The Hausa plain completive presents an event as a completed whole in an ordinary, non-focused assertion. Its preverbal forms are na, ka, kin, ya, ta, mun, kun, sun, with impersonal an. English translations often use a simple past, but the Hausa category is an aspectual viewpoint, not merely a word meaning “past.”
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). The forms on this page are affirmative. Hausa negatives use dedicated negative subject–TAM paradigms; they are not made by placing ba around these affirmative forms. The relative completive paradigm handles focus and relative environments.
The complete plain-completive paradigm
| Person | Plain completive | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | na | na zo | I came / have come |
| 2nd masculine singular | ka | ka zo | you came / have come |
| 2nd feminine singular | kin | kin zo | you came / have come |
| 3rd masculine singular | ya | ya zo | he came / has come |
| 3rd feminine singular | ta | ta zo | she came / has come |
| 1st plural | mun | mun zo | we came / have come |
| 2nd plural | kun | kun zo | you all came / have come |
| 3rd plural | sun | sun zo | they came / have come |
| impersonal | an | an zo | someone/people came |
The second-person singular distinguishes the addressee's gender: ka to a man or boy, kin to a woman or girl. Third-person singular likewise distinguishes ya and ta. The plural forms do not mark gender.
Ka bar wayarka a mota.
You left your phone in the car. (to a male)
Kin aiko mini da hotunan?
Have you sent me the photos? (to a female)
Ya dawo daga Abuja jiya.
He returned from Abuja yesterday.
Mun isa gida kafin ruwan sama.
We reached home before the rain.
Kun ji labarin?
Have you all heard the news?
An rufe shagon da wuri.
The shop was closed early.
Completed viewpoint, not one fixed English tense
The completive asks the listener to view the event as bounded and complete. Time words and context decide whether English naturally uses a simple past, a present perfect, or a recent-result expression.
Na gan shi jiya.
I saw him yesterday.
The explicit jiya places the completed event yesterday, so English uses the simple past.
Na gama; za mu iya tafiya yanzu.
I’ve finished; we can leave now.
Here the completed action has a result relevant now, so English prefers the present perfect.
Motar ta lalace a hanya.
The car broke down on the road.
The feminine singular noun mota controls ta. Hausa grammatical gender matters even when English uses inanimate it.
With an overt noun subject
The marker remains compulsory when a name or full noun phrase precedes it.
Kabiru ya buɗe shagon da ƙarfe takwas.
Kabiru opened the shop at eight.
Zainab ta kira ni da safe.
Zainab called me this morning.
Ni da Amina mun shirya abincin.
Amina and I prepared the food.
Agreement follows the subject: Kabiru — ya, Zainab — ta, yaran — sun. A coordination containing the speaker takes first-person plural mun.
English learners may feel that ya repeats Kabiru or ta repeats Zainab. It does not. The noun identifies the participant; the preverbal form realizes agreement and completive aspect.
Statements and polar questions use the same forms
Hausa does not invert a separate auxiliary the way English does in Did you…? A plain-completive clause can become a polar question through the full question construction and speech context; the subject–TAM marker itself remains.
Ka ci abinci?
Did you eat? (to a male)
Kin karɓi saƙona?
Did you receive my message? (to a female)
Kun biya kuɗin wuta?
Have you all paid the electricity bill?
Standard Hausa question interpretation is not reducible to one obligatory English-style final rise. Question words, particles, phrasing, and context work at clause level; do not alter ka/kin/kun into an invented interrogative paradigm.
Plain completive versus relative completive
The plain series belongs in neutral main-clause reporting. Subject focus, many relative environments, and constituent questions select the relative completive. Some singular forms look identical, but three personal plural forms, second-person feminine singular, and the impersonal form expose the distinction.
| Person | Plain completive | Relative completive |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | na | na |
| 2nd masculine singular | ka | ka |
| 2nd feminine singular | kin | kika |
| 3rd masculine singular | ya | ya |
| 3rd feminine singular | ta | ta |
| 1st plural | mun | muka |
| 2nd plural | kun | kuka |
| 3rd plural | sun | suka |
| impersonal | an | aka |
Mun kawo ruwa.
We brought water. (neutral report)
Mu ne muka kawo ruwa.
