Learn Hardcore Hausa: Na saya ruwa a kasuwa don yara. - I bought water at the market for the children.

You don’t need an extra word for “did” or a special past-tense ending on the verb; Na already tells you it’s 1st person singular + completed/past.

I’ve seen na used for “my” (like littafina = “my book”). Is this the same Na?

They’re related but used differently:

Sentence-initial Na (capital N)
- Stands alone before a verb: Na saya ruwa = I bought water.
- This is the subject + tense form (I + past).
Suffix -na / -nā (attached to nouns)
- Added to the end of a noun: littafi → littafina = my book.
- This is a possessive ending, meaning “my”.

So:

Na saya – I bought
Littafina – my book

They look similar in writing but function differently in the sentence.

What is the difference between saya and sayi? I often see Na sayi ruwa, not Na saya ruwa.

The base verb is saya = to buy, but in real usage:

Na sayi ruwa – is the most common standard form for I bought water.
Na saya ruwa – is also heard, depending on dialect or speaker, but many grammars teach sayi after Na.

You may encounter:

Na sayi ruwa – natural, common, recommended to learn first.
Zan saya ruwa – I will buy water (future, here the form saya is normal).

So for your own speaking/writing, prefer:

Na sayi ruwa a kasuwa don yara.

How does Hausa show tense in Na saya? There’s no ending like “-ed”.

Tense/aspect is mainly shown by a particle before the verb, not by changing the verb ending.

For saya:

Na sayi ruwa. – I bought water. (completed/past)
Ina sayen ruwa. – I am buying water / I buy water (habitually).
Zan saya ruwa. – I will buy water.

So:

Na = 1st person + completed
The verb sayi/saya itself usually stays in a basic form.

Why doesn’t Hausa say “the water” or “the children”? There’s no word for “the” or “some” in the sentence.

Hausa generally has no separate words for “a / an / the” like English.

ruwa can mean water, some water, or the water, depending on context.
yara can mean children, some children, or the children.

So Na saya ruwa a kasuwa don yara can be translated, depending on context, as:

I bought water at the market for the children.
I bought some water at the market for (the) children.

If you must be very specific, you add extra words (e.g., waɗannan yaran = these children), but you don’t use an article like the.

Is ruwa countable? How would I say “bottles of water” or “waters”?

Ruwa is usually a mass noun like English water.

Na saya ruwa. – I bought water.

If you want something countable, you specify the container or unit:

Na sayi kwalaben ruwa uku. – I bought three bottles of water.
- kwalabe = bottles, uku = three
Na sayi gallons ɗin ruwa biyu. – I bought two gallons of water.

There is a plural ruwoyi in some contexts, but it’s uncommon in everyday speech; you usually count containers, not the water itself.

What exactly does a mean in a kasuwa? Is it “at” or “in”?

The preposition a is a general locative preposition and can correspond to:

at – Na saya ruwa a kasuwa = I bought water at the market.
in – Ina aiki a ofis = I work in the office.
sometimes on or inside, depending on the noun.

So a kasuwa is best understood as “at the market”, but literally it’s just “in/at market” with a broad locative sense.

Could I say daga kasuwa instead of a kasuwa? What’s the difference?

Yes, but the meaning shifts:

a kasuwa – focus on location (at/in the market).
- Na saya ruwa a kasuwa. = I bought water at the market.
daga kasuwa – focus on origin / from.
- Na kawo ruwa daga kasuwa. = I brought water from the market.

So:

a kasuwa answers “Where did you buy it?”
daga kasuwa answers “Where did you bring/get it from?”

What does don mean in don yara? Is it always “for”?

In don yara, don means “for / for the benefit of / on behalf of”.

Na saya ruwa don yara.
= I bought water for the children (so that the children can use/drink it).

don (or the longer form domin) can also mean “because of / on account of” in other contexts, often overlapping with “for”:

Na yi hakan don kai. – I did that for you / because of you.

In your sentence, don is clearly benefactive (for the children’s benefit).

What’s the difference between don yara and wa yara or ga yara?

All three can be translated as “for/to the children,” but there are nuances:

don yara
- Emphasizes purpose or benefit:
  - Na saya ruwa don yara. – I bought water for the children (so they can have it).
wa yara
- Often used with verbs of giving, saying, doing to someone:
  - Na ba yara ruwa. or Na ba wa yara ruwa. – I gave the children water.
- Here wa introduces an indirect object.
ga yara
- More like “to / toward / for” in a directional or dative sense:
  - Na kai ruwa ga yara. – I took water to the children.

In your sentence, don yara is natural because you’re stressing the purpose of buying: it was for (the benefit of) the children.

Could I say Na saya wa yara ruwa a kasuwa instead? Is that correct?

Yes, that is also correct and very natural:

Na saya wa yara ruwa a kasuwa.
= I bought water for the children at the market.

Here:

wa yara explicitly marks yara as an indirect object (“for/to the children”).
don yara emphasizes purpose/benefit.

In many everyday contexts, Na saya ruwa don yara and Na saya wa yara ruwa would be understood the same way, though the structure is slightly different.

If I want to say “for my children” instead of just “for the children,” how do I change don yara?

You add a possessive after yara:

Na saya ruwa a kasuwa don yaran̄a.
- yara = children
- -na (attached) = my
- yaran̄a = my children

So:

don yara – for (the) children (general)
don yaran̄a – for my children

How would I say “I didn’t buy water at the market for the children”?

To negate Na saya/sayi ruwa a kasuwa don yara, use the Ba … ba pattern:

Ban sayi ruwa a kasuwa don yara ba.

Breakdown:

Ba
- na → ban (contracted)
sayi – buy
… ba – closing negative particle

So:

Na sayi ruwa… – I bought water…
Ban sayi ruwa… ba. – I did not buy water…