Mu muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar.

We clean the garden and the whole house on Saturday.

Breakdown of Mu muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar.

• ne: to be
• gida: the house
• da: and
• mu: we
• a: on
• Asabar: Saturday
• lambu: the garden
• tsabtace: to clean
• gaba ɗaya: whole

Questions & Answers about Mu muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar.

Why do we have both mu and muna? Aren’t they both “we”? Is it necessary to use both?

In Hausa, mu and the mu- in muna are related but not the same thing.

• mu = the independent pronoun “we” (used for emphasis, contrast, or when the pronoun stands alone).
• muna = the continuous‑tense verb form for “we” (literally “we-are” doing something).

So in Mu muna tsabtace…:

• mu = we (and not someone else) – adds emphasis.
• muna tsabtace = we are cleaning.

You can usually say just:

• Muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar.
  → “We clean / We are cleaning the garden and the whole house on Saturday.”

Adding mu is a bit like saying “We, we clean the garden…” or “It’s us who clean the garden…”

What tense or aspect is muna tsabtace? Does it mean “we clean” or “we are cleaning”?

muna tsabtace is the imperfective / continuous aspect in Hausa. It usually covers:

• Ongoing present:
  Yanzu muna tsabtace lambu. – “Right now we are cleaning the garden.”
• Habitual / regular action:
  Muna tsabtace lambu a Asabar. – “We clean the garden on Saturdays.”

So your sentence:

• Mu muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar.

can mean:

• “We are cleaning the garden and the whole house on Saturday” (this coming/this particular Saturday), or
• “We (normally) clean the garden and the whole house on Saturdays.”

Context decides whether it’s habitual or a specific future/arranged action.

How do I say “we cleaned” or “we will clean” instead of “we clean / are cleaning”?

Using the same verb tsabtace, you would change the verb form:

• Past / perfective: “we cleaned”

  • Mun tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya.
    → “We cleaned the garden and the whole house.”

• Future: “we will clean”

  • Za mu tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar.
    → “We will clean the garden and the whole house on Saturday.”

Compare:

• Muna tsabtace… → we clean / are (in the process of) cleaning.
• Mun tsabtace… → we cleaned / we have cleaned.
• Za mu tsabtace… → we will clean.

What exactly does tsabtace mean? Is it a verb or something like an adjective?

tsabtace is a verb, meaning roughly “to clean / to make clean / to tidy up.”

It comes from the idea of tsabta (cleanliness, cleanness) and is used when you actively clean something:

• Na tsabtace ɗakin. – “I cleaned the room.”
• Muna tsabtace mota. – “We are cleaning the car.”

In your sentence:

• muna tsabtace lambu da gidan…
  → “we are cleaning the garden and the house…”

In lambu da gidan, does da mean “and” or “with”? How do I know?

da in Hausa can mean “and” or “with”; context tells you which.

Here:

• lambu da gidan
  is “the garden and the house”, listing two things you are cleaning.

If da meant “with”, it would usually show an instrument or a companion:

• Ina yawo da abokí na. – “I am walking with my friend.”
• Yana wasa da ƙwallo. – “He is playing with a ball.”

In your sentence, tsabtace lambu da gidan → “clean the garden and the house” (two direct objects of the verb tsabtace), so da = and here.

Why is it gidan and not just gida? What does the -n at the end do?

gida is the base word for “house, home.”
gidan is a definite/linked form and can be understood roughly as “the house.”

The -n (or -r after some vowels) is often:

1. A definite marker (“the”), and/or
2. A linker used before another word (in genitive or descriptive phrases).

In many contexts, you’ll hear:

• Na tafi gida. – “I went (home).”
• Na shiga gidan. – “I entered the house.”

In gidan gaba ɗaya, gidan is acting like “the house”, and it’s linked to the descriptive phrase gaba ɗaya (“whole/entire”), so gidan + gaba ɗaya together give “the whole house.”

What does gaba ɗaya mean, and why does it come after gidan?

gaba ɗaya literally combines:

• gaba – front, forepart
• ɗaya – one

Together, gaba ɗaya is an idiomatic phrase meaning “entire, whole, completely, all (of it).”

Word order:

• In Hausa, descriptive words usually follow the noun they describe.
  • gida – house
  • gidan gaba ɗaya – the whole house
  • mutum babba – an adult (“big person”)
  • rana mai zafi – a hot day

So:

• gida (house) + -n
  • gaba ɗaya → gidan gaba ɗaya = “the whole house.”

Does gaba ɗaya apply only to gidan or to both lambu and gidan? Is it “the garden and the whole house” or “the whole garden and the whole house”?

As the sentence is written:

• Mu muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar.

The most natural reading is:

• “We clean the garden and the whole house on Saturday.”

Here, gaba ɗaya clearly attaches to gidan (house), because it directly follows gidan.

If you really want to say “the whole garden and the whole house,” you would normally repeat gaba ɗaya or structure it a bit more clearly, for example:

• Muna tsabtace lambu gaba ɗaya da gidan gaba ɗaya.
  → “We clean the whole garden and the whole house.”

What does a in a Asabar mean? Is it “on”, “in”, or “at”?

The preposition a in Hausa is quite flexible. It can correspond to “in, at, on” depending on context.

For time expressions, a often means “on/at”:

• a Asabar – on Saturday
• a safiya – in the morning
• a dare – at night
• a wannan lokaci – at this time

So:

• Mu muna tsabtace … a Asabar.
  → “We clean … on Saturday.”

You may also hear longer forms like:

• a ranar Asabar – “on Saturday (on the day Saturday)”

Does this sentence mean “every Saturday” or just “on one particular Saturday”?

By itself:

• Mu muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar.

is ambiguous between:

1. Habitual:
   “We (usually) clean the garden and the whole house on Saturdays.”
   (something we do every Saturday or regularly on Saturdays)

2. Planned / scheduled future:
   “We are cleaning the garden and the whole house on Saturday.”
   (this coming/that specific Saturday, like an arrangement)

Context (previous sentences, time markers like “every Saturday”, “this Saturday”) will clarify.

If you clearly want “every Saturday”, you can say:

• Muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya duk Asabar.
• Muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya kowace Asabar.

Both mean “We clean the garden and the whole house every Saturday.”

Can I drop mu and just say Muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar?

Yes, you can. That is actually the more common neutral form.

• Muna tsabtace lambu da gidan gabaɗaya a Asabar.
  → perfectly correct and natural: “We clean / are cleaning the garden and the whole house on Saturday.”

Adding mu:

• Mu muna tsabtace…

adds emphasis or contrast:

• “We (as opposed to others) clean the garden and the whole house on Saturday.”
• “It’s us who clean the garden and the whole house on Saturday.”

So mu is optional here and mainly used for emphasis, focus, or contrast.

How would I say “We do not clean the garden and the whole house on Saturday”?

To negate this kind of sentence in Hausa, you normally surround the verb phrase with ba … ba and adjust the verb form slightly.

One common negation pattern here is:

• Ba ma tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya a Asabar ba.
  → “We do not clean the garden and the whole house on Saturday.”

Breakdown:

• Ba … ba – negation “not”
• ma – negative form of the “we” continuous (instead of muna)
• tsabtace lambu da gidan gaba ɗaya – clean the garden and the whole house
• a Asabar – on Saturday

So:

• Muna tsabtace… → We (do) clean… / We are cleaning…
• Ba ma tsabtace… ba → We do not clean… / We are not cleaning…