ya / feel better now ; the fever has left

sake ni me

Ka ji dama kadan ? Do you feel a little better ?

Shi talaka ne, ni ma, ina da He is a poor man, but I have

kurdi da dama money in moderation

4. To express the English "too" with an adjective
several methods are adopted : —

(a) Combination of the material particle " ma "
with the verb " fi," to surpass —

Mafi kunche Too narrow

ADJECTIVE 59

(6) " Yi," to do, followed by the preposition " ma "-

Ya yi mini (for ma ni) wuya It is too difficult for me

Kurdi-n-sa ia yi mini yawa The price is too much for me

The meaning of " very " is equally conveyed —
Tsia ta yi masa yawa He was very poor

Ya fi ni wuya It is too difficult for me

Nauyi - n - kaya - n - nan ya fi This heavy load is too much for my
karifina strength

(d) By the verb " faskare," overcome, etc. —

Ya faskare ni dauka It is too heavy for me to lift (lit.,

It is beyond my strength (to) lift)

Babu abinda ya faskare mutane Nothing is too difficult for the
Engliz English

5. The verb "faye," exceed, is used as an equivalent
for " fi." It may also be translated " very " or " too "

Yara sun faye da worigi The boys were very fond of play

Gidanga ya faye kankanta This house is too small

Ka fayi barikonchi You jest too much

6. "Too" and "very" may also be expressed by the
preposition "gare," towards —

Abinchi-n-nan zafi gareshi This food is hot (implying too

hot to eat)

It may here be observed that where in English words
of a comparative force are used, in African languages
exactly the same meaning is conveyed by merely making a
positive statement, of which the foregoing is an example.

7. " More " used absolutely in English can be expressed
by the noun " kari,' abundance.

Ba na so kari ; ya issa / do not want more ; it is enough

8. "Yi,"do, may also be used in the sense of "equal to"-

K m .1 ta fi (hum's. i karifi-n-jiki, The hyaena is stronger than the
amma ba ta yi ita hanzeri ba leopard, but is not equal to her

in activity

60 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Superlative Degree
The superlative degree is expressed by :—

1. " Fi," to surpass, followed by "duka," all—

Ya fi duka karifi He is the strongest (lit., He excels

all (in) strength)
Mutume - n - nan ya fi duka This man is the cleverest of all

hankali

Allah yi fi duka girima God is the greatest of all

Wannan ya fi duka nauyi This is the heaviest

2. By " gaba-n-duka da," before all—

Yana (or shi ne) gaba-n-duka He is the strongest

da karifi
Shi ne gaba-n-su duka He is the greatest

3. By "gaba ga duka," before all —

Amma Tebib shina da bara, shi But Tebib had a servant who was
ne baba gaba ga baruansa chief of all the servants
duka

4. By " ga," to, only—

Yana (or shi ne) da karifi ga He is strongest
duka

5. A reduplicated form of "fi" is sometimes used in
forming either comparative degree or superlative —

Wannan mafifichi daga wadanan This (is) the best of these

6. The word "very" in English maybe expressed by
" faye," and in other ways as seen under the comparative —
Makafi sun faye talauchi Blind men are very poor

It may also be expressed by reduplication —
Kadan kadan Very little

NUMERALS

The Cardinals
(Those given first are in commonest use)

1 Daia (pronounced generally " dea "), guda

2 Biu

3 Uku

ADJECTIVE 61

4 Fudu (hudu in Katsina dialect)

5 Biar, bial, biat (in Sokoto)

6 Shidda

7 Bokoi. Written bakoi

8 Tokos. Written takos

9 Tara

10 Goma

11 Goma sha daia or, in continuous counting, " sha daia " for short

12 Goma sha biu or sha biu

13 Goma sha uku or sha uku

14 Goma sha fudu or sha fudu

15 Goma sha biar or sha biar

16 Goma sha shidda or sha shidda

17 Goma sha bokoi or sha bokoi

18 Ashirin biu babu or ashirin gaira biu

19 Ashirin daia babu or ashirin gaira daia or babu daia

20 Ashirin, ishirin ; hauya ; laso (S) ; gomia biu

21 Ashirin da daia

22 Ashirin da biu

28 Talatin biu babu

29 Talatin daia babu

30 Talatin; gomia uku; laso da goma ; hauya da goma
40 Arbain ; gomia fudu

50 Hamsin
60 Sittin
70 Sebbain
80 Tamanin
90 Tissain

The foregoing decades can also be constructed with gomia, laso,
and hauya

98 Dari gaira biu ; dari biu babu

99 Dari gaira daia or dari daia babu
100 Dari (deri) ; mia ; minya ; zangu
150 Mia wa hamsin or dari da hamsin
200 Metin; me tain (Not dari biu)
300 Dari uku

400 Arba mia ; arba minya

500 Hamsa mia ; hamsa minya ; dari biar

600 Dari shidda

700 Dari bokoi

800 Dari tokos

900 Alu gaira mia

1,000 Dubu ; alif ; zambar (rare) ; zangu goma
1,100 Alu wa minya
1,200 Alu wa metin
1,300 Dubu (or alif) da dari uku
1,400 Alu wa arba mia
1,500 Alu wa hamsa mia (or minya)
1,600 Dubu da dari shidda
1,700 Dubu da dari bokoi

62 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

1,800 Alfin gaira me tin

1,900 Alfin gaira minya (or mia) ; alfin gaira dari

2,000 Alfin; alfain ; zambar biu (Not dubu biu)

3,000 Talata ; zambar uku

4,000 Arba ; zambar f udu

5,000 Hamsa ; zambar biar

6,000 Sitta ; zambar shidda

7,000 Sebaa ; zambar bokoi

8,000 Tamania ; zambar tokos

9,000 Tessaa ; zambar tara

10,000 Zambar goma

100,000 Zambar dari

200,000 Zambar metin

1,000,000 Zambar dubu : zambar alif

(1) Notes on the Cardinals

Guda. — The word "guda" means head or unit. It is
often used together with the .other numerals below ten, as
well as being used alone instead of "daia," as — "guda
daia" or "guda" simply, 1; "gudu uku," 3; ashirin
da guda biar, 25. (See further under syntax of numerals.)

Goma sha daia, etc. — In counting the "goma" is com-
monly omitted for brevity, a feature which is also found
in most other West African languages where the expres-
sion is too long or cumbersome.

Ashirin biu babu. — The two numbers next below the
decades are expressed by using " babu," nothing or without,
or "gaira," less, as— "talatin daia babu," 29; "dari gaira
biu," 98. This system is also applied to the two decades
below the hundreds after the first hundred, as "metin
gaira ashirin," 180.

Hauya. — The meaning is a score, and it is only used in
counting cowries, as — " hauya biu," 40 ; " hauya uku," 60.

Laso, 20, is also used in counting cowries.

Zangu, 100 — Used in counting cowries.

Gomia. — The pure Hausa plural form of "goma." It
was the form in use before the introduction and common
acceptance of the Arabic forms for all numerals between
20 and 100. It is still preferred among parts of
the population that have come less under the Arabic
influence and are uneducated. The merchants, educated

ADJECTIVE 63

persons, mallams, etc., naturally affect the Arabic forms
for preference.

Kororo. — This word is used south and west of Zaria to
denote a bag containing 20,000 cowries.

Numerals of Arabic Origin. — In some of the higher
numerals the Arabic form has so far taken the place of
the pure Hausa forms that it is quite incorrect to use the
latter, which are obsolete. This applies, amongst others,
to the numerals 200, 400, 900.

Compound Numbers. — The rule for forming compound
numbers is to place the largest numbers first and connect
each succeeding numeral by inserting " da," and, as — " dubu
da dari tokos da ashirin da daia," 1821. The only excep-
tion is that " sha " takes the place of "da " from 11 to 17.

Wa is the Arabic for " and." It is used when all the
numerals are of Arabic origin.

(2) Cardinal Numerals — Gender and Number

The cardinal numerals do not vary for gender, but those
up to ten can take a plural form on rare occasions. The
plurals are : —

Daia none Shidda shidodi

Biu biunai Bokoi bakoa

Uku ukoki Tokos takoshi

Fudu fudodi Tara tarori

Biar biani Goma gomia

(3) Combination of Cardinal Numerals with Personal
Pronouns

Daia-n-mu or daia-mu one of us

Biu-n-mu two of us

Uku-n-mu three of us

Fudu-n-mu four of us

Biani-n-mu five of us

Shidda-n-mu six of us

Bakoa- n-mu seven of us

Takoshi-n-mu eight of us

Tara-n-mu nine of us

Goma-n-mu ten of us

Ashirini-n-mu twenty of us

Hamsini-n-mu fifty of us

64 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Tissaini-n-mu ninety of us

Dari-n-mu or darini-n-mu a hundred of us
Alifi-n-mu a thousand of us

" Ku " you, " su," them, may be substituted for " mu " as necessary,
as —

Daia-n-ku one of you daia-n-su one of them

Biu-n-su two of them

For the numbers above " two," however, it would seem
to be better, and certainly more usual, to use a more
extended phrase, as —

Fudu daga chiki-n-ku four of you

Biu daga chiki-n-mu two of us

Daia-n-su shina chewa wannan One of them was saying this meat

na ma da kiba is fat

When the cardinal number represents the whole of the
assemblage instead of a portion, as above, the suffix " -di "
is added.

Daiadi-n-nan this one

Biudi-n-nan these two

Duka ukudi-n-nan all three of these

Fududi-n-su the four of them

Biardi the five

Shiddadi the six

Bokoidi the seven

Tokosdi the eight

Taradi the nine

Gomadi the ten

Daridi the hundred

Dubudi the thousand

(4) Syntax of Cardinal Numerals

The cardinal numerals usually follow the noun they
qualify. The noun as a rule takes the plural form, though
this is not invariably the practice, and the numeral " two "
especially almost invariably follows the noun in the singular
number.

If the numeral precedes, it on>y does so in such cases as
those given hi the previous paragraph, and " n " is used as
a copulative.

Mutum biu two men

Shina da bindiga da baki biu He has a double-barrelled gun

Ka ani awaki talatin Give me thirty goats

ADJECTIVE 65

Ki kawo mini moda zinaria Bring me a million gold cups

zambar dubu

Ina tamaha mutane da suka / think the people who were caught

kama tare da ni ba su fi ba with me were not more than two

dari biu ko dari uku or three hundred

Na gani taguaye biu anyashie / saw two twin children thrown on

su bisa hainya suna kuka the road crying

Rakuminmu daia One of our camels

Su duka biu sun mutu The two of them died

After such nouns as those compounded with "mai" a
simple noun may be inserted before the numeral —

Masu-gaskia mutum ashirin da daia Twenty-one righteous men

When the noun is qualified by both an adjective and a
cardinal numeral, the numeral may be placed immediately
after the noun with the adjective next, the latter being
treated as in apposition to the noun —

Ido-n-sa daia, mai-girima, ga One of his eyes, a large one, was

tsaka-n-hanchi on the middle of the nose

Muka tafi da barua - n - Tebib We went with two of Tebib's servants,

biu, da bara-n-sariki tare da and with the king's servant, lo-

bawa-n-sa daia, kuruma gether with a slave who was deaf

Guda. — The following are examples of the uses of "guda,"
one —

Guda nawa ? How many ?

Kwoi guda nawa na sayerua ne ? How many eggs are there for sale ?

Guda . . . guda One , . . another

Shi do guda, guda ta tsire (//) he takes one, the other escapes

Guda guda = daia daia One at a time

Daia. — " Daia," when used correlatively, corresponds with
the expression "the one . . . the other "-

Mache daia tana da dukia da- One woman had much property,
yawa, mache daia tana da the other woman had but little
dukia kadan property

" Daia " can also be translated " the same " —

Mu duka muka zamna ga wuri daia We all sat at the same place
Su duka daia ne They are all the same

66 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

" Daia " can never be used independently as a noun as
it may be in English. A concrete noun must always
be added —

Mutum daia shina kora mutum One man is driving two before
biu him

The cardinals can be used as adverbs.

Ya yi kuka daia. Ya yi kuka He cried out once. He cried out
biu twice. This is literally He made

one cry, etc.
Na ji daia daia / understand a little

The verb " to be " is used with numerals as follows —

Kurdinsa ba su dayawa ; zam Its price is not much ; it is
bar dari da hamsin ne 150,000 cowries

( 100,050 =zambar dari da guda hamsin)

5. Etymology of Numerals

Taking the languages of West Africa as a whole, the
commonest system of numeration is on a base of five,
more or less disguised or evident, with the higher numbers
on the basis of twenties (scores).

The Hausa numeration, on the other hand, is purely
denary, like several languages to the southward of it and
to the south-eastward. In Hausa, though the introduction
of the Arabic has dispossessed many of the purely indigenous
names, the older names are still used for counting cowries,
which it is more convenient to deal with in twenties — that
is, the sum of all the fingers and toes, making " one man
complete."

The following are the etymologies of most of the
numerals : —

Daia. — Uncertain and difficult to trace, as is the word
for "one" in very many languages.

Guda. — Compare "gudio" in Doai; "gade" in Bode;
"gadsi" in Ngodsin.

Biu.— Compare " ful " in Ron ; " vul " in Sura ; " bolo "
in Bolanchi ; " vuel " in Montol ; " vel " in Ankwe ; " flo "
in Gurka ; " bab " in Angas.

Uku. — Compare "kun" (" kul ") in Sura "kun" in
Montol, Ankwe, and Gurka ; " kunu " in Bolanchi, Tangale,

ADJECTIVE 67

and Awok; "kwan" in Angas ; "koan" in Ngodsin;
"akoan" in Bode; "ko" in Doai; "kuji " in Buta.

Fudu. — Compare "fudu" in Ngodsin, Doai, and Bode;
"fudi" in Buta; "fodo" in Bolanchi ; "pu" in Ron;
"feir" in Sura; "fer" in Ankwe and Montol; "fier"
in Angas.

Biar.— Compare " beddi " (" badi ") in Bolanchi ; " pad "
("pat") in Sura; "pad" in Montol, Ankwe; "pfad"in
Doai; "fad" in Ngodsin; "pate" in Angas; "puat" in
Tangale and Awok.

Shidda. — Of Arabic origin.

Bokoi (bakoi). — If the numerals seven and eight, as well
as sometimes six and nine, are examined in the languages
mentioned in connection with the foregoing numerals, it
is found that the following syllables represent " five " :
Sura, "po"; Bolanchi, "bau," "bo"; Montol, "pa";
Ankwe, "po," "pu"; Angas, "po." There is in these
syllables some similarity to "ba" in "bakoi," but this
syllable is not found in Hausa in any other numeral. As
to the second syllable in " bokoi," it seems to have no
relationship anywhere.

Tokos. — No sure etymology seems to offer itself for this
numeral either. "To" is the root for "five" in the
BaNtu languages, and "kos" may be connected with
"uku." It would require to be explained, though, how
a BaNtu root should have come in.

Tar a, . — Nothing .

Goma. — Compare "guma" in Ngodsin; "goma" in
Doai ; " guamo " in Tangale.

The decades twenty to ninety are all of Arabic origin,
but little changed.

Dari is a pure Hausa word.

Minya and mia. — Both of Arabic origin.

Zangu. — Uncertain.

Metin and metain. — Arabic.

Dubuis also found in Kanuri as "dubu"; "debu" in
Teda, Bagirmi, Longone, Mandara ; and "thba" in Coptic.

Alif. — Arabic.

Ziambar. — Compare " diomber " in Songhay.

A Ifin.— Arabic.

68 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

OBDINAL NUMBERS

The ordinal numbers are formed by prefixing the
genitive particle to the cardinals, "na" for the masculine,
"ta" for the feminine (there being no plural), with one
exception.

This exception is " the first," and, as is customary in most
languages, West African included, it is not formed from
the word " one." In Hausa the word " na-fari " is derived
from the verb "fara," to begin —

MASC. FEM. ENGLISH

na-fari ta-fari first

na-biu ta-biu second

na-uku ta-uku, etc. third

As in other West African languages, after "ten," when
the numerals become compound words, the ordinal form is
commonly dropped, and the cardinals are reverted to.

