Learn Hardcore Hausa: Riga ta sabuwa ce, amma wando na ba sabo ba ne. - My shirt is new, but my trousers are not new.

In “Riga ta sabuwa ce”, the ta is a feminine pronoun meaning “she/it (feminine)” that refers back to riga (gown/dress/shirt), which is grammatically feminine in Hausa.

You can think of the structure as:

Riga, ta sabuwa ce.
The dress, it is new.

Hausa often does this “topic + pronoun” structure:

Put the thing you’re talking about first (riga = topic),
Then restate it with a pronoun (ta) in the main clause.

You could also say simply:

Riga sabuwa ce. – The dress is new.

The version with ta just gives a slightly stronger sense of “As for the dress, it is new.”

Both ta and ce can look like they mean “is”. Why do we need both in “Riga ta sabuwa ce”?

They do two different jobs:

ta = subject pronoun “she/it (f.)” referring to riga.
ce = the copula/focusing particle used in equational sentences, roughly like “is”.

So the inner clause is:

ta sabuwa ce
it (f.) – new – is

A rough structural gloss:

ta = it (feminine subject)
sabuwa = new (feminine adjective)
ce = copula “is” that agrees with a feminine subject

You normally keep ce/ne after predicates like adjectives or nouns:

Mota sabuwa ce. – The car is new. (feminine subject → ce)
Littafi sabo ne. – The book is new. (masculine subject → ne)

So ta is not redundant; it’s the pronoun subject, while ce is the copular particle.

Why is it sabuwa in the first part but sabo in the second part? Aren’t they both “new”?

Yes, both sabuwa and sabo mean “new”, but they agree in gender with the noun they describe:

sabo = masculine singular form of “new”
sabuwa = feminine singular form of “new”

In the sentence:

Riga ta sabuwa ce
- riga (dress/shirt) is feminine, so the adjective is sabuwa.
amma wando na ba sabo ba ne
- wando (trousers/pants) is masculine, so the adjective is sabo.

So the form of “new” changes to match the noun’s grammatical gender, not the speaker’s choice.

Why is the first clause ending with ce, but the second ends with ne? What’s the difference?

ce and ne are both copular/focus particles (often glossed as “is/are”), but they must agree with the subject:

ce is used when the subject is feminine singular.
ne is used when the subject is masculine singular (or grammatically non-feminine).

In your sentence:

Riga ta sabuwa ce
- Subject: riga (feminine) → use ce.
wando na ba sabo ba ne
- Subject: wando na “my trousers” (masculine) → use ne.

Other examples:

Mota mai tsada ce. – The car is expensive. (mota = feminine → ce)
Gida sabo ne. – The house is new. (gida = masculine → ne)

What exactly does ba … ba do in “wando na ba sabo ba ne”? Why is ba repeated?

ba … ba is the normal way to negate this kind of sentence in Hausa. It’s similar to French “ne … pas”: a two-part negation.

Structure of the second clause:

wando na ba sabo ba ne
- wando na = my trousers
- ba = first part of negation
- sabo = new
- ba = second part of negation
- ne = copula (agreeing with wando)

So you get the sense of:

My trousers – not – new – (not) – are.

You normally keep both parts of ba … ba around the predicate:

Gida na ba sabo ba ne. – My house is not new.
Mota ba tsada ba ce. – The car is not expensive.

Dropping one of the ba’s is either non‑standard, dialectal, or gives a different structure, so for learners it’s safest to use the full ba … ba pattern.

Could I say “wando na ba sabo ne” without the second ba?

For standard, clear Hausa, no – don’t drop the second ba in this structure.

The normal negative pattern here is:

Subject + ba + predicate + ba + ne/ce

So:

✅ Wando na ba sabo ba ne. – My trousers are not new.

“Wando na ba sabo ne”:

sounds incomplete or non‑standard in most descriptions of the language,
can be confusing, because ba without the closing ba is usually part of another structure (e.g. ba wane ba “not some X”, or verbal negation).

As a learner, treat ba … ba ne/ce as a fixed negative frame for sentences like “X is not Y (an adjective/noun)”.

Why is it wando na for “my trousers”? Why does “my” come after the noun, not before like in English?

In Hausa, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun, not before it.

wando na = “trousers my” → my trousers
motar ka = “car your (m.)” → your car
gidansu = “house their” → their house

In writing, you will see both:

wando na (separate words), and
wandona (written together as one word).

They are the same idea: the pronoun meaning “my” follows (or attaches to) the noun.

So wando na ba sabo ba ne literally has the order:

trousers my not new not are
which corresponds to English My trousers are not new.

Is wando grammatically singular or plural in Hausa? English “trousers” looks plural.

wando is grammatically singular in Hausa, even though in English “trousers/pants” is usually plural.

wando = (a pair of) trousers/pants (treated as a single item grammatically)
wanduna = trousers (plural) if you need to speak of more than one pair

That’s why:

You treat wando as masculine singular,
And you use sabo (masc. singular adjective) and ne (masc. singular copula).

So wando na ba sabo ba ne literally means “my (one) trousers/pair of trousers is not new” in Hausa grammar, even though English prefers “are not new.”

Could I just say “Riga sabuwa ce” without ta? Is there any difference in meaning?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

Riga sabuwa ce. – The dress is new.

This is a perfectly good, common sentence.

The version with ta:

Riga ta sabuwa ce.

adds a slight topic-comment flavour:

As for the dress, it is new.

In everyday speech, the difference is very small and often just a matter of style or emphasis. For learning purposes, you can treat both as correct ways to say “The dress is new,” with “Riga sabuwa ce” being the simpler, more basic pattern.

Could I leave out ce/ne and just say “Riga sabuwa” or “Wando na ba sabo ba”?

In colloquial speech, some speakers sometimes drop ce/ne, especially in fast or informal speech. You might hear something like:

Riga sabuwa.
Wando na ba sabo ba.

However, for clear, standard Hausa, especially in writing and for learners, you should include ce/ne in this kind of sentence:

✅ Riga sabuwa ce. – The dress is new.
✅ Wando na ba sabo ba ne. – My trousers are not new.

Using ce/ne:

marks the clause clearly as “X is Y,”
and shows agreement with the noun’s gender (ce for feminine, ne for masculine).

So: you may hear them omitted, but you should learn and use the versions with ce/ne.

What does amma do in the sentence, and where does it go?

amma means “but” and works just like English “but” to join two contrasting clauses.

In the sentence:

Riga ta sabuwa ce, amma wando na ba sabo ba ne.

we have:

Riga ta sabuwa ce – The dress is new
amma – but
wando na ba sabo ba ne – my trousers are not new.

amma normally comes at the beginning of the second clause, just like English “but”:

Ina da kudi, amma ban da lokaci. – I have money, but I don’t have time.
Ya zo, amma bai zauna ba. – He came, but he didn’t stay.

The comma before amma in writing is optional punctuation, not a special grammatical marker.