Hausa has a second future-like paradigm traditionally called the indefinite future and also called the potential. Its forms have a long vowel with falling tone. They present a future outcome with diffidence, conditionality, or a sense like “if circumstances permit,” “most likely,” or “surely, as things stand.” They are not indefinite pronouns like English someone or anything; indefinite describes the qualified status of the projected event.
Ordinary boko hides the very length-and-tone contrast that identifies this series. Written ya can therefore mean plain completive, relative completive, subjunctive, or indefinite future, each with a different pronunciation and grammar. The tone in TAM markers page gives the broader contrast. All target examples below use normal (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa) spelling without academic marks.
The complete indefinite-future paradigm
This table gives ordinary spelling first. The third column is a pronunciation display (academic/pedagogical): the circumflex marks falling tone and doubled vowels mark length.
| Person | Ordinary boko | Marked pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | na | nâa | na zo |
| 2nd masculine singular | ka | kâa | ka zo |
| 2nd feminine singular | kya | kyâa | kya zo |
| 3rd masculine singular | ya | yâa | ya zo |
| 3rd feminine singular | ta | tâa | ta zo |
| 1st plural | ma | mâa | ma zo |
| 2nd plural | kwa | kwâa | kwa zo |
| 3rd plural | sa | sâa | sa zo |
| impersonal | a | âa | a zo |
Forms with y or w reflect how the subject element and the long a combine: kya, kwa. The plural forms ma, kwa, sa must not be remodeled as subjunctive mu, ku, su.
Wataƙila na dawo gobe.
Perhaps I will return tomorrow.
Da yardar Allah, ma gama aikin a kan lokaci.
God willing, we will finish the work on time.
Ina tsammani sa iso kafin dare.
I think they will probably arrive before nightfall.
Gida ya ji.
Those at home will surely receive the greeting. (conventional response; indefinite future)
The translations vary because English has no dedicated pronoun series for this meaning. Perhaps, probably, surely, and will can all be appropriate when the surrounding context conveys the speaker’s qualified commitment.
Qualified projection, not weak grammar
The paradigm does not mean that the speaker has no opinion. It can make a mild promise or predict the natural result of circumstances while leaving room for what cannot be controlled.
Kada ka damu; na kawo maka takardun gobe.
Don’t worry; I will bring you the documents tomorrow. (qualified/mild promise to a male)
Idan muka tashi da wuri, ma isa kafin azahar.
If we leave early, we should reach there before noon.
Da zarar an gyara motar, ta koma aiki.
As soon as the car is repaired, it will likely return to service.
In the second example, the condition idan muka tashi da wuri establishes circumstances; ma isa presents the reasonably expected outcome. The indefinite future belongs in the resulting main clause, not automatically in every clause containing if.
English surely can sound forcefully certain, but in promises such as “I’ll surely do it,” it may also acknowledge uncertainty. Hausa usage similarly combines prediction with a speaker’s restrained commitment. There is no single English adverb that reproduces it in every context.
Indefinite future versus the za future
The ordinary za future is the broad, unmarked choice. It occurs in direct information questions, focus constructions, relative clauses, reasons, conditions, and future-in-the-past contexts. The indefinite future contributes its own diffident or conditional meaning and is more restricted.
Za mu dawo gobe.
We will return tomorrow. (ordinary future)
Wataƙila ma dawo gobe.
Perhaps we will return tomorrow. (indefinite/potential future)
Me za ku saya a kasuwa?
What will you all buy at the market?
In a wh-question, the speaker presupposes that some purchase will occur and asks for its identity. The ordinary za ku future fits that presupposition. Using potential kwa here would conflict with the construction’s normal distribution.
The same principle holds in a relative clause:
Kayan da za su kawo suna da nauyi.
The goods that they will bring are heavy.
The relative description treats the future bringing as part of an established description. Use za su, not sa, in this standard pattern.
It does not mean “future in the past”
Ordinary za can project an event from a past reference point:
Jiya da ƙarfe huɗu, za mu fita sai aka kira mu.
Yesterday at four, we were about to leave when someone called us.
The indefinite future is anchored to an event still future from the speech situation; it is not the form for English was going to. This is a genuine distributional restriction, not an optional stylistic preference.
Overt nouns still take the marker
The noun identifies the subject, while the indefinite-future form expresses agreement and the qualified projection.
Musa ya dawo gobe, in Allah ya yarda.
Musa will likely return tomorrow, God willing. (indefinite future)
Aisha ta kammala rahoton nan ba da jimawa ba.
Aisha will probably finish this report before long. (indefinite future)
Baƙin sa iso da yamma.
The guests will probably arrive in the evening. (indefinite future)
The written ya/ta can resemble other paradigms, but sa makes the plural contrast visible. Deleting it after baƙin leaves a bare verb and removes the subject–TAM complex.
