Hausa waɗanda is the plural free-relative form: waɗanda suka zo “the ones who came,” waɗanda muke nema “the ones we are looking for.” It can fill a complete noun-phrase position without a separate word for “people” or “things.” Its plurality belongs to the referents selected by the free relative, while agreement inside the clause still follows Hausa subject–TAM rules.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Write the hooked letter ɗ in waɗanda. The spelling wadanda is widespread in informal typing where special characters are unavailable, but this guide uses standard boko.
Singular gender contrasts are developed on free relatives with wanda and wadda.
From a plural head to a plural free relative
Compare a headed relative with a free relative:
| Number/gender | Headed relative | Free relative |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | mutumin da ya zo | wanda ya zo |
| feminine singular | macen da ta zo | wadda ta zo |
| plural | mutanen da suka zo | waɗanda suka zo |
The headed plural mutanen da contains the linked noun mutanen plus separate invariant da. Do not omit that linker as mutane da. Free waɗanda replaces the whole nominal expression; it is not followed by another da.
Mutanen da suka iso da wuri sun sami kujeru.
The people who arrived early got seats.
Waɗanda suka iso da wuri sun sami kujeru.
The ones who arrived early got seats.
English plural the ones may refer to people or things. Hausa waɗanda likewise depends on context. If the relevant set is dresses, books, or applicants, the same plural form can select members of that set.
Subject relatives: waɗanda controls plural agreement
When waɗanda denotes the subject of its own clause, the clause takes plural agreement. Completed situations use relative-completive suka; ongoing, habitual, and state-like situations use relative-continuative suke.
Waɗanda suka kammala rajista su shiga ɗakin taro.
Those who completed registration should enter the meeting room.
Waɗanda suke jira a waje za su shiga nan ba da daɗewa ba.
Those who are waiting outside will enter shortly.
Na san waɗanda suke iya gyara irin wannan injin.
I know the ones who know how to repair this kind of engine.
In the third example, suke iya has a state-like ability reading. Relative continuative is not simply an English progressive. In a future subject relative, use plural future za su:
Waɗanda za su jagoranci taron su zauna a gaba.
Those who will chair the meeting should sit at the front.
The future has no separate relative form. The free-relative expression and clause structure identify the dependency; za su keeps its ordinary prospective meaning.
Object relatives: another subject may control TAM
If waɗanda is the missing direct object, the subject inside the clause—not the fronted plural object—controls the subject–TAM marker.
Ga waɗanda Amina ta zaɓa domin aikin.
Here are the ones that Amina chose for the job.
Mun yi magana da waɗanda kuka gayyata zuwa taron.
We spoke with the ones that you all invited to the meeting.
Na ware waɗanda muke dubawa yanzu.
I set aside the ones that we are examining now.
Feminine singular Amina controls relative-completive ta in the first example. “You all” controls kuka in the second; “we” controls muke in the third. The fact that waɗanda is plural does not mechanically force suka/suke when it is not the clause’s subject.
In a canonical direct-object relative, the object position remains a gap:
Waɗanda muka saya suna cikin akwatin.
The ones we bought are in the box.
Do not add final su after saya. The outer waɗanda already supplies the understood objects.
Relative TAM versus a neutral independent clause
Hausa marks the free-relative dependency inside the clause as well as at its left edge.
| Viewpoint | Independent plain clause | Free-relative clause |
|---|---|---|
| completed | Sun kawo kayan. | waɗanda suka kawo kayan |
| ongoing | Suna kawo kayan. | waɗanda suke kawo kayan |
| we completed an action on them | Mun zaɓe su. | waɗanda muka zaɓa |
| we are acting on them | Muna tantance su. | waɗanda muke tantancewa |
Ma’aikatan sun aika takardun jiya.
The employees sent the documents yesterday. (plain independent report)
Na karɓi waɗanda ma’aikatan suka aika jiya.
I received the ones that the employees sent yesterday. (relative suka; object gap)
The second suka agrees with overt plural ma’aikatan, while waɗanda is the object gap. Plain sun makes the sending a neutral main assertion; relative suka places it inside the identifying free relative.
Sets, quantities, and discourse
Waɗanda often selects a subset from a set already under discussion. It combines naturally with akwai “there are,” babu “there are no,” and duk “all/every.”
