A Grade 4 verb uses its B-form when one of the core direct-object pronouns immediately follows. With rufe “close, cover,” boko writes rufe shi “close it/him” and rufe ta “close it/her.” The ending looks identical to C-form rufe ƙofa, but the regular B-form has long final -e, whereas C normally has short -e.
All examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Technical comments about tone and vowel length are explicitly labelled academic/pedagogical; normal target sentences use ordinary unmarked boko.
The pronouns that trigger B
Only the core postverbal direct-object series triggers this environment.
| Meaning | Direct-object form | With rufe |
|---|---|---|
| me | ni | rufe ni |
| you, one male | ka | rufe ka |
| you, one female | ki | rufe ki |
| him / masculine it | shi | rufe shi |
| her / feminine it | ta | rufe ta |
| us | mu | rufe mu |
| you all | ku | rufe ku |
| them | su | rufe su |
Na rufe shi da kyau domin ruwan sama yana ƙara ƙarfi.
I closed it securely because the rain was getting heavier. (masculine referent)
Tagar tana barin ƙura ta shiga, sai na rufe ta.
The window was letting dust in, so I closed it. (feminine referent)
An bincike mu a ƙofar filin jirgin sama.
We were searched at the airport entrance.
Jami’in ya bincike su kafin ya bar su su wuce.
The officer searched them before allowing them through.
The pronoun agrees with the grammatical gender and number of the referent, not necessarily with biological sex. Littafi “book” is masculine, so “close it” referring to a book is rufe shi; ƙofa “door” is feminine, so it is rufe ta.
B and C are hidden by spelling
In the regular pronunciation pattern (academic/pedagogical), Grade 4 B has H-L-(H) and long final -e. C, before a noun-like direct object, normally has H-L-(L) and short final -e. Boko writes both simply rufe.
| Environment | Example in boko | Spoken distinction |
|---|---|---|
| B: direct pronoun | Ta rufe ta. | long final -e, A/B melody |
| C: noun object | Ta rufe tagar. | normally short final -e, C melody |
Mai gadi ya rufe shagon da wuri, amma ya sake buɗe shi bayan minti goma.
The guard closed the shop early, but reopened it ten minutes later. (C rufe shagon; B buɗe shi)
Ta bincike takardun, sannan ta bincike su karo na biyu.
She examined the documents, then examined them a second time. (C then B)
English adds no comparable length contrast to close the door/close it. A learner reading boko must therefore know the object environment rather than pronounce every written rufe mechanically alike.
Demonstratives and independent pronouns do not trigger B
Wannan “this one” and waɗannan “these” are noun-like objects for grade selection. Independent pronouns such as shi in a focused phrase occur outside the neutral postverbal object slot. B is reserved for the core direct-object series directly after the verb.
Ka rufe wannan, amma ka bar wancan a buɗe.
Close this one, but leave that one open. (wannan is noun-like; C-form)
Shi ne suka bincike, ba ɗan’uwansa ba.
He is the one they searched, not his brother. (focused object; A-form environment after the gap)
The focus construction must not be used as a mechanical substitute for neutral sun bincike shi. English him hides the difference between a weak object pronoun and a focused independent expression.
Indirect-object pronouns select D, not B
Forms such as mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, musu are indirect objects or affectees. They come immediately after the verb and select D. Grade 4 D normally patterns with A/B in retaining long final -e, but its syntax is not B.
Suka rufe masa idanu kafin su shigar da kyautar.
They covered his eyes before bringing in the present. (masa is indirect; D-form)
Na rufe mata akwatin domin kada kayan su zube.
I closed the box for her so that the contents would not spill. (mata is indirect; akwatin is the later theme)
The later theme cannot trigger C across the intervening indirect object. Nor should masa be replaced by direct shi merely because English may use for him or a possessive paraphrase.
The verb ba “give” is a separate lexical exception: it takes recipient ni/ka/ki/shi/ta/mu/ku/su, as in ta ba shi littafi, not the fused ma series. That fact does not turn every occurrence of shi after every verb into an indirect object.
The same B-form appears with different TAM values
TAM is expressed to the left; the adjacent direct pronoun keeps B constant.
Amina ta rufe ta jiya da yamma.
Amina closed it yesterday evening. (completive)
Amina za ta rufe ta gobe da safe.
Amina will close it tomorrow morning. (future)
Amina ba ta rufe ta ba saboda ɗakin yana da zafi.
Amina did not close it because the room was hot. (negative completive)
Ka ce wa Amina ta rufe ta yanzu domin taron ya fara.
Tell Amina to close it now because the meeting has begun. (subjunctive after a directive)
The identical string ta rufe ta can contain different first ta markers depending on tone and context, while the final ta is the feminine direct-object pronoun. Written context and time expressions often make the intended TAM reading clear.
