Original Dialogue: At Home with Family | Hausa Grammar

This original dialogue takes place at home shortly before the evening meal. A mother speaks with her daughter Fatima and her son Ali. Because Hausa marks the gender of a singular addressee, kin/ki consistently address Fatima, while maka refers to Ali; when the mother addresses both children, she uses plural ku.

Attribution: original Hausa teaching text written for this guide; not adapted from a published dialogue.

Complete original Hausa text

Uwa: Fatima, kin gama aikin makaranta?
Fatima: Na gama aikin lissafi, amma ban gama na Hausa ba.
Uwa: To, ki gama shi kafin abincin dare.
Ali: Umma, ina littafina?
Uwa: Wanne? Littafin lissafi?
Ali: I, wanda na ajiye a kan teburi.
Fatima: Ga shi a ƙarƙashin kujera. Ka bar shi a can da safe, Ali.
Ali: Na gode. Fatima, za ki taimaka mini in amsa wannan tambayar?
Fatima: Zan taimaka maka bayan na gama aikina.
Uwa: Madalla. Ku fara da aikinku, sannan ku zo mu ci abinci.

Natural English translation

Mother: Fatima, have you finished your homework?
Fatima: I’ve finished the maths work, but I haven’t finished the Hausa work.
Mother: All right, finish it before dinner.
Ali: Mum, where is my book?
Mother: Which one? The maths book?
Ali: Yes, the one I put on the table.
Fatima: Here it is under the chair. You left it there this morning, Ali.
Ali: Thank you. Fatima, will you help me answer this question?
Fatima: I’ll help you after I finish my work.
Mother: Excellent. Start with your work, then come and let’s eat.

“Homework” is a natural contextual translation of aikin makaranta, literally “school work.” The dialogue does not contain a proverb. Its compact lines depend instead on ordinary ellipsis: na Hausa means “the Hausa [work],” and wanne? means “which [book]?” because the missing nouns are recoverable.

Selected structure-sensitive translations

Kin gama aikin makaranta?

Have-you.F.SG finished the work-of school? Kin is the feminine singular completive subject–TAM marker.

Ban gama na Hausa ba.

I have not finished the-one of Hausa; na Hausa stands for aikin Hausa, and ban...ba is negative completive.

Wanne? Littafin lissafi?

Which masculine one? The book-of mathematics? The understood head is littafi, a masculine noun.

Wanda na ajiye a kan teburi.

The masculine one that I put on the table; wanda refers back to littafi.

Ku fara da aikinku, sannan ku zo mu ci abinci.

You.PL should start with your work, then come and let-us eat; ku addresses both children, and mu ci is hortative/subjunctive.

Line-by-line annotation

1. Fatima, kin gama aikin makaranta?

The vocative Fatima fixes the addressee. kin is not simply an optional word for English “you”; it jointly marks second-person feminine singular and completive aspect. aikin makaranta contains linked aikin, “work of school.” In this home context it is naturally understood as homework.

Fatima, kin gama aikin makaranta?

Fatima, have you finished your homework? (one female addressee; completed-result question)

2. Na gama aikin lissafi, amma ban gama na Hausa ba

Na gama answers with first-person singular completive. The second clause switches to negative completive ban...ba. Between them, na Hausa omits repeated aiki: masculine na means “the one of/for Hausa” because the understood noun aiki is masculine. The opposition between maths and Hausa makes the ellipsis easy to resolve.

Na gama aikin lissafi, amma ban gama na Hausa ba.

I finished the maths work, but I did not finish the Hausa work. (contrast licenses noun ellipsis)

3. To, ki gama shi kafin abincin dare

to acknowledges Fatima’s answer and moves to the next step. ki gama is a feminine singular subjunctive used as a command; it keeps the same female addressee as kin in line 1. Object shi refers to the unfinished aikin Hausa, whose head aiki is masculine. kafin “before” introduces the deadline.

Ki gama shi kafin abincin dare.

Finish it before dinner. (command to one woman or girl; shi resumes masculine aiki)

4–6. Ina littafina? / Wanne? / wanda na ajiye...

littafina is littafi “book” plus first-person possessive -na, with the stem adjustment found before a suffix. The mother does not yet know which book Ali means, so she asks masculine wanne?, agreeing with littafi. Ali’s wanda again agrees with that masculine referent and introduces a relative clause. na ajiye is first-person relative completive inside the object relative: “which I put.” The full relative-clause system is covered in Object Relative Clauses.

Umma, ina littafina? —Wanne?

Mum, where is my book? —Which one? (wanne agrees with masculine littafi)

I, wanda na ajiye a kan teburi.