Akwai waɗanda ba su kawo katinsu ba.
There are some who did not bring their cards.
Duk waɗanda suka ci jarrabawar za su sami saƙo.
All those who passed the examination will receive a message.
Negative-completive ba su kawo ... ba replaces positive relative suka kawo. Do not preserve suka under the ordinary negative frame. With akwai, English often supplies some, but Hausa need not add a separate plural indefinite pronoun.
Headless waɗanda can be restrictive, selecting exactly the relevant members of a set. The same form can also introduce a parenthetical continuation after an overt antecedent, though that use is no longer free or headless:
Musa da Amina, waɗanda suka dawo jiya, za su halarci taron.
Musa and Amina, who returned yesterday, will attend the meeting. (neutral careful writing)
This is not headless: Musa da Amina is the overt antecedent. Relative suka is valid here, while some speakers also permit plain sun in appositive waɗanda sun dawo. Compare free Waɗanda suka dawo jiya za su halarci taron “Those who returned yesterday will attend.” A compact restrictive common-noun phrase usually uses linked head plus da, as in ma’aikatan da suka dawo.
Possessors and obliques can be resumed
A possessed noun naturally retains a possessive suffix referring back to waɗanda:
Waɗanda gidajensu suka lalace sun sami taimako.
Those whose houses were damaged received assistance.
The plural suffix -nsu in gidajensu resumes the possessors. Plural gidaje is the subject of the inner clause and controls relative-completive suka. The structure is closer to “the ones [their houses were damaged]” than to an English relative pronoun whose.
A preposition can likewise keep an overt plural pronoun:
Waɗanda muke aiki tare da su sun iso.
The people we work with have arrived.
Here su is required as the complement of da in tare da su. This licensed oblique resumption differs from unnecessarily repeating a direct object after saya or zaɓa.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a singular form for plural referents
❌ Wanda suka iso suna waje.
Incorrect for ‘the ones who arrived’—wanda is singular.
✅ Waɗanda suka iso suna waje.
Those who arrived are outside.
2. Adding invariant da after waɗanda
❌ Na kira waɗanda da suka yi nasara.
Incorrect—waɗanda already introduces the free-relative clause.
✅ Na kira waɗanda suka yi nasara.
I called those who succeeded.
3. Keeping plain plural TAM
❌ Waɗanda sun kawo kati su shiga.
Incorrect canonical subject free relative—sun is plain completive.
✅ Waɗanda suka kawo kati su shiga.
Those who brought a card should enter.
4. Making an object free relative control the marker
❌ Ga waɗanda Amina suka zaɓa.
Incorrect—feminine singular Amina is the internal subject.
✅ Ga waɗanda Amina ta zaɓa.
Here are the ones that Amina chose.
5. Repeating the direct object
❌ Waɗanda muka saya su suna cikin mota.
Incorrect canonical object relative—the first su repeats the object gap.
✅ Waɗanda muka saya suna cikin mota.
The ones we bought are in the car.
Key Takeaways
- Waɗanda is the standard plural free-relative form and is written with ɗ.
- It stands for “the ones who/that”; do not add a separate head noun or another da.
- Subject waɗanda controls plural suka/suke/za su; object waɗanda does not override the internal subject’s agreement.
- Plain sun/suna belong to neutral independent clauses, while canonical affirmative free relatives use relative suka/suke.
- Direct objects normally leave gaps; possessors and retained prepositions can use resumptive -nsu/su.
- Distinguish free waɗanda... from appositive Musa da Amina, waɗanda... and restrictive ma’aikatan da....
Related Topics
- Free Relatives with wanda and waddaA2 — Use Hausa wanda and wadda for headless expressions meaning ‘the one who/that,’ with the right gender, gap, and relative TAM form.
- Relative Clauses with da: OverviewA2 — Build basic Hausa relative clauses with a linked noun head, invariant da, and the appropriate relative TAM form.
- Subject Relative ClausesA2 — Form Hausa relatives in which the linked noun head is understood as the subject of the modifying clause.
- Object Relative ClausesA2 — Build Hausa relatives whose linked noun head is understood as the missing object of 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.