Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yara suna wasa a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba. - The children are playing under the banana tree.

a full noun subject (yara, Audù, uwarka, etc.)
plus a subject pronoun with the verb/aspect marker (suna, yana, muna, etc.)

So:

Yara suna wasa = literally “Children they-are playing”
Audù yana tafiya = “Audù he-is walking”

This “double subject” pattern is standard Hausa grammar.

You generally do not say:

✗ Yara na wasa (ungrammatical or very odd in this meaning)

The pronoun (su, ya, mu, etc.) is built into forms like suna, yana, muna, so it is normally required even when the noun subject is present.

Is wasa a verb or a noun here? How do I say “to play” in Hausa?

Wasa is basically a noun meaning play / game / playing.

In Hausa, many activities are expressed as:

yi (to do) + verbal noun

So to play is often:

yin wasa = to do play / to play

In this sentence:

suna wasa literally = they-are (in a state of) play
Functionally it just means they are playing

So you will see:

Yara suna wasa. – The children are playing.
Yara za su yi wasa. – The children will play. (literally “will do play”)
Sun yi wasa. – They played / they have played. (literally “they did play”)

Here, wasa behaves like the verb “play” in English, but grammatically it is a verbal noun.

What is the literal structure of a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba?

Piece by piece:

a – a general locative preposition: in / at / on / under (depending on the word that follows)
ƙarƙashin – a postposition meaning under / beneath
itacen – the tree (or tree-of, see below)
ayaba – banana

So literally:

a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba ≈ “at the-under-side of the banana tree”
Natural English: “under the banana tree”

The pattern a + [postposition] + [noun] is very common:

a ƙarƙashin tebur – under the table
a kan tebur – on the table
a cikin gida – in the house

Can I leave out a and just say ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba?

You will very often hear and read a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba, and this is the safest and most standard form.

a works as the general locative marker.
ƙarƙashin is a postposition that naturally goes with a.

Native speakers do sometimes drop a in fast or informal speech, but as a learner you should keep it:

✔ Yara suna wasa a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba.
✗ Yara suna wasa ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba. (may be heard, but not the best model for learners)

So: for now, include the a.

What is the difference between itace and itacen?

itace = a tree / wood (indefinite)
itacen = the tree or tree-of … (definite or linking form)

The final -n / -r / -n in Hausa often marks:

Definiteness (“the”)
or works as a linker to another noun in a “of” (genitive) phrase

Here:

itacen is itace + -n, linking to ayaba:
- itacen ayaba = the banana tree / tree of banana

If you said just:

itace (by itself) – you would be talking about a tree in general, not specifically a banana tree.

How does itacen ayaba mean “banana tree”? Where is the word “of”?

Hausa uses a noun + linker + noun pattern where English would use “noun of noun” or a compound noun.

Structure:

itace-n ayaba
- itace – tree
- -n – linker / “of-the”
- ayaba – banana

So:

itacen ayaba = tree-of banana = banana tree

Other examples:

gidan malam – house-of the teacher = the teacher’s house
motar Audù – car-of Audu = Audu’s car
littafin Hausa – book-of Hausa = Hausa book

In itacen ayaba, the “of” idea is carried by:

the -n on itace and
the order (head noun first, then the “owner/type” noun).

Is ayaba singular or plural here? Does it mean “banana” or “bananas”?

In itacen ayaba, ayaba names the type of tree, not individual fruits, so number is not very important. Think:

itacen ayaba – banana tree / a banana tree

On its own:

ayaba commonly means banana (as a fruit) in a general sense.
To be clear about quantity, you usually add a number:
- ayaba ɗaya – one banana
- ayaba biyu – two bananas

For everyday use, you can treat ayaba as the basic word for “banana”, and in the phrase itacen ayaba you can gloss it simply as “banana (as a kind)”.

Why is there no word for “the” before yara? How do I say “the children” vs “children” in Hausa?

Hausa does not use a separate word like English “the”. Instead, definiteness is often shown by endings like -n / -r / -n, or simply by context.

yara – children (often like children / some children / children in general)
yaran – the children

So:

Yara suna wasa a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba.
→ Could be understood as Children are playing… or The children are playing…, depending on context.

If you really want to specify “the children”, you can say:

Yaran suna wasa a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba.

In practice, yara in this kind of sentence is very naturally translated as “the children” in English.

Can I change the word order, for example put a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba at the beginning?

Basic Hausa word order is Subject – (Aspect/Verb) – Object – Other phrases, similar to English.

Your sentence:

Yara (Subject)
suna wasa (Aspect + verbal noun)
a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba (locative phrase)

You can move the locative phrase for emphasis or in certain contexts, for example:

A ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba, yara suna wasa.
– Under the banana tree, the children are playing.

This is acceptable, especially in storytelling or when you want to set the scene first. But the most neutral, everyday order is the original one:

Yara suna wasa a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba.

How do you pronounce ƙarƙashin, and what is the difference between k and ƙ?

Pronunciation:

ƙarƙashin: roughly kar-KA-shin, but with a special ƙ sound.

Difference:

k – an ordinary [k] sound (like English k in “cat”).
ƙ – an “implosive k”.
- The tongue position is similar to k, but
- You slightly pull the sound inward (into the mouth) instead of pushing air out strongly.
- It is tighter and “deeper” than normal k.

For many learners, making a plain k but trying to keep it a bit “glottal / tight” is a good approximation at first. The important thing is to notice the difference in spelling, because k and ƙ can distinguish different words in Hausa.

How would I say “The children played / were playing / will play under the banana tree” using this sentence as a model?

You can keep most of the sentence and change the verb/aspect part.

Past (simple / completed):
- Yara sun yi wasa a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba.
  – The children played under the banana tree.
  (sun yi = they-did)
Past continuous (were playing):
Use a past time expression plus the same suna wasa:
- Jiya, yara suna wasa a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba.
  – Yesterday, the children were playing under the banana tree.
  The time word (jiya = yesterday) pushes suna wasa into the past in meaning.
Future:
- Yara za su yi wasa a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba.
  – The children will play under the banana tree.
  (za su yi = they will do)

All of these reuse:

a ƙarƙashin itacen ayaba for “under the banana tree.”