Connected with the ordinal numbers and formed in the
same way are some adjectives —

MASC. FEM. ENGLISH

Na-baya ta-baya last

Na-gaba ta-gaba foremost

Na-tsaka ta-tsaka middle

Na-bisa ta-bisa upper

Na-kasa ta-kasa lower

Also

Farko first Karshe last

Examples of Syntax of Ordinals

Na zamna ga wurina na-fari / sat down in my place first

Mutum uku su tashi, biu daga Let three men get up, two of them

chiki-n-su su dauko rua, na- to draw water, the third one to

uku-n-su shi nemo itache fetch wood

Farko-n-dawaki The first of the horses

Karshe- n-dawaki The last of the horses

Da sunka ketare daia, biu, a When they had crossed one, two, at

na-uku sunka issa wuri-n-kasa the third they reached dry land

Yaro ya yi sukua rakumi so- The boy galloped the camel three

uku, a na-fudu ya tafo ya times, at the fourth he came, he

dauki yarinia ya ajieta bisa took up the girl, he put her on

rakuininsa his camel

ADJECTIVE 69

ADVERBIAL NUMBERS OR MULTIPUCATIVES

These are formed by prefixing to the cardinals "so,"
or, as it is sometimes pronounced, " sau " —

So-daia once So-biu twice So-uku three times

So-goma ten times So-dari hundred times

Derivation

This seems to be the same word as " sau," foot-print or
sole of the foot, and so in combination with the numerals
it acquires the idea of a step. Compare the corresponding
use in Twi of " peng," a stroke ; in Mende " heima," sitting
down; in Angas " shi," a foot : all of which go to prove
that " so " is a noun.

Syntax

So-daia kuma Once again

So-nawa ka tafi Sokoto ? Na How often have you been to Sokoto ?

tafi Sokoto so-uku / have been to Sokoto three times

Uku-uku biu nawa ke nan ? Twice three are how many ?

DISTRIBUTIVES

The distributive numerals are formed by repeating the
cardinals —

Ya kedaya shilling goma gotna He counted them out by ten shillings

(Kedaya (S)=kirga (K))

Ya bada riguna biar biar ga He gave five cloths to each of the

yara-n-sariki chief's sons

Ya aikesu biu biu He sent them two by two

Ya bada daia daia ga kowane- He gave one to each of them

n-su

Kada ka kirga kurdinka shidda Do not count your cowries in sixes

shidda, kirgasu biar biar count them in fives

I'.iasn dubu dubu Pay them a thousand each

Examples akin

Nawa nawa ? How many each f

Guda nawa T How many f

Kwoi guda nawa na saycrua How many eggs are there for sale ?

ne ?

Nawa nawa anasayerua T (or How much are they sold for each f

akesayesda su)

70 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Nawa anasayesda su ? How much are they (as a whole) ?

Ni kan ba ma-aikitana kurdi / give my servants two hundred and

metin da hamsin hamsin fifty cowries each daily

kwana daia daia

Massara kurdinsa goma sha bial Indian corn is fifteen cowries a-piece

sha bial ne kwanaki-n-damana in the wet season

Doiya guda nawa ka sayo ? Ta How many yams did you buy ?

dari uku a baki - n - hamsin Three hundred cowries' worth at

hamsin fifty (cowries each)

It will be noticed from the above sentences that in
repeating the numeral to form the distributive idea, if it
is compound only the latter part is repeated.

FRACTIONAL NUMBERS

These are, with the exception of " a half," borrowed
from the Arabic, and are rarely used.

" Half " is expressed by " shashi," of which the etymology
is not known, or "rabi," from "raba," to divide. Each
of these words may be translated by " a part " instead of
an exact " half," and this is found to be also the case in
many other West African languages.

The fractions of Arabic origin are —

Sulusi a third

Rubui a fourth, a quarter

Humusi a fifth

Sudusi a sixth

Subui a seventh

Sumuni or tumuni an eighth

Tusui a ninth

Ushuri a tenth

The plurals are " sulusai," " rubuai," " ushurai," etc.

All these numbers can be expressed by a circumlocution,
which is always resorted to for fractional parts smaller
than a tenth.

One-eleventh = daia (or guda) chiki-n-goma sha daia
One-twelfth = daia (or guda) chiki-n-goma sha biu
One- thirteenth = daia (guda) chiki-n-goma sha uku
Three-sevenths =subuai uku

" A tenth " as applied to a tithe or land tax is called
" zaka."

ADJECTIVE 71

Syntax

Ya bani sashi He gave me half

Sun bani sashi- n-uku They gave me the third part

Na raba shi uku, na ba kowa I divided it into three parts, I gave
rabo-n-sa each his portion. (Note, in this

the cardinal is used)
Mun yi tafia shashi-n-rana We travelled half the day

CHAPTER IV
THE PRONOUN

The pronoun is divided into the following classes : —

1. Personal.

2. Relative.

3. Demonstrative.

4. Interrogative.

5. Indefinite.

6. Reflexive.

7. Emphatic.

8. Reciprocal.

1. THE PERSONAL PRONOUN

The personal pronoun shows gender, number, and case.

(1) Gender. — This is distinguished in the 2nd and 3rd
persons singular only. All the other persons, singular and
plural, are of common gender.

(2) Number. — The plural pronouns are indicated by
different words from the singular, and are not formed from
the singular by the addition of regular plural terminations.
The 2nd person is, however, possibly an exception.

(3) Case. — The vocative is distinguished in the 2nd
person singular, as "kai!" masc., "ke!" fern., though
these are in reality only the disjunctive forms of the
personal pronoun. The objective case has different forms
from the nominative in the singular, but not in the plural.
The genitive case is formed in all persons except the 1st,
by the use of the preposition "of" "n" ("na") masc.,
" t " (" ta ") fern., with phonetic variation, as a prefix

PRONOUN

to the objective form. The 1st person singular has a
separate form, as will be seen. The dative is formed
with the preposition "ma" to the objective form.

Special Uses of the Personal Pronoun

The 3rd personal pronoun is used in Hausa not only
as a substitute for the noun, but also as a necessary
complement to it when nominative. It thus assists to
identify the gender of the noun. The tense of the
verb is also dependent upon the pronoun, which takes
different forms, either with or without the assistance of
particles.

Tabular Statement of the Various Forms of Personal Pronoun

SING.
1

2(m.)
2(f.)
3(m.
3(f.)

PLTT.
1
2
3

SING.

2(m.)
2 £.)

3(m.)

3(f.)
PLTT.
1

ni, nia 1
kai
ke
shi
ita

mu
ku

B
ni

ka ; kai

shi ; sa ; i

mu
ku
su

C D

na na

ka ka

ki kin

ya; i (ye) ya,

ta ta

mu
ku

kana
kina

shina ; yana ; :
yina, yena

tana

Minna
kuna
suna

ka
kika
ya, yeka

mun
kun
sun

naa, na; ni

(Sokoto)
kaa, ka
kii, k!

sli ii, shi

yaa, yfi

tail, tfl

munka ; muka 3 muu, mu also
lima, ML.

kunka ; kuka kuu, ku also
kua

sunka ; suka suu, su also sua,

1 " Nia" is interrogative. See under interrogative pronouns.

2 " Yana " is commonly written, but rare in conversation.
a " Munka" is of Sokoto origin ; " muka " of Kano origin.

SING.
1

2(m)
2(f.)
3(m.)
3(f.)

PLTJ.
1

2
3

SING.
1

2(m.)

2(1.)

3(m.)

3(f.)

PLIJ.
1

2
3

H I

-na -ta

-n-ka- -r-ka ; -1-ka or -t-ka

-n-ki -r-ki; -1-ki, etc.

-n-sa ; -n-shi -1-sa ; -1-shi

-n-ta 1-ta

-n-mu -1-mu

-n-ku -1-ku

-n-su -1-su

K L

tawa mani, mini, mana

taka maka, ma

taki maki, miki

tasa ; tai. tashi masa; mashi;

mis hi ; mai

tata mata

nawa

naka

naki

nasa; nashi; nai

nata

nainu
naku
nasu

ni na
kai ka
ke ki
shi ya

ita ta

tamu

taku
tasu

m a m u ;
muna :

m u m u
mana

maku ; muku

masu ; musu

munka

kunka
su

sunka

I. "1," "t," "r," are interchangeable for euphony.

H and I. The copulative may be omitted.

3rd person " sa " is of Kano origin ; " shi " of Bornu
origin. Both are in general use, but " i " is more
commonly heard in Sokoto and Katsina.

In Kano "mass" is heard for "masa"; "tass" for
"tasa," etc.

Uses of Foregoing Forms

Used in answer to question " who ? "

Simple form.

A. Disjunctive.

B. Objective.

C. Used with aorist tense.

D. Used with past tense.

E. Continuous tense, usually present. It
special verb construction which is examined
verb.

P. Used with narrative perfect tense.
G. Used with future (i.).

entails a
under the

PRONOUN

H. Possessive inseparable, when thing possessed is
masculine.

I. Possessive inseparable, when thing possessed is
feminine.

J. Possessive separable when thing possessed is masculine.

K. ,, „ ,. feminine.

L. Dative.

M. Reduplicated.

Example of Possessive Pronoun in Combination with Noun

Plu. ubanena
ubanenka
ubanenki
ubanensa
ubanenta
ubanenmu
ubanenku
ubanensu

uwayena

uwayenka

uwayenki

uwayensa

uwayenta

uwayenmu

uwayenku

uwayensu

Notes

(1) In "uwalka," etc., for "1" with other nouns "r" or
"t" may be used for euphony. In these forms "n" is
often substituted for " t " or its variants if the possessor
is a man. It seems as if there is an objection on the
part of a man to apply a feminine form to himself, however
correct gramatically. A similar disinclination is observ-
able in other languages, as in French when after " son
excellence" "elle" would be strictly correct, but the
tendency is to revert to " il " at the first possible
opportunity.

(2) Forms without copulative. These are in common
use, and are a reversion to the statement of the possessive
phase by words in apposition only, as has been discussed

My father

ubana

Your (m.) father

ubanka

ubaka

Your (£.) father

ubanki

ubaki

His father

ubansa

ubasa

Her father

ubanta

ubata

Our father

ubanmu

ubamu

Your father

ubanku

ubaku

Their father

ubansu

ubasu

My mother

uwata

Your (ra.) mother

uwalka

uwaka

Your (t.) mother

II W. tiki

uwaki

His mother

uwalsa

uwasa

Her mother

uwalta

uwata

Our mother

uwalmu

uwamu

Your mother

uwalku

uwaku

Their mother

uwalsu

uwasu

76 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

under the noun. Or it may be that both " n " and " t "
have been modified for euphony into "r," which after
long "a" is scarcely heard.

(3) The possessive pronoun is incorporated in the word,
and the accent is thus moved to the new penultimate' —
as, "ubanmu," "uwasa," "ubanensu."

Syntax of Personal Pronouns — Nominative

1. The pronoun agrees with the subject with which it
is in apposition in person, gender, and number —

Yaro ya gani The boy sees

Yara ba su gani mutum ba The boys do not see the man

Mache ta tafo The woman comes

Mata ba su tafo ba The women do not come

2. The same rule is observed when there are more than
two predicates belonging to the same subject.

Kura ta tafo, ta kawo nama, ta The hycena came, she brought meat,

bayes ga dianta, da ita kua she gave it to her offspring, and

ta taba kadan she too tasted a tittle

Namiji ya kama babe, ya dar- The man caught a locust, he tied it

ime shi, ya aje up, he laid (it) aside

3. Two or more nouns in apposition are followed by
a pronoun in the plural —

Yaroda ubansasuna zuafarauta The boy and his father are going

(lit., coming) hunting

Yarinia du uwata, su duka biu, The girl and her mother, both of
zuchiansu ta bache them, their heart was broken

The omission of the 3rd personal pronoun is very rare
except (1) in poetry or proverbs ; (2) before " na," i.e.,
"shina," etc., are shortened to "na"; (3) with the verb
"to be," "ke" or "ne"—

Yaro-n-nanyache bawa-n-sariki The boy said the chief's slave had

ke (or shi ke) da doki the horse

Gama kafirawa kan yerda suabo Because the heathen believe in evil

(poetic) (non-religion)

Yarona na da mirda-n-chiki, ba My boy has gripes, he cannot ease

shi iya baya-n-gida himself

Wuyana na yi mini zogi My neck hurts me

PRONOUN 77

Rashi-n-tuo kan chi wake ak Having no " tuo" one must eat beans
wana before going to bed (" Tuo "

is a sort of porridge of guinea
corn — a staple dish.)

Wani machiji baki na nan A black snake was lying there
kwanche

Combination of pronouns —
Mu je da ni Let us go, you and I

Examples of Syntax of Possessive Pronoun

INSEPAEABLE

Diarku Your (plu.) daughter

Abi-na My thing (i.e., my property)

Ya-r-uwamu Our sister

Zuchiata ba ta so ba wari-n-rua (lit., my heart) did not like the smell

of the water
Mata-r-wanene ke nan ? Matata Whose wife is this ? She is mine

che

Enna abokinka ? Where is your friend ?

Ka zamna ga hanu-n-damana Sit at my right hand
Mugu-n-gatarinka ya fi sare ka A bad axe is better than an offer to

bani (proverb) cut (lit., Your bad axe is better

than the cutting you give me or
will do for me)

Garinsu ba da giritna ba Their town was not large

Kada ku kafa gida - n - zane - Do not pitch my tent there

na nan
Enna matanka ? Where is your wife ?

Although " mata " is feminine, "n" is commonly used.
The more correct use is " mata-ka " or " mata-r-ka." If the
meaning were " Where are your women ? " " mata," being
the plural of " mache," " n " would be correctly used. As
will, however, be seen under prepositions, there is a tendency
to use the masculine form "na" and to ignore the
feminine.

SEPARABLE

Ya tasa His sister

Ka bani nawa Give me my own

Ni baka naka / shall give you yours

Suka che, na wani nc ? ta che They said Whose is it ? She said
masu, naau duka to them, For all of you

78 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Mache ta che, yariniata tana da The woman said, my daughter is
keao, taki ba ta da keao ba beautiful, (but) yours is not

beautiful

Akwia nan tawa che The goat is mine

Gidanga naku ko nasu ne ? Ba 7s this house yours or theirs ? It
namu ba ne is not ours

Tamu che It is ours (i.e., a thing of feminine

gender)

Kowa ya chi shinkafa-r-ranche Whoever eats borrowed rice it is hit
tasa ya chi (proverb) own he eats

Suka tashi da ita da baiwa tata They arose both she and her slave

Instead of the possessive or genitive case the dative
may be found —

Chiawa da ka rena ita ta kan The grass you despise may pierce
tsokane maka idanu (proverb) your eyes

Plural Possessive Pronouns

It has been seen that in the adjective there is no
distinction of gender in the plural number. The same
applies to the possessive pronouns. Nouns which are
feminine in the singular are therefore without gender
in the plural.

The following examples illustrate this —

Mata tasa His wife

Mata-n-sa His wife and also his wives

Dokata My command

Dokokina My commands

Kafa tasa His leg

Kafafu-n-sa His legs

Mata tasa ta bata amre His wife spoilt her marriage, i.e.,

broke her marriage vows

Mata-n-sa suka beri shi His wives left him

Other examples of the possessive pronoun, and some
of its idiomatic uses, are given under the preposition " na."
The objective pronoun follows the verb —

Ya ba ni He gave it me

Ka ba ni dana Give me my child

Na ba ka / give (it) you

Sai ya gani kai Until he saw you (with emphasis

on " you ")

Na son kai / like you

Mu kama shi We caught him

PRONOUN 79

Muna kama-n-sa We are catching him

Kura ta bi shi The hycena followed him

Kura tana bi-n-sa The hycena is following him

Rana duka ina nema-n-sa, ban All day I am seeking him, I do not
same sa ba find him

The peculiar construction that follows the verbal pronoun
ending in " na " is to be observed. It is more fully
examined under the verb, but it may be here mentioned
that a noun form of the verb is produced thereby, which
requires for its full amplification that a possessive pronoun
be added. The above sentences are therefore literally
we (are) of-his-catching, or "on" for "of," etc.

