Hausa tambaya means “ask, question, inquire,” but the form and argument frame depend on who is asked and what information is requested. Grade 2 gives tambaya with no following object, tambaye shi before a direct-object pronoun, and tambayi Musa before a noun-like person object. See the three object environments for the general syntax. A question’s content normally appears as a following clause, a game da phrase, or a separate noun such as tambaya “a question”; English double-object syntax is not a safe template.
All ordinary examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa) in unaccented boko. The same spelling tambaya is also a feminine noun and strong verbal noun. Syntax—not an English “infinitive” category—tells the uses apart.
Compact form and environment table
| Environment | Form | Natural frame |
|---|---|---|
| A: no following direct object | tambaya | Ta tambaya sau biyu. “She asked twice.” |
| B: direct-object pronoun naming the person asked | tambaye | ta tambaye shi “she asked him” |
| C: noun-like object naming the person asked | tambayi | ta tambayi Musa “she asked Musa” |
| D: beneficiary/on whose behalf | tambaya / tambayam | ta tambaya masa; ta tambayam masa “she asked on his behalf” |
| strong verbal noun, no object | tambaya | tana tambaya “she is asking” |
| verbal noun + noun object | tambayar | tana tambayar likita “she is asking the doctor” |
| verbal noun + pronominal object | tambayata / tambayarsa / tambayarsu | yana tambayata “he is asking me” |
Malam ya yi shiru na ɗan lokaci, sai wata ɗaliba ta tambaya.
The teacher paused for a moment, and then a female student asked a question. (A-form; no object follows)
Ban san inda taron yake ba, don haka na tambaye ta.
I did not know where the meeting was, so I asked her. (B-form before feminine ta)
Ɗalibar ta tambayi direban ko wannan motar za ta bi ta kasuwa.
The female student asked the driver whether this vehicle would go by way of the market. (C-form + polar content clause)
Asking a person and giving the content
The person consulted is the direct object. After that person, the informational content can be a ko clause, a wh-clause, or a game da phrase.
Na tambayi ma’aikaciyar ko ana karɓar fom ranar Asabar.
I asked the female employee whether forms are accepted on Saturday.
Za mu tambaye ku yaushe za a buɗe sabuwar hanyar.
We will ask you all when the new road will open.
Likitar ta tambaye ni game da magungunan da nake sha.
The female doctor asked me about the medicines I take.
In the first two examples, ko ana... and yaushe za a... are content clauses. They are not second direct objects parallel to the person. This structure lets Hausa distinguish the addressee from the proposition being requested.
When no person is named, the question itself can be expressed with yi tambaya “ask a question” or by allowing context to supply the understood act.
Idan wani mataki bai bayyana ba, ku yi tambaya kafin ku sa hannu.
If any step is unclear, ask a question before you sign. (instruction to a group)
Asking a question is not English double-object syntax
English says ask Musa a question and ask Musa for directions. Hausa does not license a free rule that turns those two English objects into two bare Hausa noun phrases. Safe productive patterns are:
| Meaning | Preferred Hausa frame |
|---|---|
| ask Musa whether he is coming | tambayi Musa ko zai zo |
| ask Musa about the road | tambayi Musa game da hanyar |
| ask Musa a question | yi wa Musa tambaya |
| ask for help from Musa | nemi taimako daga wurin Musa |
| request permission from Musa | nemi izini daga wurin Musa |
Mai binciken ya yi wa shugaban ƙungiyar tambaya game da asusun.
The investigator asked the association chair a question about the account. (formal interview frame)
The last example uses yi wa ... tambaya, where wa marks the person addressed and tambaya names the speech act. For requesting a thing, nema is often the clearer lexical choice. Some lexicalized older or regional two-object patterns occur, but they are not a productive translation rule for every English sentence with ask.
D-forms mean “ask on behalf of,” not “ask him”
Grade 2 tambaya permits two D-patterns before an immediate beneficiary: tone-reversal tambaya masa and all-high pre-dative tambayam masa. Ordinary boko does not show the tone difference in the first option. Both mean that the asking is done for his benefit or in his stead.
Sakatariyar za ta tambaya masa ko za a iya sauya ranar ganawar.
The secretary will ask on his behalf whether the appointment date can be changed. (tone-reversal D-pattern)
Tun da bai samu zuwa ba, zan tambayam masa abin da aka yanke.
Since he could not come, I will ask on his behalf what was decided. (all-high pre-dative option)
Do not use these D-forms for ordinary “ask him.” That is direct tambaye shi. Compare na tambaye shi “I asked him” with na tambaya masa “I asked on his behalf.”
