Hausa maimakon does more than place two options side by side. It marks one option as displaced and presents another as the option actually chosen, asserted, or recommended: Maimakon mu jira, mun kira wani direba “Instead of waiting, we called another driver.” At discourse level, a maimakon haka rejects an earlier proposal or inference and redirects the conversation to its replacement.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Plain maimakon is common in speech and writing. A maimakon haka is especially useful in careful explanation, instructions, and (formal) argument. The B1 page Instead Of with maimakon develops its noun, pronoun, and verbal-noun complements; this page concentrates on clause relations and correction.
The replacement relation is asymmetric
With ko “or,” either alternative may remain open. With maimakon, the material after it is the rejected or displaced alternative; the main assertion supplies the replacement.
Mun kira wani direba maimakon mu jira bas ɗin ƙarshe.
We called another driver instead of waiting for the last bus.
Ta gyara tsohuwar rigar maimakon ta sayi sabuwa.
She repaired the old gown instead of buying a new one. (same subject)
Za su yi amfani da ɗakin karatu maimakon su soke taron.
They will use the library instead of cancelling the meeting.
In each case, the maimakon clause names an option that was expected, available, or under consideration but not selected. Reversing the two parts reverses which alternative is rejected.
A clausal alternative normally uses the subjunctive
When the rejected alternative is a full action with an expressed participant, Hausa commonly uses a subjunctive subject marker: in, ka, ki, ya, ta, mu, ku, su. The alternative is nonasserted—it is contemplated or displaced rather than reported as an event that occurred.
Maimakon in tafi ni kaɗai, na jira ’yar’uwata.
Instead of going alone, I waited for my sister.
Maimakon ka kashe duk kuɗin, ka ajiye wani ɓangare.
Instead of spending all the money, save part of it. (advice to one male)
Maimakon su yi gardama, sun nemi shawarar dattawa.
Instead of arguing, they sought the elders’ advice.
The 1st-person form in makes the dependent paradigm especially visible. Third-person ya/ta and plural mu/su can resemble other forms in ordinary boko, so identify them by the dependent environment and the nonasserted meaning. A general completive such as mun or sun would assert completion rather than mark the displaced course.
The main clause, by contrast, is independent and selects TAM from its actual meaning:
Maimakon mu sayi sabon injin, za mu gyara wannan.
Instead of buying a new engine, we will repair this one. (subjunctive plus future)
Maimakon ta huta jiya, Amina ta yi aiki har dare.
Instead of resting yesterday, Amina worked until night. (subjunctive plus completed event)
Maimakon ku tsaya a rana, ku jira a ƙarƙashin rumfar.
Instead of standing in the sun, wait under the shelter. (directed to a group)
The connector does not impose one shared TAM. It places a dependent alternative against an independently timed assertion, prediction, or directive.
Same and different subjects must be recoverable
With a continuing subject, the maimakon clause still has its own subjunctive marker.
Bello ya gyara famfon maimakon ya kira mai gyara.
Bello repaired the tap instead of calling a repairer. (same subject)
Na aika saƙon murya maimakon in rubuta doguwar wasiƙa.
I sent a voice message instead of writing a long letter. (same subject)
When the participants differ, name the subject inside each relevant clause. Hausa does not rely on an English -ing form to leave the alternative’s actor vague.
Maimakon Musa ya gabatar da rahoton, Aisha ce ta gabatar da shi.
Instead of Musa presenting the report, it was Aisha who presented it. (different subjects)
Maimakon yara su kawo kuɗin makaranta, iyayensu za su biya ta banki.
Instead of the children bringing the school fees, their parents will pay through the bank. (different subjects)
Maimakon manajan ya kira taro, sakatariyar ta aika da sanarwa.
Instead of the manager calling a meeting, the secretary sent a notice. (different subjects)
The overt noun plus marker—Musa ya, yara su, manajan ya—belongs inside the rejected proposition. The replacement clause then establishes Aisha, iyayensu, sakatariyar as its own subject.
Fronted and final maimakon clauses
Fronting the rejected alternative makes the correction the organizing frame. This order is common when the speaker wants to contrast expectation with what surprisingly happened.
Maimakon ya nemi afuwa, sai ya ƙara yin gardama.
Instead of apologizing, he went on arguing even more.
Maimakon a rage cunkoso, sai aka ƙara rufe wata hanya.
Instead of reducing congestion, yet another road was closed. (impersonal, critical tone)
Here sai highlights the unexpected replacement; it is natural but not obligatory. Without it, the main clause can follow directly.
Maimakon ta dawo gida, ta kwana wurin ƙanwarta.
Instead of returning home, she spent the night at her younger sister’s place.
A final maimakon clause keeps the asserted event first and supplies the rejected alternative afterward. It often sounds less dramatic and more descriptive.
Mun aika da kwafin lantarki maimakon mu buga takardu ɗari.
We sent an electronic copy instead of printing a hundred documents.
Likitan ya ba ta shawarar ta huta maimakon ta koma aiki nan take.
The doctor advised her to rest instead of returning to work immediately.
Fronting affects information structure, not which option is rejected: the maimakon complement remains the displaced one in either order.
A maimakon haka corrects a whole proposal
Haka can retrieve an entire previously mentioned course of action. The fixed discourse expression a maimakon haka then means “instead of that; instead.”
Ba za mu rushe tsohon ginin ba. A maimakon haka, za mu ƙarfafa bangonsa.
We will not demolish the old building. Instead, we will reinforce its wall.
Kada ku aika kuɗin zuwa wannan lambar. A maimakon haka, ku jira sabon bayanin asusu.
