Learn Hardcore Hausa: A yau na zaɓi in yi aiki a gida maimakon in tafi ofis. - Today I chose to work at home instead of going to the office.

You can often say Yau without A in casual speech (Yau na zaɓi…), and it will still be understood. A yau can sound a bit more complete or slightly more careful/standard, but both are common and correct.

What exactly does na do in na zaɓi? Is it a pronoun, a tense marker, or both?

In na zaɓi, the na is the 1st person singular subject pronoun (“I”) used with the perfective aspect, so the whole thing means “I chose / I have chosen.”

In this position, Hausa subject pronouns also carry aspect information. With the same verb:

na zaɓi – I chose / I have chosen (perfective)
ina zaɓa – I choose / I am choosing (imperfective)

So you don’t add a separate word for past; na + verb already tells you it’s a completed action by “I”.

Why is it zaɓi and not something like zaɓa? Do Hausa verbs change form?

The base form of this verb is usually given as zaɓe / zaɓa / zaɓi depending on the dictionary, but in the perfective with na, the common spoken form is na zaɓi.

Hausa verbs can change form slightly depending on:

Aspect (perfective vs imperfective)
Certain pronouns and phonological rules

You will often learn them in patterns rather than one fixed form. For this sentence, na zaɓi is the normal, idiomatic way to say “I chose.”

What does in mean in in yi aiki and in tafi ofis? Why not use na or zan there?

Here in is a subjunctive subject marker for “I”. It introduces a clause like “that I (should) do” / “for me to do.”

So:

na zaɓi in yi aiki ≈ I chose to work (literally: I chose that I do work)
maimakon in tafi ofis ≈ instead of *going to the office (literally: *instead that I go office)

You don’t use na or zan here because this is not a main, independent clause; it’s a subordinate / infinitive-like clause (“to do, to go”) following verbs like zaɓi (choose), so (want), etc., or after maimakon (instead of).

So is in basically the same as English “to” in “to work, to go”?

Functionally, yes, in many contexts it works like English “to” + verb:

in yi aiki – to work / that I should work
in tafi – to go / that I should go

Technically, in is a subjunctive subject marker meaning something like “I (should)” rather than just “to”, but in translation it often lines up with English “to + verb” after verbs of desire, choice, plan, etc.

Why do we say yi aiki instead of just aiki? Isn’t aiki already “work”?

Aiki is a noun meaning “work, job, task.”
Yi is a verb meaning “to do / to make.”

So yi aiki literally means “do work”, and together it functions as “to work” (the activity):

in yi aiki – to work
Ban yi aiki ba. – I didn’t work.

This yi + noun pattern is very common in Hausa (e.g. yi magana – to speak, literally do talk).

What is the role of a in a gida? Could I just say gida?

A is a preposition meaning “in / at / on.”

a gida = at home / in the house
gida alone is just “house / home” without “at / in”.

In many sentences where English uses “at/in home,” Hausa uses a gida:

Ina a gida. – I am at home.

You might see gida alone in other structures (e.g. na koma gida – I returned home), but in your sentence a gida (at home) is the natural form.

What does maimakon mean, and how does it work in the sentence?

Maimakon means “instead of.”

It introduces an alternative action or thing that is not done:

A yau na zaɓi in yi aiki a gida maimakon in tafi ofis.
→ Today I chose to work at home *instead of going to the office.*

Structurally, it is followed directly by a verb phrase or clause:

maimakon in tafi – instead of (me) going
maimakon zuwa ofis – instead of going to the office (with a verbal noun).

Why is there no preposition before ofis? Why not zuwa ofis or a ofis?

In Hausa, with verbs of motion like tafi (go), it’s common to put the place directly after the verb without an extra preposition:

in tafi ofis – to go (to) the office
ta tafi kasuwa – she went (to) the market

You can sometimes use prepositions too (e.g. zuwa ofis – to the office, a ofis – at the office), but here tafi ofis is the standard, natural pattern. The verb tafi already implies the direction “to”.

How can I tell this sentence is past tense (“I chose”) and not present (“I choose”)?

The key is the form na zaɓi.

na zaɓi – perfective: I chose / I have chosen
ina zaɓa – imperfective: I choose / I am choosing / I usually choose

Because na (not ina) is used, the sentence describes a completed decision made today. Context (A yau) also reinforces that this is about what you did/decided today.

How would I say “Today I will choose to work at home instead of going to the office”?

You can say:

A yau zan zaɓi in yi aiki a gida maimakon in tafi ofis.

Breakdown of the change:

zan zaɓi – I will choose (future marker zan
- base verb)
The rest in yi aiki a gida maimakon in tafi ofis stays the same.

Can I move A yau to the middle or end of the sentence, like in English?

Yes. Time expressions in Hausa are quite flexible in position. All of these are possible and natural, with only slight differences in emphasis:

A yau na zaɓi in yi aiki a gida maimakon in tafi ofis.
Na zaɓi a yau in yi aiki a gida maimakon in tafi ofis.
Na zaɓi in yi aiki a gida a yau maimakon in tafi ofis.

Putting A yau at the beginning is very common and clearly sets the time frame right away.

Is there a more “noun-like” way to say “instead of going to the office,” like using tafīya instead of in tafi?

Yes, you can use verbal nouns for a more “nominal” style:

…maimakon tafiya ofis. – instead of going to the office
…maimakon yin aiki a ofis. – instead of working at the office

So a more noun-heavy version could be:
A yau na zaɓi yin aiki a gida maimakon tafiya ofis.

Both patterns—maimakon in tafi… and maimakon tafiya…—are correct; the original is more straightforward verb-clause style.