The objective pronoun 3rd person singular is often
omitted where it can be readily understood from the
context, and also in poetry —

Mache ta manche danta chiki-n- The woman forgets her child in the

daji; kura ta gani, ta dauka, bush; the hycena saw (it), took

ta kai, ta boye (it), carried (it), (and) hid (it)

Giso ya dauka sanda-sa, ya aje The spider took his stick, he laid

kiisa kansa (it) close to his head

Kawo kori-n-ka, kawo baka-n- Bring your bows and arrows if such

ka en ta wada ma (ma = maka) are your treasured possessions

Indirect Object for Direct Object in English

Ya bada mani = ya ba ni He gave me

Su bayes garesa = su ba shi They gave him

This is because these forms of the verb, as shown in
the chapter on the verb, only admit of an indirect object.

Combination of Personal Pronouns

When two pronouns are combined the first is in the
plural number, and they are connected with " da," and.
With the exception of the connecting link, this idiom is
found as far off as the Mende language —

Gobe mu tafi da kai en gani To-morrow you and I will go and see

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

2. RELATIVE PRONOUNS

Simple form without copulative —
m., f., and plu. da

,, with copulative —

masc. and plu. -n-da,

fern. -r-da

Compound —

masculine wanda

feminine wadda

plural wadanda

The short and the long forms are commonly inter-
changeable to suit the euphony or emphasis of a sentence.
In the short form the copulative preposition "n," of, may
be inserted or omitted, euphony being here also the
principal influence —

Mutum wanda shina zua or The man who is coming

Mutume-n-da shina zua
Mache wadda tana zua or The woman who is coming

Mache da tana zua
Mutane wadanda suna zua or The people who are coming

Mutane-n-da suna zua
Doki da ya gudu ya fadi or The horse that ran away fell

Doki-n-da ya gudu ya fadi

For " abu wanda," the thing which, the abbreviated form
is the one in common use — " abinda."

Objective Case

In the objective case a pronoun may or may not follow
the verb —

Abinda na gani zani fadi or What I have seen I will relate

Abinda na ganishi zani fadi
Dakinda ankagina ya rushe jia or The house which was built collapsed

Dakinda ankagina shi ya rushe yesterday

jia
Akwia da ka gani or Akwia-r-da The goat which you saw

ka gani

PRONOUN 81

Addition of Personal Pronoun

When the relative pronoun is used with a noun in the
nominative case it is followed by the personal pronoun
the same as is the simple noun —

Yaro wanda ya gudu The boy that ran away

Exceptions are found —

Ita che da ke yin hankali ga She it was who was kind to the
bayi slaves

Etymology

A clue to the etymology of the relative pronouns is
furnished by the optional use of the personal pronoun
in the objective case in such a sentence as —

Mutum wanda ka nemeshi for The man whom you sought
mutum wanda ka nema

In most West African languages the relative pronoun is
absolutely non-existent, or at least very poorly indicated,
co-ordinate sentences being universally used. If, there-
fore, from this analogy " da " be no more than the con-
junction "and," Hausa furnishes an example of a language
in which the primitive construction is in use side by side
with the more advanced which has been developed from
it. Accordingly, the above quoted sentence can be trans-
lated in the form in which the objective pronoun is used —
Mutum da ka nemeshi The man and you seek him

This is also shown in the following sentence —

Da kaya da mu ke da su And the loads which we have
Mashi - n - nan da na soki The spear with which I pierced
ubanki da shi your father

What the " wa " in the longer forms may mean exactly
is obscure, but it is the same word as is found in the
lengthened forms of the demonstrative pronouns and in
the indefinite pronouns. That it has an independent

82 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

value is seen from studying the action of the genitive
copulative embodied in the words.

In "wa-n-da," the masculine form, "n," i.e., "na,"
remains unchanged as it must when following words
having a masculine meaning.

In "wa-d-da," "wa" seems to acquire a feminine
meaning from the word in the feminine gender which
it follows. The "n" therefore becomes a modification
of "t," as "1" or "r," etc. "Wadda" is therefore
derived from " wa-l-da," or " wa-t-da," etc., and the
intervening additional consonant has the effect of ensuring
that the vowel of " wa " shall be short as it is in " wadda."

In the plural, which is of course the same for both
genders, the same peculiar plural termination " da " is
found which is also found in the demonstrative pronouns,
"^adanda" is therefore composed of "wa-da (da=plu.
suffix) -n-da."

The plural form "wadanda" is contracted in Katsena
and Sokoto to " wa'anda," and in Kano and Zaria to
" wanda."

Further Examples

Nominative relative, long form, dependent —

Fada wanda ba ka iya ba amaisai The fight which you find too much

wasa (prov.) for you turn into play

Abubua chan wadanda na ga The things that I see moving yonder,

motsinsu, ko birayi ne ko are they monkeys or dogs ?

karnuka ?

Abinda na gani, wanda ya fi In my opinion the best thing for us

anfani sai niu tail to do is to go

Objective relative, long form, dependent —

Abinchi wanda shi ke so The food he likes

Matatai daia wadda ya ke so One of his wives whom he loved

Ba su kashe mutume nan wanda They do not kill the man who stole

ya sache doki the horse

Dambaria ya chainye gutsiata The mouse has eaten my nuts which

wadda ni ke so-n-chi gobe / wanted to eat to-morrow

Short form nominative dependent —

Abinda ba naka ba ne, kaka The thing that is not yours how
zaka bayes T can you give it away ?

PRONOUN 83

Short form, objective, dependent —

Wani gari ne da uwaka zata Where is the town to which your
kaika ? mother is going to take you ?

Riga-n-da ka bani ta tsofa The. coat which you gave me is old

Ya tafi gari-n-nan da ya soki He went to that town where he
sariki ya mutu stabbed the chief so that he died

Sun goda masa bayinda suka They showed him the slaves which
kama they had caught

Ba ni da rakuma da zan baka / have no camels to give you

Independent form nominative —

Wanda kana yi masa alheri, shi He to whom you do kindness and

ko, ya kan ki yi - n - godia, he refuses to be grateful is a boor
butulu ne (prov.)

Wanda ya sayemu daga Bornu He who bought us in Bornu

Independent form objective —

Ta basu rua da faraufarau She gave them water which was very

clear
Ina so wanda uwaka ta ba ka / want that which your mother gave

(Sokoto) you

Ba ni da wanda uwaka ta baka, / have not that which your mother
sai ina da wanda wana ya bani gave you, I have only that which

my elder brother gave me

Mata-m-Bornu aikinsu daia ko As to the women of Bornu there is
nan wanda na sani one kind of work they do which

I know

Two co-ordinates sentences may be substituted for
the use of the relative —

Ga jirigi, suanene suna chiki ? See that boat, who are in it f for

Who are in the boat which I see ?

Use of " mai- "—
Mu masuaiki mugunta We who work iniquity

3. DEMONSTRATIVE 1*110 NOUN

The demonstrative pronoun has two forms. One stands
before the noun and the syllable " wa " enters into its

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

composition ; the other follows the noun and is the same
word less the " wa."

FORM STANDING BEFORE THE NOUN FORM FOLLOWING

MASC. FEM. MASC. FEM.

-n-nan, n-ga -1-nan, -1-j
-r-ga

This wannan wa-nan

wa-ga,
wanga wa-r-ga

These wada-n-nan wada-n-nan -n-nan, -nga -n-nan, -nga

wadanga wadanga

That wa-n-chan wa-chan, -n-chan -1-chan,

wa-r-chan r-chan

Those wada-n-chan wada-n-chan -n-chan -n-chan

INDEFINITE PLURAL
wada wada

Examples

This horse wannan doki doki-n-nan

wanga doki dokinga

This mare wanan godia-1-nan

godia godia-1-ga

waga godia

These horses wadannan dawaki dawaki-n-nan,

wadanga dawaki dawaki-nga

These mares wadannan godiyoyi-n-

godiyoyi, nan,

wadanga godiyoyi-

godiyoyi nga

That horse wanchan doki doki-n-chan

doki chan

Other Examples

Litafi-n-nan, litafinga CHAN hainya-r-chan

Mutane-n-nan yaro-n-chan

Mache-nan

Mutume-n-nan, mutumenga mutume-n-chan

Kofalga

Abi-n-nan abi-n-chan

Kasanga

PRONOUN 85

Etymology

"Nan," "chan," and "ga" are the equivalents of the
adverbs " here " and " there." That they are not adverbs
at all in Hausa may be deduced from their employment.
They are in fact nouns, and are treated as such. Hence
the copulative " n " ; so that literally translated —

Litafi-n-nan, litafi-n-ga mean the book of this place
Litafi-n-chan „ the book of that place

Riga-1-chan ,, the coat of that place

The same construction is in " wa-n-nan," and " wa-n-ga,"
though what "wa" may be precisely requires further
examination.

As has been explained under nouns, the copulative may
be omitted, leaving the two nouns in apposition. Hence
the following equivalents are equally correct —

Wanan for wannan Litafi nan for litafi-n-nan

Riga chan for riga-1-chan

When it sounds better the copulative is commonly
omitted.

The fact that " nan " and " chan " are nouns is further
borne out by their uses with predicates.

" Shina nan." He is at this place. Compare " shina
gida." He is at home. It is to be noted that whenever
a verb has to be placed after the pronoun ending in " na,"
the verb becomes a substantive. This is explained under
the verb.

That " nan " is not an adverb of place is still further
borne out in the phrase "shi ke nan," so it is.

These words " nan " and " chan " are probably in them-
selves compound words. The parts "na" and "cha"
represent present and distant position. " N " is a
formative suffix of some kind. It may be connected with
the locative suffix of Kanuri, also "n," or it may be the
preposition " n," of, with a somewhat different usage.
That the final "n" is variable and separable is borne
out by one example " miji-nal-mata " in a poem called
"Mutane zina " (footnote given in Charlton's "Hausa
Reading Book").

86 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

From the foregoing it can be seen that any change for
gender depends on the copulative alone, but in the long
forms "wanga," "wa-ga," or "wa-r-ga" it is not quite
apparent why/ there should be any change, as the gender
of the copulative depends upon the unchanged preceding
syllable or word "wa."

Remarks on Usages, etc.

The longer are naturally more emphatic than the shorter.

" Nga " is a dialectic variation of " nan."

" Wanga," " waga" are Sokoto and Zanfara forms.

"Wainen" (masc.) and "wai'en" (fern.) are Katsina
forms of " Wannan," etc., to which place they are rather
strictly confined.

" Wankai " is a Zaria form for " wanchan," without
inflection for gender used by the " talakawa Zaria."

Examples of Syntax

Wannan mutum talaka ne This man is poor

Ki koiya mani waka nan Teach me that song

Yaronga shina *yin fada That boy is fighting

Whilst "chan" expresses strongly distance "nan" is
commonly indefinite.

Dokinga nika ba na iya sayinsa This horse of yours I cannot buy it

Ba na so-n-chi-n-tuo-n-nan / cannot eat that food

Masu-kaya biunga su sake ka- These two carriers have changed

yansu their loads

In the translation of the Lord's Prayer " nan " is given
an emphatic use, as, " Ka ba niu rananga abinchi-n-yao
da gobe." Give us this day our daily bread.

Mu wadanan uku anhaifc mu ga We three were born at the same

gari daia place

Da ya tashi dawuri wadanan Had he started early the horsemen

masudawaki dfi ba su tar- would not have overtaken him

sheshi ba

(In the last sentence " wadanan " is essentially weak.)
•

PRONOUN 87

Abubua nan These things

Yaranga suna yi-n-fada Those boys are fighting •

Ya rasulu allahi deddi fadi shi 0 prophet! it wa/ God's saying of

ke wada suka kada maulana — old that those 'who despised the

master —

Mu gani kaka aboki nan n?wa We see how this* my friend if he

en ya zo ya ji tsoro comes will be afraid

Kurdi kadan nan ne This money is not enough (is small)

Na baka dia nan tawa / give you this my daughter

In many of its usages the demonstrative "nan" has
very little demonstrating power as regards place. It is
more easily translated by the definite article in English.

In this way some compensation is made for an apparent
deficiency in the Hausa language. In Kanuri it is also
found that a weakened demonstrative does duty for a
definite article.

Mutume-n-nan da ya manche The man who forgot his stick has

sandansa ya dawoyo come back

Ta dauki hazi nan She took the millet

Labaringa ke nan (Sokoto) This is the news
Labarin ke nan (Kano and Zaria)

Abinnan yana wurina The thing is with me

Amma Bitrus ya tashi tsaye But Peter stood up with the eleven

tare da goma sha daia-n-nan

Correlatives

" Wannan . . . wannan " and " -nan . . . -nan " ; are
equivalent to " this . . . that " —

Ka so wannan litafi ko wannan 1 Do you like this book or that ? (
Wannan and nan for wannan . . . wannan

Wannan ba nan ba ni ke so This not that I want

Wannan mutum ba nan ba ni / want this man, not that

ke so

Other Examples

En wannan ba ya yi maka dadi // this does not please you, perhaps

ba, halama wanchan ya yi that will

Zabua nan ta yi kwoi goma sha This guinea fowl laid thirteen eggs

uku bar ta dena, wachan ma and has ceased ; that one how-

tana nema-n-guribi ever is seeking a place to lay in

88 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Wannan can be used independently as a noun —

Wannan ya kare This has finished

Wannan ba na so shi ba This (man) I do not like him

Wannan ne wayo da na baki This is the advice which I give you

Wannan barao ne This is a thief

Wannan namiji ba mache ne This is a male not a female

Wanene wannan a kof a-r-dakina Who is that at the door of my

house ?

FINAL "N"

It may here be noticed that a final "n" is sometimes
added to nouns, especially at the end of a phrase or sentence.
It is not a firmly expressed "n," and is somewhat nasal.
It is possibly primarily euphonic, but it commonly has
the effect of expressing emphasis, and so puts the noun
into the definite state, or, in other words, it has the effect
of the definite article. Its use is optional.

This final "n"was not recognised by the older writers
on Hausa, possibly because it is more commonly used in
the centres of the Hausa country to which they had not
access, and because it is more apparent in writing than
in speaking.

As it is a detail of the language that has received much
discussion of late, it may be here stated that a not
dissimilar use of "n" is found in at least one other
West African language. In far distant Temne, for in-
stance, "ng" occurs at the end of some pronouns and
adverbs to make a convenient termination when they
are used at the end of a preposition or absolutely.
Also as an extension of this use it expresses emphasis.
It is, however, quite distinct from the article which is
a prefix in that language. If, therefore, this use of "n"
exists in one other language besides Hausa, there will
undoubtedly be found other languages which have a
similar practice.

This "n" in Hausa is not to be confused with the
preposition "of." The latter is often written at the end
of a noun when in reality it is connected with the
noun that follows. Writing it attached to the first of
two nouns is merely a convention. It must, however,

PRONOUN 89

be added that in some instances it is hard to say whether
the "n" is really the preposition or the special "n"
here referred to —

Uban ya che da keao The father said, all right

Ya che da uban He said to the (or his) father

Ya fita a garin He left the town

Daga bayan Musa ya yi yaki After this (or behind them) Musu

made war

Ban sami maganin ba / did not find the medicine

Duka garin ba mache maikeao In the whole town there was no

kama tata woman as beautiful as she

Ya tafo ga wurin enda machiji He went to the place where the snake

shi ke was

Ya che da matan kun gama aiki- He said to the women, have you

n-abinchin ? finished preparing the food ?

Mutumen ya che da sariki The man said to the chief

With Words other than Nouns

Domin ta hanbare ka ga addini That it may kick you away from

religion

Ku yi abinchi " iri-iri " kamin Make ready every kind of food
en zo before I come

Examples of the absence of final " n " are numerous
in this grammar.

4. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN

The following pronouns are used in asking questions : —
Independent Forms

SINGULAR PLURAL

MASC

FEM. MASC.

