Learn Hardcore Hausa: Mota tana a kan titi yanzu.

tana here is the progressive/continuous form for a feminine subject:
- ta (she) + -na (progressive marker) → tana
- Functionally: “she is (doing/being X) right now.”
ce / ne are copulas used in equative sentences (X is Y, like She is a doctor), not for simple location:
- e.g. Wata mota ce. – It is a car.

In Mota tana a kan titi yanzu, we’re talking about the car’s current location, so Hausa uses the progressive/copular‑like form tana, not ce/shi.

Why is a car treated as feminine (tana) in Hausa? Could we say yana?

Hausa nouns have grammatical gender: masculine or feminine. Pronouns and verb forms agree with that gender.

Mota is grammatically feminine, so you must use the feminine form:
- tana = she/it (feminine) is (in progressive aspect)
yana is the masculine form and would be wrong with mota.

Many inanimate objects are grammatically feminine in Hausa; you just have to learn the gender with each noun. For mota, always use feminine agreement:

Mota tana nan. – The car is here.

Is tana more like “is” or more like “is being / is (right now)”?

tana expresses a sense of current, ongoing state or action. It often corresponds to English “is …ing” or “is (currently)”:

Ta = “she” (subject pronoun)
-na = progressive/continuous marker
→ tana: “she is (currently) …”

In sentences of location, like Mota tana a kan titi, it’s best to feel it as:

“The car is (currently located) on the street.”

It can also describe ongoing actions:

Tana tafiya. – She is going / walking.

Could we say Mota a kan titi yanzu without tana?

Normally, no. You need some kind of “be” element in the sentence.

Mota tana a kan titi yanzu. – correct, natural.
Mota a kan titi yanzu. – sounds incomplete / ungrammatical in standard speech.

Hausa often needs an explicit copular or aspect form (like tana, yana, suna, ina, kana, etc.) in such sentences. In very clipped or telegraphic styles (e.g. headlines, notes), you might see similar omissions, but for normal usage you should include tana.

What exactly does a kan mean? Is it one word or two?

In this sentence, a kan is best thought of as a two‑word prepositional phrase:

a – general location preposition: in, at, on
kan – literally “head / top / surface,” used as a preposition “on (top of)”

Together: a kan titi ≈ “on the road / on the surface of the road.”

In writing, you will also see akan written as one word in some contexts, especially when it means “about, regarding” (e.g. talk about something). For simple physical location, many teachers prefer to write a kan to make the pieces clear.

Can I drop the a and just say Mota tana kan titi yanzu?

Yes, that’s also common and natural:

Mota tana a kan titi yanzu.
Mota tana kan titi yanzu.

Both are fine. You’ll often hear the a dropped in everyday speech before kan in locative expressions, so tana kan titi is very typical. For a learner, it’s good to recognize both forms.

What’s the difference between a kan titi, a titi, and a cikin titi?

They all involve being in or on the road, but with different nuances:

a kan titi – literally “on (the surface of) the road”
- Used for things on top of the road: cars, people, objects.
- Mota tana a kan titi. – The car is (on) the road.
a titi – more general “at/on the road, on the street”
- Slightly less specific; can mean “on/along the street.”
- Ina zaune a titi. – I’m sitting on/at the street (context decides).
a cikin titi – “in the road,” literally “inside the road”
- Suggests being inside the space of the road, maybe more emphatic that something is in the middle / inside.
- Yaro yana wasa a cikin titi. – The boy is playing (right) in the road.

For your sentence, a kan titi is the most straightforward for a car.

Why is there no word for “the” in the sentence? How do I know it’s “the car” and not “a car”?

Hausa has no separate words for “a / an / the”. The definiteness (a vs the) comes from:

Context – whether this thing is already known or specific.
Word order / emphasis / sometimes tone.
Occasionally from demonstratives (e.g. wannan mota – “this car”).

So Mota tana a kan titi yanzu can mean:

The car is on the street now (if a specific car is understood), or
A car is on the street now (if you’re introducing it for the first time).

English has to choose, but Hausa doesn’t mark the difference with a separate article.

Is yanzu really necessary, since tana already suggests “now”?

tana already implies a current / ongoing situation, so the sentence:

Mota tana a kan titi. – The car is (currently) on the street.

is already present‑tense enough.

Adding yanzu:

Mota tana a kan titi yanzu.

does two things:

Emphasizes timing: right now, at this very moment.
Helps if there’s any ambiguity (e.g. you might be contrasting past vs now: Before it wasn’t there, but now it is).

So yanzu is not grammatically required, but it adds clarity and emphasis on “now.”

Where can I put yanzu in the sentence? Is Mota tana a kan titi yanzu the only correct order?

Word order is fairly flexible for yanzu, but some positions sound more natural than others.

All of these are acceptable:

Mota tana a kan titi yanzu.
Yanzu mota tana a kan titi. – Now the car is on the street. (emphasis on now)
Mota yanzu tana a kan titi. – also possible, but less common.

What you generally wouldn’t do is split a kan titi in an odd way or move yanzu into the middle of a kan titi. Keep the prepositional phrase together and place yanzu at the beginning or end for the most natural sound.

How would this sentence look in the plural, like “The cars are on the street now”?

You need to pluralize both mota and titi, and change the verb to the plural form:

Singular:
- Mota tana a kan titi yanzu.
- The car is on the street now.
Plural:
- Motoci suna a kan tituna yanzu.
  - Motoci – cars
  - suna – they (plural) are (progressive)
  - tituna – roads/streets (plural)

In everyday speech you might still hear suna a kan titi even if there are multiple streets, depending on context, but the fully matched plural is Motoci suna a kan tituna yanzu.

How should I pronounce Mota tana a kan titi yanzu? Are there any tricky sounds for an English speaker?

A rough pronunciation guide (not marking tones):

Mota – [MOH‑ta] (both vowels like “o” in more and “a” in father; t is plain)
tana – [TAH‑nah]
a – [ah]
kan – [kan] with a clear k and short a
titi – [TEE‑tee], both i like ee in see but short
yanzu – [YAN‑zu]
- y as in yes
- z as in zoo
- u like oo in book or “u” in put

So all together (smoothly):

MOH‑ta TA‑na a kan TEE‑tee YAN‑zu.

No consonant clusters, everything is syllable‑by‑syllable, which actually makes Hausa relatively friendly once you get used to the sounds.