A Grade 6 imperative commands the addressee to perform an established ventive event: Shigo! “Come in!”, Ɗauko jakar! “Fetch the bag!”, Sayo mana burodi! “Buy and bring us bread!” The bare imperative changes the verb’s tone, but it preserves the Grade 6 long final -o, the lexical meaning, and the verb’s valency.
The basic imperative guide explains the general mood. All unlabelled examples here are (neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa). Ordinary boko leaves tone and length unmarked. In technical pronunciation terms (academic/pedagogical), a finite Grade 6 form is all-high with long final -o, while the bare imperative overwrites that lexical melody with low…high and retains the long final vowel.
The bare imperative addresses one person
The special imperative has no subject–TAM marker. It gives an affirmative command to one addressee, whether male or female. The spelling of Grade 6 remains -o.
Shigo, ana jiranka a ciki.
Come in; they are waiting for you inside. (to one male)
Shigo, ana jiranki a ciki.
Come in; they are waiting for you inside. (to one female)
Fito mu tattauna a waje.
Come outside so that we can talk.
Ɗauko wayarka kafin mu tafi.
Fetch your phone before we leave. (to one addressee)
Gender is visible in -ka/-ki possessive or object forms when the rest of the sentence requires it, not in shigo itself. For more than one addressee, use the second-person plural subjunctive: Ku shigo “Come in, all of you.”
Grade 6 keeps its ventive event in a command
Compare basic ɗauka “take, pick up” with Grade 6 ɗauko “fetch, pick up and bring toward the center.” The command mood does not erase that lexical contrast.
Ɗauki takardun ka kai su ofis.
Take the documents and carry them to the office. (basic Grade 2 ɗauka in its noun-object imperative form)
Ɗauko takardun daga ofis ka kawo su nan.
Fetch the documents from the office and bring them here. (Grade 6 ɗauko)
Sayi maganin a shagon da ke kusa da asibiti.
Buy the medicine at the shop near the hospital. (basic Grade 2 command)
Sayo maganin idan kana dawowa gida.
Buy the medicine and bring it back when you are coming home. (Grade 6 command)
English sometimes needs fetch, bring, or a two-verb paraphrase. Hausa can package the outward activity and return effect in a single Grade 6 verb. Do not add a second zo merely because English uses come in an explanation.
One imperative across four object environments
Unlike Grade 2, Grade 6 does not alternate between -a, -i, and -e according to the following object. Ɗauko remains ɗauko in all four licensed command frames.
| Environment | Command | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| no following object | Ɗauko! | Fetch it/them; the object is understood. |
| noun direct object | Ɗauko jakar! | Fetch the bag. |
| direct-object pronoun | Ɗauko ta! | Fetch it/her. (feminine referent) |
| indirect object | Ɗauko mini jakar! | Fetch the bag for me. |
Ɗauko, don Allah; mun kusa tafiya.
Fetch it, please; we are about to leave. (object recoverable from context)
Ɗauko jakar baƙar da ke kan kujera.
Fetch the black bag that is on the chair.
Ɗauko ta ka ajiye ta a nan.
Fetch it and put it here. (feminine object)
Ɗauko mini jakar idan ba ka damu ba.
Fetch the bag for me, if you do not mind.
The beneficiary mini precedes the direct object. It does not fuse with ɗauko, and it does not change the Grade 6 vowel. Likewise, a direct-object pronoun is the ordinary series ni, ka, ki, shi, ta, mu, ku, su.
Imperative tone overrides lexical tone
This is the crucial phonological interaction. A normal Grade 6 finite verb has an all-high melody. The special bare imperative supplies the language-wide imperative low…high melody, distributed over the verb from the right. The result is still Grade 6 because its long -o, derived meaning, and syntax remain intact.
| Construction | Ordinary boko | Technical tone description |
|---|---|---|
| finite statement | ya nemo | Grade 6 all-high melody |
| bare command | nemo! | imperative low…high melody; final -o remains long |
| subject-marked directive | ka nemo | subjunctive subject marker plus ordinary Grade 6 verb |
Nemo mana direban kafin taron ya ƙare.
Go and find the driver for us before the meeting ends. (bare Grade 6 command)
Ka nemo mana direban kafin taron ya ƙare.
Go and find the driver for us before the meeting ends. (subject-marked directive to one male)
The two directives can fit the same situation. Neither form is inherently rude or polite. Voice quality, relationship, context, don Allah, and an explanation do the pragmatic work.
Plural and gender-explicit directives use the subjunctive
Use ka, ki, ku when explicitly marking a male singular, female singular, or plural addressee. The verb keeps the same Grade 6 lexical form.
Ki sayo tumatir idan za ki bi ta kasuwa.
Buy and bring tomatoes if you are going through the market. (to one woman)
Ka tambayo ko an kammala gyaran motar.