The strong feminine verbal noun tambaya
The continuative uses strong feminine verbal noun tambaya. With a noun object it takes linker -r; with a pronominal object it takes possessive-type suffixes.
’Yar jaridar tana tambayar minista game da sabon kasafin kuɗi.
The female journalist is questioning the minister about the new budget. (formal/broadcast context)
Me ya sa kuke tambayata game da wannan al’amari a gaban kowa?
Why are you all asking me about this matter in front of everyone?
Jami’an suna tambayarsu ɗaya bayan ɗaya domin kada amsoshinsu su gauraya.
The officers are questioning them one by one so that their answers do not get mixed up.
The forms tambayata, tambayarsa can also mean “my question, his question” outside this verbal construction. After subject–TAM material such as kuke or suna, the clause and lexical context support the object reading “asking me/him.” This is a real structural ambiguity, not faulty spelling.
Aspect, future, and negation
A completive presents a bounded inquiry; a continuative can show questioning in progress or a repeated practice. Future keeps the correct B/C form. Negative completive surrounds the finite predicate with its standard negative frame.
Jiya ’yan sanda sun tambayi maƙwabtan biyu, amma ba su tsare kowa ba.
Yesterday the police questioned the two neighbors, but they detained nobody.
Ba mu tambaye shi game da batun kuɗin ba, domin ba shi ne ma’aji ba.
We did not ask him about the money because he is not the treasurer. (negative completive + B-form)
Gobe zan tambayi mai gidan ko ɗakin yana nan a haya.
Tomorrow I will ask the landlord whether the room is still available to rent.
Frequent collocations and extensions
Common frames include tambayi hanya “ask the way/directions,” tambayi lokaci “ask the time,” tambayi dalili “ask the reason,” tambayi ko... “ask whether...,” and tambayi game da... “ask about....” Derived Grade 6 tambayo conventionally means ask elsewhere and return or bring back the information; it can also occur with a beneficiary, as in tambayo mana “go ask for us and return with the answer.” It is not the B-form tambaye.
Common Mistakes
1. Leaving the A-form before a noun person object.
❌ Na tambaya likitan ko zan ci abinci.
Incorrect neutral Grade 2 form before noun object likitan.
✅ Na tambayi likitan ko zan ci abinci.
I asked the doctor whether I should eat.
2. Using -i before a direct pronoun.
❌ Ta tambayi su inda suka ajiye takardun.
Incorrect standard form before direct pronoun su.
✅ Ta tambaye su inda suka ajiye takardun.
She asked them where they had put the documents.
3. Treating masa as the person questioned.
❌ Na tambaya masa ko zai zo.
Incorrect for the intended neutral meaning ‘I asked him whether he would come’; this frame makes him the beneficiary.
✅ Na tambaye shi ko zai zo.
I asked him whether he would come.
4. Copying an English double-object frame.
❌ Ta tambayi manajan taimako.
Unreliable English calque for ‘She asked the manager for help.’
✅ Ta nemi taimako daga wurin manajan.
She asked the manager for help.
5. Using a separate pronoun after the strong verbal noun.
❌ Likitar tana tambaya ni game da ciwon.
Incorrect continuative pronominal-object form.
✅ Likitar tana tambayata game da ciwon.
The female doctor is asking me about the illness.
Key Takeaways
- Person asked: tambayi Musa, but tambaye shi.
- Put question content in a ko clause, wh-clause, or game da phrase; use yi wa mutum tambaya when explicitly naming “a question.”
- A request for a thing often uses nemi abu daga wurin mutum, not an English double-object copy.
- Tambaya masa / tambayam masa means ask on his behalf, not ask him.
- Feminine strong verbal noun tambaya gives tambayar Musa, tambayata, tambayarsa, tambayarsu.
Related Topics
- Grade 2 Variable-Vowel Verbs: OverviewB1 — Use the Grade 2 A, B, and C forms selected by no following object, a direct-object pronoun, or a noun-like direct object.
- Grade 2 before Indirect ObjectsB1 — Learn the lexical D-form a Grade 2 verb uses immediately before a recipient or beneficiary.
- Grade 2 Verbal NounsB1 — Learn Grade 2 strong verbal nouns as lexical forms and use their genitive-style objects correctly in continuative and nominal constructions.
- Possessive Object Forms in the ContinuativeA2 — Use joined possessive-type pronouns as the objects of strong continuative verbal nouns, as in ganinka, ganinta, and tambayarsu.
- Conditional in and idanA2 — Build open Hausa conditions with in and idan, selecting independent TAM and polarity in the condition and its result.
- Questioning the Direct ObjectA2 — Ask what or whom an action affects using a fronted object gap, relative TAM, and the verb form required by that gap.