Misalin da ya kawo ya sa yara suka yi dariya amma sun gane darasin.

The example he brought made the children laugh, but they understood the lesson.

Breakdown of Misalin da ya kawo ya sa yara suka yi dariya amma sun gane darasin.

• yaro: the child
• amma: but
• yi: to do
• da: that
• kawo: to bring
• darasi: the lesson
• dariya: the laughter
• misali: the example
• sa: to make
• gane: to understand

Questions & Answers about Misalin da ya kawo ya sa yara suka yi dariya amma sun gane darasin.

What does misalin mean here, and how is it different from misali?

Misali means example.

Misalin is misali plus the definite suffix -n, so it means the example.

• misali = example (indefinite)
• misali + n → misalin = the example (definite)

So Misalin da ya kawo = The example that he gave / The example which he brought.

What is the function of da in misalin da ya kawo?

In this sentence, da is a relative marker, roughly like English that / which introducing a relative clause.

• misalin da ya kawo
  literally: the-example that he-brought

So da connects misalin (the example) with the clause ya kawo (he brought/gave), just like:

• the example that he gave

Who is the subject of ya kawo in misalin da ya kawo?

The subject of ya kawo is he (a male person already known from context: a teacher, a storyteller, etc.).

• ya = he (3rd person singular masculine) + past/perfective
• kawo = to bring / to present / to give (as an example)

So ya kawo means he brought / he gave.

Hausa does not need to say mutumin ya kawo (the man he brought); it can just use ya because the subject is understood from context.

What exactly does ya sa mean, and how does sa work in this kind of sentence?

Ya sa literally means he/it caused or he/it made.

• ya = he/it (3rd person singular masculine perfective)
• sa = to cause / to make (someone do something)

The structure is:

• [Cause] + ya sa + [Person(s)] + [verb phrase]

In the sentence:

• Misalin da ya kawo (The example that he gave)
• ya sa (caused / made)
• yara suka yi dariya (the children to laugh)

So ya sa connects the first clause (the example) with the result (the children laughed), like:

• The example that he gave made the children laugh

Why is it yara suka yi dariya and not something like suka yi dariya yara?

Hausa is basically S–V–O (Subject–Verb–Object), like English.

• yara = children (subject)
• suka yi = they did (3rd person plural perfective with focus)
• dariya = laughter / laugh (object)

So you normally say:

• yara suka yi dariya
  children they-did laugh → the children laughed

Putting the subject after the verb phrase (suka yi dariya yara) would be wrong or at least sound very strange here. The normal order in this kind of clause is Subject + suka + verb + object.

What is the difference between suka yi dariya and sun yi dariya?

Both suka and sun are 3rd person plural perfective forms, but they have different uses:

• sun yi dariya
  – neutral perfective: they laughed / they have laughed

• suka yi dariya
  – narrative/focus perfective: often used

  • after another verb/clause,
  • in storytelling,
  • when the subject is in focus.

In this sentence, yara suka yi dariya follows ya sa, so suka fits well as a kind of narrative continuation or focused verb form:

• …ya sa yara suka yi dariya
  …it made the children (then) laugh.

You could say yara sun yi dariya, but yara suka yi dariya sounds more natural in this cause–effect narrative sequence.

Could we say yaran suka yi dariya instead of yara suka yi dariya?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• yara = children (indefinite or generic: children)
• yaran = the children (definite: the children)

In this specific sentence, context is usually clear that we are talking about the children who just heard the example, so yara is already specific enough in practice. But grammatically:

• yara suka yi dariya = children laughed (understood from context which children)
• yaran suka yi dariya = the children laughed (more explicitly definite)

Both could be acceptable, depending on context and style.

What does amma do in this sentence?

Amma means but / however. It links two clauses that contrast with each other.

Here, the two ideas are:

1. The example made the children laugh.
2. But they still understood the lesson.

So:

• …yara suka yi dariya amma sun gane darasin
  …the children laughed, but they understood the lesson.

Amma is placed before the contrasting clause, just like English but.

Why is it sun gane darasin and not suka gane darasin like before?

Here sun is used as the plain perfective meaning they understood / they have understood.

• sun gane = they understood / they have grasped it
• suka gane would put more focus on they or have a more narrative feel (often used when that clause is the main event being advanced in a story or when there is subject focus).

In this sentence, the main contrast is:

• They laughed, but they did (in fact) understand the lesson.

Using sun gane can sound a bit more like a settled fact or resulting state: they ended up with understanding. Suka gane would not be wrong, but sun gane is slightly more neutral and result-oriented here.

What does gane mean, and how is it different from fahimta?

Both are connected to the idea of understanding, but they are used differently:

• gane (verb)
  – to realize, to perceive, to catch on, to understand (often in the sense of getting the point).

• fahimta (noun, often with yi as a verb phrase yin fahimta)
  – understanding, comprehension (more like the concept of understanding or the process).

In sun gane darasin, gane is used in the very natural sense of:

• They understood / got the lesson.

What does darasin literally mean?

Base word:

• darasi = lesson, class

With the definite suffix -n:

• darasi + n → darasin = the lesson

So sun gane darasin = they understood the lesson.

Why is the subject of the last clause sun gane darasin not overtly yara? Can we say yara sun gane darasin?

In Hausa, the subject pronoun on the verb is obligatory, but repeating the full noun phrase (like yara) is often optional if it is clear from context.

• sun gane darasin = they understood the lesson
  (subject they is expressed by sun)

You can say:

• yara sun gane darasin = the children understood the lesson

This simply makes the subject explicit again. The original sentence omits yara in the last clause to avoid repetition; it's clear from context that sun still refers to the children.

Can I change the word order and say something like Misalin da ya kawo, yara suka yi dariya amma sun gane darasin, ya sa?

No, that would be ungrammatical or at least very confusing in Hausa.

The normal structure here is:

1. Misalin da ya kawo – The example that he gave
2. ya sa – caused / made
3. yara suka yi dariya – the children to laugh
4. amma sun gane darasin – but they understood the lesson

So the correct order is:

• Misalin da ya kawo ya sa yara suka yi dariya amma sun gane darasin.

You should keep ya sa right after Misalin da ya kawo, because that example is the thing that caused the laughter. Moving ya sa to the end breaks this cause–effect structure.