Ask and find out whether the car repair has been completed. (to one man)
Ku shigo ɗaya bayan ɗaya.
Come in one at a time. (to several people)
Ku ɗauko kujerun daga ɗayan ɗakin.
Fetch the chairs from the other room. (to several people)
English uses the same written you for all of these. Hausa forces the plural contrast in ku and can make singular gender explicit with ka/ki.
Negative commands do not use the bare imperative
Prohibitions use kada or conversational kar plus a subject-marked subjunctive. Do not place declarative ba … ba around the bare Grade 6 form.
Kada ka ɗauko akwatin kai kaɗai; yana da nauyi.
Do not fetch the box by yourself; it is heavy. (to one man)
Kada ki shigo har sai an kira ki.
Do not come in until you are called. (to one woman)
Kar ku sayo kayan da ba mu buƙata.
Do not buy and bring things that we do not need. (informal/conversational kar; plural)
The construction is negative subjunctive, but ɗauko, shigo, sayo are still Grade 6 lexemes. Mood and grade remain separate layers.
Lexicalized Grade 6 verbs can be commanded too
A command with tuno “recall” or samo “obtain/find” need not involve literal travel toward the speaker. The verb’s established meaning controls the interpretation.
Tuno da abin da muka yanke shawara jiya.
Remember what we decided yesterday.
Samo mana mai gyara kafin yamma.
Find us a repairer before evening.
Jawo kujerar zuwa nan, don Allah.
Pull the chair over here, please. (literal jawo)
Avoid inventing a command from a merely conceivable -o form. A Grade 6 imperative is productive once the Grade 6 lexeme and intended sense are established.
Practice
Turn each statement into a command to one person: ya shigo → shigo!, ya ɗauko jakar → ɗauko jakar!, ya sayo mana burodi → sayo mana burodi! Then address several people: ku shigo; ku ɗauko jakar; ku sayo mana burodi. Finally prohibit the actions: kada ka shigo; kada ka ɗauko jakar; kada ka sayo mana burodi. Notice that only the directive construction changes; the Grade 6 -o remains.
Common Mistakes
1. Replacing -o because the clause is an imperative.
❌ Ɗauki jakar nan!
Incorrect for the intended Grade 6 meaning ‘fetch the bag here’—ɗauki is the basic Grade 2 command ‘take/pick up.’
✅ Ɗauko jakar nan!
Fetch that bag and bring it here!
2. Adding a subject marker to the special bare imperative and treating both as one form.
❌ Ka ɗauko sigar umarni kai tsaye ce wadda take da ka.
Incorrect analysis—ka ɗauko is a subject-marked subjunctive directive, not a bare imperative containing ka.
✅ Ɗauko jakar!
Fetch the bag! (special bare imperative to one person)
3. Using the bare form for an explicitly plural addressee.
❌ Shigo, ku duka!
Incorrect neutral formation for an explicitly plural command.
✅ Ku shigo, ku duka!
Come in, all of you!
4. Negating with declarative ba … ba.
❌ Ba shigo yanzu ba!
Incorrect standard prohibition.
✅ Kada ka shigo yanzu!
Do not come in now! (to one man)
5. Changing -o before a direct-object pronoun.
❌ Ɗauke ta ka kawo ta nan!
Incorrect for the Grade 6 imperative—ɗauke is a Grade 2 pre-pronoun form.
✅ Ɗauko ta ka kawo ta nan!
Fetch it and bring it here!
Key Takeaways
- The bare Grade 6 imperative is an affirmative command to one person and has the imperative low…high tone melody.
- It retains Grade 6 long final -o, ventive or lexicalized meaning, and valency.
- Grade 6 stays -o before no object, a noun object, a direct-object pronoun, or an indirect object.
- Use ka/ki/ku plus the subjunctive for gender-explicit and plural directives.
- Use kada/kar plus the subjunctive for prohibitions; declarative ba … ba is not the command negator.
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Start learning Hausa →Related Topics
- Grade 6 Ventive: OverviewB2 — Use established all-high -o verbs for motion, action, or effects oriented toward a contextually chosen deictic center.
- Grade 6 Object FramesB2 — Use the same all-high -o form before no object, a direct-object pronoun, a noun object, or an indirect object.
- Singular Imperatives: Basic FormationA2 — Form affirmative commands to one Hausa addressee with the special subjectless imperative while respecting its tonal and verb-class limits.
- Grade-Sensitive Imperative FormsA2 — Recognize how Hausa verb grade and following-object type shape commands without confusing stem alternations with person, tense, or politeness.
- Imperatives with Direct ObjectsA2 — Place noun and pronoun objects correctly in Hausa commands while preserving person marking and the Grade 2 object-conditioned verb forms.
- Negative Commands with kada and karA2 — Build Hausa prohibitions with kada or conversational kar followed by an agreeing subjunctive marker and no final ba.