Learn Hardcore Hausa: Idan na tashi daga aiki da yamma, ni ma ina dawowa gida. - If I leave work in the evening, I also return home.

Here, Idan na tashi daga aiki da yamma is best understood as When I get off work in the evening, because it describes a regular, expected situation, not a uncertain one.
If the situation were uncertain or hypothetical, idan would lean more toward if.

So idan is a general conditional/time word, and context tells you whether to translate it as if or when.

Why is it na tashi and not ina tashi after idan?

Na tashi uses the perfective aspect (completed action), while ina tashi would be imperfective (ongoing / in progress).

na tashi = I (have) gotten up / I (have) finished / I get off (seen as a complete event)
ina tashi = I am getting up / I usually get up / I get up (habitually)

In time/conditional clauses with idan, Hausa often uses the perfective to talk about the moment a situation is reached:

Idan na tashi daga aiki… = When I (have) finished work…

So the speaker marks the completion of work (the point of leaving), not an ongoing process.

What does tashi daga aiki literally mean, and why is tashi used for “finish work”?

Literally:

tashi = to get up, rise, leave, take off (for planes)
daga = from
aiki = work

So tashi daga aiki literally means to get up/leave from work.

In everyday Hausa, tashi is often used to mean leave / finish in the sense of leaving a place or ending an activity:

Na tashi daga makaranta. – I (have) left school / I’m done at school.
Sun tashi daga taron. – They left the meeting.

So here tashi daga aiki = to leave work / to get off work.

What does da yamma mean exactly, and how is da used with times of day?

Da yamma means in the evening / in the late afternoon.

da here is used to introduce a time period.
yamma = evening / late afternoon

Common similar expressions:

da safe – in the morning
da rana – in the daytime / afternoon
da dare – at night

So Idan na tashi daga aiki da yamma = When I get off work in the evening.

Why do we have ni ma? Doesn’t na tashi already show “I”?

Yes, na already shows the subject I, but ni ma is used for emphasis and “also/too” meaning.

ni = independent pronoun I / me
ma = also, too, as well

So ni ma ina dawowa gida is like saying:

I also come back home / I myself also come back home

It often implies a contrast or addition, e.g. others are doing something, and I too do it.

You could say just Ina dawowa gida (= I come back home) and it would be grammatically fine, but you lose the “also/me too” nuance.

What is the function of ma in ni ma?

Ma is the particle meaning also / too / as well / even.

ni ma – I also / me too
kai ma – you also
shi ma – he also
ita ma – she also

In this sentence, ni ma signals that the speaker’s action (coming home) is in addition to someone else’s or to what was mentioned before: I also come back home.

Why is it ina dawowa and not na dawo? Aren’t both “I return”?

Both are related to “I return”, but the aspect and feel are different:

ina dawowa gida = I am returning / I (usually) return home
- ina
  - verbal noun (dawowa) → imperfective/continuous or habitual
na dawo gida = I (have) returned home / I came back home
- na
  - simple verb (dawo) → perfective/completed action

Here, ina dawowa gida sounds like a regular, typical action (habit):

When I get off work in the evening, I (then) come back home.

You could say … ni ma na dawo gida, but that would sound more like a single completed event, not a general routine.

What is dawowa exactly? Why is it not just dawo?

Dawowa is the verbal noun (masdar) of the verb dawo (to return, come back).

Hausa often forms the continuous/habitual with:

subject pronoun + ina + verbal noun

Examples:

Ina dawowa gida. – I am returning / I (usually) return home.
Ina cin abinci. – I am eating / I eat (habitually). (cin from ci = to eat)
Ina karatu. – I am studying / I study.

So:

dawo – verb form (I returned, he will return, etc. depending on pronoun/tense)
dawowa – the noun-like form used with ina/ƙan etc. for ongoing or habitual actions.

Why is there no preposition before gida? Why not zuwa gida?

In Hausa, motion towards certain common places often does not need a preposition. Gida (home) is one of them.

Ina dawowa gida. – I come back home.
Zan je gida. – I’ll go home.

You can say zuwa gida (to home) in some contexts, but it’s usually not necessary with common motion verbs like je (go), zo (come), dawo (return). The destination is understood directly from the noun:

Na je kasuwa. – I went to the market.
Na dawo gida. – I came back home.

So ina dawowa gida is the natural, standard way to say I return home.

What is the difference between na, ni, and ina in this sentence?

All three are related to the 1st person singular “I”, but they have different grammatical roles:

na in na tashi
- bound subject pronoun (perfective) = I
- na tashi = I (have) gotten up / I leave
ni in ni ma
- independent pronoun = I / me
- used for emphasis, focus, or with ma to say I also
ina in ina dawowa
- imperfective marker for I = I am / I (usually) doing X
- ina dawowa = I (am) returning / I (usually) return

So:

na tashi → completed action: I get off / I have left (work)
ni ma → emphasizes the subject I also
ina dawowa → ongoing/habitual action: I (then) come back (home)

Can I change the word order, e.g. say Ni ma ina dawowa gida idan na tashi daga aiki da yamma?

Yes, that word order is also grammatical.

Idan na tashi daga aiki da yamma, ni ma ina dawowa gida.
Ni ma ina dawowa gida idan na tashi daga aiki da yamma.

Both are fine. The difference is mostly in focus and flow:

Starting with Idan na tashi… highlights the condition/time first.
Starting with Ni ma ina dawowa… highlights “I also come home” first.

In meaning, both are understood as:
When I get off work in the evening, I also come back home.