Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Hausa grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ni ina so in je makaranta gobe.
Why is Ni used at the beginning of the sentence? Do we have to include it every time?
Ni is the subject pronoun “I.” Hausa verbs already show their subject by means of prefixes, so saying Ni isn’t strictly necessary—you could simply say Ina so in je makaranta gobe and it still means “I want to go to school tomorrow.” Including Ni adds extra emphasis or clarity (“as for me, I want…”).
What exactly does ina so mean, and how is it formed?
Ina so literally means “I am wanting,” and it’s the present-tense form of so (“to want”). In Hausa, the present habitual/progressive is formed by combining the subject pronoun prefix with na. For first-person singular, you get i‑na, which together with the verb root so gives ina so = “I want.”
Why is the verb je preceded by in? What function does that serve?
That in is the subjunctive marker (sometimes called the verbal complementizer). After a verb of desire like so, the following verb must appear in the subjunctive. You form the subjunctive by prefixing i- to the verb root. So je (“go”) becomes in je (“that I go”), and ina so in je = “I want that I go” ≈ “I want to go.”
There’s no word for “to” before makaranta. How do we express “to school”?
In Hausa, motion verbs like je (“go”) can take their destination directly as an object, without a preposition. Je makaranta literally means “go school.” If you prefer, you can insert zuwa (meaning “to”), as in je zuwa makaranta, but it’s more natural and common to omit it.
Where does gobe (“tomorrow”) go in the sentence?
Time adverbs like gobe are quite flexible in Hausa. The most usual position is at the end, hence Ni ina so in je makaranta gobe. You could also place it at the start—Gobe, ina so in je makaranta—but end placement is generally more natural.
How would I say “I will go to school tomorrow” instead of “I want to go”?
Replace ina so in with the future marker za + subject prefix. For first-person singular that’s zan, so you get Zan je makaranta gobe, meaning “I will go to school tomorrow.”