The affirmative plain-completive marker for we is mun: Mun zo “We came,” Mun gama “We have finished,” and Mun sani “We know.” It identifies a first-person plural subject and presents the predicate as complete or established. It does not distinguish an inclusive “you and I” from an exclusive “they and I”; context supplies that information.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko writes mun without tone or vowel-length marks. The page keeps those normal spellings and avoids importing notation that belongs only in a verified linguistic display.
Mun in the plain-completive paradigm
| Person | Plain completive | With zo “come” |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | na | na zo |
| 2nd masculine singular | ka | ka zo |
| 2nd feminine singular | kin | kin zo |
| 3rd masculine singular | ya | ya zo |
| 3rd feminine singular | ta | ta zo |
| 1st plural | mun | mun zo |
| 2nd plural | kun | kun zo |
| 3rd plural | sun | sun zo |
| impersonal | an | an zo |
Mun dawo lafiya.
We returned safely.
Mun gama aikin.
We finished the work / We have finished the work.
Mun karɓi saƙonku.
We received your message. (addressing more than one person)
The form mun is not simply independent mu plus a past-tense ending that can be freely detached. It is the affirmative plain-completive subject–TAM form as a whole.
An overt first-person plural subject still takes mun
Independent mu can add contrast, and a noun phrase can identify who belongs to the group. Mun remains before the predicate.
Mu mun kawo ruwan; su kuma sun kawo abincin.
We brought the water; they brought the food. (contrastive)
Mu ɗaliban aji na biyu, mun kammala jarrabawar.
We second-year students have finished the examination.
The first mu is an independent pronoun; mun supplies person and completive viewpoint. In the second example, mu ɗaliban aji na biyu explicitly names the group, but it still does not replace the finite marker.
Hausa mun can include or exclude the addressee:
Mun shirya tafiya tare da ku.
We have arranged to travel with you. (we excludes the addressees here)
Mun yi nasara, abokaina!
We won, my friends! (the addressed friends are included)
There is no separate inclusive/exclusive plain-completive form. Discourse participants and phrases such as tare da ku make the intended set clear.
Active predicates present completed events
Jiya mun kira ofishin sau biyu.
Yesterday we called the office twice.
Mun ajiye kayan a cikin mota.
We put the things in the car.
Mun ba su kuɗin mota.
We gave them the bus fare.
In Mun ba su, mun is subject–TAM, ba is the verb “give,” and su is its plural recipient. Ba exceptionally selects the recipient series ni/ka/ki/shi/ta/mu/ku/su, so the neutral standard expression is ba su, not ba musu.
With an active predicate, completive viewpoint presents the event as a whole. English may choose simple past or present perfect depending on context: Mun gama can answer “What did you do?” or announce “We have finished.”
Stative predicates can receive a present translation
Mun san inda ofishin yake.
We know where the office is.
Mun iya yin wannan aikin.
We can do this work.
Mun fi su yawa.
We are more numerous than they are.
The present translations arise because knowledge, ability, and comparison are construed as established states. Mun has not switched from past to present. Compare active Mun koyi yadda ake yin aikin “We learned how the work is done,” where the acquisition itself is bounded.
Time phrases establish the reference point
Jiya mun kammala rahoton.
Yesterday we completed the report.
Yanzu mun gane matsalar.
Now we understand the problem.
Zuwa gobe da safe, mun kammala rahoton.
By tomorrow morning, we will have completed the report.
The future-time example views the completion from tomorrow morning. Za mu kammala rahoton gobe “We will complete the report tomorrow” instead predicts the event. English tense morphology and Hausa preverbal aspect do not align one for one.
Plain mun contrasts with relative muka
The first-person plural relative completive is muka, not mun. Use plain mun for a neutral assertion; use relative muka after a focused constituent, in focus constructions, and in the appropriate relative clauses.
Mun sayi sabuwar mota.
We bought a new car. (plain completive)
Me muka saya?
What did we buy? (relative completive)
Mu ne muka sayi sabuwar motar.
We are the ones who bought the new car. (relative completive after focus)
The contrast mun/muka is grammatical, not optional stylistic variation. A polar question can retain the plain form—Mun sayi mota? “Did we buy a car?”—because it questions the whole proposition. Me muka saya? focuses one constituent and therefore selects the relative form.
