Hausa negative commands use kada or contracted kar followed by a subjunctive subject marker: Kada ka fita “Don’t go out,” Kar ki manta “Don’t forget.” This is the command use of the wider negative-subjunctive construction. There is no negative version of the special bare imperative and no clause-final ba here. The prohibition is built before the verb, where Hausa normally places person, mood, and polarity information.
All unlabelled examples below are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Full kada is neutral and is especially transparent in careful speech and writing. Kar is a standard contraction that is extremely frequent (informal/conversational) and also occurs in written dialogue. They introduce the same construction; kar is not a separate tense or a form used only with one gender.
The core frame
Use this order:
kada/kar + agreeing subjunctive marker + lexical verb
Kada ka rufe shagon yanzu.
Do not close the shop now. (to one man)
Kada ki rufe shagon yanzu.
Do not close the shop now. (to one woman)
Kar ku rufe shagon tukuna.
Don't close the shop yet. (to a group; conversational)
The lexical verb rufe stays constant. Ka, ki, ku identify who is being told not to act, while kada/kar supplies negative directive force. English don’t does not mark gender or number, so learners must choose the Hausa marker independently.
The complete person paradigm
The construction is not limited to “you.” It can express “let me not,” “let us not,” “he/she/they should not,” and an impersonal prohibition.
| Person | With kada | With kar | Typical English reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | kada in fita | kar in fita | let me not go out |
| 2nd masculine singular | kada ka fita | kar ka fita | don't go out, one man |
| 2nd feminine singular | kada ki fita | kar ki fita | don't go out, one woman |
| 3rd masculine singular | kada ya fita | kar ya fita | he should not go out |
| 3rd feminine singular | kada ta fita | kar ta fita | she should not go out |
| 1st plural | kada mu fita | kar mu fita | let's not go out |
| 2nd plural | kada ku fita | kar ku fita | don't go out, everyone |
| 3rd plural | kada su fita | kar su fita | they should not go out |
| impersonal | kada a fita | kar a fita | no one should go out |
Ordinary boko does not show the tones that identify these as subjunctive forms in speech. Context and the construction matter: written ya after kada is not a plain completive meaning “he went.” It is the masculine singular subjunctive marker inside a negative directive.
Kada mu yi sauri kafin mu fahimci matsalar.
Let's not rush before we understand the problem.
Kada su fara taron har sai shugabar ta iso.
They should not begin the meeting until the chairwoman arrives.
Kada a ajiye kaya a gaban ƙofar.
Goods must not be left in front of the door. (impersonal/formal notice)
The impersonal a is especially useful in notices and general rules (formal/neutral institutional register) because the writer need not name a particular offender.
Kada and kar: same grammar, different register tendency
Full kada works naturally in conversation, teaching, careful instructions, and formal prose. Short kar is particularly common in rapid everyday speech (informal/conversational). The contraction does not change the person marker or the meaning of the verb.
Kada ki manta da takardarki gobe.
Do not forget your document tomorrow. (neutral)
Kar ki manta da takardarki gobe.
Don't forget your document tomorrow. (conversational)
Kada ku taɓa wayar da hannunku a jike.
Do not touch the wire with wet hands. (careful safety instruction)
In connected speech, kar may sound as though its last consonant changes before the next sound. Those pronunciations do not require learners to invent new standard spellings. Write kar ka, kar ki, kar mu, kar su in ordinary boko.
A noun subject still needs a marker
When the person is named, put the noun phrase between kada/kar and its agreeing subjunctive marker:
kada/kar + noun subject + agreeing marker + verb
Kada yara su yi wasa kusa da rijiya.
The children must not play near the well.
Kar Musa ya kunna na’urar tukuna.
Musa should not switch on the device yet. (conversational)
Kada Amina ta tafi ita kaɗai da dare.
Amina should not go alone at night.
The structures are yara su, Musa ya, and Amina ta. English can place a name directly before should not, but Hausa still requires the matching marker before the lexical verb. Neither the noun nor kada replaces the subject–TAM complex.
Negative command versus affirmative command
For one addressee, the positive command may be a bare imperative or a subjunctive command. The negative always uses kada/kar + subjunctive.
| Meaning | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| to one person | Buɗe ƙofar! | Kada ka/ki buɗe ƙofar! |
| to one man | Ka buɗe ƙofar! | Kada ka buɗe ƙofar! |
| to one woman | Ki buɗe ƙofar! | Kada ki buɗe ƙofar! |
| to a group | Ku buɗe ƙofar! | Kada ku buɗe ƙofar! |
Buɗe saƙon yanzu.
