The Hausa indefinite future, also called the potential, presents an event as future from the moment of speaking while qualifying the prediction: it is expected, but still depends on circumstances. Its conversational force can resemble “probably,” “surely, as things stand,” “if circumstances permit,” or “God willing.” It therefore differs from the broad za future in both meaning and distribution.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko hides the long falling vowel that identifies the paradigm in speech. The marked forms below are a labelled pronunciation aid only; ordinary target examples use standard unmarked spelling.
Form: long falling subject–TAM markers
| Subject | Ordinary boko | Marked pronunciation | With zo “come” |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | na | nâa | na zo |
| 2nd masculine singular | ka | kâa | ka zo |
| 2nd feminine singular | kya | kyâa | kya zo |
| 3rd masculine singular | ya | yâa | ya zo |
| 3rd feminine singular | ta | tâa | ta zo |
| 1st plural | ma | mâa | ma zo |
| 2nd plural | kwa | kwâa | kwa zo |
| 3rd plural | sa | sâa | sa zo |
| impersonal | a | âa | a zo |
The plural forms are ma, kwa, sa, not subjunctive mu, ku, su. Feminine singular kya and second-person plural kwa contain a glide in ordinary spelling. The lexical verb does not acquire a future ending; the preverbal form carries person and modal future meaning.
Ina tsammani sa iso kafin magariba.
I think they will probably arrive before sunset.
Wataƙila kya samu mota gobe.
Perhaps you will find a vehicle tomorrow. (to one female)
Da yardar Allah, ma kammala aikin ranar Juma’a.
God willing, we will finish the work on Friday.
What “diffidence” means here
Diffidence does not mean ignorance or lack of confidence. It means that the speaker declines to present the outcome as an unqualified commitment. The speaker can have strong evidence while acknowledging that the future is not fully under anyone’s control.
Gajimare ya taru; a yi ruwa da yamma.
Clouds have gathered; it will probably rain this evening.
Idan aka ci gaba haka, farashin ya ƙaru nan ba da jimawa ba.
If things continue like this, the price will probably rise before long.
Musa ya dawo daga Zariya ranar Talata, in Allah ya yarda.
Musa will likely return from Zaria on Tuesday, God willing.
English surely can sound emphatically certain, yet in promises and predictions it can also acknowledge uncertainty: “It will surely work out.” Hausa indefinite future similarly combines an expectation with reservation. No single English adverb translates it in every context.
Overt subjects still require agreement
A name or noun phrase comes before the potential marker. It does not replace it.
Aisha ta kawo sakamakon binciken gobe.
Aisha will probably bring the research results tomorrow.
Baƙin sa isa bayan sallar la’asar.
The guests will probably arrive after the afternoon prayer.
Feminine Aisha selects ta; plural baƙin selects sa. Ordinary spelling makes singular ta resemble other paradigms, but the future time, qualified prediction, and long falling pronunciation establish the intended reading. Deleting the marker after the noun would remove the finite subject–TAM complex.
Indefinite future versus za
The ordinary za future is the broad future construction. It can state a firm plan, intention, commitment, or neutral prediction. The indefinite future adds qualified expectation and is unavailable in several contexts that establish a future event as a given.
Za mu tashi ƙarfe shida gobe.
We will leave at six tomorrow. (ordinary scheduled plan)
Idan an gama gyaran motar, ma tashi da safe.
If the car repair is finished, we will probably leave in the morning. (outcome depends on circumstances)
The contrast is not simply “certain” versus “uncertain.” Za itself can express a prediction that later proves wrong. The potential form conventionally presents the speaker’s commitment as conditional or restrained.
The narrower distribution follows from that meaning. In standard Hausa, use za rather than the indefinite future in fronted wh-questions, focus constructions, relative clauses, future-in-the-past contexts, and inside clauses that present a condition or reason as the premise.
Me za ku saya gobe?
What will you all buy tomorrow? (standard wh-question)
Takardun da za su aiko suna da muhimmanci.
The documents that they will send are important. (relative clause)
A question such as “what will you buy?” presupposes a purchase and asks for its identity. A relative description similarly treats the future event as part of an established description. Those backgrounds conflict with the potential form’s normal diffident force.
Time reference and lexical meaning
The indefinite future is anchored to an event still future from the moment of speaking. It does not express English was going to. For a prospect viewed from a past scene, the ordinary za future is required.
