Yara suna girma da sauri.

The children are growing fast.

Breakdown of Yara suna girma da sauri.

• ne: to be
• yaro: the child
• da sauri: fast
• girma: to grow

Questions & Answers about Yara suna girma da sauri.

What does each word in Yara suna girma da sauri literally mean?

Word by word:

• yara – children (plural of yaro = child)
• suna – they are (more literally: su = they + na = continuous aspect marker, usually written together)
• girma – to grow / to grow up / to become big
• da – with
• sauri – speed

So a very literal gloss is: Children they-are growth with speed, i.e. Children are growing quickly / Children grow up fast.

Why do we have both yara and suna? Isn’t that like saying “children they are…”?

Yes, it looks redundant from an English point of view, but in Hausa it’s normal.

• yara is the noun phrase (the lexical subject).
• suna is a subject pronoun plus aspect marker that:
  • shows person and number agreement (3rd person plural),
  • carries the continuous/habitual aspect.

In standard Hausa, this pronoun+aspect element is normally required, even if you already mentioned the noun:

• Yara suna girma da sauri. – Children are growing fast.
• Mata suna aiki. – Women are working.

So Hausa tends to have noun + pronoun in the subject slot, where English usually only has one subject word.

What tense or aspect is suna girma? Does it mean “are growing” or “grow”?

suna girma uses the continuous / habitual aspect:

• In a right-now context, it corresponds to English present continuous:

  • Yara suna girma da sauri. – The children are growing fast (these specific children, at this time).

• In a general truth context, it can correspond to English simple present:

  • A duniya yau, yara suna girma da sauri. – In today’s world, children grow up quickly.

So the form itself is aspectual (ongoing / characteristic activity). Whether you translate it as are growing or grow depends on the context in English.

Can I use this sentence for a general statement like “Children grow up quickly (in general)”, or is it only about children right now?

You can absolutely use it for a general statement. Hausa doesn’t change the form; context tells you whether it’s:

• specific/ongoing: These children we’re talking about are growing fast.
• general/habitual: Children (in general) grow up quickly.

So:

• Yara suna girma da sauri.
  – Children grow up quickly. / Children are growing up quickly.

Both readings are possible; you clarify with extra context if needed.

Why is there no word for the in front of yara?

Hausa normally does not use a separate word for the. Definiteness is expressed in other ways:

• Just the bare noun can be definite or indefinite, depending on context:

  • Yara suna girma da sauri.
    • can be The children are growing fast or Children are growing fast.

• If you really want to make it clearly specific, you can add a demonstrative or other modifiers:

  • Yaran nan suna girma da sauri. – These children are growing fast.
  • Yaranmu suna girma da sauri. – Our children are growing fast.

So the lack of a separate word like the is normal; Hausa relies on context and extra words like nan (this/these), wancan (that/those), possessives, etc.

What exactly is da doing in da sauri?

da literally means with, and in many expressions it’s used to turn a noun into an adverbial phrase:

• sauri – speed
• da sauri – with speed → quickly / fast

Other common patterns:

• da hankali – with care → carefully
• da ƙarfi – with strength → strongly / forcefully

So in Yara suna girma da sauri, da sauri is an adverbial phrase meaning quickly or fast.

Is da sauri the normal way to say “quickly”? Can I just say sauri by itself?

In most cases, the natural adverb meaning quickly / fast is da sauri.

• Taso da sauri. – Come quickly.
• Suna tafiya da sauri. – They are walking fast.

sauri on its own is more like the noun speed / hurry:

• Yi sauri. – Hurry / Be quick.
  (Here yi = do; literally do speed.)

So, as an adverb modifying a verb, da sauri is typically what you want in sentences like:

• Yara suna girma da sauri. – Children are growing quickly.

Is girma a verb or a noun here? Why doesn’t it look like an English verb form?

In Hausa grammar, girma here is a verbal noun (sometimes called a masdar), used after the continuous aspect marker suna.

Pattern:

• Subject + continuous marker
  • verbal noun

Examples:

• Suna tafiya. – They are going / walking. (tafiya = going, walking)
• Suna cin abinci. – They are eating food. (cin = eating)
• Suna wasa. – They are playing. (wasa = playing)
• Suna girma. – They are growing / They grow (up).

So girma functions like a verb from the learner’s perspective, but structurally it is a noun form used in this aspect construction. You can safely treat suna girma as “are growing” when you translate and think about it.

Could I change suna to something else, like sun or za su? What would that mean?

Yes, but the meaning changes, because you’re changing the aspect/tense:

1. Yara sun girma da sauri.

   • sun is a perfective/completed aspect marker.
   • Meaning: The children have grown fast / The children grew fast (already).
   • Focus on a completed process or result.

2. Yara za su girma da sauri.

   • za su marks future.
   • Meaning: The children will grow fast.
   • Talking about what you expect to happen.

3. Yara suna girma da sauri.

   • suna is continuous/habitual.
   • Meaning: The children are growing fast / Children grow up fast.

Can I drop yara and just say Suna girma da sauri?

Yes, if the context already makes it clear who they are.

• Suna girma da sauri. – They are growing fast.

In Hausa:

• The pronoun+aspect form (suna, yana, muna, etc.) is usually obligatory.
• The full noun phrase (yara, yaranmu, ’ya’yanku, etc.) can often be dropped if it’s understood from context.

What you can’t normally do is drop suna and keep only the noun:

• ✗ Yara girma da sauri. – ungrammatical in standard Hausa.
• ✓ Yara suna girma da sauri.
• ✓ Suna girma da sauri. (if “they” is clear)

How would I say “A child grows fast” instead of “Children grow fast”? What changes?

You change the subject noun and the agreement on the verb:

• Yaro yana girma da sauri. – A child / The child is growing fast.

Breakdown:

• yaro – child (singular)
• yana – he is / it is (3rd person singular masculine; ya + na)
• girma – growing
• da sauri – quickly

Compare:

• Yara suna girma da sauri. – Children are growing fast.
• Yaro yana girma da sauri. – A child is growing fast.

So Hausa shows singular vs plural through both the noun (yaro / yara) and the subject marker (yana / suna).

How do I say “The children are not growing fast” using this pattern?

To negate suna girma, you use ba … sa … (ba) in the present/continuous:

• Yara ba sa girma da sauri (ba). – The children are not growing fast.

Notes:

• ba sa is the negative counterpart of suna here.
• The final ba is often pronounced and written, especially in careful or formal speech, but in everyday speech it may be dropped:
  • Yara ba sa girma da sauri. (common)
  • Yara ba sa girma da sauri ba. (more fully marked negative)

So the structure is:

• [Subject] + ba sa + [verbal noun] + da sauri (ba).