Questions & Answers about Muna bauta wa Allah a masallaci.
What does muna mean exactly?
Muna means we are or we do/are doing, depending on context.
It can be thought of as:
- mu = we
- -na = an imperfective/present marker
So muna bauta means we worship or we are worshipping.
Is this sentence present continuous, or can it also be habitual?
It can be both.
In Hausa, this kind of form often covers:
- an action happening right now: We are worshipping God in the mosque
- a habitual action: We worship God in the mosque
Context usually tells you which meaning is intended.
Is bauta the verb here?
Yes, bauta is the main action word here, meaning worship or serve in devotion.
A useful thing to know is that Hausa often uses a structure like:
subject + imperfective marker + verbal noun
So where English uses a normal finite verb, Hausa often uses something that looks more like a verbal noun. That is why muna bauta is a normal way to say we worship / we are worshipping.
Why is it and not just ?