Malama ta yi faɗakarwa cewa za a lashe kyauta ne ga ɗaliban da suka yi nasara.

Breakdown of Malama ta yi faɗakarwa cewa za a lashe kyauta ne ga ɗaliban da suka yi nasara.

ga
for
yi
to do
da
that
ɗalibi
the student
malama
the female teacher
cewa
that
nasara
the success
faɗakarwa
the reminder
lashe
to win
kyauta
the prize
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Questions & Answers about Malama ta yi faɗakarwa cewa za a lashe kyauta ne ga ɗaliban da suka yi nasara.

What exactly does “Malama” mean, and how is it different from “malami” or malam?

Malama means a female teacher (or female learned person).

  • malami = male teacher / learned man
  • malama = female teacher / learned woman
  • malam (often written Malam) = usually a respectful title for a man, like “Sir”, “Teacher”, “Scholar”.

So Malama ta yi faɗakarwa = “The (female) teacher gave a warning / did an awareness talk.”


Why do we have “ta yi” here? What does this combination mean?

ta yi is made of:

  • ta = 3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun, perfective (“she”)
  • yi = verb “to do / make”

Together ta yi = “she did / she has done.”

So Malama ta yi faɗakarwa literally = “The female teacher did (gave) a warning / an awareness talk.”

In writing, it should be two words (ta yi), not fused as tayi.


What kind of word is “faɗakarwa”, and what does it really mean?

faɗakarwa is a verbal noun (like an -ing noun in English) formed from a verb meaning “to make someone aware / to warn / to sensitize”.

Depending on context, it can be translated as:

  • warning
  • awareness-raising talk
  • sensitization / education session

Here, ta yi faɗakarwa is something like:

  • “she gave a warning”
  • or “she held an awareness session / talk”

What does “cewa” do in “faɗakarwa cewa …”?

cewa is a complementizer meaning “that” in English.

It introduces a clause that functions as the content of what was said, thought, or announced.

  • ta yi faɗakarwa cewa …
    = “she gave a warning that …”

So everything after cewa is the message of the warning: za a lashe kyauta ne ga ɗaliban da suka yi nasara.


How does “za a” work in “za a lashe kyauta”?

za is a marker of future tense.
a here is an impersonal / passive subject pronoun.

za a + verb often corresponds to an English passive or an impersonal “they”/“people”:

  • za a lashe kyauta
    literally: “it will be won, a prize”
    more naturally: “the prize will be won” / “someone will win the prize.”

Compare:

  • za su lashe kyauta = “they will win the prize”
  • za a lashe kyauta = “the prize will be (gotten / won)” (focus on the event, not on who wins).

What does “lashe” mean, and why not just use “samu” for “get a prize”?

lashe is a verb that, in this context, means “to win (a prize / competition)”.

Common collocation:

  • lashe kyauta = “to win a prize”
  • lashe gasar … = “to win the competition of …”

You could say samu kyauta (“receive a gift/prize”), but:

  • lashe kyauta emphasizes winning it (usually after some competition).
  • samu kyauta can simply be “get/receive a gift”, not necessarily by winning.

So za a lashe kyauta is specifically about winning.


Does “kyauta” mean “prize”, “gift”, or “free (of charge)”?

kyauta can mean all of these, depending on context:

  1. gift / present

    • Na ba shi kyauta. = “I gave him a gift.”
  2. prize / award

    • An ba ta kyauta. = “She was given a prize.”
  3. free (no payment) in some expressions

    • kyauta ne (in some contexts) can imply “it’s free” (no charge).

In this sentence, because of lashe kyauta (“win a kyauta”), the natural reading is “prize (award)”, not just any gift, and not “free of charge”.


What is the function of “ne” in “za a lashe kyauta ne”?

ne here is a focus / copula particle. It often:

  • adds emphasis, or
  • marks the end of the focused part of the sentence.

Roughly, za a lashe kyauta ne can feel like:

  • “it is a prize that will be won”
  • or “what will be won is a prize”.

In practice, it often just gives a slight emphatic or explanatory tone.
The sentence could be understood even without it:

  • Za a lashe kyauta ga ɗaliban da suka yi nasara.

In many dialects, ne is used quite freely this way, sometimes regardless of strict gender agreement.


What does “ga” mean in “ga ɗaliban”?

Here ga is a preposition meaning roughly “to / for”.

  • ga ɗaliban da suka yi nasara
    = “to/for the students who succeeded”

So kyauta ne ga ɗaliban … means “it is a prize for the students …”

Compare:

  • Na ba shi littafi. = I gave him a book.
  • Na ba littafi ga shi. = I gave a book to him.

Why is it “ɗaliban” and not “ɗalibai”?
  • ɗalibai = “students” (indefinite plural: “(some) students”)
  • ɗaliban = “the students” (definite plural, formed by adding -n)

So:

  • ga ɗalibai = “to (some) students”
  • ga ɗaliban = “to the students”

Here ga ɗaliban da suka yi nasara means “for the students who succeeded”, a specific group.


How does the clause “da suka yi nasara” work after “ɗaliban”?

da suka yi nasara is a relative clause describing the students.

Breakdown:

  • da = relative marker (like “who/that”)
  • suka yi = “they did / they have done” (3rd plural perfective with focus)
  • nasara = success
  • yi nasara = “to succeed / be successful / win”

So:

  • ɗaliban da suka yi nasara
    = “the students who succeeded” / “the students who were successful.”

The whole phrase identifies which students will get the prize.


What is the difference between “suka yi nasara” and “sun yi nasara”?

Both use the same verb yi nasara (“to succeed”), but:

  • sun yi nasara

    • sun = neutral perfective “they have done”
    • Basic statement: “they succeeded / they have succeeded.”
  • suka yi nasara

    • suka = perfective with focus (often used in relative clauses, answers to questions, or emphasis)
    • In relative clauses: “those who succeeded.”

So in a relative clause after a noun, suka is very common:

  • ɗaliban da suka yi nasara = “the students who succeeded.”

If you said ɗaliban da sun yi nasara, it would sound wrong or at least very non‑standard.


Can you give a fairly literal, word‑for‑word breakdown of the whole sentence?

Yes:

  • Malama = (female) teacher
  • ta yi = she did
  • faɗakarwa = a warning / awareness-raising
  • cewa = that
  • za a = it will (be) … / there will be … (impersonal future)
  • lashe = to win
  • kyauta = a prize
  • ne = (focus / “it is”)
  • ga = to/for
  • ɗaliban = the students
  • da = who/that
  • suka yi = they did / they have done (focused perfective)
  • nasara = success

Putting it together:

“Malama ta yi faɗakarwa cewa za a lashe kyauta ne ga ɗaliban da suka yi nasara.”
≈ “The (female) teacher gave a warning / did an awareness talk, saying that it is a prize that will be won for the students who have succeeded.”
More natural English: “The teacher announced that a prize will be awarded to the students who succeed.”