Learn Hardcore Hausa: Gobe zan tafi birni da bas daga tashar mota. - Tomorrow I will go to the city by bus from the motor park.

It is a contraction of za + ni:
- za = future particle
- ni = “I”
So:
- zan tafi = za ni tafi = I will go
Other persons work the same way:
- zaka tafi = za + ka = you (m.sg) will go
- zaki tafi = za + ki = you (f.sg) will go
- zai tafi = za + shi = he will go
- zata tafi = za + ta = she will go
- zamu tafi = za + mu = we will go
- zaku tafi = za + ku = you (pl) will go
- za su tafi / zasu tafi = they will go

You cannot drop the pronoun: *za tafi is ungrammatical for “I will go”; it must be zan tafi.

Why is it zan tafi and not something like zan je or ina tafiya?

All three are possible, but they differ slightly in meaning and style:

zan tafi
- Future, somewhat neutral: I will go / I’m going (later)
- Often used for leaving or departing.
zan je (birni)
- Also future: I will go (to town)
- je is another verb meaning “to go,” frequently used with a destination:
  - zan je birni ≈ zan tafi birni.
ina tafiya (birni)
- Progressive aspect: I am going / I am on my way (to town)
- Describes an ongoing action, not a planned future.

In your sentence, Gobe zan tafi birni…, future/planned movement is the point, so zan tafi is natural.

What is the difference between birni and gari?

Both can involve the idea of a “town,” but with different nuances:

birni
- Traditionally: a city, often larger or more urban.
- Often contrasts with kauye (village, countryside).
- In many contexts it has the feel of “the city / town (centre)” from a rural or outer perspective.
- Example: Zan tafi birni – I’m going to the (main) town/city.
gari
- Very general “town/place/locality.”
- Can also mean “home area / community,” depending on context.
- Example: Na dawo gari – I’ve come back to town / back home.

In your sentence, birni emphasizes going to the city/town (often from a more outlying area).

Why is there no extra preposition before birni? Why not zuwa birni?

Hausa often uses the bare noun after tafi or je to express “go to X”:

zan tafi birni = I will go (to) town
zan je makaranta = I will go (to) school

You can add zuwa (“to, towards”) for emphasis or clarity:

zan tafi zuwa birni – I will go to town

But it’s not required. The more natural everyday form is usually without zuwa.

What does da mean in da bas, and why is it used here?

In Hausa, da has several functions. Two very common ones:

“and” (coordinating conjunction):
- Ali da Bala – Ali and Bala
“with / by (means of)” (instrumental/comitative):
- Na yanka nama da wuƙa – I cut the meat with a knife.

In da bas, da is instrumental:

da bas = by bus / with a bus (means of transport)

So:

zan tafi birni da bas = I will go to town by bus.

Other options:

a mota – literally “in a car,” often used like “by car”
da mota – “by/with a car”

Using da for transport is very common and natural.

What does daga mean in daga tashar mota, and how is it different from a?

Daga generally means “from” (source/origin):

daga gida – from home
daga Kano – from Kano

In your sentence:

daga tashar mota = from the motor park / bus station

By contrast:

a usually means “at / in / on” (location):
- a gida – at home
- a tashar mota – at the bus station

So:

zan tafi birni daga tashar mota
= I will go to town from the motor park.

If you said:

Ina a tashar mota – I am at the bus station.

What exactly is tashar mota, and why is it not just tasha mota?

Tashar mota is a genitive (possessive/associative) construction:

tasha – station, stop, terminal
mota – car, motor vehicle (often also “bus” in context)

To say “motor station / motor park / bus station,” Hausa links the two nouns:

tasha + -r + mota → tashar mota

The -r is a linker (genitive marker) added because tasha ends in the vowel -a.
General pattern:

Noun ending in vowel a
- -r
  - following noun:
    - tasha + mota → tashar mota
    - mata + gari → matar gari – the woman of the town / town’s woman

So:

tasha mota (without -r) is not correct in standard Hausa.
tashar mota = “the motor/bus station, motor park.”

Can the word order be changed? For example, can I say: Zan tafi birni gobe da bas daga tashar mota?

Yes, Hausa word order is somewhat flexible for adverbials (time, place, manner), but there are preferences.

Your original sentence:

Gobe zan tafi birni da bas daga tashar mota.
- Gobe (time) is placed first for emphasis: “Tomorrow, I will go…”

A more neutral alternative:

Zan tafi birni gobe da bas daga tashar mota.

This is still understandable and acceptable. However:

Putting time at the beginning is very common and natural:
- Gobe zan tafi birni…
You generally don’t move da bas or daga tashar mota before the verb:
- *Da bas zan tafi birni gobe daga tashar mota (odd/unusual)
So yes, minor reordering after the verb is possible, but time-first, then S-V, then place/manner is a very typical pattern.

What is the difference between Gobe zan tafi birni… and Zan tafi birni gobe… in meaning?

Both can refer to the same fact (going tomorrow), but the focus/emphasis shifts slightly:

Gobe zan tafi birni…
- “Tomorrow, I will go to town…”
- Emphasis naturally falls on “tomorrow” as a contrastive point (as opposed to today, next week, etc.).
Zan tafi birni gobe…
- “I will go to town tomorrow…”
- Slightly more neutral; the focus is more on the going itself, and the time information is secondary.

In everyday speech, both are used; starting with Gobe is very common when you’re highlighting when it will happen.

Is bas a native Hausa word? How do you talk about buses more generally?

Bas is a loanword, ultimately from English “bus” (through Hausa/English contact).

Usage:

bas – a bus (vehicle used for public transport)
Plural in practice is often just basa or bus-bus in some speech, but plural patterns can vary; many speakers avoid the plural by using numerals:
- bas ɗaya – one bus
- bas uku – three buses

You’ll also hear:

mota – literally “car/vehicle,” but in context it can mean a bus (e.g. motar haya – commercial vehicle, often a bus/minibus)
motar bas – literally “bus vehicle,” sometimes used but less necessary if bas is already clear.

In your sentence, da bas unambiguously means by bus.

What does tashi mean, and is it related to tasha?

They are related but not identical:

tashi (verb):
- to get up, to rise
- to depart, to take off (for vehicles/planes)
- e.g. Muna tashi da safe – We get up in the morning.
tasha (noun):
- station, stop, terminal (place where vehicles come and go)
- e.g. tashar mota – bus/motor station
- tashar jirgin ƙasa – train station

Historically they are connected (a place of departures/arrivals), but grammatically in this sentence:

we use tasha (noun) → tashar mota,
not the verb tashi.

How does zan tafi compare to simply saying zan plus another verb, like zan ci or zan yi?

The pattern is the same; zan marks the future before any verb:

zan tafi – I will go
zan ci – I will eat
zan yi aiki – I will work / do work
zan kwana – I will spend the night / sleep

So zan is not tied specifically to tafi; it’s the general future marker attached to the 1st person singular pronoun ni for any future action.