A strong, non--wa Hausa verbal noun takes a bound linker before a noun that realizes its direct object: ganin Amina “seeing Amina,” sayen takalma “buying shoes,” tambayar likita “asking the doctor.” The linker is -n after a masculine verbal noun and -r after a feminine one.
All unlabelled forms are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). The term “genitive linker” describes the morphology: this is the same linking system found in noun–noun relations. Semantically, however, the following noun is still the verb’s object—Amina is the person seen in ganin Amina.
The general noun-phrase pattern is introduced on the genitive linker -n; this page applies it specifically to continuative objects.
The linker belongs to the verbal noun
| Verbal noun | Gender/linker | With a noun object |
|---|---|---|
| gani “seeing” | masculine -n | ganin yaro “seeing a boy” |
| saye “buying” | masculine -n | sayen riga “buying a gown” |
| ci “eating” | masculine -n | cin tuwo “eating tuwo” |
| sha “drinking” | masculine -n | shan ruwa “drinking water” |
| jira “waiting for” | masculine -n | jiran mota “waiting for a vehicle” |
| kallo “watching” | masculine -n | kallon wasa “watching a match” |
| tambaya “asking” | feminine -r | tambayar malama “asking a female teacher” |
The object’s gender does not select the linker.
Ina ganin yaron a bakin hanya.
I can see the boy by the roadside.
Ina ganin yarinyar a bakin hanya.
I can see the girl by the roadside.
Tana tambayar malam game da jarabawar.
She is asking the male teacher about the examination.
Tana tambayar malama game da jarabawar.
She is asking the female teacher about the examination.
Both objects after gani take ganin; both after feminine tambaya take tambayar. Learn the verbal noun’s gender rather than inspecting the object.
The bound linker is written on the first word
In ordinary boko, attach -n/-r to the verbal noun and leave a space before the object: shan ruwa, tambayar likita. A hyphen can be useful in a linguistic analysis such as sha + -n, but it does not belong in a normal Hausa sentence.
Muna shan ruwa daga wannan rijiyar.
We drink water from this well.
Suna sayen kayan lambu a Kasuwar Litinin.
They buy vegetables at Monday Market.
Audu yana jiran motar haya a waje.
Audu is waiting for a taxi outside.
Yaran suna kallon wasan ƙwallo a falo.
The children are watching the football match in the living room.
These are single linked phrases: the verbal noun plus its immediately following object. Do not insert an English-like preposition meaning of or to between them.
The full continuative paradigm
The linker pattern stays constant while the preverbal marker changes with the subject.
| Person | Plain continuative | With ganin Amina |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | ina | ina ganin Amina |
| 2nd masculine singular | kana | kana ganin Amina |
| 2nd feminine singular | kina | kina ganin Amina |
| 3rd masculine singular | yana | yana ganin Amina |
| 3rd feminine singular | tana | tana ganin Amina |
| 1st plural | muna | muna ganin Amina |
| 2nd plural | kuna | kuna ganin Amina |
| 3rd plural | suna | suna ganin Amina |
| impersonal | ana | ana ganin Amina |
Ma’aikatan suna sayen kayan ofis yau.
The employees are buying office supplies today.
The overt plural subject ma’aikatan is followed by plural suna. The noun subject supplies reference; suna supplies agreement and the continuative viewpoint. Standard Hausa does not license a bare ma’aikatan sayen kayan ofis as a finite continuative clause.
No local object, no object-triggered linker
The linker appears when the object is realized locally after the strong verbal noun. If no object follows, use the unlinked form.
Muna ci yanzu; sai mu yi magana daga baya.
We are eating now; we will talk later.
Muna cin abinci yanzu; sai mu yi magana daga baya.
We are eating food now; we will talk later.
Tana tambaya, amma babu mai amsawa.
She is asking, but nobody is answering.
Tana tambayar likita, amma har yanzu bai amsa ba.
She is asking the doctor, but he still has not answered.
The same locality principle explains questions and focus. A questioned or focused object stands elsewhere, so no noun object follows the verbal noun.
Me kake sha?
What are you drinking? (to one male)
Wace riga take saye?
Which gown is she buying?
Wannan rigar ce take saye.
This gown is what she is buying.
The relative markers kake/take are selected by the constituent question or focus. They do not mean past tense. The absence of -n in sha/saye follows from the missing local post-predicate object.
