HAUSA

PRONOUNS

Click on the links in the left-hand column to see notes on the meanings and uses of the pronouns. Click on the parallel links in the right-hand column to see full paradigms of the pronouns, usually in a context.

See remarks on pronoun use	See pronoun paradigms
Independent pronouns Genitive ("possessive") pronouns Independent genitive pronouns Subject pronouns Direct object pronouns Indirect object pronouns	Independent pronouns Genitive ("possessive") pronouns Independent genitive pronouns Subject pronouns Completiive Completive Relative completive Negative completive Continuative Continuative Relative continuative Negative continuative I Negative continuative II Future Subjunctive "Indefinite" future Habitual Direct object pronouns Indirect object pronouns

INDEPENDENT PRONOUNS

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• Independent pronoun paradigm

The main functions of the independent pronouns are as follows:

• Subject of predicate of a "ne/ce" sentence

Ni ne.	'It's me.'
Ita malama ce.	'She is a teacher.'

• Object of a preposition

Mun zo da ita.	'We came with her.'
Babu kowa sai kai.	'There's nobody except you.'

• Object of babu 'there is no ...', '... do(es) not exist'

Q: Akwai "penguins" a Najeriya? A: Babu su.

Q: 'Are there "penguins" in Nigeria?' A: 'There are none.' - 'They don't exist.'

GENITIVE ("possessive") PRONOUNS

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• Genitive ("possessive") pronoun paradigm

The main functions of the genitive or possessive pronouns are as follows:

• Indicate a pronoun possessor in genitive or possessive constructions

gidana	'my house'
motarku	'your car'

• Object of a verb which is in its nominal form, such as a "non-wa" verbal noun in the continuative

Suna zagina.	'They are abusing me.'
Muna korarsu.	'We are chasing them.'

INDEPENDENT GENITIVE ("possessive") PRONOUNS

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• Independent genitive ("possessive") pronoun paradigm

The main functions of the independent genitive or possessive pronouns are as follows:

• Indicate a pronoun possessor when the thing possessed is understood:

nawa tawa	'mine' (masculine possession understood) 'mine' (feminine possession understood)
nata tata	'hers' (masculine possession understood) 'hers' (feminine possession understood)

• Expressing a pronoun possessor when the possessor precedes the possessed noun for emphasis:

nawa abokin tawa k'awar	'MY (male) friend' 'MY (female) friend'
nata mijin tasa matar	'HER husband' 'HIS wife'

SUBJECT PRONOUNS

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• Information on the Hausa tenses
  • Completiive
  • Continuative
  • Future
  • Subjunctive
  • "Indefinite" Future
  • Habitual

Hausa marks verb tenses with different sets of subject pronouns rather than marking changes in the verbs themselves. There are therefore separate sets of subject pronouns for all the Hausa verb tenses. Examples here illustrate the third person singular subject pronoun for each "tense". Click the highlighted links to see the full pronoun paradigms.

Completive	Sun sha shayi.	'They drank tea.'
Relative Completive	Shayi suka sha.	'It tea that they drank.'
Negative Completive	Ba su sha shayi ba.	'They didn't drink tea.'
Continuative	Suna shan shayi.	'They are drinking tea.'
Relative Continuative	Shayi suke sha.	'It is tea that they are drinking.'
Negative Continuative I	Ba sa shan shayi.	'They aren't drinking tea.'
Negative Continuative II	Ba su da mota.	'They don't have a car.'
Future	Za su sha shayi.	'They will drink tea.'
Subjunctive	Su sha shayi.	'They should drink tea.'
"Indefinite" Future	Sa sha shayi.	'They will surely drank tea.'
Habitual	Sukan sha shayi.	'They drink tea.'

DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

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• Direct object pronoun paradigm

The main functions of the direct object pronouns are as follows:

• Indicate the direct object of a verb

Ya gaishe mu.	'He greeted us.'
Zan taimake ki.	'I will help you.'

• Indicate the object of akwai 'there is ... ', '... exists'

Q: Akwai macizai a Najeriya? A: Akwai su.

Q: 'Are there snakes in Nigeria?' A: 'There are some. / They exist.'

• Indicate the object of ga 'here ... is', 'there ... is'

Q: Ina Bala? A: Ga shi can.	Q: 'Where is Bala? A: There he is.'
Q: Kuna ina? A: Ga mu.	Q: 'Where are you? A: 'Here we are.'

• Indicate the object of the preposition gare 'at the place of ..., with ...'

Hankali gare ta.

'Intelligence (is) with her,' i.e. "She is smart."

NOTE: Aside from a small class of exceptions, the tone of a direct object pronoun is opposite that of the syllable which precedes it.

INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

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• Indirect object pronoun paradigm

The main function of the indirect object pronouns is to

• Indicate the indirect object of a verb

Ya nuna mini (gida).	'He showed me (the house).'
Zan gaya miki (labari).	'I will tell you (the news).'