Learn Hardcore Hausa: Malama ta rubuta A a kan allo. - The female teacher wrote the letter A on the blackboard.

Here “ta” is not a separate “extra word” in the meaning; it’s mainly a marker that agrees with the subject in person, number, and gender and shows the verb’s form (here, perfective).

You can:

Keep only the pronoun: Ta rubuta A a kan allo. – “She wrote A on the board.”
Or noun + pronoun: Malama ta rubuta… – “The (female) teacher wrote…”

In standard Hausa you normally do not drop the pronoun and say just “Malama rubuta A…”; that sounds ungrammatical or very non-standard.

Why is it “ta” and not “ya”? How do I choose the right subject pronoun?

Because “Malama” is grammatically feminine, so the verb must use the 3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun:

ta = she (3rd person singular feminine, perfective)
ya = he (3rd person singular masculine, perfective)

A mini chart of perfective subject pronouns:

na – I
ka – you (sg. masc.)
kin – you (sg. fem.)
ya – he / it (masc.)
ta – she / it (fem.)
mun – we
kun – you (pl.)
sun – they

So:

Malama ta rubuta… – The (female) teacher wrote…
Malam ya rubuta… – The (male) teacher wrote…

How would the sentence change if the teacher were male, or if there were several teachers?

For a male teacher:

Malam ya rubuta A a kan allo.
– Malam = male teacher
– ya = he (3rd person masculine)

For several teachers:

Malamai sun rubuta A a kan allo.
– Malamai = teachers
– sun = they (3rd person plural)

So the subject pronoun changes to match the gender/number of the subject noun.

What tense or aspect is “ta rubuta”? Does it just mean past tense?

“ta rubuta” is the perfective form:

It normally refers to a completed action, usually understood as past in context:
Malama ta rubuta A a kan allo. → “The teacher wrote A on the board.”

Depending on context, perfective can also be like English “has written” (present result of a completed action), but in basic sentences like this you can safely think of it as simple past.

For ongoing action, Hausa switches to a progressive form, for example:

Malama tana rubuta A a kan allo.
– She is writing A on the board (right now).

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Hausa does not have separate words equivalent to English “the” or “a/an”.

Malama can mean “a teacher” or “the teacher”, depending on context.
Similarly allo can be “a board” or “the board”.

Definiteness is usually clear from context, shared knowledge, or extra words (like demonstratives):

Malamar nan ta rubuta A a kan allo.
– This teacher wrote A on the board.
Wata malama ta rubuta A…
– A certain / some teacher wrote A…

In the basic sentence, you choose “a” or “the” in English according to what makes sense in the context.

What exactly does “a kan allo” mean, and how is it built?

“a kan allo” is a prepositional phrase meaning “on the board.”

Breakdown:

a – general locative preposition: “at / in / on”
kan – “top, surface, on top (of)”
allo – board / slate

Literally: “at (the) top/surface of the board.”

So:

ta rubuta A a kan allo → “she wrote A on the board.”

What is the difference between “a kan”, “akan”, and “kan” alone?

They’re related but used a bit differently:

a kan (two words)
- Often used for physical location: on top of, on
- Example: Littafin yana a kan tebur. – “The book is on the table.”
kan (by itself)
- Can also be used as a preposition “on (top of)”, or as the noun “top/head/surface.”
- Example: Ina kan tebur. – “I am on the table.” (literally, “I [am] on-top-of table.”)
akan (one word)
- Frequently used in more abstract senses, like “about / concerning / regarding.”
- Example: Muna tattaunawa akan aikinmu. – “We’re discussing our work.”

For a simple physical ‘on the board’, “a kan allo” or “kan allo” are the most straightforward choices. Writing “akan allo” is also seen but often leans toward a more abstract “about the board” reading in some contexts.

Could I just say “a allo” instead of “a kan allo”? Is there a difference?

You can hear:

Malama ta rubuta A a allo.

This would still be understood as “on the board” in context, because allo is something you normally write on.

However:

“a kan allo” is more explicit: literally “on the surface of the board.”
“a allo” is a bit more general: “at/on the board,” relying on context to supply the idea of surface.

Both occur in speech. For teaching and clarity, “a kan allo” is a very clear, standard form.

What does “allo” refer to exactly? Is it only a chalkboard?

Allo originally refers to a wooden slate used in traditional Qur’anic schools, which people write on with ink.

By extension, in modern usage it can mean:

a school board (blackboard or whiteboard),
a writing slate,
a wooden tray (in other contexts).

In a classroom sentence with rubuta (“write”), “allo” is naturally understood as “the board (for writing on)”.

How would I say “The teacher is writing A on the board” (right now) instead of “wrote A”?

Use the progressive:

Malama tana rubuta A a kan allo.

Breakdown:

tana – she is (3rd person feminine progressive: ta
- na)
rubuta – writing
A a kan allo – A on the board

So:

Malama ta rubuta A… – The teacher wrote A… (completed action)
Malama tana rubuta A… – The teacher is writing A… (ongoing).

Do I need an object pronoun like “shi” for “A”? For example, could I say “Malama ta rubuta shi a kan allo”?

You normally don’t double the object with a pronoun when the object is already named:

✅ Malama ta rubuta A a kan allo. – The teacher wrote A on the board.
❌ Malama ta rubuta shi A a kan allo. – ungrammatical / very odd.

You use an object pronoun when the object is not explicitly named, or has been mentioned before and you refer back to it:

Malama ta rubuta shi a kan allo. – “The teacher wrote it on the board.”
(where shi = “it,” and the listener already knows what “it” is.)

So: pronoun OR full noun, but generally not both together for the same object.

How do I roughly pronounce each word in “Malama ta rubuta A a kan allo”?

Very approximate English-based guide (Hausa is tonal, but tones aren’t marked in ordinary writing):

Malama – ma-la-ma
- ma as in ma in “mama”, each a like “a” in father.
ta – ta, like “ta” in “taco” (short).
rubuta – roo-BOO-ta
- ru as in “roo”, bu like “boo” but short, final ta as above.
A – the letter A, like English letter name “eh” / “ay” (Hausa letter A itself is pronounced more like a plain “a” sound, but when teaching letters written in Latin script people may use English-style names too; this varies).
a – short a as in “a” in “about” (but more open, like the first vowel in “father”, just very short).
kan – kan, with that same short a; like “kan” in “Khan” (without aspiration).
allo – AL-lo
- Double ll means a long ‘l’ sound; both vowels like the “o” in “off” (but shorter).

You’ll hear fairly even rhythm across syllables; there isn’t strong English-style word stress on just one syllable.

Is “Malama” just “teacher,” or can it also be used like a title, e.g. “Ms.” or “Teacher So-and-so”?

Malama is the feminine counterpart of Malam (teacher, learned person). It can be:

A common noun:
- Malama ta rubuta A a kan allo. – “The (female) teacher wrote A on the board.”
A title before a name, similar to “Teacher,” “Madam,” or sometimes “Ms.”:
- Malama Fatima ta rubuta A a kan allo.
  – “Teacher Fatima wrote A on the board.”

So Malama is both a general word for a female teacher and a respectful form of address.