Learn Hardcore Hausa: Jiya na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki kafin hutu. - Yesterday I wiped the table and chairs in the room before the break.

na goge ≈ “I wiped / I cleaned”
There is no separate word for “did” or “have” in Hausa.
The tense/aspect (completed action in the past) is shown by:
- Using the subject pronoun (here na) directly before the verb
- Using the perfective form of the verb (goge)

So na goge by itself already means something like “I wiped (it)” or “I have wiped (it)” depending on context.

Why is it na goge and not something like “ina goge” for the past?

Both are correct, but they mean different things:

na goge = completed action (perfective)
→ “I wiped / I cleaned (and it’s done).”
ina goge = ongoing action (imperfective/progressive)
→ “I am wiping / I am cleaning.”

In the sentence “Jiya na goge tebur da kujeru …”, we’re talking about a finished action that happened yesterday, so na goge is the natural choice.

Does Jiya (yesterday) always have to be at the beginning of the sentence?

No. Time expressions like jiya are flexible. These are all grammatical:

Jiya na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki kafin hutu.
Na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki jiya kafin hutu.
Na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki kafin hutu jiya.

Putting jiya at the beginning is very common and sounds natural, but it’s not the only possible position. What matters is that the meaning is clear; Hausa word order is relatively flexible with time adverbs.

What exactly does goge mean here? Is it specifically “wipe” or just “clean”?

goge basically means to wipe, to rub clean, to polish.

In practice, it can be translated as:

“wipe the table”
“wipe/clean the table”
“polish the table” (depending on context)

So in this sentence, na goge tebur da kujeru can be understood as “I wiped/cleaned the table and chairs.” If you want a more general word for “make clean,” you might also hear tsabtace (“to clean / make tidy”), but goge is perfectly natural for wiping furniture.

What does da mean in tebur da kujeru? Is it “and” or “with”?

da can mean both “and” and “with”, depending on context.

In tebur da kujeru:

da = “and”
tebur da kujeru = “the table and (the) chairs”

In other sentences, da can mean “with”:

Na zo da littafi. = I came with a book.

Here, because it links two nouns of equal status (tebur and kujeru), it functions as “and”.

Why is kujeru used instead of kujera? How is the plural formed?

kujera = chair (singular)
kujeru = chairs (plural)

This is a common plural pattern in Hausa: some feminine nouns ending in -a form the plural in -u. A few examples:

mota → motoci (irregular)
kujera → kujeru
talla → tallu (dialectal/plural pattern)

So tebur da kujeru literally means “table and chairs.”

How is ɗaki pronounced, and what is the difference between ɗ and d?

The letter ɗ in Hausa represents a “implosive d” sound, which doesn’t exist in standard English.

d: like English d in “dog”
ɗ: produced by slightly inward movement of air when you tap the tongue, kind of like a heavier, stronger d with a little “suction”

So:

ɗaki (room) must be written with ɗ, not d.
Writing daki (with plain d) would either be wrong spelling or refer to something else, depending on context.

English speakers usually pronounce ɗ as a strong d, which is understandable, but it’s good to recognize that ɗ and d are distinct letters in Hausa.

What does a in a ɗaki mean, and when is it used?

a is a very common preposition in Hausa, usually meaning “in,” “at,” or “on”, depending on context.

In a ɗaki:

a = in / inside
a ɗaki = “in the room”

Other examples:

a kasuwa = at/in the market
a gida = at home / in the house

So na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki = “I wiped the table and chairs in the room.”

Could I say cikin ɗaki instead of a ɗaki? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can:

a ɗaki = in the room
cikin ɗaki = inside the room / in the inside of the room

cikin is literally “inside (of).” In many situations, a ɗaki and cikin ɗaki are both acceptable and the difference is subtle:

Na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki.
Na goge tebur da kujeru cikin ɗaki.

In everyday speech they often overlap, but cikin can feel a bit more explicitly “inside” something, while a is the general preposition for location.

What does kafin mean in kafin hutu? Is it like “before”?

Yes. kafin means “before” (in time).

kafin hutu = before the break / before rest / before holiday

kafin can be used:

Before a noun:
- kafin hutu = before the break
- kafin rana ta faɗi = before sunset (literally “before the sun sets”)
Before a clause:
- Na gama aiki kafin ya dawo. = I finished the work before he returned.

In your sentence, kafin hutu is “before the break / before (my) rest.”

What exactly does hutu mean? Is it “break”, “rest”, or “holiday”?

hutu generally means rest / break / time off from work or study. The best translation depends on context:

School or work context: break, recess, time off
General context: rest
Longer period (like from work): can be holiday / vacation

So here kafin hutu can be understood as:

“before the break”
“before resting”
“before holiday/time off” (depending on known context)

Why doesn’t Hausa use words like “the” in tebur, kujeru, and ɗaki?

Hausa does not have definite or indefinite articles like “the” and “a/an.”

tebur can be “table” or “the table”
kujeru can be “chairs” or “the chairs”
ɗaki can be “room” or “the room”

Definiteness is usually understood from context, position, or sometimes from adding other words (like demonstratives):

tebur ɗin = the table (more explicitly definite)
wancan ɗakin = that room

In your sentence, we naturally translate them as “the table,” “the chairs,” “the room” because that fits normal English usage, but Hausa doesn’t mark this with a separate word like “the.”

Is the word order fixed, or could I say Na goge tebur da kujeru kafin hutu a ɗaki instead?

You can move some parts around, and it’s still understandable:

Jiya na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki kafin hutu.
Jiya na goge tebur da kujeru kafin hutu a ɗaki.

Both are possible. Typical/neutral order is:

[Time] + [Subject–Verb–Objects] + [Place] + [Time phrase like “before X”]

Placing a ɗaki (place) before kafin hutu (time-relationship) feels slightly more natural, but both orders occur in real speech. The subject–verb–object core (na goge tebur da kujeru) is the part that is least flexible.

How would I make this sentence negative, like “Yesterday I didn’t wipe the table and chairs in the room before break”?

For the negative perfective with 1st person singular, Hausa uses ba… ba and ban (ba + na):

Positive:

Jiya na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki kafin hutu.

Negative:

Jiya ban goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki kafin hutu ba.

Structure:

ba + na → ban before the verb: ban goge…
Another ba at the end of the clause: … kafin hutu ba.

So ban goge = “I did not wipe.”

Could I drop jiya and still have a past meaning?

Yes.

Na goge tebur da kujeru a ɗaki kafin hutu.

This by itself is understood as past, completed action because of na goge (perfective). It doesn’t specify exactly when, just “I (already) wiped the table and chairs in the room before break.”

Adding jiya simply makes the time explicit: yesterday. The tense is already clear from na goge, not from jiya.