Hausa has two affirmative subject–TAM series for both the completive and the continuative. Plain forms occur in neutral assertions and ordinary yes/no questions. Relative forms occur in core environments such as focus constructions, constituent questions, and relative clauses. English usually changes word order or adds who, what, or that instead of changing its subject–TAM paradigm, so learners must notice a contrast that English translation often conceals.
All unlabelled patterns are neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa. “Relative” is a grammatical label, not a claim that the form always translates with English who or that. This A1 map presents the core environments; dedicated pages cover each paradigm in depth.
Review the neutral completed-event set on Plain Completive Pronouns, then use this page to understand why another set appears in focus and relative syntax.
Plain and relative completive
In the core paired constructions on this page, both completive series present the event as a completed whole. Their most important beginner-level difference lies in the clause environment. Advanced discourse uses can add further perfect-versus-perfective nuances, so the two series are not freely interchangeable outside these matched environments.
| Person | Plain completive | Relative completive |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | na | na |
| 2nd masculine singular | ka | ka |
| 2nd feminine singular | kin | kika |
| 3rd masculine singular | ya | ya |
| 3rd feminine singular | ta | ta |
| 1st plural | mun | muka |
| 2nd plural | kun | kuka |
| 3rd plural | sun | suka |
| impersonal | an | aka |
Several singular pairs look identical in ordinary boko: na/na, ka/ka, ya/ya, ta/ta. Syntax still selects a paradigm even when unmarked writing does not show the contrast. The feminine second-person and plural forms make the opposition visible.
Mun kawo kujerun da safe.
We brought the chairs in the morning. (plain, neutral report)
Mu ne muka kawo kujerun da safe.
We are the ones who brought the chairs in the morning. (relative, subject focus)
Kin shirya abincin?
Did you prepare the food? (to a female; plain yes/no question)
Me kika shirya domin baƙi?
What did you prepare for the guests? (to a female; relative constituent question)
The event is complete in every example. Mun/kin versus muka/kika does not contrast two times; it contrasts neutral and syntactically marked environments.
Plain and relative continuative
Both continuative series view a situation as ongoing, habitual, generic, or state-like. Here every personal form is visibly different.
| Person | Plain continuative | Relative continuative |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | ina | nake |
| 2nd masculine singular | kana | kake |
| 2nd feminine singular | kina | kike |
| 3rd masculine singular | yana | yake |
| 3rd feminine singular | tana | take |
| 1st plural | muna | muke |
| 2nd plural | kuna | kuke |
| 3rd plural | suna | suke |
| impersonal | ana | ake |
Suna sayar da kayan lambu a nan.
They sell vegetables here. (plain, neutral statement)
Su ne suke sayar da kayan lambu a nan.
They are the ones who sell vegetables here. (relative, focus)
Kuna jiran likita?
Are you all waiting for the doctor? (plain yes/no question)
Wa kuke jira a bakin ƙofa?
Who are you all waiting for at the doorway? (relative constituent question)
The endings -na and -ke are useful recognition cues in these paradigms, but the safest method is to learn each full set. Do not replace one ending mechanically in constructions that have not been learned.
Neutral reports use the plain form
A plain form presents the clause without focusing one constituent. A full noun subject still takes the matching subject–TAM marker.
Zainab ta sayi sabuwar waya jiya.
Zainab bought a new phone yesterday.
Bello yana gyara kekensa a tsakar gida.
Bello is repairing his bicycle in the courtyard.
Ma’aikatan suna fara aiki da ƙarfe takwas kullum.
The employees start work at eight every day.
Jiya locates the completed event in past time. Kullum makes the continuative habitual. Plain versus relative does not supply these time relations; the aspect, predicate, and time phrase do.
An ordinary polar question asks whether the whole proposition is true and can keep the plain form.
Ta aiko maka da saƙon?
Did she send you the message? (to a male)
A question mark alone does not trigger a relative form. The next section shows the constituent questions that do.
Focus selects the relative form
When a speaker identifies, contrasts, or corrects a participant, a focus construction commonly uses ne/ce plus a relative subject–TAM form.
Aisha ce ta shirya taron.
Aisha is the one who organized the meeting.
Yaran ne suka karya gilashin.
The children are the ones who broke the glass.
Ni ne nake kula da kantin yau.
I am the one looking after the store today.
Maryam ce take koyar da ajin nan.
Maryam is the one teaching this class.
An overt focused noun never licenses a bare verb. Aisha ce ta, yaran ne suka, and Maryam ce take retain agreement and aspect in the relative marker.
Constituent questions select the relative form
Questions about who, what, where, or another constituent place that element in focus and normally use a relative paradigm.
Wa ya rufe ƙofar?
Who closed the door?
Ina suka ajiye kayan?
