Questions & Answers about Muna zaune a wannan ƙarni.
What does muna mean in this sentence?
Muna is the form for we are / we do / we are in the process of.
It combines:
- mu = we
- na = an aspect marker often used for ongoing, current, or sometimes habitual actions/states
So in muna zaune, muna tells you the subject is we and that the sentence is describing a current state or situation.
Why is there no separate word for are?
Hausa often does not use a separate verb exactly like English to be in every situation.
In this sentence, the idea of we are is already built into muna. Then zaune describes the state. So:
- muna = we are
- zaune = sitting / staying / living / settled
That is why Hausa does not need an extra word corresponding to English are here.
What is zaune, and why isn’t it zauna?