Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa.

The price of water has increased at the market.

Breakdown of Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa.

• ruwa: the water
• kasuwa: the market
• a: at
• farashi: the price
• ƙaru: to increase

Questions & Answers about Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa.

What is the word-by-word breakdown of Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa, and what role does each word play in the sentence?

Here’s the breakdown:

• Farashin – the price (of)

  • From farashi = price
  • The final -n is the genitive linker (like “of the”) attaching it to the next noun: farashin ruwa = the price of water.

• ruwa – water

  • Mass noun, like “water” in English.

• ya – 3rd person masculine singular subject marker

  • Here it agrees with farashin (a masculine noun).
  • Roughly like saying it (for “the price”) as the grammatical subject.

• ƙaru – increased / went up

  • Intransitive verb: something itself becomes more (it increases).

• a – preposition in / at

  • General locative preposition.

• kasuwa – market

  • Place where buying/selling happens.

So the structure is:
[Farashin ruwa] [ya] [ƙaru] [a kasuwa] =
The price of water has increased in the market.

Why is it farashin ruwa instead of farashi na ruwa for “the price of water”?

Hausa often uses a genitive linker ending on the first noun instead of na/ta for “of”.

• farashi (price) + -n (masc. sg. genitive linker) + ruwa → farashin ruwa
  
  • Literally: price-of water.

Compare:

• farashin shinkafa – the price of rice
• farashin man fetur – the price of petrol

You can say farashi na ruwa, but:

• It sounds less natural here.
• X + -n/-r + Y is the default, more idiomatic way to say “the price of Y”.

So farashin ruwa is the normal, tight noun–noun construction: “water price / price of water”.

What exactly does ruwa mean here? Is it specifically drinking water, or just any water?

ruwa by itself is a general word:

• ruwa – water (any kind; mass noun).

In everyday speech, farashin ruwa will usually be understood from context as:

• Bottled drinking water
• Tap water (if that is sold)
• Or, in some areas/contexts, even water as a commodity (e.g., tanker water)

If you want to be more specific, you can say:

• farashin ruwan sha – the price of drinking water
• farashin ruwan famfo – tap-water price

But in a typical market/economic context, farashin ruwa is usually clear enough as “water price” for whatever water is commonly sold there.

In ya ƙaru, what does ya refer to, and why is it masculine?

ya is the 3rd person masculine singular subject marker in the perfective aspect.

• It agrees in gender and number with the subject farashin ruwa.
• In Hausa, farashi (price) is grammatically masculine, so you must use ya, not ta.

So the underlying structure is:

• Farashin ruwa – subject (masculine singular)
• ya – subject marker agreeing with farashin ruwa
• ƙaru – verb “increased”

You can think of it as:

• “The price of water, it increased in the market.”

The pronoun-like subject marker is obligatory in Hausa verb clauses; the full noun phrase farashin ruwa appears before it for clarity/emphasis, but ya still has to be there.

What is the difference between ƙaru, ƙara, and ƙarawa? Why is ƙaru used here?

These three are related but not interchangeable:

1. ƙaru – intransitive verb “to increase, to go up”

   • The thing itself becomes more:
     • Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru. – The price of water increased.
     • Yawan jama’a ya ƙaru. – The number of people increased.

2. ƙara – transitive verb “to add, to increase (something)”

   • Someone increases something:
     • Sun ƙara farashin ruwa. – They increased the price of water.
     • Ya ƙara sukarin. – He added sugar.

3. ƙarawa – verbal noun/infinitive “increase, addition; to increase”

   • Often used after yi or as a noun:
     • Sun yi ƙarawa a farashi. – They made an increase in the price.
     • Babu ƙarawa. – No increase.

In Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa, no agent is mentioned; we are describing the price itself going up, so the intransitive ƙaru is the correct verb.

Does ya ƙaru mean “has increased”, “increased”, or “is increasing”? What tense/aspect is it?

ya ƙaru is the perfective aspect of the verb, with a 3rd person masculine singular subject marker.

Depending on context, it can correspond to:

• “has increased” (present relevance)
  
  • The price has increased (and is now higher).
• “increased” (simple past)
  
  • The price increased (at some time in the past).

It does not usually mean “is increasing right now” as an ongoing process. For ongoing or repeated increase, Hausa would more naturally use:

• Farashin ruwa yana ƙaruwa a kasuwa. – The price of water is increasing in the market.
  
  • yana = progressive/habitual
  • ƙaruwa = verbal noun from ƙaru

So ya ƙaru is a completed change; yana ƙaruwa is an ongoing or habitual increase.

What does the preposition a contribute in a kasuwa? Is there a difference between a kasuwa and a cikin kasuwa?

a is a general locative preposition, usually meaning in, at, on depending on the noun and context.

• a kasuwa – in the market / at the market
  
  • Very natural and common, no need for extra words.

a cikin kasuwa literally means “in the inside of the market”, and tends to:

• Sound a bit more specific or spatially inside the market
• Be used when you want to emphasize the interior or inside of a place, not just that place as a general location

In this sentence, a kasuwa is the standard, idiomatic way to say:

• in the market / on the market (as in the marketplace, not necessarily physically inside a building).

Why do we say Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa instead of putting ya first, like Ya ƙaru farashin ruwa a kasuwa?

The normal, unmarked word order for a statement like this in Hausa is:

1. Full subject noun phrase
2. Subject marker
3. Verb
4. Other elements (place, time, etc.)

So:

• Farashin ruwa – subject (NP)
• ya – subject marker
• ƙaru – verb
• a kasuwa – locative phrase

→ Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa.

You could front ya ƙaru in some special contexts (questions, focus, certain narrative styles), but for a straightforward statement, Subject NP + subject marker + verb is the basic pattern.

In short: the pronoun-like subject marker doesn’t replace the noun; it co-occurs with it and follows it.

Can I say Farashin ruwa yana ƙaruwa a kasuwa instead? How does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say that, but the meaning changes subtly:

• Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa.

  • The price has increased / increased (completed change).
  • Focus on the result: the price is now higher than before.

• Farashin ruwa yana ƙaruwa a kasuwa.

  • The price is increasing / keeps increasing.
  • Uses yana (progressive/habitual) + verbal noun ƙaruwa.
  • Focus on the process or trend: it is in the process of going up, or it regularly goes up.

So:

• Use ya ƙaru when you’re talking about a specific completed rise.
• Use yana ƙaruwa when you’re talking about an ongoing rise or a trend.

What is the difference between kasuwa (market) and cikin kasuwa? Would Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru cikin kasuwa be correct?

• kasuwa – market
• cikin kasuwa – inside (the) market

Grammatically:

• Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a kasuwa. – Correct, standard.
• Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru cikin kasuwa. – Also grammatically possible, but sounds a bit odd without a.

More natural if you want to use cikin:

• Farashin ruwa ya ƙaru a cikin kasuwa. – The price of water has increased inside the market.

However, for everyday economic talk (“in the market”), a kasuwa is the usual, simpler, and more idiomatic choice. You don’t need cikin unless you really want to stress inside the physical space of the market.