Hausa fita means “go out, come out of a place, leave, exit.” It is a canonical Grade 3 intransitive and pairs naturally with a source phrase: fita daga gida “leave/go out of the house.” English can use leave transitively in leave the office, but Hausa basic fita does not select the office as a direct object. The place left is a source or setting, and a caused removal requires a different verb, fitar da.
This entry applies the broader Grade 3 intransitive pattern. For caused removal, compare the separate Grade 5 object frames.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko writes finite fita and its strong verbal noun fita alike. In careful speech, the finite form has a short final vowel and the verbal noun has a long one.
Core form and environment table
| Environment | Form | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| finite, no complement | ta fita | she went out / left |
| finite + source | ta fita daga ofis | daga introduces the place left |
| finite + path | ta fita ta ƙofar baya | ta introduces the route |
| direct noun/pronoun object | unavailable | basic fita cannot mean “take it out” |
| core indirect object | unavailable/productively avoided | express purpose or beneficiary separately |
| continuative/verbal noun | tana fita | she is going out / goes out regularly |
| future | za ta fita | she will go out / leave |
| negative future | ba za ta fita ba | she will not go out |
Hadiza ta fita daga ofishin da ƙarfe biyar da rabi.
Hadiza left the office at half past five. (bounded intransitive motion with a source)
Direban ya fita ta ƙofar baya domin babbar ƙofar a rufe take.
The driver went out through the back gate because the main gate was closed. (route phrase)
Yaran sun fita, amma za su dawo kafin magariba.
The children went out, but they will return before dusk. (no following complement)
In ta fita daga ofis, English can omit from and say “she left the office.” Hausa keeps the source relation overt with daga, or lets context supply it when the place has already been established. This is not a Grade 2 object environment, so forms such as imagined fiti ofis or fite shi are not part of basic fita.
Finite fita and verbal-noun fita
Completive ta fita has the short-vowel finite verb. Continuative tana fita has the long-final-vowel strong verbal noun. Boko does not show that spoken contrast, so the subject–TAM marker and syntax must guide the reader.
Ma’aikatan sun fita bayan sun kammala lissafin.
The employees left after they completed the count. (finite completive)
Ma’aikatan suna fita ɗaya bayan ɗaya yanzu.
The employees are leaving one by one now. (ongoing continuative)
Motocin haya suna fita daga tashar kowane rabin awa.
The shared taxis leave the station every half hour. (routine continuative)
Fitarsu da wuri ta ba manajan mamaki.
Their leaving early surprised the manager. (nominal verbal noun)
The verbal noun is feminine: fitar yara “the children’s going out,” fitarsa “his going out,” and feminine agreement in fitarsu ... ta ba. Basic Grade 3 does not add productive -wa. Fitowa is real, but it belongs to the distinct Grade 6 verb fito “come out toward a center,” not to the neutral continuative of fita.
Aspect, future, and negation
Completive, future, subjunctive, and habitual constructions use the finite predicate fita; the preverbal complex changes. Continuative marking licenses the verbal noun. Negative constructions follow their own paradigms rather than adding an ending to the lexical verb.
Za ki fita daga aiki da wuri ranar Juma’a?
Will you leave work early on Friday? (question to one woman)
Ba zan fita yau da dare ba saboda ina jiran baƙi.
I will not go out tonight because I am expecting visitors. (negative future)
Bello bai fita daga gida jiya ba saboda yana jinya.
Bello did not leave the house yesterday because he was ill. (negative completive)
Kada ki fita daga gida ke kaɗai da dare.
Do not leave the house alone at night. (neutral warning to one woman)
The prohibition ends after the predicate and its complements; it does not need final ba. By contrast, ordinary negative future Ba za ki fita ... ba requires both sides of the negative frame.
Fita da: accompaniment and removal by context
Basic fita can be followed by da, introducing a companion or something carried along: ya fita da jaka “he went out with a bag.” Depending on context, English may translate this as “he took a bag out,” but grammatically the da phrase remains crucial. A bare direct pronoun is not licensed.
Usman ya fita da jakar ba tare da ya sanar da mai shagon ba.
Usman went out with the bag without informing the shopkeeper. (carried item in a da phrase)
Ta fita da ƙanwarta zuwa kasuwa da safe.
She went out with her younger sister to the market in the morning. (companion with da)
This construction can leave agency ambiguous: did someone merely depart while carrying an item, or deliberately remove it? Where caused removal must be explicit, use derived fitar da “take/remove/bring out.” Its object frame is not the direct-object paradigm of basic fita.
Derived relatives: fito and fitar da
Grade 6 fito adds motion outward toward the speaker or another deictic center. Its weak verbal noun is fitowa. Grade 5 fitar da is transitive: an agent causes a person or thing to go out.
Ku tsaya a bakin hanya; ina fitowa yanzu.