FEM

Who, which
What

wa,
wane,
wanene
mi,

wa,
wache,
wacheche

suwa,
suwane,
suwanene

mine.

minene

Attached Forms

Which

wane

wache

wadane

Etymology. — The longer forms are made up with the
masculine and feminine forms of the verb " to be " suffixed

90 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

to "wa" and duplicated in the longest forms for
emphasis.

Plural. — The plural of the independent forms is made
by the personal pronoun " su," they, prefixed to the stem
" wa." This use of "they" to form the plural of nouns, etc.,
is found in other languages in West Africa, and is dis-
cussed in the chapters on the plural and the pronoun in
" The Languages of West Africa."

Independent Forms. — When used independently before a
verb they require the 3rd personal pronoun as if they
were nouns. Where the latter is omitted the reasons
are the same as those given for the nouns under personal
pronouns.

Examples of Syntax

(MASCULINE FORMS)

Wa ke chan ? or Wane ke chan ? Who is there ?

Wa ka ke ? or Wane ka ke ? Who are you ?

Kai wanene ? Who are you ?

Wa ya yi wannan ? Who has done this ?

Wane ya yi wannan ? Who has done this ?

Mutume-n-nan, wanene ? Who is this man?

En ji wa Let me hear who! i.e , who says

so ? This is in answer to the
summons, " wai ka zo," you are
told to come

Wanene wannan ? Who is this ?

Wanene chiki-n-su ? Which of them ?

Wanene (or wane) shina iya Who can buy it ?

saiyensa ?

Chiki-n-ku wa ke zua farauta da Which of you is coming hunting

ni ? with me ?

Wa ya fada maka labari nan ? Who has told you this news ?

Wane maikiddi ? Who is the drummer ?

Wa je shiga rijia ? Who will enter the water-hole ?

Dan wanene 8onof"who-is-it"; son of so-and-so

Wa ke da litafi-n-sariki ? Who has the chief's book?

Wanene na ku duka ya chainye Which of you has eaten all the

nama duka ? meat ?

It will be noticed from the foregoing examples that the
different forms " wa," " wane," and " wanene "are largely
used to suit the euphony of the sentence.

PRONOUN 91

The following are all equally correct —

Wa ya che maka haka ? \

Wane ya che maka haka ? I Who said so to you ?

Wanene ya che maka haka ?J

Of these the first and the third are said to be the
commonest except in Zaria.

The difference between them depends on no more than
the pleonastic insertion of the verb " to be," which can also
be done in English, as, Who said so to you, or, Who is
it that said so to you ?

Idiomatic Use of " wane "

is it, may be used as a substantive in
the sense of " so-and-so "; as —

Enna wane ? Where is so-and-so ? This is liter-

ally Where is " who -is -it" ? the
name not being known.

The corresponding word to " wane " in respect to things
is "kaza " —

Na bashi abu kaza / give him such-and-such a thing

Muka yi kaza da kaza We did thus and thus

Independent Forms, Feminine

Wacho che chan ? Who is there ?

Wache ta yi wannan ? Who has done this ?

Wache chiki-n-su ? Which of them ?

Mache nan, wache che ? Who is this woman ?

Wacheche mache tafari ? Who was the first woman ?

Independent Forms, Plural

Suwa kc chan ? suwane ke Who are there ? The latter is the

chan ? more harmonious.

Suwanene ? Who are they ?

Wadanan mutanc, suwancnc ? Who are these men ?

The following is an irregular usage —

Wane mutane ku nan ? Who are these men

(NOTE. — Miller writes " woni.")

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Independent Form applied to Things

NO RENDER AND NO PLURAL

Mi ya fadi ? Mine ya fadi ?

Minene ya fadi ?

Kana yi-n-mine ?

Minene wannan ?

Mine ya sa ka zo ?

Minene shina chi tumaki-na ?

Mine da Engliz ?

Fada mani minene su ?

Mi ya faru ?

Mi zani yi yao ?

Minene wani abin-nan ?

Gudu-n-mi ki ke yi ?

Kuka-n-mi ku ke yi

What did he say ?

What is it he said ?

What are you doing ?

What is this ?

What has made you come ?

What is it that destroys my sheep ?

What is it in English ?

Tell me what they are ?

What has happened ?

What shall I do to-day ?

What is that other thing ?

What are you running away for ?

What are you shouting for ?

Forms coupled with the Noun — Masculiue Singular

Wane mutum ya gudu ?
Wane yaro shi ke da hima ?

Wane launi tsuntsu shi ke da

shi?
Wane lokachi ya zo ?

Wane mutum ke nan wanda

akakama jia ?
Wane iri-n-hali garesa ?
Wane lokachi ne yanzu ?

Which man has run away ?
Which is the diligent boy ? lit.,

Which boy he is with diligence
What colour is the bird f

What time did he come ? or

When . . .?
Who is the man that was caught

yesterday ?

What sort of character has he ?
What is the time now ?

Here " wane " is masculine to agree with " hali." If a
feminine word is substituted for "hali," "wane" takes
the feminine form.

An exception as to agreement occurs with the word
"iri," kind, in the phrase " what kind of." To all intents
and purposes its existence is ignored as to gender, and it
is treated as part of the interrogative pronoun itself —

Wane iri-n-mutum ?
Wache iri-n-mache ?
Wadane iri-n-mutane

What kind of man ?
What kind of woman ?
What kind of men f

PRONOUN 93

Forms coupled with the Noun — Feminine Singular

Wache yarinia ta ke da hima ? Which girl is diligent ?

Wache hainya ya tafi ? Which road has he gone ?

Wache mache che wanan What woman is this that comes ?

wadda ta zo ?

Wache iri-n-fitila ke nan ? What sort of lamp is this ?

Mutum maidukia, wache iri-n- As regards a rich man, what kind

riga shi kan sa ? of dress does he put on ?

Form joined to the Noun, Plural

Wadane mutane ke nan ? What men are these ?

or —

Wadanan mutane, suanene ? What men are these ?

Wadane mata suna kuka ? Which women are screaming ?

Possessive Interrogative Pronoun

This is formed by putting "na," of, before the inter-
rogative pronoun.

If standing alone the longer forms are used — " na-
wane ? " " na-wanene ? " " na -wache ? " etc.

If accompanied by a noun the short form is commonly
used, " n-wa " following the noun.

If the object possessed is feminine the preposition " n "
becomes " 1," etc., as with nouns.

In the plural, " -n-wa " is found, of course, irrespective
of gender —

Na-wanene ya bache ? Whose is lost ?

Doki-n-wanene ke nan? or Whose horse is this?

Doki-n-nan na wanene ?

Doki-n-wa ke nan ? „

Dia-r-wacheche ki ko ? Whose daughter are you ?

Dia-l-wa ki ke ? ,,

Dia-t-wa ki ko ? „
Yaya-n-wa sunka yi worigi nan ? Whose children have played here ?

Mata-n-wa ta kawa gishiri ? Whose wife was turned into salt ?

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Ban sani ba na wanene
Tumaki-n-wa ke nan ?

I do not know whose
Whose sheep are these ?

Interrogative 1st Personal Pronoun

The 1st personal pronoun has a special interrogative
form. It is chiefly used in answer to a question.

Nia?

Nia na fada maka ?

Nia che ?

Is it I ?

Is it I who said so ?

Is it I ! (fern.)

5. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

SINGULAR

Someone, something, a wani wata

certain person or thing.

Used adjectivally and

pronominally

Another wani wata

Any one, every one, each kowa, kowa,

one. Used as a pronoun kowane, kowache:

kowaneno kowachechc
Any, every. Used as an kowane kowache

adjective, and it pre-
cedes the noun
Anything, everything komi,.

whatsoever it be, what- komine «.

soever kominene

PLURAL
BOTH GENDERS

wadansu,
wansu, wasu

wadansu

It will be noticed that the indefinite pronouns which are
composed with the particle " ko " have the same forms
as the interrogative pronouns —

So-and-so

Such and such a thing

The one . . . the other

Some . . . others

No one

No one ivho

Nothing

wa ne

kaza

wani . . . wani wata . .

wasu . . . wasu wadansu

ba kowa, babu kowa

ba wanda, babu wanda

ba komi, babu komi

wata

. . wadansu

PRONOUN 95

"Kowane " is combined with the plurals of the personal
pronouns —

Kowane-n-mu
Kowane-n-ku
Kowane-n-su

FEMININE

Kowache-n-mu each of us

Kowache-n-ku each of you

Kowache-n-su each of them

In the same way that the particle "ko" is prefixed
to the interrogative pronouns to form the indefinite
pronouns, it may further be prefixed to certain adverbs
taking away their interrogative force and substituting an
indefinite or distributive idea —

Enna ? where Koenna anywhere, everywhere, wherever

Yaushe ? when Koyausho at any time, always, whenever

Yanzu now Koyanzu even now, immediately

Kaka ? how ? Kokaka anyhow however

It is to be noted that attached to "yanzu" which has
not an interrogative force, "ko " has a different force also.

Gender and Number

Gender and number are but secondary considerations
in the indefinite pronouns, especially when used as
substantives.

Kowa, etc., pronominal

Kowa ya sani sarki Every one knows the chief

Akoi kowa chiki-n-daki ? Is there any one in the house ?

Kowa ya gane shi Somebody has seen him

Kowa ya zo nan gobe, en yi Any one who comes here to-morrow,

masa keauta / will give him a present

Kada ka fadi ga kowa, kadan na Do not tell any one, if I hear you

ji ka fadi ga wani ina buganka have told any one I will beat you

Kowa ba shi ganc shi ba No one has seen him

Babu kowa chan There is no one there

Ba kowansu (Sokoto) Not one of them

Ba kowa achikinsu (Zaria)

Kowane ya tafi hainya dabam Each one went a different road

Kowane-n-mu Each of us

Kowache ta tafi hainyanta Each woman went her way

Kowane da zaya zo nan gobe en Whoever comes here to-morrow 1

yi masa keauta will give him a present

96 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Kowane, etc., adjectival

Kowane yaro ya tafi hainya Each boy went a different, road

dabam

Kowache yarinia ta tafi hain- Each girl went her road

yanta

Kowache safia anadada muna Each morning blessings are added

albarka to us

Examples of Syntax

Wani, etc., adjectivally

Wani mutum ya yi karia Some man has lied

Wata mache ta yi karia Some woman has lied

Wasu mutane sun yi karia Some men have lied

Mu rubuta magana - n - wani Let us write the story of a man,

mutum da na ji daga Bornu which I heard in Bornu

Ban tafi wani wuri ba / did not go anywhere

Doki-n-wani mutum ya mutu Some one's horse is dead

Nan garin dai, ba wani mai- Here in this town, indeed, there was

saida zuma sai wane no one sold honey except so-and-so

Wani, pronominally

Masallachi nan, akwoi wani That mosque, is there any one in-

achiki ? Aa, ba kowa side ? No, no one

Ni koiya ga wadansu / shall teach others

Wani ya tafo daga Hadija Some one has come from Hadija

W a ni = another, others adjectivally

Babu wani sarki dunia There is no other king in the world

Wata rana Another day

Wani, another, pronominally

Naka ba ya fi na wani ba Yours is not heavier than any other's

Ni koiya ga wadansu I shall teach others

Use of wani in singular for plural (Sokoto)

Wani mutane ya tafi gari-n- Some people went to the country
Bauchi tari tari of Bauchi in large numbers

Komi, etc.

Akoi komi chiki-n-rami I Is there anything in the hole ?

Ya fadi komi am ma ban ji ba He said something but I did not

hear

Komine ta roko Allah, Allah Whatever it was she asked God,

ya bata God gave her

Komi da ka bani ni ke so Whatever you give me I like it

Komi ka yi na BQ Whatever you do I like it

PRONOUN 97

Abinda ka ke yi duka . . . Whatever you do . . .

Babu komi chiki-n-rami Nothing in the hole

Ba shi fadi komi ba He said nothing

Ba shi yi maki komi He will do you no harm

Sarikin Kano ya fada masu babu The chief of Kano said nothing to

komi them

Ba su che ba komi They did not say anything

Ba ya beri komi sai gasusuka He left nothing but the feathers

Wa-ne
This is literally " Who is it ? "

Enna wane ? Where is what's his name ?

Ya che, daga gari sarakin wane He said — (/ come from) the country

of King Somebody. (" King "

is in plural)

Wani . . . wani, etc.

Wani farke ya tafi Kano, wani One trader goes to Kano, one to

ya tafi Sokoto Sokoto

Wata mache ta yi daria, wata One woman laughed, the other cried

ta yi kuka

Wadansu suna chi-n-nama, wad- Some eat meat, others do not eat it

ansu ba su clii ba

Wadansu mutane suna kiwo Some mind camels, others work the

rakuma, wadansu suna noma farms

Sundry Negative Idioms (see also under Adverbs)

Ba abinda babu There is nothing short

Babu daiansu. Babu daia Not one of them
chikinsu

Ba wanda for ba kowa

" Wanda," the relative pronoun, is made use of instead
of "kowa" in negative sentences. Such short sentences
as " Ba kowa chan," etc., are exceptions. With a
dependent sentence " ba wanda " is used.
Ba wanda zaya yi shi sai ni No one shall do it but me

Here " ba kowa " would be quite incorrect.

"Ba kowa" may be translated by "nobody," but "ba
wanda ya " = " there is no one who." In the latter
phrase in both English and Hausa there is a relative
idea instead of two co-ordinate sentences —

Babu wanda ya san' shi There was no one knew him

Abinda fadawa sun fadi ba What the king's council orders no
wanda shi ke da iko shi sake one has the power to change

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

6. REFLEXIVE PRONOUN

The reflexive pronoun is formed with the aid of the
noun "kai," head.

Kaina

Kainka

Kainki

Kainsa

Kainta

Kainmu

Kainku

Kainsu

or kanka
or kanki
or kansa
or kanta
or kanmu
or kanku
or kansu

myself
yourself (m.)
yourself (f.)
himself
herself
ourselves
yourselves
themselves

Examples of Syntax

So kainka, wani ya kika; ki

kainka wani ya soka
Ba ya kula da kainsa ba, ya sa

kainsa (or ya maida hanka-

linsa) garin cheton wadansu
Ya bata kansa
Ta gamu da kuda suna dafa

kansu

Love yourself, others will _hate you ;

hate yourself, others will love you
He cared not for himself but he set

himself to save others

He destroyed himself
She met some flies who were cook-
ing for themselves (story)

7. EMPHATIC PRONOUN

These are, similarly to the reflexive pronouns, formed
with "kai," head, with the addition of the preposition
"da," with —

Ni dakaina / myself

Kai dakainka or kai dakanka you yourself (m.)

Ke dakainki or ke dakanki you yourself (f.)

Shi dakainsa or shi dakansa he himself

Ita dakainta or ita dakanta she herself
Mu dakaimu or mu dakainmu or mu dakanmu we ourselves

Ku dakainku or ku dakanku you yourselves

Su dakainsu or su dakansu they themselves

The objective forms of the foregoing only differ in
the 2nd singular and 3rd feminine singular, which are
"ka dakainka," "ki dakainki," "ta dakainta."

PRONOUN 99

In syntax the personal pronoun follows the foregoing
when it is the subject of the verb —

Ni dakaina na tali

Ke dakainki ki ke da laifi

Ko ni dakaina sai ina tafia ga

kafata
Su dakansu ba su so su sha- They themselves did not like to

rua nan drink of that water

"Kadai," only, alone, is also used with the personal
pronoun. Possibly " kadai " is derived from " kai,"
head, and "daia," one —

Ni kadai / alone

Kai kadai you alone, (in.)

Ko kadai you alone (f.)

Shi kadai he alone

Ita kadai she alone

Mu kadai we alone

Ku kadai you alone

Su kadai they alone

8. RECIPROCAL PRONOUN

There is only one reciprocal pronoun, " juna."

It is unchanged for gender or number.

With the past tenses "juna" often stands alone at
the end of the sentence, but with present and future
tenses it is joined with the personal pronouns plural by
"n" or by "da," sometimes also by "ga."

