Hausa gama is a transitive Grade 1 verb meaning “finish, complete, be done with.” Its core frame presents a finisher as the subject and a task, object, or activity as the thing completed: mun gama aikin “we finished the work.” The object can remain understood, giving the extremely common na gama “I have finished/I am done.”
Do not confuse this with inchoative ƙare “come to an end, be used up.” Compare mun gama kuɗin “we finished/spent the money” with kuɗin sun ƙare “the money ran out.” English uses finish/end for both perspectives, but Hausa normally chooses the verb according to whether an actor finishes something or the affected item itself reaches its end.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa).
Compact form and environment table
Finite gama follows the regular Grade 1 pattern. Ordinary boko writes gama in every A/B/C/D environment; the regular (academic/pedagogical) spoken C-form before a noun-like direct object has a short final -a, while A, B, and D have a long final vowel.
| Environment | Ordinary boko | Model |
|---|---|---|
| A: no following object | gama | Na gama. “I have finished.” |
| B: direct-object pronoun | gama shi/ta/su | Na gama shi. “I finished it.” |
| C: noun-like direct object | gama aiki | Na gama aikin. “I finished the work.” |
| D: indirect/benefactive object | gama mata aiki | “finish the work for her” |
| weak verbal noun, no local object | gamawa | yana gamawa “he is finishing” |
| continuative + object | yana gama aiki / gama shi | -wa is absent before the object |
| be through with | gama da | mun gama da aikin “we are through with the work” |
Mun gama aikin kafin ƙarfe biyar, sai muka kulle ofishin.
We finished the work before five o’clock, then locked the office. (completive; noun object)
Rahoton ya yi tsawo, amma na gama shi jiya da dare.
The report was long, but I finished it last night. (direct-object pronoun)
Zan gama maka sauran aikin kafin ka dawo daga tafiya.
I will finish the remaining work for you before you return from your trip. (to one male; benefactive maka)
Wannan rahoton ne za mu gama yau; sauran sai gobe.
This is the report we will finish today; the rest will wait until tomorrow. (fronted object; A environment)
Finish a task, object, or supply
The direct object identifies what the subject brings to completion or exhausts. Typical objects include aiki “work,” rahoto “report,” karatu “study/reading,” abinci “food,” and kuɗi “money.” Context can shift the English translation: gama abinci may mean finish preparing or consuming the food, while gama kuɗi normally means use/spend all the money.
Aisha ta gama rahoton kasafin kuɗi ta aika wa shugabarta.
Aisha finished the budget report and sent it to her supervisor. (professional context)
Yaran sun gama abincin da aka ajiye musu.
The children finished the food that had been set aside for them.
Kada ku gama ruwan; ba za a sake kawo mana ba sai gobe.
Do not use up all the water; no more will be brought to us until tomorrow. (plural prohibition)
The object does not have to be a concrete noun. Hausa can present an activity as a noun-like complement, especially in combinations such as gama cin abinci “finish eating” and gama karatu “finish studying/reading.” English finish doing is therefore not built with an invariant infinitive form.
Da muka gama cin abinci, muka taimaka aka kwashe kwanukan.
When we finished eating, we helped clear the dishes.
Ta gama karatun littafin kafin wa’adin mayar da shi.
She finished reading the book before its return deadline. (strong verbal noun karatu with linker -n)
Na gama: the understood-object A-form
In conversation, na gama, ka gama?, mun gama are frequent complete utterances. The relevant work, meal, examination, or turn is already active in the discourse. The absence of an overt object selects the A environment; it does not turn gama into the inchoative verb “end.”
—Kin gama? —I, na gama; za mu iya tafiya yanzu.
—Have you finished? —Yes, I have; we can leave now. (one female addressee replies)
Ban gama ba tukuna; saura shafi biyu.
I have not finished yet; two pages remain. (negative completive)
Da ƙarfe shida tana rubutu, amma zuwa bakwai ta gama.
At six she was writing, but by seven she had finished.
Completed negation encloses the predicate with ba ... ba: ban gama ba. Negative continuative is different and has no closing ba: ba ya gamawa “he is not finishing/does not tend to finish.”
Gama da: be through with
The established gama da + noun phrase construction foregrounds disengagement after completion: “be through with, finish dealing with.” It can sound more final than plain gama aiki, especially with a matter, process, or participant. With a person, context is crucial because “be through with/deal with someone” can sound hostile.
Mun gama da binciken farko; yanzu za mu rubuta sakamakon.
We are through with the initial investigation; now we will write up the findings. (professional context)
Da zarar likitar ta gama da marar lafiyar nan, za ta kira na gaba.
As soon as the doctor is through with this patient, she will call the next one.
Ban gama da wannan batu ba; akwai tambaya ɗaya da nake son yi.
I am not through with this issue; there is one question I want to ask.
