Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa ya koma gida saboda kare ya yi amo. - A boy ran from the playground and went back home because the dog made a noise.

In Hausa, ya here is the 3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun in the perfective (completed) aspect. It is used for “he” (or a masculine noun) when talking about a completed action.

So:

ya gudu = he ran / he fled
ya koma = he returned / went back
ya yi = he did / he made

Why is it repeated?

Hausa usually repeats the subject pronoun with each verb in a sequence, even if the subject is the same.
So instead of something like “The boy ran from the playground and went home” (one “he”), Hausa comfortably says:
- Yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa ya koma gida
- literally: Boy he-ran from field-of-play he-returned home

This repetition is normal and correct in Hausa. It keeps each verb clearly marked for subject and aspect.

How do we know this sentence is in the past tense?

The past/completed meaning comes mainly from the form ya:

ya (3rd person masculine singular) in front of a bare verb (gudu, koma, yi) marks the perfective aspect, which typically translates as a simple past in English.

So:

ya gudu – he ran / he has run
ya koma – he went back / he returned
ya yi amo – he made a noise

There is no separate word for “did” or an ending like “-ed”; the form of the subject pronoun tells you that the action is completed.

If it were happening right now (progressive), you would use forms like:

Yaro yana gudu daga filin wasa. – The boy is running from the playground.
Kare yana yin amo. – The dog is making noise.

Why is it “Yaro” and not “Yaron”? What’s the difference?

Yaro = a boy (indefinite / general)
Yaron = the boy or someone’s boy (definite or possessive, depending on context)

Hausa does not have separate words like “a” and “the”. Instead, it often uses a final –n / –r (called a “linker” or definiteness marker) on nouns to suggest definiteness or a link to another noun.

In isolation:

yaro – could be a boy
yaron nan – this boy / the boy here
yaron Binta – Binta’s boy/son

In your sentence, Yaro ya gudu…, it is understood from context whether it’s a boy or the boy. Either is possible in English, but Hausa doesn’t need an article.

What exactly does “gudu” mean? Is it “run” or “run away”?

gudu basically means “to run”.

ya gudu = he ran

However, when used with daga (from), it often has the sense of running away / fleeing from something:

ya gudu daga filin wasa
literally: he ran from the playground
natural English: he ran away from the playground / he fled from the playground

So the base meaning is “run”, but context (especially daga + place) can make it feel like “run away from”.

What does “daga filin wasa” literally mean, and how is “filin wasa” formed?

daga = from
fili = open space / field
wasa = play / playing

filin wasa is a noun–noun construction (genitive):

fili + n + wasa → filin wasa
literally: field of play

So daga filin wasa literally means:

from the field-of-play → from the playground

This kind of “X of Y” structure is very common in Hausa:

matar malam – the teacher’s wife (woman-of teacher)
rabin garin – half of the town
filin wasa – the playground / playing field

Does Hausa have a word for “and” here, or is “ya koma gida” just another verb added on?

In the sentence:

Yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa ya koma gida…

there is no explicit “and”, but Hausa often simply puts verbs one after another, each with its own subject pronoun, to show a sequence of actions:

ya gudu … ya koma …
→ he ran … (then) he went back …

If you want to be very explicit with “and”, you can add kuma (and/also):

Yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa kuma ya koma gida.
The boy ran from the playground and went home.

Both versions are correct; the more compact version without kuma is very natural in Hausa narrative style.

Why is it “kare ya yi amo” instead of just a single verb meaning “bark”?

Hausa often uses the verb yi (to do / make) with a verbal noun to express an action.
Here:

kare – dog
ya yi – he did / he made
amo – a noise, a sound

So:

kare ya yi amo
literally: the dog made a noise
natural English: the dog made a noise / the dog barked (depending on context)

There are more specific ways to say “bark”, but “kare ya yi amo” is a perfectly good, general way to say the dog made some kind of sound, usually understood as barking in this context.

Other similar patterns:

ya yi dariya – he laughed (literally: he did laughter)
sun yi magana – they spoke / talked (they did speech)
ta yi kuka – she cried (she did crying)

What does “saboda” mean exactly, and where does it go in the sentence?

saboda means “because” / “because of”.

In your sentence:

… ya koma gida saboda kare ya yi amo.
… he went home because the dog made a noise.

Structure:

main clause: Yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa ya koma gida
reason clause: saboda kare ya yi amo

You can also put the reason first, just like in English:

Saboda kare ya yi amo, yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa ya koma gida.
Because the dog made a noise, the boy ran from the playground and went home.

Sometimes people say saboda cewa…, which is a bit like “because that…”, but saboda alone is usually enough:

Saboda kare ya yi amo… – Because the dog made a noise…
Saboda cewa kare ya yi amo… – Because (that) the dog made a noise… (more explicit)

In “saboda kare ya yi amo”, does ya refer to the boy or the dog? How do we know?

In “saboda kare ya yi amo”:

kare is the subject of this clause.
ya therefore refers to kare (the dog), not to the boy.

So:

kare ya yi amo = the dog made a noise

How do we know?

Proximity and structure
Within that clause, kare is the closest, explicitly stated noun before ya, so it naturally attaches to kare.
Each clause “resets” the subject
- First clause: Yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa ya koma gida
  Subject: Yaro (boy) → ya gudu, ya koma
- Reason clause: saboda kare ya yi amo
  Subject: kare (dog) → ya yi amo

Even though both yaro and kare are masculine and take ya, Hausa treats each clause separately, and ya inside that second clause clearly belongs to kare.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” before “boy”, “playground”, “dog”, or “home”?

Hausa generally does not use separate words like English “a” or “the”.

Instead, context and sometimes suffixes show whether something is definite or not:

yaro – boy / a boy / the boy (depending on context)
filin wasa – playground / the playground
kare – dog / the dog
gida – house / home / the house

If something is clearly known or specific from context, the listener understands it as “the …”, even though Hausa just uses the bare noun.

Sometimes Hausa uses final –n / –r to mark a kind of definiteness or linkage, but in this sentence the simple forms are enough.

Can we change the word order, like starting with the reason “because the dog made a noise”?

Yes, you can front the reason clause in Hausa, similar to English:

Original:
- Yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa ya koma gida saboda kare ya yi amo.
- The boy ran from the playground and went home because the dog made a noise.
With the reason first:
- Saboda kare ya yi amo, yaro ya gudu daga filin wasa ya koma gida.
- Because the dog made a noise, the boy ran from the playground and went home.

Both orders are natural. Using saboda at the beginning gives extra emphasis to the cause of the action.