" Juna " alone

Sun fada juna They spoke together

Sabada girimansu ba su iya They cannot pass each other on
wucho juna account of their size

With "n"

Ba su so juna-n-su ba They do not love each other

Muna yi-n-fada juna-n-inu We are fighting amongst ourselves

Zaku yi-n-fada juna-n-su They will fight amongst themselves

100

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

With "da"

Mun yi murna da juna
Zaku yi-n-fada da juna
Muna soyeya da juna-mu, gama
kowa yana ba abokinsa gaskia

We rejoiced with one another
You will fight with one another
We are at fellowship with each

other because each trusts his

friend

With "ga

Suna raba kurdi ga junansu

They divide
themselves

the money among

CHAPTER V
THE VERB

PART I
DERIVATION

There are in Hausa primitive and derived verbs.

The origin of the former cannot be ascertained from the
language itself. Amongst them are such verbs as " chi,"
eat; "sha," dnnk; "ji," hear.

Derived verbs are formed in a variety of ways. It is
always by the addition of a suffix, either with or without
some modification of the stem, never by means of a
prefix.

Class 1

An indeterminate root receives a final vowel expressing
rest, or motion to, or motion from, as —

Dauki, take up ; dauko, take up and give me ; dauka, lake up and
take away.

Kawo, carry to me ; kai, carry or carry away.

Class 2
Suffix "ta " to form verbs from nouns, as —

Tsorata, to frighten one, from " taoro," fear.
101

102 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Class 3

Reduplication to form frequentative or intensitive verbs,
as —

Buge-buge, from " buga," strike.

Or by part reduplication, as —

Raraba, scatter, from "raba," divide.

To an indeterminate root " che " or " ta " is added, the
former having rather present and future meanings, and
being frequently intransitive, and the latter having a past
meaning and a transitive sense, as —

Manche and manta, to forget.

Glass 5

Certain primitive verbs take a number of suffixes. There
is practically little or no change of meaning attached, but
they have special uses, and may change the verb from a
transitive one to an intransitive one, and vice versa. As
each form can be conjugated, they can be treated as
separate verbs as much as are the verbs in Class 1.

The suffixes in question are : " -da," " -shi," " -yes,"
" -s," " -sda," as—

Ba, bada, bashi, bayes, bayesda, to give.
Zuba, zubas, zubasda, to pour.

Class 6

"Nye" may be added together with some slight
modification of the vowel of the root. It is an intensitive
particle.

Chi, to eat ; chainye, to devour.

Class!

A noun is seldom used as a verb, but many
verbs in English can only be translated into Hausa

VERB 103

by the use of a noun with "yi," make, or "ji," hear,
feel.

Yi girima, to grow, lit., make greatness.

Ji dadi, to be pleased, lit., feel happiness or sweetness.

Class 8

Some derived verbs are nouns without change of form,
but it is always doubtful whether to assume that the verb
is derived from a noun or that the noun is derived from
a verb—

Man, a blow or to strike. Tashi, rising or to rise.
So, love or to love.

Class 9

To some verbs, but not all, the termination " -a " may
be added, the stem being unchanged. A sort of present
participial form is so produced, but though this form may
be translated as a verb in English it is in reality a noun,
and has, accordingly, been treated as such. See under
derived nouns, Class 8.

This termination may be written as " wa " after "a,"
"e," "o," "u," and "ya" after "i."

Derived Verbs- — Class 1

The terminal vowels are modified to indicate change of
meaning.

" A " = motion from the speaker. The accent is on the
last syllable.

"0"=motion to the speaker. The accent is on the
last syllable.

" I," "e," or " u " = indicate rest or uncertain direction,
but they are also interchanged for euphony.

Not by any means all verbs in the Hausa language
admit of these change of vowels. A knowledge of those
that do can only be acquired by practice.

This use of the termination " u " must not be confused

104 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

with the passive form, which will be explained in its
proper place.

When the pronoun has the termination "na" it is
generally found that the verb ends in "a" also. (See
under this tense in chapter on verb.)

The following are examples of the foregoing changes
applied to a certain number of verbs —

Buga, strike

Ya bugi yaro He struck the boy

Bugi yaro ! Hit the boy !

Ya huge shi He beat him

Na huge duchi / struck a stone

Buga shi ! Beat him !

Na buga kafata ga duchi / struck my foot against a stone

ina bugu-n-yaro I am beating the boy

Ina bugu-n-sa (or bugu-n-shi) I am beating him

Buga kofa 1 Knock at the door

The termination " o " does not seem to occur with this
verb. In all the examples of " buga " given above it is
seen that the sense of direction scarcely applies. It must
therefore be assumed that the variations are all for
euphony, which will be apparent if an attempt be made
to use the wrong vowel.

Dauka, take

Dauki I Take it !

Dauki riga ! Take the cloth

Na dauke ta I took it

Dauka ta ! Take it !

Ya dauka kaya He took up the load

Zani dauka-1-riga / am going to take the cloth

Dauko ! Take and bring it here

Dauko shi ! Take it down

Ya dauke shi He took it up

Dauke su ! Take them away !

Ku dauki kaya Take up your loads

Dauki sabuni mai-issa Take enough soap

Same.

Ya sami riga He received the cloth

Sami riga Accept the cloth

Na same shi I have received it

VERB

105

Sama ta !
Na samu doki
Na samu mutane

Accept it !

I have received the horse

I found the men

(" Hainya ta samu," there is a road, or the road is found, or now exists.
This is the passive verbal form, and has no connection with the
scale of vowels indicating direction, etc.)

Mi ya same ka
Komi ya sama se
Ba ya samu ya shiga
Ya samu wata guda
Na samu rongomi, na
dama, na samu sanki

What is the matter with you
Whatever befalls him
He could not enter
He spent one month
I feel better

Kama

Na kame doki

Na kama yaro a bisa doki

Kama !

Kamo !

Ya kama hainya

Ba ni kama

Ya kamu kifi

Kifaye nawa munka kamo ?

Daga gari nan kishirua ta kamo

mutane
Ku mayes mamu rakumamu da

kuka kamu

/ caught the horse

I caught the boy on the horse

Catch it and go !

Catch it and come I

He took his road

I would not believe (it)

He caught the fish

How many fish have we caught ?

In that land thirst seized the people

Damre

Na damre kaya

Na damra fit ila a bisa kaya

Adamra siliyu dama hauni

(poetic)
Andamre kaya duka ?

/ tie the load

I tie the lamp on the load

Chains shall be bound on their

right and left hands
Are all the loads tied up ?

Komo

Komo 1
Koma 1

Ya koma daki-n-sa
Ya komo dakina
Tun ba akoma ba
En in 11 komo mu futa rana daia,
kana mu tafi su

Come back !
Oo back I

He has returned to his house
He has come back to my house
Until there is no return
When we come back we will rest
one day, then we will go fishing

" Komo," " koma," being radically verbs of motion, it is
not possible for them to take the terminations "i," "e,"

106 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

or " u " ; and the same applies to other verbs which
cannot be dissociated from any idea of motion : —

Dawoyo

Dawoyo ! Return here !

Dawoya ! Return there I

Gudu!
Gudo!
Kadda ka gudu !

Gudu

Fita

Ya fita da shi He went off with it

Bana ta fita The sun has risen

Ya fita nagari He has turned out well

Fito ! Come out I

Enda rana ta ke fitowa Where the sun comes out from

Nema, seek

Bawana ya tafi nema-n-yaro, My slave has gone to look for the

ba ya same shi ba, kai ka tafi boy. He has not found him.

ka nemo shi Do you go and look for him

Suka che ku nemo masa mache They said find a wife for him

Aiki, send

Na aiki wani Kano / have sent some one to Kano

Na aiko wani nan / sent some one here

Ya aikoni He sent me here

Ya aikini He sent me there

Sariki ya aiko agaishe ka The chief has sent to salute you

Koiya, teach Koiyo, learn
Allah shi koiya muna hainyansa May God teach us His way

Fada, tell

Ya fada mani He told me

Ya fadi gaskia He spoke the truth

Muna fadi, ba mu boiye ba We tell you, we do not hide it

Kun ji fa, mun fadi ... Do you listen, we say . . .

Fadi, fada, fall
Ya fado daga bisa doki He fell off the horse

Sayo

VERB

Sayt, to buy, sell, barter
Sell to me

107

Wanke, wash
Wanko Wash and bring it back

Rubutu, write
Ya che ya iya rubutu, ya rubuta He said he could write ; he wrote

The following are some other verbs that admit of
these changes —

Aje (azhe)

azha

put

Beri

bero

leave

fesa

feso

spit

issa

isso

reach

jefa

jefo

throw

fa ma

gamo

meet

Karbi

arba

karbo

receive

Rufe

rufa

cover

sapka

sapko

alight

shiga

shigo

enter

Tafi

tafo

go, come

Ture

tura

thrust

Some verbs appear in longer forms owing to the final
vowel not being changed —

Bi biyo follow

ja jawo draw, towards

Kai kawo carry, bring

Kiraye kira kirawo call

Je (zhe) za-(-pronoun) zo go, come

Derived Verbs — Class 2

Suffix " ta " to nouns. These verbs are few in number —

Tsorata to frighten one from tsoro fear

Taurata to harden oneself „ tauri hardness

Shaworata to hold a consultation ,, shawora consultation

108

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Derived Verbs, Class 3

Reduplication to form intensitive or frequentative verbs.
Either the whole verb is repeated, or more commonly only
the first syllable —

Buge-buge,

bubuga, bubugi
Chainye-chainye
Chichika
Fakake
Gushe-gushe,

gurgusa
Sansanche

Tsatsaga

Tatara

Zazaga

to beat much

to be gluttonous

to fill up

to grope for

gush out frequently
or abundantly

explain much, under-
stand much

tear to pieces

pick up or out

to shake up, walk
about

from buga to strike

„ chainye to devour
„ chika to fill
„ ? fake to hide
to gush

gusa

Sosoke

to pierce with many
holes

tara
zaga

soke

to know

tear

to gather

to shake,
walk back-
wards and
forwards

to pierce,
prick

Ya bubugi yara

Mutane suka bubuge ta ta mutu

Munka soso ubane-n-mu

Zasu rurubuta takardu

Ku kakashe raguna

Ya kakashe su duka

Kaddadai ajita yi sagara raai-

kirkira (poetic)
Ku dadauka abinchi
Ina so-n-gagaida mainya
Suna gagani-n-mutane
Shashafesu da tsuma

He beat the boys well

The men beat her till she died

We have loved our fathers

They are going to write letters

Kill sheep

He exterminated them

Let her not be heard calling fowls

with a loud voice
Each one of you take some food
I wish to salute each of the elders
They see men
Wipe each of them with a rag

It is to be noted that whenever there is a reduplicated
form of the verb and the noun is in the plural, the noun
usually has an indefinite sense.

Derived Verbs. Class 4

In this class are verbs which may end either in "che "
or " ta," these terminations being added to the root which
has no separate existence as a word. The meaning in

VERB 109

either case is the same in English, but their uses are
slightly different.

The following are some verbs of this nature —

Manche manta forget

Bache bata destroy, lose

Kwanche kwanta lie or lay down to sleep

Jiche- jita turn upside down

Jirkiche jirkita „

Lalache lalata (1) be idle ; (2) perish

Rubuchi rubuta write

Rikiche rikita (1) be confused ; (2) confuse

The form ending in " che " is more commonly intransitive.

This form is used for preference with present and future
meanings. The form in "ta" has for preference a
transitive and a past meaning.

Because a verb ends in "che" it does not invariably
follow that there is a form in " ta."

It is further to be noted that the "ta " form can never
be used as a substantive. The " che " form is commonly
used as such, however, as " lalachi," idleness.

Na jiche koria / turn the calabash upside down

Na jita koria a bisa-n-ta / turned a calabash upside down

over it

Na rubuchi litafi / write a book

Na rubuta suna-n-sa a bisa litafi / wrote his name upon the book

Kada ka manta Do not forget

Abi-n-nan ya bache mani / have lost this thing

Su baohe tare They perish together

Malika ya batansu The angel shall afflict them

Ya bata hainya He lost the way

Derived Verbs. Class 5

To the terminations, "-da," " -shi," " -s," "-yes,"
" -yesda "it is not possible to assign any precise meaning
in English.

The effect of their addition to the primitive verb is to
make it transitive, intransitive, causative, or by making
the word itself longer to supply suitable words to make a
statement more formal or dignified.

All forms can be conjugated.

110 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Their effect upon the primitive verb can be best seen
from illustrations.

Da. — This may be the preposition "with." In any case
that rendering will satisfy the majority of instances of its
use quite clearly —

Ba give Bada give up

Sayi barter Saida barter with = sell

Tara collect Tarda come up with, overtake

In monosyllabic verbs ending in " i," " da " is sharpened
to "ta," as—

Ku yita aiki Get on with your work

Bita hainya nan Go by this road

See further examples under "yi" in chapter xii.

Yes gives an intransitive force—

Bayes give up

If " da " is added to " yes " a transitive force is resumed.
Na bayes / give up Na bayesdashi / give it up

S gives intransitive force.

Shi gives a transitive force to an intransitive primitive
verb, but is added to transitive verbs without change of
meaning. It takes a pronoun only as direct object, not
a noun.

Examples

Ba, give. Transitive

Ya bani kurdi He gave me the money
Ya bashi ita He gave her to him

NOTE. — " Ba " is only followed by the recipient as a second direct
object if the latter is a pronoun. If a noun " bada " is used. The
relative position of the two objects is changeable.

" Bada " always requires a preposition before the indirect
object.

Ya bada kurdi ga mutane He gave money to the men

Na bada kurdi ga kai / gave the money to you

Na bada ita gare shi 7 gave her to him

Na bada shi ga kai / gave him (or it) to you

VERB

111

Other phrases : —

Bada daria
Bada tsoro
Bada laifi

Also —

cause to laugh
inspire fear
condemn

Hainya ta badamu zua gari
Muka bada fuska ga garimu

bada girima honour
bada hainya make way
bada gaskia justify

The road led us to the town

We turned our face to our country

Examples of other forms of"ba"

Na bashe shi ga kai
Ya bayes (or bayas)
Na bayesda shi

Sariki ya che ka bashi abinsa.
To, na bayes

Ba ka bashi tufafinsa ba ?
bayes or na bayesda su
Ka bayes ga mutume chana
Za-abashieni sabada bashi

I give it to you

He gave (it) up

I gave it up

The chief says you must give him

his property. All right, I will

give (it)
Have you not given him his clothes ?

I have given them
Give it to the man there
I shall be given on account of a

debt

Saiya, barter, etc.

Various forms : " saida," " saishe," " sayes " (" sayas,"
"sayar," "sayer "), "sayesda" ("sayarda," "sayerda").
Before a pronoun "saiya" is usually found as "saiye."
"Saiyo" is to buy and bring back.

The forms " saida," " sayesda " (or " sayerda ") are
always transitive.

"Saiyes" ("saiyar") is intransitive. The other forms
may be both. "Saishe" is only used before a personal
pronoun.

Ina so en saye rnkumi, enna

akesamunsa ?
Masu - i .ik ii in i euna chiki - n -

kasua, suna saye da sayerua
Na saida rago ga shi
Na saida shi ga shi
Ya saishe shi
Ya saida ita

/ want to buy a camel. Where are

they to be found
The owners of the camels are in the

market. They buy and sell
I sold the ram to him
I sold it to him
He sold it
He sold her

112

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Ya sayes (sayas)
Ka sayes — abinda ba ka iya so
Da Kelowi sun saida ni
Sun saye ni wuri-n-wani mutum
Sun sayes ni ga Salah bin Omer
Ina so ka kai zane-n-nan wuri-
n-dilali, shi saida shi. Idan
ya sayer ka karbi kurdi ka
sayo mani rago, ka kawo
saura-n-kurdi
Doki-n-nan na sayerua ne ? Aa,

ansayesda shi jia
Ka tafi ga wani ka saiyo
Nawa nawa akesayesda su ?
Nawa anasayesda su ?
Suna sayesua dukiansu
Abubua duka ambayes gareni

He sold (it)

Sell (it) — whatever you may not want
They sold me to the Kelowi
They sold me to a certain man
They sold me to Salah bin Omer
I want you to take this cloth to the
broker to sell. When he has sold
it take the money and buy for me
a ram. Bring back the rest of
the money
Is this horse for sale ? No, it was

sold yesterday

Go to some one else and buy
How much each ?
How much are they (in a lump) ?
They are selling their goods
All things are delivered unto me

NOTE. — "r" is found as a phonetic variation for " s," but
always employed at the end of a sentence.

