Learn Hardcore Hausa: Ni ina son kallo na fim a talabijin da yamma. - I like watching films on television in the evening.

Ni is the independent pronoun “I.” It’s used for emphasis or contrast, a bit like saying “Me, I like watching…”
ina is part of the verb phrase, meaning roughly “I am (doing).” It marks both subject and tense/aspect (present / ongoing / habitual).

So:

Ni ina son kallo na fim a talabijin da yamma.
≈ “As for me, I like watching films on TV in the evening.”

If you just want a neutral sentence, you can drop Ni and say:

Ina son kallo na fim a talabijin da yamma.

That’s perfectly correct and very common. Ni just adds emphasis: “I (as opposed to others) like…”

What is the difference between so and son in ina son?

The root verb is so (“to want / to like / to love”).
son is a noun-like form (often called a verbal noun or genitive form), meaning “liking / love of.”

so – base verb: na so = “I wanted / I liked.”
son – “the liking/love of (something)”: son fim = “the love/liking of film.”

When you say ina son X, you’re literally saying “I am in the state of liking X,” which we translate as “I like X / I love X.”

So:

Ina son fim. – “I like films / movies.”
Ina son kallo na fim. – “I like watching films.”

You normally use son when you name what is liked right after it. Just ina so on its own is more like “I want (it)” where the object is understood from context.

What exactly does kallo na fim mean? Why not just kallo or just fim?

kallo means “watching / viewing” or “a show.”
na is a genitive linker meaning “of.”
fim is “film / movie.”

So kallo na fim is literally “watching of film” → “watching films / movie-watching.”

Compare:

Ina son fim. – I like films (as a thing, in general).
Ina son kallo na fim. – I like watching films.

Using kallo na fim makes it clear you like the activity of watching, not just films as objects.

I’ve also seen kallon fim. Is kallo na fim different from kallon fim?

They are very close in meaning.

kallo na fim – “watching of film” (with the separate linker na).
kallon fim – “film-watching” (using the construct form kallon instead of kallo na).

Both mean roughly “watching films / film-watching.”
In many contexts kallon fim will sound a bit more compact and natural:

Ina son kallon fim a talabijin. – I like watching films on TV.

Your sentence with that option:

Ni ina son kallon fim a talabijin da yamma.

So:

kallo na fim = correct and clear.
kallon fim = a very common, slightly more idiomatic alternative.

Is this the most natural way to say it, or would a native speaker shorten it?

A very natural, everyday version would likely be:

Ina son kallon fim a talabijin da yamma.
(dropping Ni and using kallon fim)

Or, if you really mean “movies” in general:

Ina son kallon fina-finai a talabijin da yamma.

Your original sentence is grammatical and understandable, but many speakers would:

Drop the emphatic Ni unless they’re contrasting with someone else.
Prefer kallon fim (or kallon fina-finai) over kallo na fim in casual speech.

Why is the preposition a used with talabijin? Does it mean “on TV” or “in TV”?

The preposition a is a very general location/time preposition. It can mean “in, at, on” depending on context.

a gida – at home
a makaranta – at school
a talabijin – on TV

In English we say “on TV,” but Hausa still uses the same preposition a here. So a talabijin is understood as “on television.”

Other related options you might see:

ta talabijin – “via TV / through television” (focusing on the medium of transmission)
a cikin talabijin – literally “inside the TV” (physical inside; only used in special contexts).

For your sentence, a talabijin is the natural way to say “on TV.”

Why is it da yamma and not a yamma for “in the evening”?

With times of day, Hausa very often uses da (“with”) in a fixed pattern:

da safe – in the morning
da rana – in/at midday / afternoon
da yamma – in the evening
da dare – at night

So da yamma is a set expression meaning “in the evening.”
You might occasionally hear a yamma, but da yamma is the normal, idiomatic choice for “in the evening” as a time phrase.

In your sentence:

… a talabijin da yamma.
= “… on TV in the evening.”

What tense/aspect is ina son? Is it like “I am liking” or “I like”?

ina is a present / continuous / habitual marker.

With a normal verb, it often means “I am doing (now)”:

Ina ci. – I am eating.

But with son (“liking/love”), it usually expresses a general preference, so it’s best translated as “I like / I love”, not “I am liking.”

Compare:

Ina son fim. – I like films. (general preference)
Na so fim ɗin jiya. – I liked the film yesterday. (past event, using na so)
Zan so fim ɗin. – I will like / I will want the film. (future, using zan so)

So in your sentence, ina son … = “I like …” in a general, habitual sense.

Can I leave Ni out and just start with Ina?

Yes. That’s actually the more neutral choice.

Ni ina son kallo na fim a talabijin da yamma.
= “Me, I like watching films on TV in the evening.” (emphatic / contrastive)
Ina son kallo na fim a talabijin da yamma.
= “I like watching films on TV in the evening.” (plain statement)

Use Ni … when:

You are contrasting: Ni ina son fim, amma shi ba ya so. – “I like films, but he doesn’t.”
You want to highlight yourself specifically.

In ordinary, non-contrastive sentences, starting with Ina … is completely fine and very common.

How would I say “He likes watching films on TV in the evening” using the same pattern?

You just change the subject from first person (ina) to third person masculine (yana):

Yana son kallo na fim a talabijin da yamma.
or more idiomatically:
Yana son kallon fim a talabijin da yamma.

Breakdown:

Yana – he is (doing) / he (habitually) does.
son – liking/love (of).
kallon fim – watching films.
a talabijin – on TV.
da yamma – in the evening.

For she, it would be:

Tana son kallon fim a talabijin da yamma.

How do I say “I don’t like watching films on TV in the evening”?

To negate ina-forms, you usually use ba … na (often written together as bana).

A clear negative version is:

Ba na son kallon fim a talabijin da yamma.
= I don’t like watching films on TV in the evening.

If you want extra emphasis with Ni, you can say:

Ni ba na son kallon fim a talabijin da yamma.
= As for me, I don’t like watching films on TV in the evening.

Spoken Hausa often contracts ba na to bana:

Bana son kallon fim a talabijin da yamma.

Does fim mean one film or films in general? How do I say “films / movies” in plural?

fim can be:

A single film: “a film / one movie”
Or films in general, depending on context (similar to English “I like film” vs “I like films”).

The regular plural is fina-finai:

fim – (a) film
fina-finai – films / movies

So:

Ina son fim. – I like film / I like films (general; context-dependent).
Ina son fina-finai. – I like films / movies (clearly plural).

In your sentence, kallo na fim or kallon fim can be understood as “watching films” in general, even though fim is singular in form.

Can I change the order of a talabijin and da yamma?

Yes, Hausa allows some flexibility with time and place expressions at the end of the sentence.

Your version:

… kallo na fim a talabijin da yamma.
= watching films on TV in the evening.

You could also say:

Ina son kallon fim da yamma a talabijin.

Both are acceptable. The meaning is still “on TV in the evening.”
Often:

Time phrases (da yamma) naturally come at or near the end.
Place phrases (a talabijin) usually come before or after time, depending on what you want to emphasize.

The differences are subtle; both orders will be understood without any problem.