Abinci yana a kan tebur.

The food is on the table.

Breakdown of Abinci yana a kan tebur.

• ne: to be
• abinci: the food
• a kan: on
• tebur: the table

Questions & Answers about Abinci yana a kan tebur.

What does each word in Abinci yana a kan tebur correspond to in English?

Word by word:

• Abinci – food
• yana – it is (currently) / is (located)
  
  • Literally ya (he/it) + na (continuous aspect) → “he/it is (in a state of…)”
• a – a general preposition meaning at / in / on
• kan – top, upper surface → together a kan = on (top of)
• tebur – table

So the structure is roughly: Food – is – on(top) – table = “The food is on the table.”

What exactly does yana mean here? Is it just the verb “to be”?

Yana is not a simple “to be” like English; it’s a combination:

• ya – 3rd person singular masculine pronoun (he/it)
• na – continuous/progressive marker

So yana literally means “he/it is (in a continuing state)”.

In this sentence, Hausa uses that same form for location:

• Abinci yana a kan tebur.
  → The food is (located) on the table.

So:

• With verbs, yana = he/it is doing X.
  
  • Yana cin abinci. – He is eating food.
• With a place phrase, yana = he/it is (in/at/on) X.
  
  • Abinci yana a kan tebur. – The food is on the table.

Hausa does not have a separate “is” for location; it reuses this continuous form.

Why is yana masculine if abinci (food) is not a person?

In Hausa, inanimate nouns (things) are usually treated as grammatically masculine by default.

• Abinci is grammatically masculine.
• So you use the masculine form ya/yana with it.

Examples:

• Abinci yana a kan tebur. – The food is on the table.
• Littafi yana a kan tebur. – The book is on the table.

If the subject were grammatically feminine, you’d use tana:

• Kofa tana a nan. – The door is here. (because kofa is feminine)

Why do we need both a and kan? Aren’t they both like prepositions?

They work together as a set phrase:

• a – very general preposition: at, in, on
• kan – top, upper surface

When you say a kan, you literally say “at (the) top (of)”, which corresponds to English “on (top of)”.

So:

• a by itself:
  
  • a gida – at home
  • a kasuwa – at the market
• a kan together:
  
  • a kan tebur – on the table
  • a kan kujera – on the chair

You normally don’t drop a in this kind of basic sentence; kan alone here would be less standard in simple learner-style sentences.

What is the difference between a kan and akan in Hausa?

They are written separately or together with different meanings:

• a kan (two words)

  • Literally “at top (of)” → means “on (top of)”
  • Example: Abinci yana a kan tebur. – The food is on the table.

• akan (one word)

  • Often means “about, regarding, concerning”
  • Example: Muna magana akan aiki. – We are talking about work.

So for physical location on top of something, you want a kan, not akan.

Why is there no word for “the” before abinci or tebur?

Hausa does not have a separate article exactly like English “the”. Instead, it shows definiteness by:

1. Context – if speakers know which food and which table, the nouns are understood as definite.
2. Definite markers like -n / -r / -ɗin, especially in more explicit or careful speech.

So you might see:

• Abincin yana a kan tebur.
  Literally: The-food is on table. (more clearly the food we’re talking about)
• Abinci yana a kan tebur.
  Could be understood as:
  • There is food on the table. (some food, not specified), or
  • The food is on the table, if context already makes it clear.

For beginners, it’s fine to translate Abinci yana a kan tebur as “The food is on the table”, because that’s the natural English way to say it.

Is there a difference between “The food is on the table” and “There is food on the table” in Hausa?

Yes, Hausa can distinguish them, although in casual speech they can overlap.

1. “The food is on the table.”
   Talking about specific, known food:

   • Abincin yana a kan tebur.
     (Note the -n on abinci → abincin, marking it as specific.)

2. “There is food on the table.”
   Introducing the existence of food there (not previously mentioned):

   • A kan tebur akwai abinci.
     Literally: On the table there-is food.
   • Or: Akwai abinci a kan tebur.

So:

• akwai = there is / there are
• yana = it is (located), used with a definite or known subject.

How would you negate this sentence: “The food is not on the table”?

A natural negative version is:

• Abincin ba ya a kan tebur.
  or
• Abincin ba ya kan tebur. (the a can drop in speech here)

Explanation:

• Abincin – the food (definite form)
• ba … ba – negative “not” frame in Hausa
• ya → ba ya – negative of yana in this pattern
• (a) kan tebur – on the table

Literally: “The food not-is on the table.”

So:

• Abincin yana a kan tebur. – The food is on the table.
• Abincin ba ya a kan tebur. – The food is not on the table.

How do I turn this into a yes–no question: “Is the food on the table?” in Hausa?

The simplest way is to keep the word order and use questioning intonation:

• Abincin yana a kan tebur? – Is the food on the table?

You can also add a question particle ne? for emphasis:

• Abincin yana a kan tebur ne?

Both are understood as “Is the food on the table?”
In writing, you just add a question mark; in speech, your voice rises at the end.

Can I use ne/ce instead of yana to say “The food is on the table”?

No, not in this structure.

• ne/ce are copular particles often used for:
  • Identifying or equating things:
    Wannan shi ne tebur. – This is the table.
  • Focus/emphasis: Abinci ne a kan tebur. – (It is) food (that is) on the table. (emphasising it’s food, not something else)

For simple location sentences like “X is in/on/at Y”, Hausa normally uses yana/tana/suna with a place phrase:

• Abinci yana a kan tebur. – The food is on the table. ✅
• Abinci ne a kan tebur. – odd/wrong for plain location ❌

So stick with yana (or tana, suna etc., depending on the subject) when you just want to say where something is.

What is the basic word order in Abinci yana a kan tebur, and can I move the parts around?

The basic order here is:

• Subject – Verb – Place phrase
• Abinci (Subject) yana (Verb) a kan tebur (Place phrase)

So it’s similar to English “Food – is – on the table.”

You can move the place phrase to the front for emphasis or in certain contexts:

• A kan tebur abinci yake. – It is on the table that the food is. (more emphatic / literary)

For learners, the neutral and most common pattern to use is:

• Subject + yana/tana/suna + place phrase
  → Abinci yana a kan tebur.