Bata, to lose, spoil

Ya bata da kurdinsa

Ya bata da shi

Ya batashe shi

Ya batas

Shi yaro ne, shina batasua

He lost his money

He lost him or it

He lost him (or it)

He lost (it)

He is a boy and will spoil it

Bache, to be spoiled

The various forms of " bata " are used for this verb, which in itself
admits of no variations —

Abi-n-nan ya bache mani
Yaro ya bache mata

/ have lost the thing
The boy was lost to her

Fita, to take out, go out

Ya fita da mutum

Ya fita da shi

Ya fishe ni

Ya fitas

Na fishe ka

Ya fitasda riga-sa

Shi fishe mu aiki mutane zina
(poetic)

Su sa fitasua kurkono. (" Fita-
sua " is " fitas " with the termi-
nation " ua ")

He pulled the man out

He freed him

He released me or pulled me out

He pulled (him) out

I dismiss you

He took off his coat

He separates us from the work of

adulterers
They made the guinea worm come

out

VERB 113

Tashi, to rise

Other forms— " Tada," "tashe," "tayes," "tayesda,"
" taso."

Saidai shi tada haba yi jaki He would merely lift up his chin

berbera (poetic) and bray like an ass

Na tada manzo I sent a messenger

Ka tasheni da sasafe Wake me very early

En na tashe yaranku kua zo // / raise up your children, will

you come ?

Hadari ya taso masu a chikin The storm descended on them in

daji the forest

Chi, eat

Ki cbl nama ! Eat meat (" you " is feminine)

Na chishe shi / gave him to eat, I fed him

Ya chida doki da dawa He fed the horse with guinea corn

Ya chida shi da dawa He fed him with corn

Ya chiyes He has fed, or eaten (it)

Jefa, throw

Na jefada abu / threw a thing

Na jefada shi / threw it

Na jefashe shi I threw it

Na jefas 7 threw

Other forms—" jefshi," " jefasda," " jefda " = " jefada " ;
also found as " shepta " and " shebda."

Ajefo bar takardu-n-aiku namu We shall be placed according to the
(poetic) list of our deeds

Yas or yes, to throw away

Na yada shi (yada = ya-r-da = I threw it away

yasda

Na yashe shi 7 threw it away

Ya yas 77e threw (it) away

Ta yada zane She threw off her cloth

Tara, assemble

Ya tara mutane He collected the men

Ya tarasu He collected them

Suka tara gari They are of one town

Uwa in uka tara We have one mother

Ya tarda mutane He assembled the men

Ya tara da su He collected them.

114

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Ya tarshe su
Ya tarda chiwuta
Na tarda shi
Ya taras

Ka tarshi mu ji dadi (poetic)
Kadadai ka tara hanuka don
tsoro-n-beri (poetic)

He assembled them
He will contract a disease (poetic)
/ overtook him
He collected (them)
Help us to feel happy
Although you put both your hand*
to it for fear of losing it

Tsaya, stand
Other forms — tsai, tsayi, tsaishie. tsaisa

Na tsaya daidai

Ya tsaya

Ni na tsaya ga litafi nan

Malaiku su tsaida zugazuganta

(poetic)
Da ya fara chewa sun tsaisa sa

Na tsaitse shi

Kowane zashi tsayesda wannan

mutum zaakasshe shi
Sun sani mi ya tsaishie ni haka

I stand upright

It is finished

I hit upon this book

The angels will lift up the bellows

When he began to speak they

stopped him
I got before him
Whoever shall detain this man shall

be killed
They kneiv what delayed me so

Kawo, bring

Kauda (=kawo da) take away, abrogate;
kawas, kaushi

Chira, save

Kawasda, remove,

Ya chirada mutum daga rua
Ya chirada ni daga rua
Ya chirashe shi
Ya chiras

He saved the man from the water
He saved me from the water
He saved him
He saved (him)

Zuba, pour

Ya zubada rua
Ya zubada shi
Ya zubsh6 shi
Ya zubas
Zubasda mia

Also —

Amsa, amsashi

Bi, bishe

Mu roke ta'ala shi bishemu

hainya
Cheta, chetas
Issa, ishe, iyes, iyesda

He poured the water out

He poured it out

He poured (it) out or It gushed out

To expectorate violently

answer
follow
We beseech the Exalted One to

direct our steps
save

VERB 115

Gaji, gasda, gashi weary

Gama, gamshe fit, please, meet

Gaya, gaida, gaishe salut

Kawo, kauda, kawasda, kawas, carry

kaushi

Kada, kayes condemn

Koshi, kosda, koshada satisfy

Kwanche, kwanta, kwantas lie down

Koiya, koiyas teach

Kada su koiyas chikin sunan That they should not teach again in

Isa the name of Jesus

Lasa, lasda, lashe lick

Murda, murshi twist

Sani, sanasda, sanda, sanaswa know

Shida, shishi descend

Zarana, samshi sit, set down

Ku samshisu kasa hamsinham- Make them sit down in fifties

sin

Wohalla, wohalshi, wohalda trouble

Derived Verbs — Glass 6

The intensitive particle unye" is added to some slight
variation of the stem of a primitive verb —

Sha drink shainye swallow greedily

Chi eat chainye, devour (as wild beasts)

Taya help tainye help

Derived Verbs — Glass 7

Many nouns which have not a related verb form can only
be used as predicates with the aid of the verb " yi," to do,
or " ji," to hear. They can only take an indirect object —

Muka yi zanche We conversed

Yi girima To grow

Further examples of the use of "yi" are given under
idiomatic expressions.

In Sokoto, Zanfara, and Katsina " wo " is commonly
used for " yi," as " wo takarda," send a letter , " wo yaki,"
wage war.

116 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Use of "it'"

V */

The verb " ji " is combined with substantives or
adjectives similarly to " yi," and must be equally regarded
as a form-word — " Ji tsoro," to be afraid ; " ji haushi," be
angry ; " ji kumia," feel pity ; " ji dadi," be pleased.

The object which is indirect is expressed by adding the
possessive pronoun to the noun —

Ba ka ji tausayi mu You felt no pity for us

Ba na ji-n-dadi-n-hawanki, I do not feel comfortable riding you,

kura hycena

Ka ji dadi-n-hawana ? Do you like riding me ?

Derived Verbs — Glass 8

Nouns and verbs of same form —

Ya fadi masu He said to them

Da ya kare fadi-n-sa When he had finished his speech

Duma ta lalachi The world perishes

Lalachi Idleness

Ba magana ! Do not talk !

Don Allah ya badamu so-n- Because God has given us a love of

kwana sleep

Tambaye-n-nan da ka ke yi The question you ask (make)

Kana yi-n- magana Hausa ? Do you speak Hausa?

Koiya na Shaitan The teaching of Satan

Su dora kira They raise a cry

Ya kira shi He called him

Suna magana banza They talk nonsense

PART II
DIVISION OF VERBS

Verbs are of two kinds — transitive and intransitive.
The transitive verb requires an object.
The intransitive verb denotes a state, feeling, or action
which terminates in the doer or agent.

Some verbs in Hausa are (1) only transitive ; others

VERB 117

(2) only intransitive ; (3) some, primarily one or the other,
may be used in the opposite sense without any change of
form ; and (4) yet others by taking an addition to the stem
can be recognised as transitive alone or intransitive alone.

This last feature is not found in the English language,
where there is in general nothing in the look or appearance
of a verb, unless its intransitive counterpart is known (e.g.,
raise, rise ; set, sit), which renders it possible to tell
whether it is transitive or intransitive.

Causative verbs are, of course, all transitive.

The following are examples of the different kinds of
transitive and intransitive verbs : —

(1) Verbs only Transitive,
Gani, to see ; ji, to hear ; kawo, to bring

(2) Verbs only Intransitive
Zo, come ; tafi, go ; zamna, sit down

(3) Verbs both Transitive and Intransitive in Meaning

Kiwo, tend a flock, graze, feed
Boye, hide, hide oneself, be hid
Chika, fill, be full

(4) Verbs whose Form Indicate whether Transitive or
Intransitive

Transitive

Verbs formed from nouns with suffix " ta " (see class
2 of derived verbs); also verbs ending with "ta" which
have corresponding intransitive forms ending in "che."

The termination "shi" (see derived verbs, class 5);
also the termination "yesda."

Intransitive

The termination " che " usually ; also the termination
" yes " ; also verbs ending in " u " which are formed from
transitive verbs by the change of the final vowel. Many of
the latter are usually found only in the 3rd person singular,
and so a middle voice may be said to be produced.

118

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

The suffix " wa " may be added to this form (see
examples under present participle).

This intransitive ending — " u " — must be carefully distin-
guished from the termination " u," which many transitive
verbs take, without ceasing to be transitive, either for
euphony or to indicate absence or neutrality of direction.
These are discussed in class 1, Derived Verbs.

Some Intransitive Verbs in "u"

Budu, to be open
Bugu, to be beaten
Dadu, to be increased
Dafu, to be cooked
Damru, to be bound
Faru, to happen
Fasu, to be broken
Furu, to be burning
Godu, to appear
Gamu, to meet
Haifu, to be delivered
Kaf u, to be fastened
Karu, to be added
Kasu, to be slain
Kuntu, to be loosened
Matsu, to be narrow
Mutu, to die
Nadu, to be rolled up
Niku, to be ground
Rabu, to depart
Ragu, to be decreasing
Retu, to be swinging
Rufu, to be shut
Sanu, to be known
Shimfudu, to be spread
Taru, to be assembled
Wazu, wasu, to be dispersed
Yiwu, yiu, to be done
Zubu, subu, to be gushed out

from bude, to open

„ buga, to beat

„ dade, lengthen

„ dafe, to cook

„ damre, to bind

„ fara, to begin

fashe, to break

fura, to kindle

goda, to show

gama, to join

haife, to beget

kafa, to fasten

kara, to add

kashe, to kill

kunche, to untie

rnatse, to squeeze

nade, to coil

nika, to grind

raba, to divide

rage, to lessen

reto, to shake to and fro

rufe, to shut

sani, to know

shimfude, to spread

tara, to collect

wasa, to disperse

yi. to do

zuba, to pour

This form is used in a reflexive sense, and also follows
the same verb in the passive voice for emphasis —

Mutum ya bugu
Dundu ya dafu
Kofa ta budu
Kofa ta rufu

The man is beaten
The yam is cooked
The door stands open
The door is shut

VERB lid

Tukunia ta fasu The pot is broken, has broken

itself

Jirigi ya rabu The boat is split

Ka tara mutane da zasu yi- Collect the men to work. They are

aiki. Sun taru collected

Ta ga wata akwia ta half u She saw a certain goat which had

just brought forth

For Emphasis

Adamre shi, shi damru Let it be tied so that it is tied fast

or tie it tight

Abugashi shi bugu Let him be well beaten

Ayishi, shi yiwu Let it be done well

PART III
AUXILIARY VERBS

There are three forms of the verb "to be."

They have gender.

They refer to present and past time, but not to future.

They are —

Ke (m. and f.) Che (f.) Ne (common)

For the future the verb "zama," to become, is used.

There is no auxiliary " have," nor is " have " a possessive
verb. The place of the latter is taken by the preposition
"da," with.

The following is the conjugation of the auxiliary verbs —

ni ne ni ke

kai no ka ke

ke che (f.) ki ke (f )

shi ne shi, ya, yi ke The negative forms are

ita che (f.) ta ke (f.) the same with " ba

urn ne mu ke ... ba."

ku ne ku ke

su no su ke

"Ke"

"Ke" is used both as an auxiliary to form one of
the present tense forms of other verbs, and also as a

120

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

substantive verb. In the latter capacity it usually
requires the complement to precede it —

Da ka ke or Kai, da ka ke

Sania ta ke

Dana ke nan

Shi dana shi ke

Enna ku ke ?

Shi ke nan

Ba da ka ke ba

Jia ni ke nan ni daia

Yarinia da ka gani ita ke nan

Ka tafi ke nan har abada

You are a free man

It is a cow

This is my son

He is my son

Where are you ?

So it is

You are not a free man

Yesterday I was here alone

The girl you see it is she

You are leaving in fact for ever

This form is usually enclitic. If a pronoun is added it
may follow in its capacity of complement, but if the person
is the 3rd singular, it is commonly omitted —

Ni ne

Da ne ni

Da ne kai

Kai ne sariki ? Ni sariki ne

Yaro ne or, less commonly Yaro

ne shi

Kai dansa ne
Kano da gari karami ne.
Ni danfari ne, su ne na baya

It is I

I am a free man
You are a free man
Are you the chief?
It is a boy

I am the chief

You are his son or Are you his son ?
Kano was formerly a small town
I am the first born, they are after
me

In the following examples " ne
whole sentence —

becomes enclitic to a

Gurubi-n-ido ba ido ba ne (prov.)

Allah shi ne ya ba ni

Wani mutum maihalbi ne shina

da mache
Ba zaka kai ni wurin malamin

nan ba ne !
Mu kuma duka shaidu ne ga

wannan

Compare the following —

Allah shi nc abada
Allah shina kocnna

A substitute for the eye is not the

eye

It was God gave it to me
A certain hunter had a wife

Will you not take me to this mallam?
We also are all witnesses of this

God is eternity (or for ever)
God is everywhere

VERB 121

Che

This feminine form may be substituted for "ne," but
not for "ke"—

Dia che ni / am a free woman

Dia che ki You are a free woman

Sania che ita or sania che It is a cow

Ba dia che ni ba / am not a free woman

Ita mache che It is a woman

Ni, fa, ba akwia che ba, mache As for me, I am not a goat, I am

che ni a woman

Kama da wani ba wani ba che Likeness to another it is not the

(prov.) same person

(The noun phrase " ba wani ba," i.e., not another, ends in
"a," and so is treated as feminine, probably by a very
pedantic mallam).

" Ni che " is not found, but only " ni ne " of whichever
gender. In " Dia che ni " the feminine form is used after
" dia," " ni " being treated as a complement.

Emphasis on the Pronoun

If emphasis is required on the pronoun, it is placed at
the beginning of the sentence —

Shi dana ne //• is my son

Ita diyata che She is my daughter

Idiomatic Uses of'ne"

"Ne" is sometimes added almost pleonastically to the
end of an answering sentence for emphasis.

In answer to such a question as " What do you want ? "
one hears —

Na zo wurinka ne I have come to see you (lit., / have

come to your place, it is)

Also —

Na sani ne / know of course

Some of the examples given under "ne" above also
exemplify this.

122 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

" Ne," preceded by the pronoun, sometimes stands before
the main sentence for the same purpose—

Shi ne, shi ke shakka azaba-n- He it is, he doubts the pains of hell

lakhira

Shi ne, na fada maka It is as I told you

Shi ne, uba na yara goma He it is, the father of ten boys

Omission of Pronoun

The 3rd personal pronoun singular is sometimes omitted
with " ne." This is common in negative sentences —

Sariki ne da doki for Sariki shi The chief has the horse

ne da doki

Banza fari - n - ido babu gani A bright eye that cannot see is

(prov.) worthless

Also omitted with " ke " —

Enna ke yi maka zogi ? Where is the pain ?

Yao da gobe ke sa gini-n-rijia To-day and to-morrow are like
da alura (prov.) having a well dug with a needle

After the relative pronoun —

Suna tareya da duka-n-abinda They were collecting everything they
ke garesu had

The verb " to be " itself is often understood —

Akoi Allah, ba shi gabas, ba shi There is a God, he is not in the

yama east, he is not in the west

Gaskianki You are right (lit., your (f.) truth)

Da-n-zomo wayo gare-i (gareshi) The young hare is cunning

Enna sariki ? Where is the chief?

