Shi bai ci abinci ba.

He did not eat food.

Breakdown of Shi bai ci abinci ba.

• shi: he
• abinci: the food
• ba … ba: not
• ci: to eat

Questions & Answers about Shi bai ci abinci ba.

Why are there two ba particles in the sentence Shi bai ci abinci ba?

Hausa uses a bipartite (two‑part) negation structure. The first ba (before the verb) marks the start of negation and hosts the subject pronoun; the second ba (after the verb phrase) closes the negative construction. Without both, the clause wouldn’t be fully negated.

What does bai mean, and how is it formed?

bai is a contraction of the negative marker ba + the third‑person masculine singular pronoun ya.
• ba (negation) + ya (he) → baya, which assimilates in speech to bai.

Where is the subject “he” in Shi bai ci abinci ba?

There are actually two pronouns here:

1. shi at the beginning is the independent pronoun “he,” used as a topic or for emphasis.
2. ya is bound inside bai (the pre‑verbal negator + pronoun). That bound pronoun is obligatory for agreement in the negative.

What role does shi at the beginning play? Can it be dropped?

shi is the free (independent) pronoun “he.” It sets the topic or emphasizes the subject. In casual speech it can be dropped because the bound pronoun in bai already shows “he.” So Bai ci abinci ba still means “He did not eat food,” though it’s less emphatic.

Why doesn’t the verb ci change form to show past tense?

Hausa verbs don’t inflect for tense via suffixes. Instead, tense/aspect is signaled by pronouns and particles around the verb. Here the perfective (past) is understood from the context and the choice of negation pattern (bai … ba). The verb itself (the root ci) stays unchanged.

How would you negate this sentence in the present tense (“he doesn’t eat food” or “he is not eating food”)?

Use the present‑tense negation pattern ba + subject pronoun + verb + ba. For third‑person masculine singular:
ba ya ci abinci ba
Literally: “Neg‑he‑eat‑food‑neg” = “He does not eat food” / “He is not eating food.”

How would you say “I didn’t eat food” in Hausa?

Use the first‑person singular negative‑past pattern:
ban ci abinci ba
Here ban = ba + ni (I), then the verb ci, then closing ba.

How do you form the future negative (“he will not eat food”)?

For future negation you insert the future particle zai after the first ba and keep the closing ba:
ba zai ci abinci ba
Literally: “Neg‑will‑he‑eat‑food‑neg” = “He will not eat food.”