Hausa singular direct objects distinguish grammatical gender: shi means “him” or masculine “it,” while ta means “her” or feminine “it.” The contrast applies to people and things alike. A masculine littafi “book” is resumed by shi; a feminine waya “phone” is resumed by ta.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Shi and ta normally follow the verb as separate words. Ordinary boko does not mark their tone, and this page does not add unsourced tone or length marks. The core object paradigm places them in the full eight-person set.
The two singular forms
| Referent | Direct object | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | shi | him / it |
| feminine singular | ta | her / it |
| plural, any gender | su | them |
Na sadu da Kabiru, sannan na kira shi da yamma.
I met Kabiru, then called him in the evening.
Na sadu da Rabi, sannan na kira ta da yamma.
I met Rabi, then called her in the evening.
Yaron ya gaishe shi cikin ladabi.
The boy greeted him politely.
Yarinyar ta gaishe ta kafin ta zauna.
The girl greeted her before sitting down.
The form tracks the object referent, not the subject. A masculine or feminine subject may act on either kind of object.
Grammatical gender and English it
English gives learners no clue because it uses it for nearly every inanimate singular. Hausa grammatical gender controls the pronoun.
Ina littafin tarihi? Na bar shi a ɗakin karatu.
Where is the history book? I left it in the library.
Ina jaridar yau? Na bar ta a kan kujera.
Where is today's newspaper? I left it on the chair.
An gyara injin ɗin, amma ba a gwada shi ba tukuna.
The engine has been repaired, but it has not been tested yet.
An gyara na’urar, amma ba a gwada ta ba tukuna.
The device has been repaired, but it has not been tested yet.
Littafi and injin are masculine, so they take shi. Jarida and na’ura are feminine, so they take ta. This is grammar, not biological sex.
ta before the verb and ta after the verb
The spelling ta belongs to more than one series. As a plain-completive subject marker, it stands before the verb and agrees with a feminine singular subject. As a direct object, it stands after the verb and refers to a feminine singular object.
| Position | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| before verb | feminine singular completive subject | Aisha ta kira… |
| after verb | feminine singular direct object | …ya kira ta |
Aisha ta kira shi bayan aiki.
Aisha called him after work.
Musa ya kira ta bayan aiki.
Musa called her after work.
Hauwa ta gan ta a bakin ƙofa.
Hauwa saw her at the doorway.
In the last sentence, the first ta is the subject–TAM marker after Hauwa; the second ta is the object after gan. They are not one pronoun moved around. Their syntactic positions identify distinct grammatical functions.
The full functional contrast
| Function | Masculine singular | Feminine singular |
|---|---|---|
| Independent / contrastive | shi | ita |
| Plain completive subject | ya | ta |
| Direct object | shi | ta |
| Recipient / beneficiary | masa | mata |
| Possessive after littafi | littafinsa | littafinta |
Masculine independent and object shi share a spelling; feminine subject and object ta do too. Shared spelling never makes the constructions interchangeable.
Shi ya same ta, ita kuma ta same shi.
He found her, and she found him. (contrastive)
Here clause-initial shi/ita are independent pronouns. Ya/ta before the verbs are completive subject forms. Postverbal ta/shi are direct objects.
Ta aika masa da saƙonta, amma bai kira ta ba.
She sent him her message, but he did not call her.
Masa is the masculine recipient, saƙonta contains the feminine possessor, and final ta is the woman as direct object of “call.” English him/her does not reveal those Hausa series.
Named subjects keep their markers
An overt subject does not make the preverbal subject–TAM marker optional.
| Overt subject | Subject–TAM | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safiya | ta | gaishe | shi |
| Usman | ya | tambaye | ta |
| Likitan | zai | duba | shi |
Safiya ta gaishe shi a wajen bikin.
Safiya greeted him at the celebration.
Usman ya tambaye ta ko tana buƙatar taimako.
Usman asked her whether she needed help.
