Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ina son in gama aiki kafin rana ta faɗi. - I want to finish work before the sun sets.

Ina so …
- Literally: I want / I like …
- Usually followed by a clause with a subject marker:
  - Ina so in je. – I want to go.
  - Ina so ka je. – I want you (m.sg.) to go.
Ina son …
- Literally: I am with (my) liking of … (using the noun son “liking, love”)
- Very common before nouns or verbal nouns:
  - Ina son abinci. – I like food.
  - Ina son wasa. – I like playing / games.

In speech, Hausa often mixes the patterns and you will hear forms like:

Ina son in gama aiki.

As a learner, two safe patterns are:

Ina so in gama aiki. – I want to finish work.
Ina son gamawa da aiki. – I want the finishing of work / I want to get done with work.

What exactly is in doing? Is it like English “to” in “to finish”?

In is not a preposition like English to. It is a subjunctive subject marker for the first person singular (I) inside a subordinate clause.

In Hausa, after verbs of wanting, needing, etc., you normally introduce a following verb with a subject marker:

Ina so in tafi. – I want to go.
Ina so ka tafi. – I want you (m.sg.) to go.
Ina so ya tafi. – I want him to go.

So in Ina son in gama aiki, the in marks the subject “I” of the second verb gama:

Main clause: Ina son … – I want / I like …
Subordinate clause: in gama aiki – that I finish work.

So in corresponds more to English that I (in I want that I finish…) than to the infinitive marker to.

Why do we need in if we already have Ina for “I”? Isn’t that repeating the subject?

It looks like repetition from an English point of view, but Hausa treats this as two separate clauses, each with its own subject marker:

Clause 1: Ina son … – I want / I like …
- Subject: Ina (I am)
Clause 2: in gama aiki – that I finish work
- Subject: in (I, in the subjunctive)

Hausa almost always requires a subject marker in every finite clause, even subordinate ones. So any pattern like:

Ina so in … – I want to …
Ina so ka … – I want you to …
Ina so su … – I want them to …

always shows the subject twice if the same person is subject of both verbs. That is normal in Hausa and not considered redundant.

Can I say Ina son gama aiki kafin rana ta faɗi without in?

For learners, it is better not to drop in here.

Most teachers and grammars will prefer one of these clear patterns:

Ina so in gama aiki kafin rana ta faɗi.
– I want to finish work before the sun sets.
Ina son gamawa da aiki kafin rana ta faɗi.
– I want the finishing of work / I want to get done with work before the sun sets.

Explanation:

Ina so normally takes a clause with a subject marker:
- Ina so in gama…, Ina so ka gama…, etc.
Ina son normally likes a noun / verbal noun:
- Ina son aiki., Ina son gamawa.

You will hear some mixing in everyday speech, but if you keep:

Ina so + [subject marker + bare verb], or
Ina son + [noun / verbal noun]

your Hausa will be very clear and “textbook-correct”.

Why doesn’t gama change for “I”, “you”, etc.? Shouldn’t it be conjugated?

In Hausa, person and tense are mostly shown by subject markers, not by changing the verb ending itself. The verb gama keeps its basic form:

Na gama aiki. – I have finished work.
Ka gama aiki. – You (m.sg.) have finished work.
Sun gama aiki. – They have finished work.
Ina so in gama aiki. – I want to finish work.
Ina so ka gama aikin. – I want you to finish the work.

In the sentence Ina son in gama aiki, the information about who is doing the finishing is carried by in (1st person singular subjunctive), not by any ending on gama. The verb itself stays in the same basic form.

Should it be aiki or aikina if I mean “my work”?

Both are possible, with a small difference in emphasis:

aiki – work (in general, or contextually “my work” if it is obvious)
- Ina son in gama aiki. – I want to finish work.
  (Context could make it clear it’s my work.)
aikina – my work
- Ina son in gama aikina. – I want to finish my work.

