Musa ya ce wa likita, "Me yasa ina jin ciwo kullum?"

Musa said to the doctor, "Why do I feel ill every day?"

Breakdown of Musa ya ce wa likita, "Me yasa ina jin ciwo kullum?"

• ne: to be
• Musa: Musa
• ji: to feel
• wa: to

Questions & Answers about Musa ya ce wa likita, "Me yasa ina jin ciwo kullum?"

What does ya mean in Musa ya ce wa likita and why do we need it?

Ya is the 3rd person singular masculine subject marker, roughly “he”.

• Musa ya ce… literally: Musa, he said…
  Hausa usually repeats the subject with this little marker after a full noun subject.
• You normally can’t just say Musa ce wa likita; that would be wrong. You need ya to show tense/aspect and agreement.

So Musa ya ce… is the normal way to say “Musa said…” in Hausa.

What is the function of wa in ya ce wa likita? Is it like the English “to”?

Yes. Wa marks an indirect object, often translating as “to” or “for”.

• ya ce wa likita = “he said to the doctor”
• Pattern: verb + wa + person
  
  • na ba wa Musa kuɗi = I gave Musa money
  • ta nuna wa yara = she showed the children

You generally need wa in this structure; Musa ya ce likita (without wa) is not correct for “Musa said to the doctor”.

What is the difference between ce wa and gaya wa? Could we say Musa ya gaya wa likita… instead?