The distribution across questions and focus is mapped on plain and relative TAM forms.
Distinguishing mun from mu, muna, and -mu
Several first-person plural forms share mu, but their positions and functions differ.
| Form | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mu | independent or object/recipient pronoun; also a subjunctive marker in its own construction | Su ne suka kira mu; mu tafi. |
| mun | plain-completive subject–TAM | Mun tafi. |
| muka | relative-completive subject–TAM | Ina muka tafi? |
| muna | continuative subject–TAM | Muna tafiya. |
| -mu | possessive suffix | gidanmu |
Sun kira mu bayan mun isa gida.
They called us after we reached home.
Postverbal mu is the object “us”; preverbal mun introduces the completed clause “we reached.”
Mun shiga gidanmu, muka rufe ƙofar.
We entered our house and closed the door.
In gidanmu, -mu is possessive “our.” In mun shiga, mun is plain completive. The following muka rufe occurs in a linked narrative environment that selects the relative completive; learners should not treat muka as a freely interchangeable pronunciation of mun.
Muna aiki yanzu, amma mun huta da safe.
We are working now, but we rested in the morning.
Continuative muna aiki presents an ongoing situation; completive mun huta presents a bounded period of rest.
Negative completive is ba mu … ba
Use ba mu … ba, not affirmative mun, in the first-person plural negative completive.
Ba mu kira ofishin jiya ba.
We did not call the office yesterday.
Ba mu gama aikin ba.
We did not finish the work.
Ba mu san amsar ba.
We do not know the answer.
The final ba closes the negative-completive frame. Negative continuative Ba ma zuwa ranar Lahadi “We do not come on Sunday” uses another series and normally lacks that closing particle.
Common Mistakes
1. Using independent mu without the finite marker.
❌ Mu gama aikin.
Incorrect for ‘We finished the work’; this can instead be read in a subjunctive sense such as ‘Let us finish the work.’
✅ Mun gama aikin.
We finished the work.
2. Dropping mun after an explicit group phrase.
❌ Mu ɗalibai kammala jarrabawar.
Incorrect — the overt group does not replace the subject–TAM marker.
✅ Mu ɗalibai mun kammala jarrabawar.
We students have finished the examination.
3. Using mun where focus requires muka.
❌ Me mun saya?
Incorrect in the standard relative-completive pattern.
✅ Me muka saya?
What did we buy?
4. Keeping affirmative mun inside the negative frame.
❌ Ba mun gama aikin ba.
Incorrect — the negative-completive subject form is mu.
✅ Ba mu gama aikin ba.
We did not finish the work.
5. Translating every mun clause as past.
❌ Mun san amsar.
Incorrect if automatically translated as ‘We knew the answer’; the usual stative reading is current knowledge.
✅ Mun san amsar.
We know the answer.
Key Takeaways
- Mun is the affirmative plain-completive marker for a first-person plural subject.
- Hausa mun does not distinguish inclusive from exclusive “we”; context does.
- Independent/object mu, possessive -mu, continuative muna, and relative-completive muka are distinct forms.
- Active predicates generally describe completed events; stative predicates can describe current established states.
- Focus and constituent questions select muka, while the negative completive uses ba mu … ba.
- Time phrases determine whether English chooses past, present perfect, present state, or future perfect.
Related Topics
- Plain Completive: First Person Singular (na)A2 — Use first-person singular na for neutral completed events and established states without confusing it with independent, relative, or negative forms.
- Plain Completive: Second Person Plural (kun)A2 — Use kun for plural or respectfully plural address in neutral completive clauses and distinguish it from ku, kuka, kuna, and possessive -ku.
- Aspect Rather Than English TenseA1 — Interpret Hausa completive and continuative forms as viewpoints on events, using time words and predicate meaning instead of one-to-one English tense labels.
- Plain and Relative TAM FormsA1 — Choose plain Hausa completive and continuative forms for neutral clauses, and relative forms for focus, constituent questions, and relative clauses.
- Completive in Narrative SequencesA2 — Build Hausa event chains with narrative completive forms while separating foreground storyline, neutral reporting, background description, and negation.
- Relative Completive: Complete Person ParadigmB1 — Master all nine Hausa relative-completive subject markers and recognize their focus, relative, temporal, narrative, negative, and stative uses.