A resumptive pronoun is an overt pronoun inside a relative clause that refers back to the relative's head: mutumin da muka yi magana da shi “the man whom we spoke with.” Hausa normally leaves a gap for a simple subject or direct object. Objects of retained prepositions and possessors require overt resumption, while recipient/applied-object and locative relatives permit genuine structural variation. The choice depends on the role of the head inside the clause, not simply on whether the head denotes a person.
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). The compact restrictive frame has a linked head in -n/-r, invariant da, and the appropriate relative TAM. Ordinary boko leaves tone and vowel length unmarked.
Review object relative clauses for the basic direct-object gap before comparing it with the overt forms on this page.
First identify the role inside the relative
Before deciding whether to pronounce anything at the missing position, rebuild an ordinary clause. A simple direct object can normally disappear when it becomes the relative head:
Mun karanta rahoton da kwamiti ya fitar jiya.
We read the report that the committee released yesterday.
The corresponding independent clause is Kwamitin ya fitar da rahoton jiya “The committee released the report yesterday.” In the relative, rahoton is understood as the object and is not repeated with shi. A subject head likewise controls the subject–TAM marker rather than receiving a second pronoun:
Macen da ta shirya taron ta kira mu da safe.
The woman who organized the meeting called us in the morning.
By contrast, a pronoun remains when it is required by a preposition or possessed noun:
Mun ziyarci ƙauyen da kakana ya yi aiki a cikinsa.
We visited the village in which my grandfather worked.
Here a cikinsa “inside it” explicitly identifies masculine ƙauyen as the location. A compact locative pattern may instead leave the relation implicit where the lexical frame licenses it; bare a ciki is also independently usable in appropriate contexts.
Prepositional complements are resumed
When the head is the complement of da “with,” the preposition remains together with an independent pronoun. The pronoun agrees with the head, while invariant relative da introduces the clause.
Ga mutumin da muka yi magana da shi bayan salla.
Here is the man whom we spoke with after the prayer.
Na haɗu da macen da kike aiki da ita a asibiti.
I met the woman with whom you work at the hospital. (addressing one female)
Waɗannan su ne yaran da Malam Bala yake tafiya da su zuwa makaranta.
These are the children with whom Malam Bala travels to school.
The first da in mutumin da... is the relative marker; the later da shi is the ordinary preposition plus masculine pronoun. English can strand with or move it before whom. Hausa keeps its own complement structure and does not make the preposition disappear.
The same logic applies to expressions built from relational nouns:
Ofishin da ake taro a gabansa yana kusa da ƙofa.
The office in front of which meetings are held is near the entrance.
Masculine -sa in a gabansa points back to ofishin. Such resumption is not stylistic padding; it spells out the spatial relation.
Recipients and beneficiaries permit two patterns
An indirect-object or beneficiary relation preserves the form selected by the verb, but Hausa permits variation between a bare wa remnant and an agreeing resumptive. Compare mutumin da muka saya wa magani with mutumin da muka saya masa magani. With verbs that license the fused ma series, resumptive forms include masa, mata, musu:
Na kira mutumin da muka saya masa magani.
I called the man for whom we bought medicine.
Masculine masa resumes mutumin. The medicine remains the direct object of saya. If the head itself were that direct object, it would normally be a gap: maganin da muka saya wa mutumin “the medicine that we bought for the man.”
The verb ba “give” is exceptional. It selects recipient forms ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, su, not the fused ma set:
Na gode wa macen da shugaban ya ba ta takardar yabo.
I thanked the woman whom the director gave a commendation letter to.
Feminine ta resumes macen as recipient; takardar yabo is the direct object. Using mata after ba would mix two different frames.
Possessors are resumed on the possessed noun
Hausa has no single relative word corresponding exactly to English whose. It keeps an ordinary possessed noun inside the relative, and its possessive suffix points back to the head.
Likitan ya duba yaron da ƙafarsa take ciwo.
The doctor examined the boy whose leg hurts.
Mun gana da macen da ’ya’yanta suka dawo daga Legas.
We met the woman whose children returned from Lagos.
An yaba wa ma’aikatan da shugabansu yake taimaka musu.
The employees whose supervisor helps them were praised.