Kurdinsa nawa ? How much is it ?

Other Ways of expressing " to be "

The form of the pronoun ending in "na" is used, the
verb "to be " itself being understood.

VERB

123

For this " na," which is the same particle as the preposi-
tion "of," in all probability, in Sokoto and Katsina the
preposition "a" is sometimes substituted.

The conjugation is as follows —

ina, nina l

ka na, kaina '

kina

shina, yana, yina

tana, ita na ? *

muna

kuna

suna

kai-a

ke-a (ki-a = ki-e)

shi-a, yi-a

ita-a

mu-a

ku-a

su-a

In the negative the
terminations omitted.

This second form is distinct from the future (I)
form.

It must here be noted that while the forms of the
pronoun with auxiliary " ina," etc., and " ni ke," etc., are
used for the present tense conjugation of verbs, the form
" ni ne," etc., is not so used.

-na " Forms

Shina nan
Shina gida
Bature na gida
Ba shi nan

He is here

He is at home

The white man is at home

He is not here

Ki-e wa ?

Da ki-e da wa ?

I-a gaba suna binsa

I-a daga chikin rijia nan

Mai-algeta i-a masa busa

Gari a nan

Sarki a da talakawa, ba

kawa a da sariki
Shi-a baba

" -A " Form

Who are you ?

And who are you with ?

He is before, they follow him

He is in that well

The bagpipeman, he was blowing

for him
The town is there (Note omission

of pronoun as with " na.")
tala- The king owns the poor, not the

poor the king
He is a great man

1 In these the emphasis is on the pronoun,
in interrogation, nor in independent sentences.

They are not used

124 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

The following is obscure —

Ki-e ma en zaki shiga ki shiga But you, if you are going to enter,
ki kawo enter and bring it

Future
Use of "zama " —

Ka zama da You will become free
Ki zama diya „ (f.)

Ba ka zama da ba You will not become free

Na zama mala mi / shall become a priest

To have

Hausa agrees with all x West African languages of what-
ever group in having no auxiliary " to have."

To describe possession the preposition "da," with, is
used. The form of the pronoun which accompanies it is
most commonly that with the suffix " na." The auxiliary
" ke " is, however, also not uncommonly used —

Ina da kurdi / have money

Su ke da su They have them or are with them

There is, however, a slight distinction in making use of
the foregoing. For instance, in " Ina da shi " and " Ni ke
da shi " — the first is used in making a plain statement,
and the second for preference in answer to the question
" Who has it ? "

To express tense — that is, point of tune — adverbs are
added —

Ina da shi yanzu / have it now

Wanda ya ke da shi da ya ba ni He who had it before gave it to me

Instead of " da " it is often possible to use some other
preposition such as "gare."

Other examples of the use of " da " may be found under
prepositions.

1 The author has not found a single instance of the contrary.

VERB 125

Meaning conveyed by use of two nouns in apposition,
one formed with "mai" —

Da kishiyoyi nan babu mai-da And those rival wives had no

children

PART IV

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB

There are two voices — active and passive.

There is no change of form for mood, but two participles
are distinguished.

Tense carries no inflection of the stem, but the pronouns
are subjected to some modification, and particles are added
in certain tenses.

The following is the conjugation of "so," to love, like,
want : —

Active Voice

It is to be noted that in the negative both " ba " are put
in in all tenses, but the second " ba " is often omitted in
practice.

AORIST OR COMMON TENSE

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

1 na so also ni so ba na so ba or ban so ba

2 (m.) ka so ba ka so ba

(f.) ki so ba ki so ba

3 (m.) ya so ba ya so ba

(f.) ta so ba ta so ba

1 mu so ba mu so ba

2 ku so ba ku so ba

3 su so ba su so ba

PRESENT I

1 ina so ba ni so ba also ba na so ba

2 (m.) kana so ba ka so ba

(f.) kina so ba ki so ba

3 (m.) shina (yana, yina) HO ba shi, ya, i, so ba

(f.) tana so ba ta so ba

1 muna so ba mu so ba

2 kuna so ba ku so ba

3 suna so ba su so ba

126 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

PRESENT II

1 ni ke so also na ke so ba ni so ba

2 (m.) ka ke so

(f.) ki ke so

3 (m.) shi (ya, yi) ke so

(f.) ta ke so

1 mu ke so same as negative of Present 1

2 ku ke so

3 su ke so

PAST I

1 na so

2 (m.) ka so

(f.) kin so

3 (m.) ya so also shi so, shin so

(f.) ta so same as aorist

1 mun so

2 kun so

3 sun so

PAST II

1 na so

2 (m.) ka so

(f.) ki ka so

3 (m.) ya so

(f.) ta so same as aorist

1 muka so (K), munka so (S)

2 kuka so (K), kunka so (S)

3 Suka so (K), sunka so (S)

FUTURE I

1 naa so, na so ba na so ba

2 (m.) kaa so, ka so ka ka so ba

(f.) kii so, ki so ba ki so ba

3 (in.) shii so, shi so ba shi so ba

yaa so, ya so ba ya so ba

(f.) taa so, ta so ba ta so ba

1 muu so, mu so ba mu so ba

2 kuu so, kii so ba ku so ba

3 suu so, su so ba su so ba

Robinson gives "mua," "ma," "kua," "sua," "sa;
"eo" plural.

VERB 127

FUTURE II

1 zani so or zan so or za en so ba zani so ba

2 (m.) zaka so ba zaka so ba

(f.) zaki so ba zaki so ba

3 (m.) zashi (zaya, zai), so ba zashi (zaya, zayi) so ba

(f.) zata so ba zata so ba

1 zamu so ba zamu so ba

2 zaku so ba zaku so ba

3 zasu so ba zasu so ba

FREQUENTATIVE I

1 iii (or na) kan so ba ni kan so ba

2 (m.) ka kan so ba ka kan so ba

(f.) ki kan so ba Id kan so ba

3 (m.) shi (ya) kan so ba shi kan so ba

(f.) ta kan so ba ta kan so ba

1 mu kan so ba mu kan so ba

2 ku kan so ba ku kan so ba

3 su kan so ba su kan so ba

FREQUENTATIVE II

1 ni ka so ba ni ka so ba

2 (m.) ka ka so ba ka ka so ba

(f.) ki ka so ba ki ka so ba

3 (m.) shi (or ya) ka so ba shi (ya) ka so ba

(f.) ta ka so ba ta ka so ba

1 mu ka so ba mu ka so ba

2 ku ka so ba ku ka so ba

3 su ka so ba su ka so ba

This is a very doubtful tense. Robinson says " ka " is
an abbreviation of "kan," and also a poetical future.
Harris supports him that "ka" = "kan"; also Edgar.
Mischlich calls it a Sokoto variation of "ni ke so."

SUBJUNCTIVE

1 on so (n'so) kada en so

2 (m.) ka so kada ka so

(f.) ki so kada ki so

3 (m.) shi (ya) so kada shi (ya) so

(f.) ta so kada ta so

1 mu so kada mu so

2 ku so kada ku so

3 su so kada su so

128 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

IMPERATIVE

2 (in.) so, ka so kada ka so

(f.) so, ki so kada ki so

2 ku so kada ku so

" Kar " is found for " kada " in Kano. " Ba " is also
sometimes substituted for "kada," but is not repeated
after the verb.

Passive

AOBIST

1 asoni ba asoni ba

2 (m.) asoka ba asoka ba

(f.) asoki ba asoki ba

3 (m.) asoshi, asosa ba asoshi, asosa, ba

(f.) asota ba a so fa ba

1 asomu ba asomu ba

2 asoku ba asoku ba

3 asosu ba asosu ba

PRESENT I.

1 anasona anakamnata ba anasona ba ba anakamnata

2 (m.) anasonka anakamnarka ba anasonka ba ba anakamnarka

(f.) anasonki anakamnarki ba anasonki ba ba anakamnarki

3 anasonsa anakamnatasa ba anasonsa shi ba anakamna-
anasonshi ba tasa ba

(f.) anasonta anakamnatata ba anasonta ba ba anakamnata-

ta ba

1 anasonmu anakamnarmu ba anasonmu ba ba anakamnar-

mu ba

2 anasonku anakamnarku ba anasonku ba ba anakamnarku

3 anasonsu anakamnarsu ba anasonsu ba ba anakamnarsu

ba
PRESENT II

1 a-ke-soni ba asoni ba

2 (m.) a-ke-soka

(f.) a-ke-soki

3 a-ke-soshi

(f.) a-ke-sota same as aorist

1 a-ke-somu

2 a-ke-soku

3 a-ke-sosu

VERB

PRESENT II. INVERTED
To correspond to the active form " ni, su ke so

120

ni akeso

ni akaso

2(m.)

kai akeso

kai akaso

ke akeso

ke akaso

3(m.)

shi akeso

shi akaso

(f.)

ta akeso

ta akaso

mu akeso

mu akaso

ku akeso

ku akaso

su akeso

su akaso

(See note on Frequentative in Active.)

PAST I

ansoni

2(m.)

ansoka

(f.)

ansoki

3(m.)

ansosa, ansoshi

1*0

ansota

same as aorist

ansomu

ansoku

ansosu

PAST II

KANO

SOKOTO

akasoni

ankasoni

2(m.)

akasoka

ankasoka

akaso ki

ankasoki

akasosa

ankasoshi

(f.)

akasota

ankasota

same as aorist

akasomu

ankasomu

akasoku

ankasoku

akasosu

ankasosu

FUTURE I

aasoni

ba aasoni ba

2(m.)

aasoka

ba aasoka ba

aasoki

ba aasoki ba

aasoshi

ba aasoshi ba

aasota

ba aasota ba

aasomu

ba aasomu ba

aasoku

ba aasoku ba

aasosu

ba aasosu ba

FUTURE II

1 zaasona zaakamnata ba zaasona ba ba zaakamnata

2 (in.) zaasonka zaakamnarka ba zaasonka ba ba zaakamnarka

(f.) zaasonki zaakamnarki ba zaasonki ba ba zaakamnarki

130 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

3 (m.) zaasonshi zaakarana-tasa ba zaasonshi ba ba zaakamna-

tasa ba

(f.) zaasonta zaakamnatata ba zaasonta ba ba zaakamna-

tata ba

1 ' zaasonmu zaakamnarmu ba zaasonmu ba ba zaakamnarrau

2 zaasonku zaakamnarku ba zaasonku ba ba zaakamnarku

3 zaasonsu zaakamnarsu ba zaasonsu ba ba zaakamnarsu

These are all noun forms after " zasu," etc. =they will go
to the loving of them. The possessive pronoun is masculine
after " so " and feminine after " kamna."

Compare " Zasu kamna-r-mu," They will love us ; " Zamu
kamna-r-su," We will love them.

The noun form is not always strictly adhered to, hence,
zaasoni, zaasoka, etc.

FREQUENTATIVE

1 akansoni ba akansoni ba

2 (m.) akansoka ba akansoka ba

(f.) akansoki ba akansoki ba

3 (m.) akansoshi ba akansoshi ba

(f.) akansota baakansotaba

1 akansomu ba akansomu ba

2 akansoku ba akansoku ba

3 akansosu ba akansosu ba

SUBJUNCTIVE AND IMPERATIVE
SUBJUNCTIVE IMPERATIVE BOTH

1 asoni kada asoni

2 (m.) asoka asoka kada asoka

(f ) asoki asoki kada asoki

3 (m.) asoshi asoshi kada asoshi

(f.) asota asota kada asota

1 aaomu kada ascmu

2 ascku asoku kada asoku
5 asosu aaosu kada isosu

It ;s seen that these forms are the same as in the aorist.

NOTE. — In the foregoing tenses " shi " and " sa " are commonly
interchangeable, the former being preferably Sokoto, the latter
Kano dialect.

VERB 131

USES or THE TENSES
Aorist

This is an indeterminate tense. It is an unemphatic past,
a vague present, and, if the context permits, may have a
future significance. It is in common use both when pre-
cision is quite unimportant and also in narration —

Ba ka ji ba ? Do you not hear ?

Na ji kishirua I feel thirsty? (lit., thirst)

Ba abinda ban yi ba There is nothing I do not do

Gobe da sasafe mu tashi We shall start very early to-morrow

Ban yerda ba / do not agree

Na ki, ba ya issa ba / refuse it is not enough

Rua ya tafassa ? Has the water boiled ?

Ya yi dimi amma ba ya tafassa It is hot, but it has not boiled yet

ba tukuna

Ta che, to, mu je en ganshi She said, good, we will go so that

I may see him

Mu yi gara-n-fuska ; kana mu We wash our faces, then we bathe;

yi wanka ; mu sasa sababi-n- we put on new clothes

tufafinmu

Mu je, mu gani, na magani-n- We go and see, that is proof of a

makariachi (prov.) lie (lit., medicine for a liar)

Gobe mu chi saura To-morrow we eat the remains

Yaro nan ya iya tafia ? ya tan" Can that boy do the journey ?

mans Certainly he will go

Kwana shidda mu gama aiki In six days we shall finish the work

nan

Present I

This is both the simple present and the present con-
tinuous. In narration it may be translated by the
imperfect.

The verb itself acquires a substantival force, and if it
admits of it, takes the termination " wa " or " ya," though
sometimes exceptions are made. If the verb is defective
in the " wa " (ya) form it remains unchanged in appearance,
though not in force.

For this reason, when the verb is a transitive one the
direct object is attached by the copulative " n," being in
the possessive case; and if other verbs are added in

132

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

sequence they too assume a substantival force and are
joined with the copulative "n."

" WA " OB " YA " TERMINATION USED

Enna kana tafia ?

Shekara goma yana tafia har

ubansa ya hanashi
Enna ubanka ? Shina tafowa
Tana zua Kano
Muna soyeya da junamu

Da na ganshi shina tafia (or ya

ke tafia)
Suna isowa gulbi

When are you going ?

He had been travelling for ten years

until his father stopped him
Where is your father ? He is coming
She is coming (going) to Kano
We are at friendship with one

another
When I saw him he was travelling

(As) They were getting near the river

In the following sentence the noun force is strengthened
by the addition of a personal pronoun —

Shina tafia tasa sai ya gamu da
kwado

He travelled until he met the toad

UNCHANGED FOEM

Kulum gari ya waye ina addua
Saanda ka tada su suna fada da

juna ? suna yi
Enna shina zamne ?

Always at daybreak I pray

When you came upon them were

they fighting ? They were
Where is he staying ?

WITH DIRECT OBJECT

Ina gina rami (for Ina gina-r-

rami)
Mi kana yi ? Ina yi-n-aiki (or

ina aiki)

Ina so-n-ubana. Ina so-n- Allah
Ina ji-n-yungwa da kishirua
Kana yi-n-aiki ?
Muna kamna-tasa gama ya ri-

gaya ya kamnachemu
Ina sonsa, da shi kua shina sona

/ am digging a hole

What are you doing ? I am working

1 love my father. I love God

I am hungry and thirsty

Are you working ?

