Breakdown of Yara biyu dogaye ne, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere ne.
ne
to be
yaro
the child
amma
but
ɗan uwa
the brother
Questions & Answers about Yara biyu dogaye ne, amma ɗan’uwansu gajere ne.
Why is yara used here instead of the singular yaro?
Yaro means a boy / a child (singular, usually masculine).
Yara means children (plural, and can be mixed or unspecified gender).
In the sentence, you are talking about two children, so Hausa uses the plural noun:
- yaro = one child (boy)
- yara = children
Therefore Yara biyu = two children.
Why does the number biyu come after yara instead of before, like in English?
In Hausa, numbers that modify nouns normally come after the noun:
- yaro biyu = two boys / two children
- motoci uku = three cars
- littattafai huɗu = four books
So the basic pattern is: noun + number, not number + noun as in English.
That is why we say Yara biyu, not biyu yara.
What is the difference between dogo and dogaye, and why is dogaye used here?