Breakdown of Hauwa ta ce wannan wata zai yi wahala saboda jarabawa.
Questions & Answers about Hauwa ta ce wannan wata zai yi wahala saboda jarabawa.
ta is the 3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun: “she”.
In Hausa, a finite verb normally needs a subject pronoun, even when you already mention the subject noun. So:
- Hauwa ta ce = “Hauwa, she said …”
- ta ce on its own = “she said …”
- You normally cannot say *Hauwa ce here; the verb ce needs that pronoun.
Because Hauwa is a female name, the pronoun has to be feminine (ta), not masculine (ya).
Yes, you can say:
- Hauwa ta ce wannan wata zai yi wahala …
- Hauwa ta ce cewa wannan wata zai yi wahala …
cewa is a complementiser meaning “that”, introducing what was said:
- “Hauwa said that this month will be hard …”
In everyday Hausa, cewa is often dropped after ce, especially when the clause that follows is clear. Both versions are correct; with cewa is a bit more explicit or careful.
zai yi wahala literally breaks down as:
- za + shi → zai = “he/it will”
- yi = “do, make”
- wahala = “trouble, hardship, difficulty”
So the literal structure is “it will do/make difficulty”, which in natural English is “it will be difficult”.
Hausa often uses yi + a noun for a quality to express “be [adjective]”. Common patterns:
- ta yi kyau – she is / looked beautiful
- zai yi sauƙi – it will be easy
- zai yi wahala – it will be hard/difficult
There is no separate “be” verb here; yi plus a noun like wahala does that job.
There are two different words wata in Hausa, written the same but with different meanings (and different tones in speech):
wata = “month”
- wannan wata – this month
- wata uku – three months
wata = “a, some (feminine)” (indefinite article)
- wata mace – a (certain) woman
- wata ƙaramar hira – a little chat
In wannan wata zai yi wahala, the context of time (and the English gloss you were given) make it clear it is wata = month, so wannan wata = “this month”.
In practice, you use context to tell which wata is meant.
Grammatically, wata “month” is feminine, but in Hausa:
- Non‑human things (objects, times, abstract ideas) usually take the masculine pronoun (shi / zai), regardless of the noun’s dictionary gender.
- Human beings (and sometimes animals) are the ones that regularly trigger true masculine/feminine agreement.
So:
- wannan wata zai yi wahala – this month (it) will be hard
- wannan yarinya za ta yi wahala – this girl (she) will be difficult / cause trouble
If you said wannan wata za ta yi wahala, listeners would be more likely to interpret wata as “a (certain) woman” rather than “month”.
Both of these are normal:
- wannan wata – “this month”
- watan nan – also “this month” (literally “the month here/this month”)
They’re very close in meaning. Some notes:
- wannan wata uses the demonstrative before the noun.
- watan nan uses the definite noun (wata
- -n) followed by nan.
In many contexts they are interchangeable. You will also see:
- a wannan watan – “in this month”
All three are natural; which one appears often depends on style and rhythm of the sentence.
saboda means roughly “because of / due to / on account of”. So:
- … zai yi wahala saboda jarabawa
≈ “ … will be hard because of exam(s).”
About alternatives:
- don / domin usually mean “for, for the sake of, in order to”, but in everyday speech they can also be used much like “because (of)”.
- You can hear don jarabawa or domin jarabawa, but:
- saboda jarabawa is the clearest, most straightforward way to say “because of exams” here.
If you just want “because (of)”, saboda is the safest choice.
jarabawa is a verbal noun meaning “examination, testing” and is often used for “exam” in school contexts.
In this kind of sentence, it can be:
- “because of the exam” (a specific one), or
- “because of exams” (exam period in general).
Hausa doesn’t always force you to choose between singular and plural the way English does. Context usually tells you whether it’s one exam or an exam period.
If you really want to emphasise many exams, you can say things like:
- saboda jarabawa da yawa – because of many exams
- saboda jarabobinmu – because of our exams
Both spellings appear in real texts:
- Many modern dictionaries and exam boards favour jarabawa.
- You may also see jarrabawa, which reflects the double r you hear in the related verb jarraba (“to test, try”).
For learning purposes, jarabawa is a good standard form to stick with, but be aware that jarrabawa is also widely used and understood.