Do not send the money to this number. Instead, wait for the new account details. (to a group)
Rahoton bai ɗora laifi a kan mutum ɗaya ba; a maimakon haka, ya nuna gazawar tsarin gaba ɗaya.
The report did not blame one individual; instead, it showed a failure of the entire system. (formal)
The first proposition is often negative because correction naturally rejects something, but negation is not a lexical requirement of a maimakon haka. Context can make the abandoned proposal clear:
Mun fara shirin tafiya da dare. A maimakon haka, daga baya muka yanke shawarar mu tashi da safe.
We began planning to travel at night. Instead, we later decided to leave in the morning.
The initial a belongs naturally in this discourse expression. Do not infer that every ordinary complement requires a: maimakon shayi, maimakon mu jira, but a maimakon haka.
Maimakon versus ko, amma, and sai dai
The nearest connectors encode different logical relations.
| Form | Relation | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| ko | open alternatives | Which option? |
| amma | reservation or counterexpectation | What limits the first claim? |
| sai dai | qualification, exception, or correction | What condition narrows it? |
| maimakon | replacement | What displaced what? |
Za mu iya kira Musa ko mu jira motar haya.
We can call Musa or wait for a taxi. (choice remains open)
Mun kira Musa, amma bai samu mota ba.
We called Musa, but he could not get a vehicle. (counterexpectation)
Za mu kira Musa, sai dai ba yanzu ba.
We will call Musa, but not now. (qualification)
Mun kira Amina maimakon mu jira Musa.
We called Amina instead of waiting for Musa. (replacement)
No dictionary gloss such as but, or, rather, or instead is sufficient on its own. The propositions’ relation decides the Hausa form.
Punctuation and prosody reveal scope
A fronted maimakon clause is normally followed by a comma in careful writing and by a boundary in speech. A maimakon haka often starts a new sentence or follows a semicolon, because it retrieves a complete earlier proposition.
Maimakon ta ƙi shawarar gaba ɗaya, ta nemi a gyara sashe biyu kawai.
Instead of rejecting the proposal entirely, she asked for only two sections to be revised.
Ba a ƙara harajin ba; a maimakon haka, an rage wasu kuɗaɗen gudanarwa.
The tax was not increased; instead, some administrative expenses were reduced. (formal)
In speech, pause after the rejected option but keep its internal subject–TAM unit intact. A pause cannot turn Musa gabatar da rahoto into a finite alternative; it must be Musa ya gabatar da rahoto.
Common Mistakes
1. Reversing the chosen and rejected alternatives
❌ Na sha ruwa maimakon shayi.
Wrong only for the intended meaning ‘I chose tea rather than water’; this sentence says water replaced tea.
✅ Na sha shayi maimakon ruwa domin ina son abin sha mai zafi.
I drank tea instead of water because I wanted a hot drink.
2. Using general completive in the displaced clause
❌ Mun kira direba maimakon mun jira bas.
Incorrect standard dependent frame—mun asserts a completed event rather than marking the rejected alternative.
✅ Mun kira direba maimakon mu jira bas a cikin ruwan sama.
We called a driver instead of waiting for a bus in the rain.
3. Dropping an overt alternative subject’s marker
❌ Maimakon Musa gabatar da bayani, Hauwa ta yi magana.
Incorrect—the embedded subject Musa needs subjunctive ya.
✅ Maimakon Musa ya gabatar da bayani, Hauwa ta yi magana.
Instead of Musa presenting an explanation, Hauwa spoke.
4. Using maimakon for a mere reservation
❌ Za mu halarci taron, maimakon ba za mu daɗe ba.
Wrong relation: leaving early limits the visit; it does not replace attendance.
✅ Za mu halarci taron, amma ba za mu daɗe ba.
We will attend the meeting, but we will not stay long.
5. Inserting da inside the established discourse phrase
❌ Ba za mu jira ba. A maimakon da haka, za mu tafi yanzu.
Incorrect—the established sentence-linking expression is a maimakon haka, without da.
✅ Ba za mu jira ba. A maimakon haka, za mu tafi yanzu.
We will not wait. Instead, we will leave now.
Key Takeaways
- Maimakon marks an asymmetric replacement: its complement is the displaced alternative, while the main clause asserts the replacement.
- A clausal alternative commonly uses subjunctive in/ka/ki/ya/ta/mu/ku/su because that option is not asserted as completed.
- Shared and different subjects still require recoverable marking: maimakon ya..., maimakon Musa ya....
- Fronting foregrounds correction; following position gives a more descriptive afterthought. Sai can heighten an unexpected replacement.
- A maimakon haka retrieves and corrects a whole prior proposal or claim.
- Ko offers a choice, amma marks counterexpectation, sai dai qualifies, and maimakon encodes actual replacement.
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- Instead Of with maimakonB1 — Use maimakon with nouns, suffixed pronouns, verbal nouns, and subjunctive clauses to replace one expected choice with another.
- ko: OrA1 — Use ko to coordinate alternatives while distinguishing ordinary disjunction, choice questions, polar questions, and confirmation tags.
- amma: ButA1 — Link contrasting Hausa clauses with amma while giving each clause its own subject–TAM marking and choosing tense or aspect independently.
- Subjunctive in Purpose ClausesB1 — Build Hausa purpose clauses with domin or don plus a fully marked subjunctive subject and distinguish intended results from reasons and predictions.
- Contrastive CorrectionB1 — Correct one mistaken participant, object, place, or time while preserving the background event through Hausa focus syntax.
- Metalinguistic Correction with baB2 — Use Hausa ba constructions to reject a wording, label, interpretation, or implication and replace it explicitly.