NOUN MODIFIERS

• Adjectives
  • General comments on "adjective" meanings
  • Nouns modified by adjectives: 'white cow'
  • Nouns modified by nouns expressing qualities: 'strong cow'
• Numbers: 'two cows'
  • Numbers 1-10
• Determiners: 'the chair', 'this chair', 'a (certain) chair', 'another chair'
• Genitives ("possessors"): 'Zainab's friend', 'her friend'

Nouns modified by adjectives

and other words expressing qualities

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• Comments on "quality" words in Hausa
• Nouns modified by adjectives: 'white cow'
• Nouns modified by nouns expressing qualities: 'strong cow'

COMMENTS ON "QUALITY" WORDS IN HAUSA

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English expresses qualities almost entirely using adjectives ('white cow', 'strong cow', 'hungry cow', etc.). Hausa does have some adjectives, but most qualities are expressed using nouns corresponding to English 'strength', 'hunger', etc. When modifying a noun by some quality word in Hausa, the construction will differ depending on whether the quality word is an adjective or a noun.

• Adjective: farar saniya 'white cow'
• Noun: saniya mai k'arfi 'strong cow' ("cow having strength")

See a fuller discussion of expression of qualities in Hausa.

NOUNS MODIFIED BY ADJECTIVES: 'white cow'

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The most commonly heard way of modifying a noun by an adjective is as follows:

1. Placement: the adjective precedes the noun

     

2. Form: the adjective agrees in gender or plurality with the noun

     

3. Linker: the adjective carries the "linker" (-r for feminine nouns, -n for masculine or plural)

See a list of most of the common simple adjectives of Hausa.

Masculine nouns	farin rago dogon yaro sabon littafi	'white ram' 'tall boy' 'new book'
Feminine nouns	farar saniya doguwar yarinya sabuwar takarda	'white cow' 'tall girl' 'new paper'
Plural nouns	fararen shanu dogwayen yara sababbin littattafai	'white cows' 'tall children' 'new books'

The word order Noun + Adjective is also possible. Using this order, the adjective must agree with the noun in gender or plurality, but no linker connects the noun and adjective. The meaning is essentially the same as the Adjective + Noun order, though the Noun + Adjective order tends to place emphasis on the adjective, i.e. 'a WHITE cow' rather than 'a BLACK cow'.

Masculine nouns	rago fari yaro dogo littafi sabo	'white ram' 'tall boy' 'new book'
Feminine nouns	saniya fara yarinya doguwa takarda sabuwa	'white cow' 'tall girl' 'new paper'
Plural nouns	shanu farare yara dogwaye littattafai sababbi	'white cows' 'tall children' 'new books'

NOUNS MODIFIED BY NOUNS EXPRESSING QUALITIES: 'strong cow'

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Hausa expresses most concepts involving "qualities" using nouns rather than adjectives.

See a list of some of the commonly used Hausa quality nouns.

To use a quality noun as a modifier of another noun, the words are linked using mai 'possessor of...' for singular nouns (both masculine and feminine) and masu 'possessors of...' for plural nouns, i.e. the literal translation of the Hausa expression meaning 'strong cow' would be 'cow possessor of strength'.

Singular nouns	jaki mai k'arfi saniya mai k'arfi yaro mai wayo yarinya mai wayo	'strong donkey' 'strong cow' 'clever boy' 'clever girl'
Plural nouns	shanu masu k'arfi yara masu wayo	'strong cattle' 'clever children'

A few expressions using quality nouns may take the form Noun-linker Quality noun. There are essentially fixed expressions, not a method of modification can be used with just any noun + any quality noun.

ruwan sanyi ruwan zafi lemon zak'i lemon tsami mutumin kirki mutumin banza

'cold water' 'hot water' 'orange' ("citrus-of sweetness") 'lime' ("citrus-of sourness") 'nice person' 'worthless person'

Nouns modified by numbers

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• Numbers 1-10

In Hausa, the number follows the noun it modifies. In Kano Hausa, animate nouns generally require the plural form of the noun with numbers above 'one'. Inanimate nouns often use the singular form even with numbers above 'one', though the plural form is also possible.

saniya d'aya shanu biyu mutum d'aya mutane biyar gida goma or gidaje goma kujera ashirin or kujeru ashirin

'one cow' 'two cows' 'one person' 'five people' 'ten houses' 'twenty chairs'

The word nawa? 'how many?, how much?' is just like a number in terms of its position and requirements on plural forms of nouns.

shanu nawa? mutane nawa? gida nawa? or gidaje nawa? kujera nawa? or kujeru nawa?

'how many cows?' 'how many people?' 'how many houses?' 'how many chairs?'

There is one situation where the plural form of the noun is not used. This is when thing modified by the number represents a unit, such as a quantity of money, a quantity of purchased items, or a span of time.

Naira hamsin Naira nawa? kashi uku buhu goma shekara ashirin shekara nawa? wata biyu

not *Nairori hamsin not *Nairori nawa? (kashi has no commonly used plural) not *buhuna goma not *shekaru ashirin not *shekaru nawa? not *watanni biyu

'fifty Naira' 'how many Naira?' 'three piles' (of fruits, etc. on display) 'ten bags' 'twenty years' 'how many years?' 'two months'