Uwa ta ce farauta a daji tana da haɗari, musamman idan raƙumi ko biri ya fusata.

Mother said hunting in the bush is dangerous, especially if a camel or a monkey gets angry.

Breakdown of Uwa ta ce farauta a daji tana da haɗari, musamman idan raƙumi ko biri ya fusata.

• ne: to be
• da: with
• idan: if
• a: in

Questions & Answers about Uwa ta ce farauta a daji tana da haɗari, musamman idan raƙumi ko biri ya fusata.

What does the pronoun ta in Uwa ta ce refer to, and why is it ta and not ya?

Ta is the 3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun in Hausa.

• Uwa = mother, which is grammatically feminine.
• So the verb must agree in gender:
  
  • Uwa ta ce … = Mother said …
  • Baba ya ce … = Father said … (here ya is masculine)

If you said Uwa ya ce, it would sound wrong to a native speaker, because the gender agreement is off.

What exactly does ce mean in ta ce? Is it like English said or said that?

Ce is the perfective form of the verb cewa (to say, to say that).

• Uwa ta ce … literally: Mother, she-said …
• In English that usually corresponds to “Mother said (that) …”

So ta ce functions like “she said” or “she said that”.

There is also another common verb faɗa (to say, to tell):

• Uwa ta ce farauta a daji tana da haɗari.
• Uwa ta faɗa cewa farauta a daji tana da haɗari.

Both mean roughly the same; ce is very common for introducing reported speech or a reported statement.

Can I also say Uwa ta ce cewa farauta a daji tana da haɗari? What is the difference between ce and cewa here?