A Hausa verbal noun names an action or supplies the lexical predicate in the continuative. It is related to a verb’s grade, but the relation is not one-to-one. Grade 1 karanta “read” regularly has weak karantawa when no object follows, while Grade 2 saya “buy” uses strong saye, as in sayen littafi “buying a book.” Grade membership narrows the possibilities; it does not let you derive every verbal noun without lexical evidence.
Compare the dedicated pages on weak -wa verbal nouns and strong non--wa verbal nouns for their complete continuative syntax.
All unlabelled examples use (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko writes ɓ, ɗ, ƙ, ’y but no tone or vowel-length marks. “Weak” and “strong” below are morphological labels, not judgments about meaning or emphasis.
A verbal noun is genuinely noun-like
A verbal noun can head a noun phrase, serve as a subject or object, and follow a continuative subject–TAM marker. English often translates it with an -ing form, but English -ing does not reproduce all of its Hausa grammar.
Tafiya tana buɗe ido.
Travel broadens the mind. (literally, traveling opens the eyes)
Ina son karatu da dare.
I like studying at night.
Amina tana sayen kayan miya a kasuwa.
Amina is buying cooking ingredients at the market.
Karatu is a lexical strong action noun related to karanta, available alongside productive weak karantawa. Its presence here illustrates an important limit on grade-based prediction: one verb may have both a regular weak form and an established strong nominalization.
In the last sentence, tana carries feminine singular agreement and continuative aspect. The verbal noun saye supplies the event meaning and takes its object through noun-like genitive linking: saye + -n + kayan miya.
Two broad morphological types
Hausa teaching grammars distinguish two major types.
| Type | No following object | Before a noun object | With a pronominal object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weak -wa | karantawa | karanta littafi | karanta shi |
| Strong non--wa | saye | sayen littafi | sayensa |
Weak -wa forms normally lose -wa before a local direct object. Strong forms retain their lexical shape and take the same -n/-r linking morphology used in genitive constructions. A pronominal object of a strong verbal noun therefore looks possessive: sayensa “buying it/him,” not separate saye shi in the continuative.
Ladi tana karantawa a falo.
Ladi is reading in the living room. (weak verbal noun; no stated object)
Ladi tana karanta jarida a falo.
Ladi is reading a newspaper in the living room. (weak -wa absent before object)
Bello yana saye a shagon nan kullum.
Bello does his buying at this shop every day. (strong verbal noun; no object follows)
Bello yana sayen kayan ofis a shagon nan.
Bello buys office supplies at this shop.
Bello yana sayensa idan farashin ya sauka.
Bello buys it when the price falls. (masculine object on strong verbal noun)
What the grades predict
Grade membership creates useful tendencies. Regular verbs in Grades 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 commonly allow weak -wa verbal nouns. Grades 2 and 3 do not productively form weak -wa verbal nouns; they require lexically established strong forms instead. Since Grade 3 verbs are intransitive, their strong forms normally have no direct-object frame. Many frequent verbs outside these two grades also have secondary strong verbal nouns.
| Grade tendency | Finite verb | Common no-object verbal noun | Illustrative continuative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1, weak | karanta “read” | karantawa | tana karantawa |
| Grade 4, weak | goge “wipe” | gogewa | yana gogewa |
| Grade 6, weak | sayo “buy and bring” | sayowa | suna sayowa |
| Grade 2, strong | saya “buy” | saye | muna saye |
These correspondences are strong enough to organize study, but not strong enough to replace a dictionary. Frequent verbs can preserve older, lexicalized strong forms; some verbs permit more than one verbal noun, sometimes with differences of frequency, construction, or nuance. “This grade often takes -wa” is not the same claim as “attach -wa to any spelling and the result is guaranteed.”
Grade 2 shows why finite forms and verbal nouns must be separated
Compare one verb in its finite environments:
| Finite environment | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| No following object | saya | Na saya. |
| Noun direct object | sayi | Na sayi littafi. |
| Direct-object pronoun | saye | Na saye shi. |
| Indirect object | saya | Na saya masa littafi. |
Now compare the continuative:
Ina saye yanzu; ka kira ni anjima.
I am shopping now; call me later. (strong verbal noun without an object)
Ina sayen littafi ga ƙanwata.
I am buying a book for my younger sister. (saye plus masculine linker -n)
Ina sayensa yanzu.
I am buying it now. (possessive-type masculine object)
The spelling saye occurs both as finite B-form and as the strong verbal noun, but the constructions are different. Na saye shi contains a finite verb plus separate direct-object pronoun. Ina sayensa contains subject–TAM ina plus a verbal noun bearing a joined possessive-type object. Identical-looking lexical material does not make the syntax identical.
Linker gender belongs to the verbal noun
Strong verbal nouns link a following noun with masculine -n or feminine -r, according to the verbal noun’s own grammatical gender—not the gender of the object.
| Verbal noun | Noun object | Pronominal object |
|---|---|---|
| gani “seeing” (masculine) | ganin Musa / ganin Amina | ganinsa / ganinta |
| saye “buying” (masculine) | sayen mota / sayen littafi | sayenta / sayensa |
| tambaya “asking” (feminine) | tambayar Musa / tambayar Amina | tambayarsa / tambayarta |
Likitar tana tambayar marar lafiya inda yake jin ciwo.
The female doctor is asking the patient where he feels pain.
