Kai da ita kun gamu a gida.

she

Breakdown of Kai da ita kun gamu a gida.

• gida: the home
• kai: you (masculine)
• da: and
• gamu: to meet
• a: at

Questions & Answers about Kai da ita kun gamu a gida.

Why is the sentence using "kai da ita" (you [masculine] and she) instead of something else like "shi da ita" (he and she)?

In Hausa, kai means "you" (masculine singular) when used as an independent pronoun. Since the speaker is addressing a male directly and pairing him with a female (ita), the sentence uses kai da ita to express "you and her." If it were "he and she," you would use shi da ita.

Why do we use "kun gamu" and not "sun gamu" or "mun gamu"?

Kun is the second-person plural perfect tense prefix. When you say kai da ita, you form a group of two people that you're speaking to directly, so the sentence becomes a second-person plural. That’s why kun gamu ("you [plural] met") is used, rather than sun gamu ("they met") or mun gamu ("we met").

What role does the word "gamu" play here, and can we use "hadu" instead?

Gamu is a verb meaning "to meet" or "to come across." In many contexts, hadu can also be used to mean "meet," so you could say kai da ita kun hadu a gida. Both gamu and hadu are acceptable, but depending on the dialect and region, one might be more common.

Why is it "a gida" for "at home"? Could I just say "gida"?

The preposition a in Hausa generally indicates a location or place. So a gida means "at home." Simply saying gida ("home") might work in some contexts for shorter answers, but to indicate location in a full sentence, you usually include a to specify that the action is happening at or in that place.

Is it normal in Hausa to list pronouns separately like "kai da ita" before using a verb?

Yes. When you want to be clear about the subjects involved, especially when speaking to or about multiple people, Hausa commonly uses separate pronouns joined with da ("and") before the verb. This pattern helps define who is included in the action.