In ƙafarsa, -sa resumes masculine yaron, while feminine ƙafa controls relative continuative take. In ’ya’yanta, -ta resumes feminine macen, while plural children control suka. The agreement facts therefore come from two separate relations.
Relative TAM still matters
Resumption does not replace relative aspect marking. Compare an independent report with a restrictive relative:
Mun yi magana da shi jiya.
We spoke with him yesterday. (independent clause; plain completive)
Mutumin da muka yi magana da shi jiya ya sake kira.
The man whom we spoke with yesterday called again. (relative completive)
Plain mun becomes relative muka. For an open situation, use the relative continuative:
Gidan da suke zaune a cikinsa yana bukatar gyara.
The house in which they live needs repairs.
The linked head gidan, invariant relative da, relative suke, and locative a cikinsa each contribute a different piece. English speakers often notice only that/which and miss the aspect contrast.
Restrictive and discourse-continuing readings
A compact noun-headed relative normally restricts the reference: mutumin da muka yi magana da shi identifies which man. After an already identified name, an agreeing form can add a parenthetical continuation (careful speech and writing):
Amina, wadda muka aika mata da saƙo jiya, ta amsa da safe.
Amina, to whom we sent a message yesterday, replied in the morning. (careful speech or writing)
The resumptive mata expresses the recipient relation. The appositive does not select one Amina from a larger set; it adds information about an established referent. Appositive relatives show speaker variation in TAM: relative muka is fully available here, while some speakers permit a plain-TAM form. In the canonical restrictive construction taught on this page, use the relative paradigm.
Common Mistakes
1. Repeating a simple direct object
❌ rahoton da muka karanta shi jiya
Incorrect canonical direct-object relative—the final shi repeats the gap.
✅ rahoton da muka karanta jiya
The report that we read yesterday.
2. Dropping the pronoun after a preposition
❌ mutumin da muka yi magana da
Incorrect standard Hausa—the preposition needs its complement.
✅ mutumin da muka yi magana da shi
The man whom we spoke with.
3. Using the wrong recipient form after ba “give”
❌ macen da muka ba mata littafi
Incorrect with the verb ba—mata belongs to the ma series.
✅ macen da muka ba ta littafi
The woman whom we gave a book to.
4. Leaving the common-noun head unlinked
❌ gida da muka zauna a cikinsa
Incorrect compact restrictive frame—the head needs joined -n.
✅ gidan da muka zauna a cikinsa
The house in which we stayed.
5. Keeping plain TAM because a resumptive is present
❌ ma’aikatan da mun saya musu kayan aiki
Incorrect canonical completed relative—mun is plain completive.
✅ ma’aikatan da muka saya musu kayan aiki
The employees for whom we bought equipment.
Key Takeaways
- Simple subject and direct-object relatives normally contain a gap rather than a resumptive pronoun.
- Objects of retained prepositions and possessors require resumption; recipients and locations may retain an overt resumptive but also permit licensed compact alternatives.
- The resumptive agrees with the head, but the internal subject independently controls relative TAM.
- The verb ba “give” takes recipient shi/ta/su, while verbs selecting ma use masa/mata/musu.
- Resumption does not license an unlinked head or plain mun/sun/muna/suna in a canonical restrictive relative.
Related Topics
- Object Relative ClausesA2 — Build Hausa relatives whose linked noun head is understood as the missing object of the modifying clause.
- Indirect-Object RelativesB1 — Relativize Hausa recipients and beneficiaries while preserving wa, fused ma- pronouns, or the special recipient frame selected by ba ‘give’.
- Locative RelativesB1 — Relativize Hausa places with linked heads, invariant da, relative TAM, and either a licensed place gap or an explicit locative resumptive.
- Possessor RelativesB1 — Express Hausa ‘whose’ meanings by resuming a relative head with a possessive suffix inside the modifying clause.
- Relative Completive inside Relative ClausesB1 — Build completed Hausa relative clauses with linked heads, invariant da, the relative-completive paradigm, and appropriate gaps or resumptives.
- Relative Continuative inside Relative ClausesB1 — Use the relative-continuative series in Hausa relative clauses that express ongoing actions, habits, and state-like properties.