Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yara suna fara koyo a makarantar firamare kafin su tafi sakandare. - Children begin learning at primary school before they go to secondary school.

Yara – children (plural of yaro, child/boy)
suna – they are / they (habitually) do
- from su (they) + na (progressive/habitual aspect marker)
fara – to begin / to start
koyo – learning (verbal noun of koya, to learn/teach)
a – in / at
makarantar – the school of / school (definite form of makaranta, school)
firamare – primary (as in primary school; loan from “primary”)
kafin – before
su – they (subject pronoun again for the subordinate clause)
tafi – to go
sakandare – secondary (as in secondary school; loan from “secondary”)

Put together:
“Children start learning at primary school before they go to secondary (school).”

Why is suna used here, and not sun or suke?

suna = su + na
- na marks progressive/habitual aspect.
- So suna fara koyo = “they start / they begin learning (generally / habitually).”

Other options:

sun fara koyo
- sun = su + n (perfect/completed aspect)
- Means “they have started learning” (completed action, more like a specific time in the past).
suke fara koyo
- su + ke is another aspect/relative form.
- Often used in relative clauses or for contrast/emphasis, e.g.
  - Yaran da suke fara koyo… – “The children who are starting to learn…”

In this sentence, suna is natural because we are talking about a general, typical pattern: what children generally do.

Can I say Yara sun fara koyo a makarantar firamare… instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Yara sun fara koyo a makarantar firamare kafin su tafi sakandare.

Difference:

suna fara koyo – progressive/habitual:
- “Children (typically) start learning…”
- Sounds like a general statement about how schooling works.
sun fara koyo – perfect/completed:
- “The children have started learning…”
- Sounds more like reporting a completed event, often at a particular time.

In many contexts (especially when describing the education system), suna fara is more neutral and general.

What is the role of fara and koyo together? Why not just fara koya?

fara = “to begin/start”
koyo = the verbal noun “learning” (from koya, to learn)

In Hausa, many verbs that mean “start, stop, continue, like, want,” etc. are followed by a verbal noun, not by another finite verb.

So:

fara koyo = “begin (the) learning” → “begin to learn”
fara koya is not normal here; koya itself is a finite verb (“to learn/teach”), so stacking fara
- finite verb is typically ungrammatical.

This fara + verbal noun pattern is very common:

fara aiki – start work / start working
fara karatu – start study / start reading
fara gudu – start running

What exactly is koyo and how is it related to koya?

koya – verb: “to learn; to teach” (context tells which)
koyo – its verbal noun, meaning “learning” or “the act of learning.”

English often uses “to learn” after “start,” but Hausa prefers the verbal noun:

English: “Children start to learn…”
Hausa: Yara suna fara koyo… – literally “Children are starting learning…”

So koyo is not a separate verb; it’s the noun-like form of koya used after certain verbs and prepositions.

Why do we have a makarantar firamare and not just a makaranta firamare?

makaranta = school
makarantar = “the school of … / school (of …)” – this is the construct/genitive form.

In makarantar firamare:

makarantar is in construct with firamare.
Together: makarantar firamare = “primary school” (literally “school of primary”).

Using the bare form makaranta firamare is ungrammatical in normal Hausa.
For noun + noun compounds where the second word further specifies the first, the first noun usually takes the -r/-n construct ending:

makarantar sakandare – secondary school
gidan gwamnati – government house / official residence
motar haya – hired car / taxi

Why is there no separate word for “school” after sakandare?

In the first noun phrase, you see the full expression:

makarantar firamare – primary school

In the second part:

… kafin su tafi sakandare.

sakandare literally just means “secondary,” but in context it is understood as “secondary school.” Hausa often omits the repeated head noun when it is clear from context:

makarantar firamare → (makarantar) sakandare

You can say the full form:

kafin su tafi makarantar sakandare,
but it’s not necessary, and the shorter version is very natural.

What does a mean in a makarantar firamare? Is it like English “in” or “at”?

a is a very common preposition that can cover meanings like:

“in”
“at”
sometimes “on”

In a makarantar firamare:

It corresponds to English “at” or “in”:
- “at primary school” / “in primary school.”

Which English preposition you choose depends on English style; Hausa just uses a here.

What does kafin do, and how does the clause kafin su tafi sakandare work?

kafin = “before” (a subordinating conjunction)

It introduces a subordinate time clause:

kafin su tafi sakandare
- literally: “before they go [to] secondary (school)”

Structure:

kafin – “before”
su – subject pronoun “they” for the new clause
tafi – verb “go”
sakandare – destination (understood as “secondary school”)

So the main clause is:

Yara suna fara koyo a makarantar firamare
And the subordinate time clause:
kafin su tafi sakandare.

Why do we repeat su in kafin su tafi sakandare when we already have Yara as the subject earlier?

Hausa typically requires an explicit subject pronoun in each finite clause, even if the subject is already known from context.

Main clause: Yara suna fara koyo…
- subject expressed by Yara
  - suna (su+na)
Subordinate clause: kafin su tafi sakandare
- new clause, so it needs its own subject marker su (“they”).

So su in the second clause refers back to Yara, but grammatically it must be stated again. Dropping su (kafin tafi sakandare) would be wrong in standard Hausa.

Why is it su tafi and not suna tafiya after kafin?

After kafin (“before”), Hausa often uses a bare verb form with a subject pronoun (similar to a subjunctive/irrealis feel):

kafin su tafi – before they go

Using a progressive form like suna tafiya (“they are going / they usually go”) after kafin would be strange because:

kafin sets up a reference point in time before a single event,
The bare tafi fits that future/possible event sense better.

So:

kafin su tafi sakandare ≈ “before they (ever) go to secondary school.”

Could I add zuwa and say kafin su tafi zuwa sakandare? Is that correct?

Yes, kafin su tafi zuwa sakandare is grammatically correct:

tafi sakandare – go (to) secondary school
tafi zuwa sakandare – go to secondary school (with explicit zuwa = “to/towards”)

In everyday speech, Hausa often omits zuwa when the destination immediately follows the verb of motion. So:

su tafi sakandare is more common and perfectly natural.
su tafi zuwa sakandare sounds slightly more explicit or careful but not wrong.

Why is it Yara suna and not Yara yana or something else?

Hausa pronouns and verb markers agree in number (singular/plural) and person.

Yaro (a child, singular) → yaro yana fara… – “The child (boy) is starting…”
- yaro
  - yana (he is)
Yarinya (a girl) → yarinya tana fara… – “The girl is starting…”
- yarinya
  - tana (she is)
Yara (children, plural) → yara suna fara… – “The children are starting…”
- yara
  - suna (they are)

So suna matches the plural noun yara. yana would only be correct for a singular masculine subject, not for plural children.

Can I drop suna and just say Yara fara koyo a makarantar firamare…?

No, not in standard Hausa. You generally need an aspect/tense marker (like na, n, ke, etc.) attached to a subject pronoun, either as a separate word or in a fused form:

Yara suna fara koyo… – correct
Yara fara koyo… – incomplete; sounds wrong or extremely telegraphic.

Think of suna as doing a job a bit like “are”/“usually” in English—it’s essential to show that this is an ongoing/habitual situation, not just a bare infinitive.