Plain, relative, and negative distribution
Neutral affirmative clauses use ina, kana, kina, yana, tana, muna, kuna, suna, ana. Constituent questions, focus, and relative clauses use nake, kake, kike, yake, take, muke, kuke, suke, ake. Ordinary negative continuative forms are ba na, ba ka, ba kya, ba ya, ba ta, ba mu, ba ku, ba su, ba a, normally without a final ba.
Tana sayen mangwaro a kasuwa.
She buys mangoes at the market. (neutral)
A ina take sayen mangwaro?
Where does she buy mangoes?
Ba ta sayen mangwaro a lokacin damina.
She does not buy mangoes during the rainy season.
Because mangwaro remains directly after the predicate in all three clauses, linked sayen remains too. Plain versus relative concerns clause type; affirmative versus negative concerns polarity; -n concerns the local object.
Aspect, aktionsart, and time
With an active predicate, the continuative may describe an event underway or a habit.
Yanzu Aisha tana sayen magani a kantin magani.
Aisha is buying medicine at the pharmacy now.
Aisha tana sayen magani a nan duk wata.
Aisha buys medicine here every month.
With perception gani, natural English often uses a state verb:
Daga tagar nan muna ganin dutsen.
From this window we can see the mountain.
Do not map English present progressive mechanically onto Hausa. The same linked predicate can stand in a past frame:
Jiya da ƙarfe goma muna jiran likita.
Yesterday at ten we were waiting for the doctor.
The nearest completive construction uses an ordinary finite verb rather than the linked verbal noun:
Mun ga likitan jiya.
We saw the doctor yesterday. (completive)
Muna ganin likitan yanzu.
We can see the doctor now. (continuative)
The contrast lies in mun ga versus muna ganin, not in English past versus present labels alone.
Practice
Supply -n, -r, or no linker: (1) tana tambaya likita; (2) suna sha ruwa; (3) Me yake sha?; (4) ina gani Amina. Answers: tambayar, shan, sha, ganin. Then replace likita in (1) with feminine likita in context; the answer remains tambayar, because the linker belongs to tambaya.
Common Mistakes
1. Leaving a strong verbal noun unlinked before its object.
❌ Ina gani Amina a bakin ƙofa.
Incorrect — local object Amina requires linked ganin.
✅ Ina ganin Amina a bakin ƙofa.
I can see Amina at the doorway.
2. Choosing -r because the object is feminine.
❌ Yana ganir yarinyar.
Incorrect — masculine gani takes -n.
✅ Yana ganin yarinyar.
He can see the girl.
3. Choosing -n because the object is masculine.
❌ Tana tambayan Audu.
Incorrect — feminine tambaya takes -r.
✅ Tana tambayar Audu.
She is asking Audu.
4. Retaining a linker when the object is extracted.
❌ Me kake shan?
Incorrect — no noun object follows the verbal noun.
✅ Me kake sha?
What are you drinking?
5. Using the linked verbal noun with completive subject marking.
❌ Mun ganin likitan jiya.
Incorrect — the completive selects finite ga, not continuative ganin.
✅ Mun ga likitan jiya.
We saw the doctor yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- Strong verbal nouns take -n (masculine) or -r (feminine) before a local noun object.
- The verbal noun’s gender chooses the linker; the object’s gender does not.
- Write the linker solid with the verbal noun: ganin Amina, tambayar Musa.
- Omit the object-triggered linker when no object follows or when an object is questioned, focused, or relativized elsewhere.
- Subject agreement, clause type, polarity, and object linking are separate choices in the Hausa continuative.
Related Topics
- Continuative with Non--wa Verbal NounsA2 — Build the Hausa continuative with strong verbal nouns such as gani, ci, sha, saye, and tambaya, including their noun- and pronoun-object patterns.
- Dropping -wa before a Direct ObjectA2 — Know when a continuative -wa verbal noun loses -wa before a local direct object and when -wa returns because no object follows it.
- Possessive Object Forms in the ContinuativeA2 — Use joined possessive-type pronouns as the objects of strong continuative verbal nouns, as in ganinka, ganinta, and tambayarsu.
- The Genitive Linker -nA2 — Use the joined Hausa linker -n after masculine, plural, and eligible non-a-final heads to connect a noun with its possessor or classifier.
- The Feminine Genitive Linker -rA2 — Use joined -r after the appropriate a-final feminine singular head, while recognizing its phonological limits and possessive allomorphs.
- 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.