Jiya da safe, za mu kama hanya sai motar ta ƙi tashi.
Yesterday morning, we were about to set off when the vehicle would not start.
The same potential paradigm combines with active and state-like predicates. English chooses a natural translation from the predicate.
Bayan taron, ta aika mana da bayanin.
After the meeting, she will probably send us the information. (active event)
Nan da gobe, ya san ko an amince da buƙatar.
By tomorrow, he will probably know whether the request was approved. (future state)
The marker ya is the same, but aika describes an event and sani a resulting state. Hausa places the modal projection before the verb rather than changing the lexical verb to reproduce English tense morphology.
Negation in brief
Negative indefinite future keeps the potential subject form between opening and closing ba.
Ba sa zo yau ba.
They probably will not come today.
Kamfanin ba ya buɗe sabon reshen bana ba.
The company will probably not open a new branch this year.
The final ba distinguishes this construction from negative continuative ba sa zuwa “they do not come/are not coming,” which normally lacks a closing ba and uses a continuative predicate.
Exercises
Choose the potential marker: (1) “I will probably return”: _ dawo; (2) “you, one female, will probably understand”: _ fahimta; (3) “we will probably finish”: _ gama; (4) “the workers will probably arrive”: ma’aikatan _ iso; (5) “it will probably be completed,” actor unspecified: _ kammala. Answers: na, kya, ma, sa, a. Read them aloud with a long falling vowel, then explain why ordinary boko alone cannot distinguish every singular form from other TAM paradigms.
Common Mistakes
1. Mixing za with the potential marker.
❌ Da alama za ma gama kafin yamma.
Incorrect mixture of the ordinary and indefinite future paradigms.
✅ Da alama ma gama kafin yamma.
It appears that we will probably finish before evening.
2. Replacing potential plurals with subjunctive forms.
❌ Mai yiwuwa su kammala aikin ranar Litinin.
Incorrect for the intended indefinite future if su has its short subjunctive pronunciation.
✅ Mai yiwuwa sa kammala aikin ranar Litinin.
They will possibly finish the work on Monday.
3. Dropping the marker after a noun.
❌ Aisha kawo rahoton gobe.
Incorrect — Aisha does not replace the subject–TAM marker.
✅ Aisha ta kawo rahoton gobe.
Aisha will probably bring the report tomorrow.
4. Using the indefinite future in a fronted wh-question.
❌ Wane littafi kwa saya gobe?
Incorrect standard distribution for ‘Which book will you all buy tomorrow?’
✅ Wane littafi za ku saya gobe?
Which book will you all buy tomorrow?
5. Using it for future-in-the-past.
❌ Jiya da ƙarfe huɗu, ma fita sai aka kira mu.
Incorrect for ‘we were about to leave’ — the potential is future from speech time.
✅ Jiya da azahar, za mu tashi sai aka soke tafiyar.
Yesterday at noon, we were about to leave when the trip was cancelled.
Key Takeaways
- The indefinite future has long falling forms, written na, ka, kya, ya, ta, ma, kwa, sa, a in ordinary boko.
- It predicts a future outcome with diffidence or implicit “circumstances permitting” force.
- Za is the broader default and occurs where the potential normally cannot: wh-focus, relative clauses, premises, and future in the past.
- Overt nouns retain the agreeing marker, and active or state-like interpretation comes from the predicate.
- Negative potential uses ba + potential marker + predicate + ba.
Related Topics
- Indefinite Future PronounsA2 — Recognize the Hausa indefinite or potential future series na, ka, kya, ya, ta, ma, kwa, sa, and a, whose long falling vowels express a qualified prediction.
- Future Pronouns after zaA2 — Form the Hausa za future with zan, za ka, za ki, zai, za ta, za mu, za ku, za su, and impersonal za a.
- Tone in Grammar and TAM MarkersA2 — How tone and vowel length distinguish Hausa subject–TAM markers and other grammatical forms hidden by ordinary spelling.
- Future with za: Core UsesB1 — Use the Hausa za future for intentions, predictions, commitments, and situations later than a contextually relevant time.
- The Hausa Subject–TAM ComplexA1 — Understand the preverbal Hausa forms that express subject agreement together with tense, aspect, mood, and polarity.
- Active and Stative Verb InterpretationsA1 — See how a verb's action or state meaning changes the time interpretation of Hausa completive and continuative constructions.