Plain gama + direct object and gama da are related but not interchangeable in every sentence. Na gama rahoton directly presents the report as completed; na gama da rahoton presents the speaker as finished dealing with it.
Gamawa and object-bearing continuatives
The productive weak verbal noun is gamawa. It appears after a continuative marker when no local object follows and can name the act of finishing. Before a noun, direct pronoun, or indirect object, -wa is absent.
Suna gamawa yanzu; ku jira su a ƙofar ofis.
They are finishing now; wait for them at the office entrance. (no local object)
Ma’aikatan suna gama gyaran rufin a wannan makon.
The workers are finishing the roof repairs this week. (continuative; noun-like event object)
Ba ya gamawa da wuri idan babu wanda ya taimaka masa.
He does not finish early when nobody helps him. (negative continuative; no final ba)
Gamawa a kan lokaci ta dogara da isowar kayan aikin.
Finishing on time depends on the arrival of the equipment. (feminine verbal noun as subject)
The weak form is not an English infinitive. After finite TAM, use gama: ta gama, za ta gama, ba ta gama ba. Use gamawa in a verbal-noun construction, not as a past or future stem.
Gama versus ƙare
Use gama when a subject finishes something or finishes doing something. Use ƙare when the time, meeting, supplies, money, or event itself comes to an end or runs out. The next reference page treats ƙare in detail.
| Perspective | Hausa | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| actor finishes item | Mun gama kuɗin. | We used/spent all the money. |
| item runs out | Kuɗin sun ƙare. | The money ran out. |
| actor completes meeting | Mun gama taron. | We finished the meeting. |
| event ends | Taron ya ƙare. | The meeting ended. |
Lokaci ya ƙare kafin mu gama jarabawar.
Time ran out before we finished the examination. (ƙare subject versus gama object)
Formal prose also uses kammala “complete/conclude,” especially for projects, studies, and ceremonies. It overlaps with gama but is a separate lexeme and often sounds more formal.
An kammala aikin gadar, kuma ma’aikatan sun gama kwashe kayansu.
The bridge project has been completed, and the workers have finished removing their equipment. (formal kammala versus ordinary gama)
Common Mistakes
1. Giving the thing that ends active gama
❌ Kuɗin sun gama kafin ƙarshen wata.
Incorrect neutral perspective for ‘the money ran out’; use inchoative ƙare.
✅ Kuɗin sun ƙare kafin ƙarshen wata.
The money ran out before the end of the month.
2. Keeping -wa before a direct object
❌ Suna gamawa aikin yanzu.
Incorrect weak-verbal-noun frame—-wa is absent before the object.
✅ Suna gama aikin yanzu domin su tafi gida da wuri.
They are finishing the work now so that they can go home early.
3. Using gamawa as a finite completive
❌ Jiya Amina ta gamawa rahoton.
Incorrect finite form—gamawa is a verbal noun.
✅ Jiya Amina ta gama rahoton ta aika da shi.
Yesterday Amina finished the report and sent it.
4. Adding final ba to a negative continuative
❌ Ba ya gamawa da wuri ba idan yana aiki shi kaɗai.
Incorrect ordinary negative-continuative frame; it does not take closing ba.
✅ Ba ya gamawa da wuri idan yana aiki shi kaɗai.
He does not finish early when he is working alone.
Key Takeaways
- Gama is an agentive transitive Grade 1 verb: a subject finishes a task, object, supply, or activity.
- Na gama is a normal A-form when the completed task is understood; na gama shi/aikin makes it overt.
- The weak verbal noun is gamawa; before a local object use gama aiki / gama shi / gama mata aiki.
- Gama da means be through with or finish dealing with something and adds a disengagement perspective.
- Use ƙare when the item or event itself ends or runs out: mun gama taron, but taron ya ƙare.
Related Topics
- Grade 1: Core Form PatternB1 — Recognize Grade 1 Hausa verbs by their -a termination, H-L-(H) melody, and final-vowel shortening before noun objects.
- Grade 1 Verbal NounsB1 — Form and use the usual Grade 1 weak verbal noun in -wa while recognizing object-conditioned forms and lexical strong alternatives.
- Continuative with -wa Verbal NounsA2 — Form the Hausa continuative with weak -wa verbal nouns and remove -wa when a direct object follows.
- Benefactive ObjectsA2 — Express who benefits from an action with wa plus a noun or the fused ma- pronoun series, and keep the beneficiary before the theme.
- Verb Reference: ƙare — finish, endC1 — Use hooked-ƙ ƙare for events ending and supplies running out, while distinguishing its transitive completion use from gama and plain-k kare.
- Using the Verb Citation Form before Every ObjectB1 — Repair object-conditioned Hausa verb forms by identifying the verb's grade and the kind of expression that follows it.