Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni ina so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta. - I want to teach children Hausa at school.

Ni ina so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta.

I want to teach children Hausa at school.

Breakdown of Ni ina so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta.

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Questions & Answers about Ni ina so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta.

Why do we have both Ni and ina at the beginning? Aren’t they both saying I?

Yes, both Ni and ina refer to I, but they play different roles:

Ni is the independent (emphatic) pronoun: I / me.
ina is the continuous-tense verb form with the subject built in: I am …‑ing.

So Ni ina so… is literally like saying I, I am wanting…, which in natural English would be I (myself) want….

You can usually drop Ni and just say:

Ina so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta.
→ perfectly correct: I want to teach children Hausa at school.

Keeping Ni adds emphasis or contrast:

Ni ina so in koyar da yara Hausa…
= I want to teach children Hausa (as opposed to someone else / in contrast to another idea).

So:

Ni + ina is not a mistake; it is emphatic rather than redundant.

What exactly does ina so mean? Is it more like I want or I like?

ina so comes from the verb so (“to want / to like / to love”).

In practice:

Ina so = I want or I like / I love, depending on the object:
- Ina so in koyar da yara Hausa… → I want to teach…
- Ina son Hausa. → I like/love Hausa.
- Ina son ki. → I love you (feminine).

Two common patterns are:

Ina son X
- son is the verbal noun (like “liking / wanting / love”).
- Used before a noun:
  - Ina son yara. = I like children.
  - Ina son makaranta. = I like school.
Ina so in + [verb]
- Used before another verb clause:
  - Ina so in tafi. = I want to go.
  - Ina so in koyar da yara Hausa. = I want to teach children Hausa.

So in your sentence, ina so is clearly I want, because it is followed by another verb (in koyar da…), not just a noun.

What is the function of in in ina so in koyar da…? Is it like English to?

in here is not the preposition to. It is actually a subject pronoun in the subjunctive mood.

Hausa has a special set of subjunctive pronouns:

in = I (should)
ka / ki = you (m/f) (should)
ya / ta = he / she (should)
mu = we (should)
ku = you (pl) (should)
su = they (should)

So in koyar da… literally means that I should teach….

Putting it together:

Ni ina so in koyar da yara Hausa…
= I, I want that I should teach children Hausa…
→ Natural English: I want to teach children Hausa…

English uses to + verb; Hausa uses so + (subjunctive pronoun) + verb.

Could I say Ina son koyar da yara Hausa… instead of Ina so in koyar da yara Hausa…?

Yes, you can, and it’s a very natural alternative. The difference is structural:

Ina so in koyar da yara Hausa…
- so = finite verb (want)
- in koyar da… = a subordinate clause (subjunctive: “that I should teach…”)
Ina son koyar da yara Hausa…
- son = verbal noun (“wanting / desire”)
- koyar da yara Hausa functions like a noun phrase (the thing you want).

Meaning-wise, both are understood as:

I want to teach children Hausa at school.

Subtle tendencies:

Ina son X is slightly more like I have a desire for X / I like X.
Ina so in … can feel a bit more like a plan/intention to do an action.

But in everyday speech, either is acceptable here; most speakers won’t feel a big difference.

What is the difference between koya and koyar da?

They are related but not the same:

koya on its own often has the sense to learn / to learn how, and in some contexts to teach in a more general or reflexive way.
- Na koya Hausa. = I learned Hausa.
- Zan koya wa kai. = I will teach you / I will show you (lit. I will learn for you).
koyar da is a causative / transitive teaching verb: to teach (someone something).
- Na koyar da yara Hausa. = I taught the children Hausa.

In your sentence:

in koyar da yara Hausa… clearly means to teach children Hausa (two objects: children + Hausa), so koyar da is the right, fully transitive form.

What is the role of da in koyar da? Doesn’t da usually mean with / and?

Yes, da often means with / and, but in verb constructions like koyar da, it also acts as a valency marker, helping the verb take its object(s).

Think of koyar da as a fixed verb phrase meaning to teach (someone something):

koyar da yara Hausa
= teach yara (children) Hausa (the language).

So here:

koyar is related to koya (learn/teach).
da links the verb to its objects.

You generally do not separate koyar and da in this meaning; you learn it as one unit: koyar da = to teach.

In koyar da yara Hausa, why is there no word like to or of? In English we say teach Hausa to children or teach children Hausa.

Hausa can express double objects (two things after a verb) without prepositions, much like English teach children Hausa:

koyar da yara Hausa
- yara = children (first object)
- Hausa = Hausa language (second object)

So the pattern is:

[verb] + [indirect object] + [direct object]
- koyar da
  - yara
    - Hausa
      = teach
      - children
        Hausa.

You do not need to or of here; the relationship is understood from the verb pattern itself.

You could also see variants with an explicit preposition:

koyar da Hausa ga yara = teach Hausa to children.

Both are correct; the original sentence uses the more compact double-object structure.

Could we say koyar da Hausa ga yara instead of koyar da yara Hausa? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Ni ina so in koyar da Hausa ga yara a makaranta.

This is also correct. The differences:

koyar da yara Hausa
- yara comes first: teach children Hausa.
- Double-object structure, no preposition.
koyar da Hausa ga yara
- Hausa comes first: teach Hausa to children.
- Uses ga (to) to mark the indirect object.

Meaning-wise, they are effectively the same: you are teaching Hausa and the children receive the teaching.

Stylistically:

Both are common and natural.
Choice can depend on what you want to emphasize or simply speaker preference.

What does a makaranta mean exactly — in school or at school? And what does a do here?

a is a very common locative preposition. In this sentence it means something like in / at.

makaranta = school.
a makaranta = at school / in school (location of the action).

English has to choose between in and at, but Hausa a covers both, depending on context:

Ina a makaranta. = I am at school.
Sun zauna a makaranta. = They sat in (the) school.

If you wanted to be more explicit about inside a building, you might add cikin:

a cikin makaranta = inside the school.

But a makaranta alone is enough to express the idea that the teaching happens at/in school.

Why is it makaranta without any word for the or a? How do I know if it is a school or the school?

Hausa doesn’t have separate words for “the” and “a/an” like English does.

makaranta by itself can mean:
- a school
- the school
- school in general (as an institution)

Which one is meant comes from context, not from an article:

Ina makaranta. = I’m at school.
Na ga shi a makaranta. = I saw him at a school / at the school (depending on shared knowledge).

In your sentence:

a makaranta most naturally reads as:
- in/at a school (any school, in general),
  or
- in/at school (as an activity done in the school environment).

If the context had already established a specific school, listeners would understand it as the school.

Why is the tense marker ina used (continuous)? Could we also say Na so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta?

ina marks a kind of continuous / present state, and it is very commonly used with so:

Ina so… ≈ I want / I would like… (present desire/intention).

Using na instead would change the tense:

Na so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta.

This is past:

Na so… = I wanted… (at some point in the past).

So:

Ni ina so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta.
= I (now) want to teach children Hausa at school.
Na so in koyar da yara Hausa a makaranta.
= I wanted to teach children Hausa at school (before; maybe I couldn’t, or it’s explaining a past plan).

For a general present intention or desire, ina so is the normal choice.

Is yara always plural? What would the sentence look like if it was just one child?

Yes, yara is the plural: children.

The singular is yaro (boy) or yarinya (girl). If you want to talk about teaching just one child, you would adjust that noun:

Ni ina so in koyar da yaro Hausa a makaranta.
= I want to teach a boy Hausa at school.
Ni ina so in koyar da yarinya Hausa a makaranta.
= I want to teach a girl Hausa at school.

In your original sentence, yara clearly indicates more than one child.