Hausa often drops possessive pronouns when the owner is obvious from context. In this sentence, speakers will automatically understand aiki as “the work I am doing”, even without -na “my”.

What does kafin mean and how is it used?

Kafin means before and introduces a time expression or a clause:

Before a noun phrase (time or event):
- kafin rana – before (the) day / before daytime
- kafin salla – before the prayer
- kafin ƙarfe uku – before three o’clock
Before a clause:
- kafin rana ta faɗi – before the sun sets
- kafin mu tafi – before we go
- kafin ka gama aikin – before you finish the work

In Ina son in gama aiki kafin rana ta faɗi, kafin introduces the time clause rana ta faɗi (“the sun sets”).

Why is it rana ta faɗi and not rana faɗi or rana ya faɗi?

Two important points:

Rana is grammatically feminine in Hausa.
Feminine nouns usually take ta as their 3rd person singular subject marker:
- rana ta faɗi – the sun set
- motar ta tsaya – the car stopped
- yarinya ta yi dariya – the girl laughed
So ya would be wrong here because ya is the masculine subject marker.
Hausa finite clauses normally need a subject marker:
You can’t just say rana faɗi for “the sun sets”. You need the pronoun:
- rana ta faɗi – literally “the sun, it (fem.) fell” = the sun set.

So rana ta faɗi is the standard way to say “the sun sets / set”.

Does rana mean “sun” or “day” here? How do I know?

Rana can mean day or sun, depending on context:

day:
- A rana – in the day / during the day
- rana ta biyu – the second day
sun:
- rana ta fito – the sun came out
- rana ta faɗi – the sun set / went down

In kafin rana ta faɗi, the verb faɗi (“fall, go down”) strongly suggests the sun. Days don’t “fall”, but the sun does (metaphorically), so the meaning is “before the sun sets” rather than “before the day falls”.

What does faɗi literally mean? Isn’t there also a faɗi that means “to say”?

Yes, faɗi can mean two different things, depending on context:

faɗi = to fall, go down, drop
- ya faɗi ƙasa – he fell to the ground
- rana ta faɗi – the sun went down / set
faɗi = to say, state, mention
- me kika faɗi? – what did you say?
- ya faɗi gaskiya. – he told the truth.

They are pronounced the same; the meaning is decided by context and the objects around the verb. With rana as subject and kafin setting a time frame, faɗi clearly means “go down, set” in this sentence.

How would I say “before sunset” instead of “before the sun sets”?

Two common ways:

Use a verbal noun for “falling of the sun”:
- kafin faɗuwar rana – before the setting of the sun / before sunset
Use a borrowed word (fita = going out, or sanyewar rana = cooling of the day, in some dialects), but the safest form for learners is:

Ina son in gama aiki kafin faɗuwar rana.
– I want to finish work before sunset.

Notice:

faɗi (verb) → faɗuwa (verbal noun “falling”)
With the possessive link: faɗuwar rana – the falling of the sun = sunset.

Is Ina son in gama present or future? What time reference does it have?

Grammatically, Ina son in gama… expresses a present state of desire:

Ina son… – I (now) want / like…
in gama aiki – that I (should) finish work.

In practice, because finishing the work is usually in the future, the whole sentence is understood as present desire about a (near) future action:

Ina son in gama aiki kafin rana ta faɗi.
– Right now, I want to (be able to) finish the work before the sun sets (later).

Compare:

Na gama aiki. – I have finished the work. (completed, past)
Zan gama aiki. – I will finish the work. (future plan)
Ina son in gama aiki. – I want to finish the work. (present wish, usually about the future).

Can I move kafin rana ta faɗi to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Hausa allows that kind of reordering, especially for time expressions:

Kafin rana ta faɗi, ina son in gama aiki.
– Before the sun sets, I want to finish work.

Meaning is the same; starting with kafin rana ta faɗi just puts more emphasis on the time limit.