We are the ones who brought water. (subject focus)
Kin yi abincin?
Did you make the food? (neutral polar question to a female)
Ke ce kika yi abincin?
Are you the one who made the food? (focused question to a female)
An gyara motar.
The car was repaired. (plain impersonal report)
Motar da aka gyara tana waje.
The car that was repaired is outside. (relative clause)
This is not free variation. Mun, kin, an are correct in the neutral environments shown; muka, kika, aka are licensed by focus or relativization.
The impersonal an
An presents a completed event without naming a specific agent. Depending on context, English may use an agentless passive or an indefinite subject such as someone or people.
An kira ka daga ofis.
Someone called you from the office. (to a male)
An sace wayata a kasuwa.
My phone was stolen at the market.
Do not add a separate overt subject before impersonal an as though it were ordinary ya/ta/sun. If the actor is identified as the grammatical subject, choose the agreeing personal form instead.
Affirmative and negative belong to different sets
The affirmative plain completive cannot be negated by mechanically wrapping ba … ba around it. Hausa has negative subject–TAM forms.
Ya zo jiya.
He came yesterday.
Bai zo jiya ba.
He did not come yesterday.
Ba su gama aikin ba.
They did not finish the work.
The negative examples are included only to block a common false analogy. Learn their full paradigm on the negative subject-pronoun page.
Practice: choose the agreeing form
Fatima ta ajiye makullin a kan tebur.
Fatima put the key on the table.
Malamai sun shiga ɗakin taro.
The teachers entered the meeting room.
Kai da Bello kun makara yau.
You and Bello were late today. (addressing a male)
Ni da ke mun yi magana jiya.
You and I spoke yesterday. (addressing a female)
Each overt subject determines the person, number, and gender of the form before the verb. Time expressions such as yau and jiya locate the already completed event.
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping the marker after an overt subject.
❌ Zainab kira ni jiya.
Incorrect — the clause lacks its feminine singular completive marker.
✅ Zainab ta kira ni jiya.
Zainab called me yesterday.
2. Using masculine agreement with a feminine subject.
❌ Motar ya lalace.
Incorrect — mota is grammatically feminine.
✅ Motar ta lalace.
The car broke down.
3. Using ka when addressing a woman.
❌ Ka gama aikin?
Incorrect when addressing a woman — ka is masculine singular.
✅ Kin gama aikin?
Have you finished the work? (to a female)
4. Replacing plain plural forms with relative forms in a neutral report.
❌ Suka tafi jiya.
Incorrect as a context-free neutral main-clause report; suka belongs to the relative completive.
✅ Sun tafi jiya.
They left yesterday.
5. Keeping the plain form after explicit subject focus.
❌ Ku ne kun buɗe ƙofar.
Incorrect in the standard focus construction — use relative kuka.
✅ Ku ne kuka buɗe ƙofar.
You are the ones who opened the door.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize the affirmative plain completive as na, ka, kin, ya, ta, mun, kun, sun, an.
- The completive presents an event as a completed whole; English tense choice depends on context.
- An overt subject never licenses deletion: Zainab ta…, Kabiru ya…, yaran sun….
- Neutral reporting uses the plain set; focus and relative clauses can require kika, muka, kuka, suka, aka.
- Negative completives use a separate negative paradigm, not the affirmative forms inside a generic ba … ba frame.
Related Topics
- Why Hausa Requires a Subject–TAM MarkerA2 — Understand the preverbal Hausa forms that jointly express subject agreement and tense, aspect, or mood, even when a full noun names the subject.
- Relative Completive PronounsA2 — Use na, ka, kika, ya, ta, muka, kuka, suka, and aka for completed events in Hausa focus, question, and relative environments.
- Negative Subject Pronoun SetsA2 — Distinguish Hausa negative completive, continuative, future, potential, and subjunctive subject patterns instead of applying one universal ba rule.
- Impersonal a and an FormsA2 — Use Hausa impersonal subject–TAM forms to describe actions by an unspecified person or group without confusing a with completive an.
- Independent Pronouns for Contrastive FocusA1 — Use Hausa independent pronouns to identify, correct, or contrast the person responsible for an action without losing the required subject–TAM marker.