Tambaya is Grade 2, so it takes the -e frame in tambaye ta. The overt name Usman still requires masculine singular completive ya.
After Grade 2 verbs
Both shi and ta trigger the Grade 2 pre-pronoun -e frame.
Na sayi tabarmar ne domin falo.
I bought the mat for the living room. (noun object)
Na saye ta domin falo.
I bought it for the living room. (feminine object pronoun)
Sun nemi sabon direba har tsawon mako guda.
They looked for a new driver for a whole week. (noun object)
Sun neme shi har tsawon mako guda.
They looked for him for a whole week. (masculine object pronoun)
The pronoun does not fuse orthographically with the verb: write saye ta, neme shi. The close phonological interaction does not license sayeta or nemeshi in Standard boko.
Direct objects versus recipients and possessors
Use shi/ta when the person or thing is directly selected by the verb. Use masa/mata for a recipient or beneficiary.
Malam ya kira shi zuwa ofis.
The teacher called him to the office. (direct object)
Malam ya saya masa littafi.
The teacher bought him a book. (recipient/beneficiary)
Amina ta nuna ta a hoton.
Amina pointed her out in the photograph. (the woman is identified)
Amina ta nuna mata hoton.
Amina showed her the photograph. (the woman is the recipient/viewer)
The nuna pair makes the distinction clearest: nuna ta points the woman out; nuna mata hoton presents the photograph to her. Possession is different again:
Na same shi tare da littafinsa.
I found him with his book.
Na same ta tare da jakarta.
I found her with her bag.
Final -nsa/-rta forms part of a possessive word. A separate shi/ta after the noun cannot substitute for it.
Practice: recover the referent
Rigar tana kan gado; ka ɗauke ta kafin ka fita.
The dress is on the bed; take it before you leave. (addressing one male)
The feminine noun riga licenses object ta.
Akwatin yana kusa da ƙofa; ka tura shi gefe.
The box is near the door; move it aside. (addressing one male)
Masculine akwati licenses shi.
Na ga motar da babur ɗin; na saye ta, amma ban saye shi ba.
I saw the car and the motorcycle; I bought the car, but I didn't buy the motorcycle.
Feminine mota is resumed by ta, masculine babur by shi. The forms let the listener recover which item is meant.
Common Mistakes
1. Using masculine shi for every English it.
❌ Na rufe ƙofar, sannan na kulle shi.
Incorrect — ƙofa is feminine.
✅ Na rufe ƙofar, sannan na kulle ta.
I closed the door, then locked it.
2. Using independent ita as a neutral object.
❌ Mun kira ita da safe.
Incorrect in neutral word order — ita is independent.
✅ Mun kira ta da safe.
We called her in the morning.
3. Dropping the subject marker after a name.
❌ Bashir neme ta ko’ina.
Incorrect — Bashir requires masculine singular completive ya.
✅ Bashir ya neme ta ko’ina.
Bashir looked everywhere for her.
4. Keeping Grade 2 -i before a pronoun.
❌ Na sayi ta a shagon kusa.
Incorrect in Standard Grade 2 morphology — a pronoun selects saye.
✅ Na saye ta a shagon kusa.
I bought it at the nearby shop. (feminine referent)
5. Confusing direct ta with recipient mata.
❌ Ya nuna ta sabon ofishin.
Incorrect for ‘he showed her the new office’ — she is the viewer/recipient.
✅ Ya nuna mata sabon ofishin.
He showed her the new office.
Key Takeaways
- Shi resumes a masculine singular object; ta resumes a feminine singular object.
- Inanimate nouns control the same grammatical-gender contrast: English it can be shi or ta.
- Preverbal ta can mark a feminine singular completive subject; postverbal ta is a feminine singular direct object.
- Independent shi/ita, subject ya/ta, direct shi/ta, recipient masa/mata, and possessive forms belong to distinct constructions.
- Grade 2 verbs use -e before either object: neme shi, saye ta.
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