Subject forms versus independent and object forms
Compare the roles in this clause:
Su, sa kira mu idan sun isa.
As for them, they will probably call us when they arrive.
Initial su is an independent topic pronoun. Potential sa is the third-person plural subject–TAM form. Final mu is the direct object of kira. The clause idan sun isa has the relative completive sun in the conditional time clause, not another potential marker.
Singular forms also belong to distinct functional series:
Ita, ta ba shi amsa gobe.
As for her, she will probably give him an answer tomorrow.
Independent ita establishes the topic; potential ta builds the future-like clause; recipient masa means “to him.” A possessive meaning would be inside a noun, as in amsarta “her answer.” English uses related she/her forms, but Hausa grammar selects a separate series for each slot.
Negative indefinite future
Negation uses ba before the potential subject form and a second ba at the end of its scope. The potential marker keeps its long falling pronunciation.
Ba na makara ba.
I most likely will not be late. (negative indefinite future)
Ba ma manta da alkawarin ba.
We surely will not forget the promise. (negative indefinite future)
Ba sa zo yau ba.
They probably will not come today. (negative indefinite future)
Ordinary spelling can make these look like other negative paradigms. Spoken tone and length, the form of the lexical predicate, and discourse meaning distinguish them. Do not infer a pronunciation from boko alone.
Practice: read beyond the spelling
Ya zo gobe.
He will probably come tomorrow. (read ya as long falling indefinite future)
Ina so ya zo gobe.
I want him to come tomorrow. (read ya as short low subjunctive)
Ya zo jiya.
He came yesterday. (read ya as long high plain completive)
The written marker is identical in all three. Gobe, the governing expression ina so, and jiya supply grammatical context, while the spoken form confirms the paradigm.
Kya sami lokaci gobe, in Allah ya yarda.
You will probably find time tomorrow, God willing. (to a female)
Kwa ji labarin idan kun isa gida.
You all will probably hear the news when you reach home.
These two examples expose forms that cannot be mistaken for the ordinary future za ki/za ku or the subjunctive ki/ku.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding za to the potential series.
❌ Wataƙila za ma dawo gobe.
Incorrect mixture of two future paradigms.
✅ Wataƙila ma dawo gobe.
Perhaps we will return tomorrow. (indefinite future)
2. Replacing the special plural form with subjunctive su.
❌ Ina tsammani su iso gobe.
Incorrect for the intended indefinite future if su is given the short low subjunctive pronunciation.
✅ Ina tsammani sa iso gobe.
I think they will probably arrive tomorrow.
3. Overlooking feminine singular kya.
❌ Ka dawo gobe, ko? (ga mace)
Incorrect potential agreement when addressing one woman.
✅ Kya dawo gobe, ko?
You’ll probably return tomorrow, right? (to a female)
4. Dropping the marker after an overt noun.
❌ Musa dawo gobe, in Allah ya yarda.
Incorrect — Musa does not replace the subject–TAM marker.
✅ Musa ya dawo mako mai zuwa, in Allah ya yarda.
Musa will likely return next week, God willing.
5. Using the indefinite future in a wh-question.
❌ Me kwa saya a kasuwa?
Incorrect standard distribution — a wh-question takes the ordinary za future here.
✅ Me za ku saya a kasuwa?
What will you all buy at the market?
Key Takeaways
- The indefinite or potential future has long falling forms: marked nâa, kâa, kyâa, yâa, tâa, mâa, kwâa, sâa, âa.
- Ordinary boko writes them na, ka, kya, ya, ta, ma, kwa, sa, a, hiding tone and length.
- The construction qualifies a future prediction or promise with diffidence or “if circumstances permit” meaning.
- The ordinary za future has broader distribution; use it in standard wh-questions, relative clauses, and future-in-the-past contexts.
- An overt noun and independent pronoun do not replace the potential subject–TAM marker.
Related Topics
- Tone in Grammar and TAM MarkersA2 — How tone and vowel length distinguish Hausa subject–TAM markers and other grammatical forms hidden by ordinary spelling.
- Future Pronouns after zaA2 — Form the Hausa za future with zan, za ka, za ki, zai, za ta, za mu, za ku, za su, and impersonal za a.
- Subjunctive PronounsA2 — Use the low-tone Hausa subjunctive series in commands, wishes, purpose clauses, necessity expressions, and dependent event sequences.
- Negative Subject Pronoun SetsA2 — Distinguish Hausa negative completive, continuative, future, potential, and subjunctive subject patterns instead of applying one universal ba rule.
- Future versus Continuative for Scheduled EventsB1 — Choose za to project a scheduled event or the continuative to present an arrangement, routine, or situation open at a future time.