Yaran suna jiran mahaifiyarsu a bakin ƙofa.
The children are waiting for their mother at the doorway.
Changing Musa to Amina does not change ganin to a feminine linker: gender belongs to gani. The same morphology can express ordinary possession outside a verbal construction, so the subject–TAM frame and lexical meaning help identify the object reading.
Weak verbal nouns use a different object strategy
With weak -wa forms, a local object removes -wa and remains a separate noun phrase or direct-object pronoun.
Ma’aikacin yana gyarawa a bayan shagon.
The worker is doing repairs behind the shop. (no direct object follows)
Ma’aikacin yana gyara keken yaronsa.
The worker is repairing his son’s bicycle.
Ma’aikacin yana gyara shi yanzu.
The worker is repairing it now.
Do not combine the two strategies: *karantawan littafi wrongly keeps -wa and adds a strong-type linker, while *sayewa littafi wrongly adds weak -wa to strong saye.
Derived grades have their own verbal nouns
The basic Grade 2 verb and a derived grade member do not share one automatic verbal noun.
Yana sayen kayan miya a kasuwa.
He is buying cooking ingredients at the market. (Grade 2 strong saye)
Yana sayo kayan miya daga kasuwa.
He is buying and bringing cooking ingredients from the market. (Grade 6 weak -wa absent before object)
Yana sayowa tun safe.
He has been buying and bringing things since morning. (Grade 6 sayowa; no object follows)
Grade 6 contributes a ventive meaning, and its verbal noun follows the weak pattern. This contrast illustrates the right amount of prediction: the grade helps anticipate sayowa, but only attested lexical usage confirms that sayo has this meaning and frame. Not every root supplies a normal member of every derived grade.
Verbal nouns do not map one-to-one onto English
English may use a progressive verb, a gerund, an infinitive-like phrase, or an ordinary noun where Hausa uses related verbal-noun syntax. Conversely, an established Hausa action noun is not necessarily the exact continuative form of every semantically related verb. Translate the construction, not an isolated suffix.
Yin magana a hankali ya fi kyau.
Speaking calmly is better.
Suna shirin tafiya gobe.
They are preparing to travel tomorrow.
Neither example licenses a rule “English to or -ing always equals -wa.” The Hausa lexeme and construction determine the form.
Practice: identify the system before forming the object
- tana karantawa → a newspaper: tana karanta jarida; weak -wa disappears.
- yana saye → goods: yana sayen kaya; strong masculine linker -n.
- ina gani → her: ina ganinta; joined possessive-type object.
- muna gyarawa → it (masculine): muna gyara shi; separate direct-object pronoun.
- suna sayowa → food: suna sayo abinci; Grade 6 weak -wa disappears before the object.
Common Mistakes
1. Using a finite Grade 2 C-form in the continuative.
❌ Yana sayi littafi yanzu.
Incorrect standard continuative — sayi is the finite before-noun form.
✅ Yana sayen littafi yanzu.
He is buying a book now.
2. Keeping weak -wa before a direct object.
❌ Tana karantawa jarida a falo.
Incorrect — a local noun object removes -wa.
✅ Tana karanta jarida a falo.
She is reading a newspaper in the living room.
3. Using a separate direct pronoun after a strong verbal noun.
❌ Ina saye shi yanzu.
Incorrect for the intended continuative; this is shaped like a finite B-form.
✅ Ina sayensa yanzu.
I am buying it now.
4. Adding a genitive linker to a weak object form.
❌ Yana karantan littafi yanzu.
Incorrect in the intended weak continuative construction — do not add a strong-type linker.
✅ Yana karanta littafi yanzu.
He is reading a book now.
5. Assuming one verbal noun for every member of a root family.
❌ Yana sayewa kayan daga kasuwa.
Incorrect invented object form for the intended Grade 6 verb sayo.
✅ Yana sayo kaya daga kasuwa.
He is buying goods at the market and bringing them here.
Key Takeaways
- Verbal nouns are noun-like predicates used especially in the continuative; they are not present-tense endings.
- Weak -wa forms lose -wa before a local object; strong forms use -n/-r linking and possessive-type pronominal objects.
- Grade membership predicts strong tendencies, but frequent irregular forms, alternatives, and lexical restrictions prevent a one-to-one rule.
- Keep finite saya/sayi/saye separate from continuative saye—sayen kaya—sayensa.
- Derived grade members such as sayo have their own meanings, valency, and verbal-noun behavior.
Now practice Hausa
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- Continuative with -wa Verbal NounsA2 — Form the Hausa continuative with weak -wa verbal nouns and remove -wa when a direct object follows.
- Continuative with Non--wa Verbal NounsA2 — Build the Hausa continuative with strong verbal nouns such as gani, ci, sha, saye, and tambaya, including their noun- and pronoun-object patterns.
- Dropping -wa before a Direct ObjectA2 — Know when a continuative -wa verbal noun loses -wa before a local direct object and when -wa returns because no object follows it.
- Genitive Linking before Noun ObjectsA2 — Attach -n or -r to a strong continuative verbal noun before its local noun object, choosing the linker from the verbal noun’s gender.
- 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.
- What a Hausa Verb Grade Is—and Is NotA2 — Understand Hausa verb grades as lexical morphophonological patterns shaped by meaning, valency, and the following object environment—not as tense conjugations.