Yaro yana riƙe littafi a hannu.

to be

Breakdown of Yaro yana riƙe littafi a hannu.

• littafi: the book
• yaro: the child
• a: in

Questions & Answers about Yaro yana riƙe littafi a hannu.

Where is the English is in this sentence? I only see yaro yana riƙe littafi a hannu.

In Hausa, the idea of is … -ing is expressed with a special form, not with a separate word like English is.

• ya = he
• na (here attached to ya) = progressive marker (ongoing action)
• yana = he is (doing something right now)

So:

• Yaro yana riƙe littafi a hannu.
  literally: Boy he.PROG hold book in hand.

The part that corresponds to English is is built into yana. You don’t say a separate verb to be here.

Why isn’t there a word for the before boy or book? How do I know if it’s a boy or the boy?