We love Him for He first loved us

I love him and he loves me (Note
the possessive form in " so-na ")

Ina so-n-kawa malami (for ina
so-n-kawa-r-malami)

SUBORDINATE VERBS ADDED

/ want to become a mallam

VERB 133

In this sentence " so " is masculine, and " kawa," ending
in " a,'' feminine. Compare —

Kana so ka kawa maimagani Do you ivant to become, a doctor ?

in which all the forms are pure verbs —

Ina so-n-saye-n-turmi goma I want to buy ten cloth-strips

NEGATIVE

The "na" termination of the pronoun is dropped, but
the verb is still treated as a substantive —

Kadan ba ka tsoro-n-allah ba shi // you do not fear God He does

sonka not love you

Ba su samu-n-abinchi They find no food

Mugu - n - mia ba ta karewa a Bad soup does not get finished in

tukunia (prov.) the pot

Gulbina ba shi chi - n - mutum My river does not eat a man in the
tsaka sai gefe. Wuka (riddle) middle but at the bank. A knife

(which cuts at the edge)
Kowa ya halbe zaki ba shi Every one shot at the lion but did

samu-n-sa not get him

Ba ka sona ; ni, ma, bani sonki You do not love me ; and I, I do

not love you

/ *

Compare, on the other hand —

Har gari duka ya tashi sun yi, Then all the town arose, they try,
sun yi, ba su eamu ba they try, but they do not get him

The following are examples of pure nouns used after
pronoun in " -na," thus confirming the change of verbs
into substantives in this tense —

Tun ina yaro Since I was a boy

Don sariki shina mugu-n-sheria J Because the chief is unjust in his

judgment

The following is an example of mixed idiom —

Ina so-n en tambaye ka instead I want to tell you
of Ina so-n-tambayenka or ina
so en tamhaycka

1 See note, later, on omission of pronoun in this tenso.

134 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

As with nouns, the copulative may be omitted —

Kulum kulura suna kashe mutane They are killing people without
(for kashe- m- mutane) cease

As with pure nouns, sometimes the copulative preposition
is not put into its proper gender —

Ina kirra-n-ka for ina kirrarka / am calling you
Sai ya gani gawa anadaukansa Except he sees the corpse being
zua wuri-n-bizne taken to the cemetery

Etymology

It is to be noticed that the pronoun in "na" cannot be
followed by any of the forms of the verb "to be," e.g. —

Shina gida He is at home

Shina nan He is here

Suna baya They are behind

From this it is clear that the two words are not in the
same relation to each other as they would be if the con-
necting link of the verb "to be " were possible, but omitted
in practice.

It might, therefore, be assumed that the syllable una"
of the pronoun is no other than the preposition "of," not
readily translateable, however, uniformly into "of," as
indeed it is not in many other cases also.

USE OF PRESENT I. WITH FUTURE MEANING

Kadan na fushe ta, kuna ba ni // / pull her out, will you give me
ita en yi arime ? her in marriage ?

WITH PAST MEANING

Ina tamaha shl bani kurdinsa I thought he would give me all his
duka money

OMISSION OF PRONOUN

The personal pronoun is a necessary adjunct to the verb,
the latter being incomplete without it. If a noun precedes
the verb as the subject, the 3rd personal pronoun still
has to be employed.

VERB 135

In this tense, however, the 3rd personal pronoun is
commonly omitted when the noun-subject is mentioned,
which is a further indication that the verb has been changed
into a noun, rendering the pronoun superfluous. This is
seen from studying such a phrase as " the hat of the chief."
The Hausa would not say " hat he of the chief," but simply
" hat of chief."

Hence the sentences —

Malami na sha-n-gia munafiki ne The mallam who drinks beer is a

deceiver
Doki nan na sayerua (or sayesua) Is this horse for sale ?

ne ?

Abega na tamaha . . . Abega thinking , . .

Kowane na sha-n-taba . . . Whoever smokes tobacco . . .

Wata na bada haske The moon is giving light

Da hiska na busawa, rairai na When the wind blows the sand goes

shiga ga idanunka into your eyes

Kadan k^iganigemida-n-uwanka When you see your brother's beard

na chi-n-wuta, shafa naka rua catch fire, pour water on your

own

If the pronoun " shina " were in any of the foregoing
sentences used, the noun must be treated as out of the
sentence, standing in apposition by itself, and having no
connection with the predicate.

The uses of "shina" and "yana" are not always
in terchan geable .

"Shina" is preferred before a noun and verbs with
"wa" termination —

Abokin mijinta shina bisa itache Her husband's friend was up a tree
yana kallon abinda ta ke yi watching what she was doing

Present II

This tense is only very rarely interchangeable with the
foregoing. It is purely a verb form, and it has none of the
complexity of construction which the foregoing has. It is
used in asking questions, and especially in answering them.
It is precise as to tune, otherwise the aorist is used. In

136 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

narration it is often convenient to translate it by the
imperfect tense.

The object usually precedes the sentence —

Mi ku ke yi ? Aiki mu ke yi What are you doing ? We are

working

If the latter statement had not been made in answer
to a question, it would be in the form of " Muna yi-n-
aiki."

Mi su ke yi yanzu ? Suna chi- What are they doing now ? They
n-abinchinsu are eating their food

From this example it is seen that the idea of continuity
is stronger in Present I. than in Present II.

Mi ku ke kawowa ? Abinda What are you bringing ? What we.

muka samu chiki-n-kasua found in the market

Suka che, domi muke fasawa ? They said, Why are we delaying ?

In the foregoing the noun form of the verb is used.

Ubana ni ke so or ubana ni ka so / love my father

Shi ni ke so or shi nika so I love him

Shanu ya ke kashe or shanu He kills oxen

shika kashe

Da na ganshi ya ke tafia When I saw him he was travelling

Kowa ya ke yi shi Whoever shall do it

Abinda na ke so The thing which I want

Mi ya sameku, ku ke kuka What is the matter with you that

you are howling

A perfect sense may even be found —

Tun da, bar kwanaki nan, For a long time back till this day,
mutane-n-Rimo su ke pesshi- the people of Rimo have plundered
n-hainya the road

Also a future sense—

Chiki-n-wannan lokachi ka ke At this season wilt thou then restore
mayar (mayas) wa Israila da to Israel their kingdom
mulki ?

VERB

137

Past I

This is the tense that indicates simply past time, and it
is often best translated by the perfect in English —

Daga enna mutume nan ya taf o ?

Ya fada mani ya fito daga

Kano. Ban san' abinda ya

kawo shi ba
Kun rataye tufafi ?
Ta che da mu : kun gamu da

wani azne maidauka-n-nama ?

Muka che, mun gamu da shi
Na so shi, shi kua shina so na
Ni, na yi murna
Kin gani ?
Kin san abinda ya kawo ni garin

nan ?

Whence has this man come ? He
told me he came from Kano. I
do not know what has brought him

Have you hung up the clothes ?
She said to us : did you meet a

certain pagan carrying meat ?

We said: we met him
I loved him, he too loves me
I rejoiced
Did you see it ?
Did you know what brought me to

this country ?

Pastil

This past only differs from the preceding in the plural
forms, and in the 2nd person singular feminine. It is to
be noticed that in past tense I. the 2nd person singular
feminine also takes a termination. There are four uses
of this tense — (1) in questions; (2) in matters of fact; (3)
in narration; (4) for emphasis.

There is no negative form, that of the Past I. being
used —

Enna magani-n-da kika debo ?

Mi kika gani ?

M ut 11 MI daia sunka buga

Dakuna nawa sunka gina ?

Enna mutane sunka kwana ?

Fulani sunka chi Kano

Mu munka buge shi

Ku kunka yi aiki

Su sunka yi sata

Saanda muka komo muka ga

kayanmu duka sun bache
Muka tafi kasua, muka zamna,

muka yi chiniki, muka komo
Yaushe sunka zo ?

Where is the medicine you helped

yourself to ?
What have you seen ?
They have beaten a man
How many huts have they built ?
Where have the men slept ?
The Fulani captured Kano
We have beaten him
You have worked (well)
It is (indeed) they who have stolen
When we came back we saw that

all our loads were spoilt
We went to the market, we sat down,

we did trade, we have returned
When did they come ?

138 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

In dependent sentences there may be a future signi-
ficance—

!dan suka zo gobe // they come to-morrow

Tyayenta sunka gane ta suna Her parents seeing her rejoiced and
murna da kuka shouted

Future I. and II

There are two future tenses with the same meaning.
In one the verb remains and is treated as a verb through-
out. In the other the verb stem becomes a substantive
in the same manner as in Present I.

Future I. is formed by a reduplication of the vowel
of the pronoun, though some writers consider that it is
an "a" that is appended throughout.

Future II. is formed by employing the verb <: zani," etc.,
/ will go. As one says " zani Kano," / am going to Kano,
so the Hausa also says, "zani zamna," / am going to sit
down. The idea of actual motion is modified to that of
futurity.1

Other tenses may also have a future significance from
the context. It is the practice when two future tenses
follow each other to use Future II. first, followed by
Future I.

Examples of Future I. without Object

Kaa zama talaka You will become poor

Gobe da sasafe mfi tashi We will start very early to-morrow

Komi zaayi masu ba sua beri ba Whatever may be done to them,

they will not give it up
Kadan ba ka zuba mai chiki-n- // you do not pour oil into the

fitila ta mutu lamp it will go out

Ni tafi ga sariki da ni che masa / shall go to the chief and say to

him
Babu abinda zaya sa sua tabani Nothing he could do would make

them touch me

1 See " The Languages of West Africa," chapter on the verb.

VERB

139

With Object

Ina tamaha ni same sa da rai
Idan ka tafi wurinsa ya fada

maka labari
Idan ka so na yi kokari
To, na kara shi

Kadan na bashi takarda sh!

tsage ta

Yi hankali, shii huge ka
Kadan na yi shiri ni kirrawo ka

/ think I shall find him alive

If you go to him he will tell you

the news

If you like I will try
All right I will add to it or increase

it
If I give him the book he will tear

Take care or he will hit you
When I am ready I will call you

Examples of Future II
Without Object

Zasu chi

Zaku mutuwa

Chiki-n-Bida zamu kwana da

dere
Da zata mutua, ta che . . .

Mi zamu yi ?

Zata je ta gani

Ba zaya kwana nan ba sai

Lokoja
... en zasu tafowa Aghat

Yanzu za en je en sai sabo
Zani tafia en gani abokina
Zani en fara waka
Zaka hadu chiki

Kaka Sariki ze zamna goburo ?
(ze=zai)

With Direct Object.

Zani dauka-1-riga

They go to eat or they will eat

You will die

We are going to sleep in Bida

When she was about to die, she

said . . .
What shall we do
She will go and see
He will not sleep here but at

Lokoja
. . . with the intention of coming to

Ghat

Now I will go and buy a new one
I am going to see my friend
I am going to begin my song
You will be swallowed up inside

(Note. — Hadu is a verb with a

passive meaning.)
How can the King remain wifeless ?

Insertion of preposition ''of,'' "n"

Babu abinda zashi samu-n-ka
Ya kan rika nemi yada zashi

samu-n-riba a wurina
En zasu chi-n-tuo-n-su suna

buga baba-n-kube
Da komi zaka tambaye-n-su ka

che kadan ka yerda
Zani saye-n-wannan bunsuru

/ will take the shirt. Lit., / am

going to the taking of the shirt
Nothing shall happen to you
He is always trying to find a way

to make a profit out of me
When they go to food they strike

a big bell
And whatever you ask them for,

you say, if you please
I will sell this he-goat

140 THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Examples of Use of Verb Stem Form of Verb when Noun
Form in Existence

Mata chan ta che ba zata tafi That woman said she will not go

ba sai mun zo before we come

Ba zaka iya dauka-n-ta (for You cannot take it up quickly
dauka-r-ta) maza

Amma abokina yaushe zashi But when will your friend come ?
tafo?

Yaushe zamu tafi ? When shall we go ?

If the verb itself has a prepositional termination, " n "
is omitted. This applies to the derived verbs in "da."
There is also no " n " if there is an indirect object, either
preceded or not by a preposition —

Zashi gaida sarakunansa He is going to salute his chiefs

Talauchi ba zaya kauda yauchi Poverty ought not to take away

ba freedom

Wata rana da zamu tafia ga One day as we were going to the

gona farm

Zasu yi masu . . . They will do to them . . .

Wani iri-n-magani zaka ba ni What kind of medicine will you

give to me

Kowani zashi tsayesda wannan Whoever stops this man will be

rautum zaakassheshi killed

The copulative " n," being often omitted in the genitive
case, is also omitted with this tense, commonly with
negative—

Zashi halaka dunia He will destroy the world

Fulani ba zasu fada-mu ba The Fulani will not fight us

(Commonly — Fulani ba zasu yi fada da mu ba.)

After "yi," do, it is usually omitted.

Babu itache, kaka zan yi wuta ? There is no wood, how can I make

fire?
Zaka yi tafia You are going to travel

This is so, especially if the simple verb stem is used
and a pronoun is the direct object. It seems as if the
maintenance of the substantival idea were too much of
an effort and the construction too cumbersome.

Mi zai kai-mu Hausa ? What will take us to the Hausa

country ?
Ya che zashi wanke ta He said he will wash it

VERB 141

In the following examples the personal pronoun is
repeated after " zasu " in order to ensure a pure verb
form —

Da Fulani suka gani ba zasu When the Fulas saw that they were

samu-n-nasara, suka che, ba not going to get the victory, they

zasu su yi fada ba said, they would not fight

Zashi ya koiya masa karia He will teach him falsehood

Frequentative

This is formed by the insertion of the particle "kan"
between the pronoun and the verb. It has (1) a fre-
quentative or habitual use ; (2) a subjunctive or con-
cessive sense ; (3) a sense of necessity or certainty or
possibilty : —

Shi kan yi hakka He is in the habit of doing so

Biri ya kan yi banna, halinsa ke A monkey always does mischief, it
nan t* his nature

Alkema bisa ducbi Allah shi A grain of wheat on a rock God

kan ba ta rua gives it water

Ki kan tafi, ki kan kunche su You can go and loose them

Wanda ya kan chi amana ba ya He who plays false with friendship

issa ache da shi aboki ba is not worthy to be called a friend

Uwa ta kan ki danta ? Can a mother hate her child ?

Wanda ya chi giginia, chikinsa Who eats the (fruit of the) fan-
ya (or shi) kan yi chiwo palm, his belly will be sure to be

sick (after it). (Note. — This is

not a fact.)
Wa ya ka shiga (ka = kan) Who can enter? (See previous

note on the tense)

Etymology

MiscbJich considers that "kan" is in all probability
an abbreviation of "kana," then, before —

En na gani mache, kana ni // / see a woman I want her

BO ta = ni kan so ta
En ya gani kura kana ya gudu // he sees a hyaena it runs away

= ya kan gudu

142

THE HAUSA LANGUAGE

Subjunctive Mood and Tense

There is no separate form for the subjunctive mood in
any tense except the 1st person singular, which carries
generally rather a future sense. Its principal usage is
concessive or interrogative. The other persons are the
same as in the aorist tense —

Ina so en tafi

Ina so shi (or ya) tafi

Ka yi nufi ka tafi ?

Na yi kokari en komo

Na aike shi shi kawo doki

Na che, en tafi en kawo shi ?

Ni ma en zo en kwanta

Uwata ta che en tafi en wanketa

Ta che ta tafi ta wanke

Kana en tafi en chi nama-na

Ya che zani en gani makari-n-

dunia
Ya che masa shi gina masa

kushieya

Ea na so en passa kanka ba
Kada su mutu
Kada nama ya tashi

/ want to go

I want him to go

Did you intend to go ?

I shall try to come back

I sent him to bring the horse

I said may I go and fetch him ?

Me too, let me come and lie doivn

Mother said I must go and wash her

She said let her go and wash (it)

Then I would go and eat my meat

He said I will go and see the end

of the earth
He told him to go and dig a grave

for him

I do not want to break your head
That they should not die
Lest the game should start

Imperative

In the singular the pronoun is omitted when a second
verb is there, but not usually otherwise —

Tafi ka chi
Ka tafi. Ku tafi
Kada ka buga
Kada su tafi tukuna
Ba magana !

Go and eat

Go ! (sing, and plu.)

Do not strike

They must not go yet

Do not talk !

The verb "beri," leave, let, is largely used for giving
orders, etc. —

Let us go

Let me see first where she is

Sometimes, for emphasis, the pronoun precedes as well
as follows the verb —

Ka j i ka !

Ki je ki gurin sariki

Hearken thou f

You, go to the chief, or you, go to
where the chief is

VERB

143

Pluperfect Conditional

This tense or mood has no independent existence in
Hausa. The requisite idea is conveyed by making use
of the particle " da " = formerly, with the meaning of
unfulfilled intention given" to it —

Da zani tafia

Da na sani da ban yi haka ba

Da ni kai ne da na halbe gada

nan
Da ba ya yi muna dabara ba,

da mun fadi chiki-n-rami
Da safia ya yi muka tashi

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