Open the message now. (affirmative bare singular imperative)
Kada ki buɗe saƙon yanzu.
Do not open the message now. (to one woman)
It is wrong to put ordinary negative ba…ba around the bare command. Hausa selects the negative subjunctive construction instead. The choice is grammatical, not simply a stronger intonation.
Actions, states, and future time
Prohibitions can block a visible action or warn against a state of mind. The lexical predicate supplies that difference.
Kada ka ɗaga akwatin kai kaɗai.
Do not lift the box by yourself. (to one man; action)
Kada ki damu; za mu warware matsalar.
Do not worry; we will solve the problem. (to one woman; state)
Kar ku manta da taron gobe.
Don't forget tomorrow's meeting. (to a group; conversational)
The time word gobe puts the relevant situation in future time, but the Hausa form is still negative subjunctive. Do not try to add za merely because English can paraphrase the warning as “make sure you won’t forget.” Mood and time are different dimensions.
Plain and relative forms do not create a special prohibition
The subjunctive has one core marker series here, not separate plain and relative negative-command paradigms. A relative TAM form may appear in another clause of the same sentence because a constituent is questioned or focused.
Me kake yi? Kada ka taɓa maɓallin nan.
What are you doing? Do not touch this button. (to one man)
Kake is relative continuative because me “what” is questioned. Kada ka taɓa remains a negative subjunctive command. Relative marking does not mean past tense, and it does not spread mechanically from the question into the prohibition.
Practice
Complete each command with the correct marker. (1) To one woman, “Don’t go out now”: Kada ki fita yanzu. (2) To a group, “Don’t open it yet”: Kada ku buɗe shi tukuna. (3) “Let’s not be late tomorrow”: Kada mu makara gobe. (4) “Musa should not drive at night”: Kada Musa ya tuƙa mota da dare. (5) Make item 1 conversational by replacing only the first word: Kar ki fita yanzu.
Common Mistakes
1. Using ordinary ba…ba
❌ Ba ka fita yanzu ba!
Incorrect for the intended command — this has the shape of an ordinary negative statement.
✅ Kada ka fita yanzu!
Do not go out now! (to one man)
2. Omitting the person marker
❌ Kada fita yanzu.
Incorrect — the prohibition needs an agreeing subjunctive marker.
✅ Kada ku fita yanzu.
Do not go out now. (to a group)
3. Adding final ba
❌ Kar ki manta da kuɗin ba.
Incorrect — kada/kar does not take clause-final ba.
✅ Kar ki manta da kuɗin.
Don't forget the money. (to one woman; conversational)
4. Dropping agreement after a noun
❌ Kada yaran yi gudu a aji.
Incorrect — plural yaran still requires su.
✅ Kada yaran su yi gudu a aji.
The children must not run in the classroom.
5. Treating kar as masculine
❌ Kar ka fita, Aisha.
Incorrect for a command to Aisha as one woman — ka, not kar, creates the gender mismatch.
✅ Kar ki fita, Aisha.
Don't go out, Aisha. (conversational)
Key Takeaways
- Build a negative command as kada/kar + agreeing subjunctive marker + verb.
- Kada is neutral and especially clear in careful usage; kar is a common conversational contraction.
- Use ka, ki, ku for one man, one woman, and a group; the whole subjunctive paradigm also works with first and third persons.
- An overt noun subject still needs agreement: kada Musa ya…, kada Amina ta…, kada yara su….
- Never add final ba, and do not negate a bare imperative with ordinary ba…ba.
- Time words such as yanzu and gobe locate the event; they do not change the construction into another tense.
Related Topics
- Negative Subjunctive with kada and karB1 — Form Hausa prohibitions, negative wishes, reported negative directives, and avoidance purposes with kada or conversational kar plus the subjunctive.
- Subjunctive versus ImperativeB1 — Distinguish Hausa's subject-marked subjunctive commands from the special bare imperative available only for affirmative commands to one person.
- Subjunctive: Complete Person ParadigmA2 — Learn all nine Hausa subjunctive subject markers and use them in requests, purposes, obligations, proposals, and negative clauses.
- Negative Subject Pronoun SetsA2 — Distinguish Hausa negative completive, continuative, future, potential, and subjunctive subject patterns instead of applying one universal ba rule.
- Subject Marking after an Overt NounA2 — Keep the required Hausa subject–TAM marker after names and full noun phrases, and make it agree with gender, number, and person.