Questions & Answers about Kada ka sha gubar.
What does kada do in this sentence?
Kada is the word used to make a negative command in Hausa. It means don’t in sentences like this.
So:
Kada ka sha gubar. = Don’t drink the poison.
A useful pattern is:
kada + subject marker + verb + object
So this is not just a word-for-word match with English; it is the normal Hausa way to say don’t do X.
Why is ka included?
Ka is the subject marker for you when speaking to one male person in this kind of construction.
So in:
Kada ka sha gubar.
ka tells you who is being addressed: you (singular, masculine).
In Hausa, this little pronoun is normally required here. You do not usually just say Kada sha gubar.
How would I say this to a woman or to more than one person?
You change the subject marker:
- to one man: Kada ka sha gubar.
- to one woman: Kada ki sha gubar.
- to more than one person: Kada ku sha gubar.
So the part after kada changes depending on who you are speaking to.
Does only mean ?