Wait by the road; I am coming out now. (Grade 6 ventive toward the waiting group)
Likita ya fito daga ɗakin tiyata ya kira iyalin.
The doctor came out of the operating room and called the family. (ventive center in the waiting area)
Mai gadi ya fitar da babban akwatin ta ƙofar baya bayan taron.
The guard took the large box out through the back door after the meeting. (Grade 5 caused removal)
Ma’aikatan suna fitar da tsofaffin kujeru daga zauren.
The workers are taking old chairs out of the hall. (continuative derived transitive)
Do not choose fito merely because the English translation happens to be come out. Its ventive meaning requires a relevant center. Do not choose fitar da unless someone causes another participant to move out. Grade labels organize these relationships, but each derived form is a lexical verb with its own frame.
Abstract and conventional uses
Fita extends from physical exit to appearance, emergence, publication, and results. Sakamako ya fita means “the result came out/was released”; jarida ta fita can mean “the newspaper came out”; magana ta fita can describe news becoming public. These remain intransitive result/emergence predicates.
Sakamakon jarabawar ya fita da safiyar yau.
The examination result came out this morning. (neutral institutional use)
Labarin ya fita kafin hukumar ta shirya sanarwa.
The news got out before the authority prepared a statement. (neutral/reporting use)
In market language, fita kasuwa may describe going out to market, while formal writing often makes sources, paths, and endpoints more explicit. Register does not change the verb’s basic intransitivity.
Beneficiaries and English interference
Basic fita has no productive core indirect-object frame meaning “go out for someone.” If the intended meaning is purpose, state it: ta fita domin ta saya wa mahaifiyarta magani “she went out to buy medicine for her mother.” If someone removes an item for a beneficiary, the established Grade 5 frame is available: ya fitar masa da akwatin “he took the box out for him.” That is a form of fitar da, not basic fita.
Ta fita domin ta saya wa mahaifiyarta magani.
She went out to buy medicine for her mother. (purpose and noun beneficiary stated explicitly)
Mai gadi ya fitar masa da akwatin saboda hannunsa ya ji rauni.
The guard took the box out for him because his hand was injured. (Grade 5 benefactive frame)
Common Mistakes
1. Treating the source as a direct object
❌ Amina ta fiti ofis da ƙarfe biyar.
Incorrect invented C-form — basic fita is intransitive.
✅ Amina ta fita daga ofishin da ƙarfe biyar.
Amina left the office at five.
2. Inventing a direct-pronoun form
❌ Mai gadi ya fite shi daga ɗaki.
Incorrect — this is not an object form of Grade 3 fita.
✅ Mai gadi ya fitar da shi daga ɗaki.
The guard took him out of the room. (derived Grade 5)
3. Using fitowa as the neutral continuative
❌ Yana fitowa kowace rana da ƙarfe biyar.
Wrong if only neutral ‘he leaves every day’ is intended; fitowa adds a ventive center.
✅ Yana fita kowace rana da ƙarfe biyar.
He leaves every day at five.
4. Adding -wa to basic Grade 3
❌ Ma’aikatan suna fitawa yanzu.
Incorrect for neutral Standard Grade 3; do not manufacture a weak verbal noun.
✅ Ma’aikatan suna fita yanzu.
The employees are leaving now.
5. Closing a prohibition with ba
❌ Kada ka fita da dare ba.
Incorrect — kada plus subjunctive does not use final ba.
✅ Kada ka fita da dare.
Do not go out at night. (to one man)
Key Takeaways
- Basic fita is Grade 3 and intransitive; use daga for an overt source and ta for a route.
- Finite and verbal-noun fita have different final-vowel length in speech although boko spells them alike.
- Fita da introduces a companion or carried item; it does not license a bare direct object.
- Distinguish fita, ventive fito/fitowa, and transitive fitar da.
- Express beneficiaries through an explicit purpose or an attested derived frame rather than inventing an indirect-object form of basic fita.
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- Grade 3 Intransitives: OverviewB2 — Recognize canonical Grade 3 as an intransitive short-a class and distinguish locative complements, pre-dative forms, verbal nouns, and derived transitive relatives.
- Grade 3 Verbal NounsB2 — Form and use Grade 3 strong verbal nouns, whose final-vowel length distinguishes them from finite verbs in speech but not ordinary boko.
- daga: From and Out OfA1 — Use Hausa daga for spatial, temporal, and abstract sources, with cikin, wuri, or gare when the source relation needs to be made explicit.
- Grade 6 Direction toward the Deictic CenterB2 — Interpret Grade 6 ventive direction relative to the speaker, addressee, destination, or viewpoint that anchors the discourse.
- Grade 5 Object FramesB2 — Choose among long -ar da, restricted short forms, pre-pronoun -she forms, and the Grade 5 indirect-object frame.
- Negative Future FormsB1 — Build the Hausa negative future with ba around the full za person frame and understand its scope and viewpoint.