The continuative also uses a separate pronoun
Regular Grade 4 has a weak -wa verbal noun. Rufewa appears when no object follows. Before a local object, the construction uses the matching object-conditioned verb form—traditionally described as “dropping -wa.” Thus tana rufe ta “she is closing it / regularly closes it” has the B-form followed by the same separate direct-object pronoun.
Yanzu tana rufewa; ka jira a waje.
She is closing up now; wait outside. (weak verbal noun rufewa, no object)
Tana rufe ta da makulli duk dare.
She locks it every night. (the B-form appears before direct pronoun ta)
This differs from a strong verbal noun such as Grade 2 saye, which takes joined possessive-type objects: yana sayensa, not yana saye shi. The verbal-noun class, not the English word -ing, determines the object pattern.
Grade membership still matters
Grade 4 saye “buy up” looks exactly like the Grade 2 B-form saye before a pronoun. The surrounding construction and lexical meaning distinguish them.
Na saye su jiya domin sun yi arha.
I bought them yesterday because they were cheap. (Grade 2 B-form of saya)
Kamfanin ya saye ƙananan shagunan duka.
The company bought up all the small shops. (Grade 4 C-form of saye)
A final e is not enough to identify a grade. Grade 2 saye shi is an object-conditioned form of “buy,” while Grade 4 saye is a distinct lexical member with a totality interpretation.
The same verb in four environments
With rufe: Na rufe (A, no object), na rufe ƙofar (C, noun), na rufe ta (B, direct pronoun), and na rufe mata ƙofar (D, indirect pronoun before a later theme). This four-way set is more useful than memorizing rufe = close alone.
Practice
Replace each noun object with a core pronoun: rufe littafi → rufe shi; rufe ƙofa → rufe ta; bincike ma’aikata → bincike su; yanke igiya → yanke ta. Then classify wannan in rufe wannan as noun-like C and mata in rufe mata akwatin as indirect D.
Common Mistakes
1. Giving B the short C-form pronunciation.
❌ Na rufe ta.
Incorrect delivery if rufe is pronounced with the regular short C ending merely because boko looks the same.
✅ Na rufe ta bayan iska ta ƙaru.
I closed it after the wind became stronger — use the long B-form ending.
2. Using a core direct pronoun with the wrong noun gender.
❌ Na rufe shi.
Incorrect if shi refers to feminine ƙofa ‘door.’
✅ Na rufe ta saboda ƙura.
I closed it because of the dust. (ta refers to ƙofa)
3. Treating a demonstrative as a B trigger.
❌ Ka rufe wannan.
Incorrect delivery if rufe is given the long B-form ending—wannan selects the noun-like C environment.
✅ Ka rufe wannan; an riga an rufe wancan.
Close this one; the other one has already been closed.
4. Confusing direct and indirect pronouns.
❌ Na rufe shi akwatin.
Incorrect for ‘I closed the box for him’—shi is not the ordinary beneficiary form here.
✅ Na rufe masa akwatin.
I closed the box for him.
5. Choosing B because the clause is future.
❌ Za mu rufe shi shagon gobe.
Incorrect—do not combine a direct pronoun with the noun object, and future does not select B.
✅ Za mu rufe shagon gobe.
We will close the shop tomorrow. (noun object; C-form)
Key Takeaways
- Grade 4 B occurs immediately before ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, su.
- B normally has long final -e, while noun-object C normally has short -e.
- Demonstratives, focused independent forms, and indirect ma forms do not trigger B.
- Direct-object gender controls shi/ta for inanimate nouns too.
- TAM does not select B; the adjacent direct pronoun does.
- Before a pronoun in the continuative, the matching B-form appears (traditionally described as -wa deletion), followed by the separate object pronoun.
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- Grade 4: Core Form PatternB1 — Recognize Grade 4's e-final form, its hidden A/B/C/D contrasts, and its frequent totality or result meaning.
- Grade 4 before Noun ObjectsB1 — Use the normally short-vowel Grade 4 C-form before nouns, names, full noun phrases, and noun-like demonstratives.
- Noun Objects versus Direct-Object PronounsA2 — Choose the correct Hausa verb form by distinguishing noun-like direct objects from the special postverbal direct-object pronoun series.
- Direct-Object Pronouns: Core ParadigmA2 — Learn Hausa ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, and su as direct objects and keep them distinct from independent, subject–TAM, indirect-object, and possessive forms.
- Grade 1 before Pronoun ObjectsB1 — Use the long-final Grade 1 B-form before Hausa direct-object pronouns and keep it distinct from noun-object and indirect-object frames.
- Indirect Objects Immediately after the VerbA2 — Place Hausa recipients and beneficiaries directly after the verb and recognize the special D-form environment they create.