Ni zan saya ruwa a kasuwa.

I will buy water at the market.

Breakdown of Ni zan saya ruwa a kasuwa.

• ni: I
• ruwa: the water
• kasuwa: the market
• a: at
• saya: to buy

Questions & Answers about Ni zan saya ruwa a kasuwa.

What is the function of ni in this sentence, and can it be omitted?

ni is the first‑person singular pronoun (“I”) used as the explicit subject. In Hausa, subject pronouns are often optional because the auxiliary (zan) already carries person information. Here ni adds clarity or emphasis. You can omit it without changing the meaning:

Zan saya ruwa a kasuwa.
(I will buy water at the market.)

You can also move ni to the end for extra emphasis:
Zan saya ruwa a kasuwa ni.

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What does zan stand for, and how is it formed?

zan is the future‑tense auxiliary meaning “I will.” It comes from:
 • za (future marker)
 • plus the subject suffix ‑n (for “I”)

za + n → zan

Other persons form similarly (za+ka = zaka “you will,” za+shi = zai “he will,” etc.). After zan, you use the bare verb stem.

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Why is the verb saya not conjugated for tense or person?

In Hausa, tense/person are marked by auxiliaries like zan, not by changing the main verb. After the future auxiliary zan, you always use the simple verb stem (saya = “buy”). There’s no additional ending on saya itself.

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What is the word order illustrated by this example?

The neutral order here is:
Subject (Ni) – Auxiliary (zan) – Verb (saya) – Object (ruwa) – Location (a kasuwa)
Abbreviated as S‑Aux‑V‑O‑Loc. You can rearrange elements for focus, but this is the default.

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How do you express “the water” or “some water” in Hausa?

Hausa has no direct equivalents for English “a”/“the.” To specify:
• “some water”: add wani (some) → Zan saya wani ruwa.
• “the water”: use a demonstrative or possessive → ruwan nan (this water) or ruwa na (my water).
By default, ruwa alone is indefinite (“water”).

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What does a do in a kasuwa, and how do you say “to the market” instead?

a is the locative preposition meaning “at/in.”
• a kasuwa = “at the market.”
For motion toward the market, use zuwa:
• Zan je zuwa kasuwa (“I will go to the market”).
But if you’re directly buying there, you keep a kasuwa (“at the market”).

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How would you form the negative of this sentence?

Enclose the clause in ba...ba:
Ba zan saya ruwa a kasuwa ba.
Literally: “Neg I‑will‑buy water at market neg.”
= “I will not buy water at the market.”

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How can you emphasize the subject pronoun “I” more strongly in this sentence?

Place ni at the end for emphasis:
Zan saya ruwa a kasuwa ni.
It emphasizes “I myself will buy water at the market.”

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How would you turn this statement into a yes/no question?

Option 1: Add shin at the start:
Shin zan saya ruwa a kasuwa?
Option 2: Rely on rising intonation alone:
Zan saya ruwa a kasuwa?
Both mean “Will I buy water at the market?” To ask “Will you...?”, change the auxiliary’s suffix (za+ka = zaka).