Learn Hardcore Hausa: Dalibi yana yin rubutu a kan allo. - The student is writing on the blackboard.

In Hausa, there are no separate words for a vs the. Context tells you whether dalibi should be understood as a student or the student.
The feminine form is daliba (female student).
The common plural is dalibai (students).

So Dalibi yana yin rubutu a kan allo can be translated as either A student is writing on the board or The student is writing on the board, depending on context.

What does yana mean here, and what tense/aspect is it?

Yana is a combination of:

ya = he / it (masculine)
na = a marker of progressive / continuous aspect

They fuse into yana, which functions as a single word meaning he is (doing …).

So in this sentence, yana marks that the action is ongoing right now:

yà-na → he is (in the process of).

If the subject were feminine, you would say tana:

Daliba tana yin rubutu a kan allo – The (female) student is writing on the board.

Why do we say yana yin rubutu instead of just yana rubutu or yana rubuta? What is yin?

Here’s the structure step by step:

yi = basic verb to do, to make
yin = its verbal noun / gerund: doing
rubutu = verbal noun writing (from the verb rubuta = to write)

So yana yin rubutu is literally he is doing writing → he is writing.

Hausa often uses yin + verbal noun to talk about activities:

ina yin aiki – I am doing work / working
muna yin karatu – we are doing study / studying

Could you say it differently?

Yana yin rubutu (as in your sentence) – very natural, focuses on the activity of writing.
Yana rubuta – also possible: He is writing (it), often with more sense of writing some specific thing (e.g. an exam, a letter).

For many learners, it’s easiest to memorize these activity patterns as chunks:

yin rubutu – doing writing / writing
yin aiki – doing work / working
yin wanka – having a bath / bathing

Why is there both Dalibi and yana? Isn’t that like saying “The student he is writing…”?

It looks redundant from an English perspective, but in Hausa this is normal.

Dalibi is the actual noun subject: the student.
yana is not a separate “he” here; it’s a subject-agreement + aspect marker that must appear with verbs.

You can think of yana as attached to the verb phrase yin rubutu, showing:

person (3rd person)
number (singular)
gender (masculine)
aspect (progressive/continuous)

So the structure is:

Dalibi (student) + yana (he-is [masc sg, continuous]) + yin rubutu (doing writing).

This kind of “double marking” (noun + agreement marker) is obligatory in normal Hausa clauses.

What does a kan mean, and is it different from akan or from just a?

In this sentence, a kan means on or on top of (physically):

a = general preposition in / at / on (location)
kan = top / surface / head

Together: a kan = on (the surface of).

So a kan allo = on the board.

About the variants:

a kan (two words) and akan (one word) are both seen in writing. Many speakers pronounce it more or less as one unit.
In everyday use, akan can also be used abstractly: Maganar nan tana akan gwamnati. – This discussion is about the government.

In your sentence it is the literal, physical meaning: on the board.

Using a alone:

a allo would just mean at/at the place of the board, and sounds off here; you normally say a kan allo (on the board’s surface).

What exactly does allo mean? Is it only “blackboard”?

Allo literally means a board or slate used for writing.

Common uses:

The classroom blackboard/whiteboard.
The wooden tablet traditionally used for Quranic or other writing practice.

In normal school/classroom contexts, allo is best translated as board, and in English we usually say blackboard or the board.

So Dalibi yana yin rubutu a kan allo → The student is writing on the board.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The sentence follows the normal Hausa word order:

Subject: Dalibi – the student
Subject–aspect marker + verb phrase: yana yin rubutu – is doing writing / is writing
Prepositional phrase (location): a kan allo – on the board

So in order: Subject – Verb – (Object/Complement) – Place

Very close to English: The student / is writing / on the board.

How would I make this sentence negative: “The student is not writing on the board”?

Use the negative pattern with ba … ba, and adjust yana to ya (without -na) in this construction:

Dalibi ba ya yin rubutu a kan allo.

Breakdown:

Dalibi – the student
ba … ba – negative frame
ya – 3rd person masculine subject in the negative imperfective
yin rubutu – doing writing / writing
a kan allo – on the board

So: Dalibi ba ya yin rubutu a kan allo. = The student is not writing on the board.

How do I say “The student wrote on the board” or “The student will write on the board”?

You change the verb form to show past or future, and usually drop yin in these simple tense sentences.

Past (The student wrote on the board):

Dalibi ya rubuta a kan allo.
- ya rubuta – he wrote

Future (The student will write on the board):

Dalibi zai rubuta a kan allo.
- zai rubuta – he will write

So:

Progressive now: Dalibi yana yin rubutu a kan allo. – The student is writing on the board.
Simple past: Dalibi ya rubuta a kan allo. – The student wrote on the board.
Simple future: Dalibi zai rubuta a kan allo. – The student will write on the board.