Grade 5 is transitive, but its object does not always look like the object of Grade 1, 2, or 4. The dependable long construction is all-high -ar + da + object; selected verbs also permit a shorter stem before da, and some have an -she form directly before an object pronoun. An indirect object creates a fourth frame in which the long -ar verb stands immediately before the recipient or beneficiary. Review the distinction between noun and pronoun objects before comparing the alternatives.
All unlabelled examples are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Tone and vowel length are discussed through (academic/pedagogical) labels only; normal target sentences remain in ordinary boko.
The long form is the safe lexical baseline
Every Grade 5 verb has a long form ending in -ar. When nothing follows, that form can leave the patient understood. When a direct object follows, da introduces it.
Mai shagon ya sayar, amma bai faɗi wa kowa farashin ba.
The shopkeeper sold it, but he did not tell anyone the price. (object understood)
Mai shagon ya sayar da injin niƙa da ba ya amfani da shi.
The shopkeeper sold the grinding machine that he was not using. (noun direct object)
Likita ya fitar da marar lafiyan daga ɗakin.
The doctor took the patient out of the room.
An sanar da sakamakon jarabawar da safe.
The examination result was announced in the morning. (neutral/formal report)
The da in these frames is historically and grammatically tied to Grade 5 object marking. Translating it mechanically as English with produces the wrong structure. It also does not mean that all Hausa direct objects require da: na rufe ƙofar “I closed the door” is Grade 4 and takes its object directly.
One verb across the four object environments
Use long fitar “take/remove out” to see the core contrasts. The base fita “go out” is intransitive; Grade 5 fitar is the transitive extension.
| Environment | Example | Form selected |
|---|---|---|
| A: no following object | Mai gadi ya fitar. | long fitar; object understood |
| C: noun direct object | Mai gadi ya fitar da akwatin. | long -ar da + noun |
| B: pronominal direct object | Mai gadi ya fitar da shi. | long -ar da + independent pronoun |
| D: indirect object | Mai gadi ya fitar masa da akwatin. | long -ar + masa, then da + theme |
Mai gadi ya fitar, sannan ya koma ya kulle ɗakin.
The guard took it out, then went back and locked the room.
Mai gadi ya fitar da akwatin ta ƙofar baya.
The guard took the box out through the back door.
Mai gadi ya fitar da shi kafin ruwan sama ya fara.
The guard took it out before the rain began. (masculine object)
Mai gadi ya fitar masa da akwatin domin hannunsa ya ji rauni.
The guard took the box out for him because his hand was injured.
The D-frame expresses an affected participant or beneficiary and is not automatically natural with every noun. Whether a given Grade 5 verb licenses such a participant, and whether the following theme appears with da, is a lexical and sometimes speaker-variable fact. The table gives an attested structural pattern, not a command to add masa freely.
Pronouns after da are independent
The long and short da constructions use the independent pronoun series: ni, kai, ke, shi, ita, mu, ku, su. This becomes visible with second-person and feminine singular forms.
| Meaning | After Grade 5 da | Ordinary direct-object form elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| you, one male | da kai | ka |
| you, one female | da ke | ki |
| him / masculine it | da shi | shi |
| her / feminine it | da ita | ta |
| us / you all / them | da mu / da ku / da su | mu / ku / su |
Shugabar za ta sanar da kai idan an amince da buƙatar.
The chairwoman will inform you if the request is approved. (one male)
Shugabar za ta sanar da ke idan an amince da buƙatar.
The chairwoman will inform you if the request is approved. (one female)
Mun sayar da ita bayan mun gyara injinta.
We sold it after repairing its engine. (feminine object, such as mota)
Do not apply this rule to a non-Grade 5 regular verb. Mun gaishe ta “we greeted her” takes direct-object ta without da; mun sanar da ita “we informed her” takes independent ita after Grade 5 da.
The short form is restricted to object position
A limited set of Grade 5 verbs permits a short form only when a direct object follows. The -ar suffix is absent, the remaining stem has high tone, and da still introduces a noun or independent-pronoun object. With tsayar “stop something,” the familiar short stem is tsai.
Direban ya tsai da motar a gefen hanya.
The driver stopped the vehicle at the side of the road. (short form before noun object)
Jami’in ya tsai da ita domin fitilarta ba ta aiki.
The officer stopped it because its light was not working. (short form + independent feminine pronoun)
The short form cannot normally stand without the following object construction. Use long ya tsayar for “he stopped it” with an unexpressed object, not bare ya tsai in that meaning. Moreover, short-form availability is lexical. Koyar “teach” uses long koyar da and does not license an invented koy da.
Malamin ya koyar da mu yadda ake rubuta wasiƙar aiki.
The teacher taught us how to write a business letter.
Malamin ya koyar da Hausa tsawon shekaru ashirin.
The teacher taught Hausa for twenty years.
English-speaking learners often prefer the shorter-looking form, but brevity is not a choice rule in Hausa. The lexicon determines whether it exists.
