Kogin da muke zuwa yana gabas da ƙauye, kusa da gonar tumatir.

to be

Breakdown of Kogin da muke zuwa yana gabas da ƙauye, kusa da gonar tumatir.

• kusa: near
• da: with
• zuwa: to

Questions & Answers about Kogin da muke zuwa yana gabas da ƙauye, kusa da gonar tumatir.

What does kogin mean, and why isn’t it just kogi?

Kogi is the basic word for river.

The form kogin has an extra -n, which does two things at once:

1. It makes the noun definite:

   • kogi = a river / river (general)
   • kogin = the river

2. It acts as a linker to what follows (a relative clause or a following noun):

   • kogin da muke zuwa = the river that we go to

So kogin here is “the river” and at the same time is “hooked” to the relative clause da muke zuwa that describes it.

How does da muke zuwa mean “that we go to”?

Break it down:

• da – a linker used to introduce a relative clause here, like English that / which.
• mu – we.
• ke – a marker used in relative/focus forms of the continuous/habitual aspect, attached to the pronoun: mu + ke → muke.
• zuwa – literally going / to go, a verbal noun often used where English has go / going (to).

Put together:

• da muke zuwa ≈ “that we (usually) go (there)” / “where we go”.

The underlying simple sentence is like:

• Muna zuwa kogin. – We go (are going) to the river.

To make a relative clause, kogin is moved to the front as the head noun, and da marks the “gap”:

• Kogin [da muke zuwa] … – The river [that we go to] …