Where did they put the goods?
Me kike karantawa yanzu?
What are you reading now? (to a female)
A ina ake sayar da tikitin jirgin?
Where are train tickets sold?
In Wa ya…?, relative ya looks like plain ya in ordinary writing. In Ina suka…? and Me kike…?, the visible forms suka and kike make the relative choice clear. Ake is the impersonal relative continuative: the seller is left unspecified.
Relative clauses after da
A modifying clause introduced by da commonly selects a relative form. The marker agrees with the subject inside that clause.
Baƙin da suka iso jiya suna hutawa a ɗaki.
The guests who arrived yesterday are resting in a room.
Na karanta wasiƙar da kika aiko.
I read the letter that you sent. (to a female)
Matar da take magana da likita ’yar’uwata ce.
The woman who is speaking with the doctor is my sister.
Wannan shi ne aikin da muke yi yanzu.
This is the work that we are doing now.
The relative clause can describe a complete event (suka zo, kika aiko) or an ongoing one (take magana, muke yi). “Relative” therefore does not mean “past,” “completed,” or “subordinate tense.” It names the paradigm selected by the construction.
Aspectual meaning remains inside both series
In the core focus and question pairs taught here, the plain–relative opposition and the completive–continuative opposition are two separate choices:
| Neutral/plain | Focused or relative | |
|---|---|---|
| completed whole | sun gama | suka gama |
| ongoing/habitual/state-like | suna aiki | suke aiki |
Sun gama aikin tuni.
They have already finished the work. (plain completive)
Su ne suka gama aikin tuni.
They are the ones who have already finished the work. (relative completive)
Suna son wannan shirin.
They like this program. (plain continuative, state-like meaning)
Su ne suke son wannan shirin.
They are the ones who like this program. (relative continuative)
The predicate gama contributes completion and tuni current relevance, so English uses a present perfect. State-like son receives simple present English. Relative marking adds focus, not a different time.
Negation is a separate choice
Plain and relative forms on this page are affirmative. Hausa negative completive and continuative constructions have dedicated subject patterns; learners cannot create them by simply adding ba to a relative or plain form.
Musa bai sayi motar ba.
Musa did not buy the car. (negative completive)
Musa ba ya sayar da motoci.
Musa does not sell cars. (negative continuative)
The first uses the frame bai … ba; the second uses negative-continuative ba ya without final ba. Negation, aspect, agreement, and focus must be learned as interacting parts of the full clause.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a plain plural form after subject focus
❌ Su ne sun buɗe shagon.
Incorrect in the standard focus construction.
✅ Su ne suka buɗe shagon.
They are the ones who opened the shop.
2. Using relative continuative in a neutral report
❌ Suke aiki a banki.
Incorrect as a context-free neutral statement.
✅ Suna aiki a banki.
They work at a bank.
3. Switching forms merely because of a question mark
❌ Kuke zuwa kasuwa?
Incorrect as the intended neutral yes/no question.
✅ Kuna zuwa kasuwa?
Do you all go to the market?
4. Keeping the plain form in a constituent question
❌ Me kun saya?
Incorrect — focused me selects the relative completive here.
✅ Me kuka saya?
What did you all buy?
5. Treating relative as a past-tense label
❌ Take always means ‘she was’.
Incorrect — take is relative continuative and receives time from context.
✅ Me take yi yanzu?
What is she doing now?
Key Takeaways
- Plain forms belong to neutral assertions and ordinary yes/no questions.
- Relative forms occur in focus, constituent questions, and relative clauses.
- In the core paired constructions, completive and continuative meaning remains recognizable across the plain–relative contrast; advanced discourse uses add further nuances.
- Learn the visible completive anchors mun/muka, kun/kuka, sun/suka, an/aka.
- The relative continuative set is nake, kake, kike, yake, take, muke, kuke, suke, ake.
- An overt name or noun still requires the agreeing marker in either series.
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- The Hausa Subject–TAM ComplexA1 — Understand the preverbal Hausa forms that express subject agreement together with tense, aspect, mood, and polarity.
- 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 Completive PronounsA2 — Master the Hausa plain completive paradigm na, ka, kin, ya, ta, mun, kun, sun, and impersonal an for neutral completed-event clauses.
- Relative Completive PronounsA2 — Use na, ka, kika, ya, ta, muka, kuka, suka, and aka for completed events in Hausa focus, question, and relative environments.
- Continuative PronounsA2 — Use ina, kana, kina, yana, tana, muna, kuna, suna, and ana for ongoing, habitual, and state-like situations in neutral Hausa clauses.
- Relative Continuative PronounsA2 — Use nake, kake, kike, yake, take, muke, kuke, suke, and ake for ongoing or habitual situations in focus, questions, and relative clauses.