Object Pronouns with Two-Object Verbs | Hausa Grammar

Many Hausa verbs can involve two objects: a recipient or beneficiary and a theme, the thing transferred, shown, brought, or prepared. In the neutral order, the recipient comes immediately after the verb and the theme follows it: verb + indirect object + direct object. Hausa therefore makes a distinction that English often hides in pairs such as “show me the photo” and “show the photo to me.”

All unlabelled forms here are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Most pronominal recipients use mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, musu. The very common irregular verb ba “give” is a genuine exception and receives its own section below.

The two object slots

Role	Question it answers	Usual Hausa form	Position
indirect object	to/for whom?	mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, musu	first after the verb
direct object	what? whom directly affected?	noun phrase or direct-object pronoun	after the indirect object

Malam ya nuna mana sabon ɗakin karatu.

The teacher showed us the new library.

Here mana is the recipient “to us,” while sabon ɗakin karatu is the thing shown. The overt noun subject Malam still needs masculine singular completive ya; neither object replaces that preverbal marker.

Aisha ta kawo mini ruwa mai sanyi.

Aisha brought me some cold water.

Na rubuta maka saƙo jiya.

I wrote you a message yesterday. (addressing one male)

Za mu saya miki kyauta a Kano.

We will buy you a present in Kano. (addressing one female)

Likita ya rubuta masa takardar magani.

The doctor wrote him a prescription.

The English pronouns me, you, and him do not reveal whether they are direct or indirect. Hausa does: compare direct ni/ka/ki/shi with recipient mini/maka/miki/masa.

💡

Find the thing transferred first. In ta nuna mini hoton, hoton is what was shown, so mini must be the recipient: “to me.”

Compact person and gender paradigm

Person	Direct object	Indirect object	Independent
1st singular	ni	mini	ni
2nd masculine singular	ka	maka	kai
2nd feminine singular	ki	miki	ke
3rd masculine singular	shi	masa	shi
3rd feminine singular	ta	mata	ita
1st plural	mu	mana	mu
2nd plural	ku	muku	ku
3rd plural	su	musu	su

Second-person singular gender remains compulsory: maka is for one male addressee and miki for one female addressee. Use plural muku for two or more addressees.

Zan nuna maka takardar idan ka zo.

I will show you the document when you come. (addressing one male)

Zan nuna miki takardar idan kin zo.

I will show you the document when you come. (addressing one female)

When both objects are pronouns

If the recipient is pronominal and the following direct object is also pronominal, the recipient still comes first. In this environment Hausa uses the independent form for the following theme, a pattern most visible with feminine singular ita rather than ordinary direct-object ta.

Ya danƙa mini ita kafin ya tafi.

He entrusted her to me before he left.

Na nuna masa ita a cikin kundin.

I showed it to him in the album. (referring to a feminine photograph)

Ta kawo mana shi daga ofis.

She brought it to us from the office. (referring to a masculine item)

The masculine forms shi and the plural forms mu/ku/su look alike in the direct-object and independent columns. Feminine ita makes the construction transparent:

Na kira ta.

I called her. (one ordinary direct object: ta)

Na danƙa maka ita.

I entrusted her to you. (recipient maka before theme ita; addressing one male)

This is not free stylistic variation. Ta is the ordinary feminine direct object immediately after a verb; ita is the fuller form used here after the preceding indirect object.

Noun recipients use wa

A noun recipient is normally introduced by wa in Nigerian Standard Hausa. It occupies the same early object slot as the ma- pronouns.

Ya nuna wa yaron agogon.

He showed the boy the watch.

Ya nuna masa agogon.

He showed him the watch.

Binta ta saya wa ƙanwarta riga.

Binta bought her younger sister a dress.

Do not add wa before an indirect-object pronoun: masa already encodes the relation. The form ma before a noun occurs in some (regional) varieties, but the production norm on this page is Standard wa Musa, alongside pronominal masa.

The important exception: ba “give”

With ba “give,” a pronominal recipient uses the forms that otherwise belong to the direct-object paradigm: ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, su. In speech these have the low-tone recipient realization selected by ba, but ordinary boko does not mark it.

Na ba shi littafin.

I gave him the book.

Zainab ta ba ni kuɗin mota.

Zainab gave me the bus fare.

Malam ya ba ki amsa mai kyau.

The teacher gave you a good answer. (addressing one female)

Za su ba mu sabon aiki gobe.

They will give us a new assignment tomorrow.

Do not replace these recipients with masa, mini, miki, mana after ba. If a pronominal direct object follows the recipient, it again appears in the independent series:

Na ba shi ita.

I gave it to him. (referring to a feminine item)

When ba has only a thing as its object, Hausa commonly uses da before that theme: na ba da littafin “I gave the book away.” The recipient construction na ba shi littafin has a different frame.

💡

Memorize ba with its own miniature pattern: ba + recipient from ni/ka/ki/shi… + theme. It does not take the ordinary ma- recipient series.

Meaning depends on the verb

The first postverbal object is not always a literal recipient who receives ownership. It can be a beneficiary, an addressee, or another affected participant licensed by the verb and its grade.

Ta dafa mana tuwo kafin baƙi su iso.

She cooked tuwo for us before the guests arrived.

Ka karanta mana sanarwar a hankali.

Read the announcement to us slowly. (addressing one male)

Direban ya buɗe mata ƙofar mota.

The driver opened the car door for her.

English may express these relations with to, for, or a bare pronoun. Hausa selection follows the verb's valency and grade, not one English preposition. The indirect-object overview develops these meanings further.

Practice: identify and rebuild

In each sentence, name the recipient and the theme, then replace the recipient with the requested pronoun.

Musa ya kawo wa Amina littafi. → Musa ya kawo mata littafi.

Musa brought Amina a book. → Musa brought her a book.

Hauwa ta nuna wa yaran hotuna. → Hauwa ta nuna musu hotuna.

Hauwa showed the children some photos. → Hauwa showed them some photos.

Malam ya ba Zainab kyauta. → Malam ya ba ta kyauta.

The teacher gave Zainab a present. → The teacher gave her a present. (ba takes ta, not mata)

Common Mistakes

1. Reversing recipient and theme.

❌ Ya nuna hoton mini.

Incorrect in the neutral two-object order — the recipient precedes the theme.

✅ Ya nuna mini hoton.

He showed me the photograph.

2. Using a direct-object pronoun for an ordinary recipient.

❌ Ta kawo ni ruwa.

Incorrect for ‘she brought me water’ — ni would be a direct object.

✅ Ta kawo mini ruwa.

She brought me water.

3. Losing feminine singular address.

❌ Zan saya maka kyauta.

Incorrect when speaking to one woman — maka is masculine singular.

✅ Zan saya miki kyauta.

I will buy you a present. (addressing one female)

4. Applying the ordinary ma- series after ba.

❌ Na ba masa littafin.

Incorrect in the Standard pattern with ba ‘give’.

✅ Na ba shi littafin.

I gave him the book.

5. Dropping the preverbal marker after an overt subject.

❌ Maryam kawo mana abinci.

Incorrect — Maryam still requires feminine singular ta.

✅ Maryam ta kawo mana abinci.

Maryam brought us food.

Key Takeaways

Neutral two-object order is verb + indirect object + direct object.
Most pronominal recipients use mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, musu.
A pronominal theme following an indirect object uses the independent series, clearly visible in mini ita.
Noun recipients normally take wa; do not place wa before an already marked ma- pronoun.
Ba “give” exceptionally takes recipient ni/ka/ki/shi/ta/mu/ku/su rather than the ordinary ma- series.

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