Breakdown of Fata tana da kauri, yayin da roba take da santsi.
da
to have
ta
she/it
fata
the leather; skin
roba
the rubber
Questions & Answers about Fata tana da kauri, yayin da roba take da santsi.
Why does the sentence use tana in the first clause but take in the second?
Both tana and take agree with a feminine singular subject.
- fata is treated as feminine singular, so tana matches it.
- roba is also feminine singular, so the second verb marker must also be feminine singular.
The difference is not gender or number. It is the form of the tense/aspect marker:
- tana = the normal/imperfective form
- take = the relative/dependent imperfective form
After expressions like yayin da (while / whereas), Hausa commonly uses the dependent form, so you get:
- yayin da roba take da santsi
So the change is grammatical, not a change in meaning.
What does yayin da mean here?
Yayin da means while, whereas, or whereas at the same time depending on context.
In this sentence, it links two contrasting descriptions:
- Fata tana da kauri = skin/leather is thick
- yayin da roba take da santsi = while/whereas rubber is smooth
So it is functioning like an English contrast word such as while or whereas.
Why is da used after and ?