Yes, the one I put on the table. (headless wanda retrieves the book from the preceding turn)

7. Ga shi ... Ka bar shi...

Presentational ga shi directs attention to the found object: “here it is/there it is.” The same shi continues to track the book. Fatima then addresses Ali with masculine singular ka in ka bar shi. Adding his name at the end is an afterthought that makes the addressee explicit; it is not the grammatical subject of ka, since ka already identifies second-person masculine singular.

Ga shi a ƙarƙashin kujera.

Here it is under the chair. (ga shi presents the masculine book in the visible scene)

Ka bar shi a can da safe, Ali.

You left it there this morning, Ali. (ka addresses one male; shi still refers to the book)

8. Za ki taimaka mini in amsa wannan tambayar?

za ki marks future with one female addressee: Ali asks Fatima whether she will help. taimaka selects the indirect-object series, so first-person recipient is mini. The following in amsa is first-person singular subjunctive, the action whose accomplishment Fatima will assist. In wannan tambayar, the demonstrative is followed by the linked/definite feminine form tambayar.

Za ki taimaka mini in amsa wannan tambayar?

Will you help me answer this question? (question to one female; mini marks the beneficiary/recipient of help)

9. Zan taimaka maka bayan na gama aikina

Fatima’s zan marks first-person future. Since Ali is male, “to you” is maka; miki would address a woman. The time clause bayan na gama aikina places her own completion before the promised help. Hausa can use completive na gama in this future time frame because the event is viewed as completed relative to the later help.

Zan taimaka maka bayan na gama aikina.

I’ll help you after I finish my work. (maka addresses one male; completive in a future time clause)

10. Ku fara ... ku zo mu ci...

The mother now speaks to both children. Plural ku appears in ku fara, possessive -ku appears in aikinku, and ku appears again in ku zo. The switch from singular ki earlier to plural ku is motivated by the audience, not by politeness alone. Finally, mu ci includes the mother in a shared proposal, “let us eat.”

Yara, ku fara da aikinku, sannan ku zo mu ci abinci.

Children, start with your work, then come and let’s eat. (plural commands followed by an inclusive hortative)

Information flow and family pragmatics

The mother’s first instruction follows Fatima’s own report, so shi has a clear referent. Ali’s book question opens a brief search sequence: broad question, repair question wanne?, identifying relative clause, and presentation ga shi. Only after the book is found does Ali ask for help. Fatima accepts while setting a boundary with bayan. The mother closes both threads by praising cooperation and giving a joint sequence.

Family talk is not automatically rude or grammatically reduced. Familiar singular commands are normal here because the relationships and tasks support them. In another household, age and family practice may favor titles or more softened requests. For social context, see Family, Household, and Kinship Address.

Reusable patterns

Kin gama ____? —Na gama ____, amma ban gama ____ ba.

Have you finished ____? —I finished ____, but I have not finished ____. (question to one female)

Ina littafina? —Ga shi a ____.

Where is my book? —Here it is at/in ____.

Za ki taimaka mini in ____?

Will you help me ____? (request to one female)

Zan taimaka maka bayan na gama ____.

I will help you after I finish ____. (promise to one male)

Common Mistakes

1. Using masculine agreement for Fatima

❌ Fatima, ka gama aikin makaranta?

Incorrect for one female addressee—ka is masculine singular.

✅ Fatima, kin gama aikin lissafi?

Fatima, have you finished the maths work?

2. Treating wanne as an invariant English “which”

❌ Wace littafi?

Incorrect—wace is feminine but littafi is masculine.

✅ Wane littafi?

Which book? (masculine agreement)

3. Losing the referent of shi

❌ Ki gama ta kafin abincin dare.

Incorrect in this discourse if the pronoun refers to masculine aikin Hausa.

✅ Ki gama shi kafin lokacin cin abincin dare.

Finish it before dinnertime. (shi resumes masculine aiki)

4. Using the wrong indirect-object form with taimaka

❌ Za ki taimaka ni in amsa tambayar?

Incorrect—taimaka selects an indirect-object expression here.

✅ Za ki taimaka mini in amsa tambayar?

Will you help me answer the question?

5. Keeping singular address when speaking to both children

❌ Fatima da Ali, ki zo mu ci abinci.

Incorrect—ki addresses one female, not the pair.

✅ Fatima da Ali, ku zo mu ci abinci.

Fatima and Ali, come and let’s eat. (plural addressees)

Key Takeaways

Follow gender and number across turns: kin/ki for Fatima, ka/maka for Ali, and ku for both children.
Noun ellipsis such as na Hausa and wanne? is possible when the missing head is recoverable and agreement remains visible.
Pronoun shi links several turns by referring consistently to a masculine noun.
Requests and promises combine future or command morphology with a dependent subjunctive action.
The dialogue’s meaning comes from sequence: report, instruction, search, request for help, conditional promise, and joint closing.

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