The -she form belongs directly before a pronoun
Some Grade 5 verbs have a pre-pronoun form in -she. It takes the ordinary direct-object pronoun series directly, without da. For tsayar, compare three licensed shapes:
| Shape | Example | Object type |
|---|---|---|
| long | ya tsayar da ita | independent ita after da |
| short | ya tsai da ita | independent ita after da |
| pre-pronoun | ya tsaishe ta | direct-object ta; no da |
’Yan sanda sun tsaishe ta kusa da kasuwa.
The police stopped her near the market. (pre-pronoun form)
Jami’ai sun tsaishe su domin su nuna katunansu.
Officers stopped them so that they would show their cards.
The -she is part of the verb form; it is not the masculine object shi and does not itself tell you the object’s gender. The following ta or su supplies that information. Do not add da between them.
This alternative is again lexical. Learners should record it only where reliable sources or usage confirm it. An invented -she form can sound like a nonexistent word or collide with a different lexical verb.
Indirect objects immediately follow long -ar
In the D-environment, the long all-high -ar form stands before an indirect-object expression. A pronominal recipient or beneficiary uses the ma series (mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, musu); a full noun commonly appears with wa.
Direban ya tsayar mata da motar a bakin ƙofa.
The driver stopped the vehicle for her at the doorway.
Mai shagon ya sayar wa Amina da kayan a madadinta.
The shopkeeper sold the goods for Amina/on her behalf.
The beneficiary comes before the direct theme. This differs from the long B/C frame, where da immediately follows the verb. Compare ya sayar da kayan “he sold the goods” with ya sayar mata da kayan “he sold the goods for her.” Some speakers and verbs allow the theme without da after the indirect object; the safest learning practice is to store the complete attested frame for each verb rather than generalize from one example.
The verb ba “give” is a separate exception and must not be used as the model here. It takes recipient forms ni/ka/ki/shi/ta/mu/ku/su, as in ta ba shi littafi, not ordinary Grade 5 masa.
The object frame persists in verbal-noun constructions
Grade 5 normally forms a weak verbal noun in -wa when no object follows. Before an overt object, -wa is omitted and the object-conditioned stem appears.
Bala yana sayarwa tun safe, amma har yanzu bai gama ba.
Bala has been selling since morning, but he still has not finished. (no following object)
Bala yana sayar da lemu a kasuwar unguwa.
Bala sells oranges at the neighborhood market. (overt noun object)
Ana sanar da iyaye sakamakon ta saƙon waya.
Parents are informed of the result by text message. (neutral/formal)
The continuative marker chooses the verbal-noun construction, but it does not cancel Grade 5 transitivity or replace the independent pronoun after da.
Practice
Change Jami’in ya tsayar da motar in three ways: short form Jami’in ya tsai da motar; feminine pronominal long form Jami’in ya tsayar da ita; pre-pronoun form Jami’in ya tsaishe ta. Then make the object unexpressed: Jami’in ya tsayar—only the long form is licensed there. Finally contrast Grade 4 ya gaishe ta with Grade 5 ya sanar da ita.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting da from the long direct-object frame.
❌ Sun fitar akwatin daga ɗaki.
Incorrect neutral long Grade 5 object frame.
✅ Sun fitar da akwatin daga ɗaki.
They took the box out of the room.
2. Using the wrong pronoun series after da.
❌ Sun sayar da ta jiya.
Incorrect — ta is the direct-object form, not the independent form required here.
✅ Sun sayar da ita jiya.
They sold it yesterday. (feminine object)
3. Using a short form without an overt object.
❌ Jami’in ya tsai, amma bai kama direban ba.
Incorrect for intended ‘the officer stopped it’; short Grade 5 tsai requires the da-object frame.
✅ Jami’in ya tsayar, amma bai kama direban ba.
The officer stopped it, but he did not arrest the driver.
4. Creating a short form for every Grade 5 verb.
❌ Malamin ya koy da Hausa.
Incorrect invented short form.
✅ Malamin ya koyar da Hausa.
The teacher taught Hausa.
5. Combining -she with da.
❌ Jami’in ya tsaishe da ta.
Incorrect — the pre-pronoun form takes the direct-object pronoun immediately.
✅ Jami’in ya tsaishe ta.
The officer stopped her.
Key Takeaways
- Long -ar stands without an overt object and combines with da + object in B/C frames.
- Pronouns after da are independent: da kai, da ke, da ita.
- Short forms occur only before direct objects and only with verbs that license them.
- An -she form, where attested, takes a direct-object pronoun immediately: tsaishe ta.
- The D-form places the indirect object after long -ar; any following theme and its da marking remain verb- and speaker-sensitive.
Related Topics
- The Three Object EnvironmentsA2 — Choose Hausa verb forms by whether no object, a noun direct object, or a direct-object pronoun immediately follows, while treating indirect objects separately.
- 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.
- No Following Object versus an Understood ObjectA2 — Distinguish the absence of a postverbal object from an event with an object understood, omitted, or placed elsewhere in the Hausa clause.
- Independent Pronouns: Full ParadigmA1 — Learn the eight free personal-pronoun forms and distinguish them from Hausa subject–TAM, object, indirect-object, and possessive forms.
- 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.
- Indirect-Object Pronouns with ma-B1 — Use Hausa mini, maka, miki, masa, mata, mana, muku, and musu for recipients, beneficiaries, and other affected participants.