Breakdown of Idan yara suna yin amo da yawa, uwa tana fusata.
Questions & Answers about Idan yara suna yin amo da yawa, uwa tana fusata.
Idan is a conditional word that can often mean both “when(ever)” and “if”, depending on context.
- In this sentence it naturally reads as “when(ever)” – describing something that typically happens whenever the children make a lot of noise.
- It can also be used with a more hypothetical “if” sense, e.g. Idan ya zo = If/When he comes.
So:
- Idan + clause, [result clause] = When/If X happens, Y happens.
In Hausa, many verbs are expressed with a progressive pronoun + verbal noun pattern.
- suna = “they are” (3rd person plural progressive form)
- yi = “to do / to make”
- yin amo = “doing noise / making noise”
So yara suna yin amo literally means “the children are doing/making noise.”
You can’t normally say *suna amo by itself, because amo (“noise”) is a noun, not a verb. You need a verb (yi) to express “make (noise)”, so you get:
- suna yin amo = they are making noise
(suna = are, yin = doing, amo = noise)
The basic verb is yi (“to do, to make”).
When yi is used as a verbal noun and followed by another noun (its object), it normally takes the linking -n:
- yi → yin before a following noun
- yin amo = “the doing/making of noise”
So:
- Alone: yi (do/make) – e.g. Ina son yi = I like doing it.
- Before a noun: yin + [noun] – e.g.
- yin amo = making noise
- yin aiki = doing work
- yin magana = speaking / talking
In yara suna yin amo, yin is the verbal noun “doing/making” linked to amo.
Both suna yin and tana fusata are in the progressive/continuous aspect, formed by:
- Progressive pronoun (suna / tana) + verbal noun
Literally:
- yara suna yin amo = “the children are making noise”
- uwa tana fusata = “the mother is getting angry / is becoming angry”
However, when used with Idan and in a general statement, this progressive often has a habitual meaning in English:
- Idan yara suna yin amo da yawa, uwa tana fusata.
→ “When children make a lot of noise, the mother gets angry.”
So grammatically it’s progressive, but in this conditional context, English translates it best as a habitual (“make”, “gets”).
Literally:
- amo = noise, sound
- da = with
- yawa = quantity, much, many
amo da yawa literally = “noise with much” → idiomatically “a lot of noise / much noise.”
da yawa is a very common way to say “a lot of / many / much” after a noun:
- kudi da yawa = a lot of money
- mutane da yawa = many people
- abinci da yawa = a lot of food
- amo da yawa = a lot of noise
So the pattern is: [noun] + da yawa = “a lot of [noun]”.
Hausa does not have a separate word like English “the”. Definiteness (the vs a) is mostly understood from:
Context
- Here the situation is generic: “when children make a lot of noise, (a/the) mother gets angry.”
- This can be understood as a general truth about mothers and children.
Form of the noun
- Plain yara = children (could be “children” in general, “some children”, or “the children,” depending on context).
- yaran (with -n) often marks “the children” more clearly in a specific context.
- uwa = a mother / the mother (generic or context-specific).
- uwan = the mother (more clearly definite in many contexts).
In proverb-like or general statements, Hausa often uses bare nouns without extra marking, and English translates with “the” or sometimes no article at all.
By form, tana fusata is progressive:
- tana = she is (progressive)
- fusata = becoming angry / to get angry
So on its own it would often mean “she is getting angry / she is becoming angry.”
In this sentence, because it’s under Idan and describing what usually happens, it is best understood in English as “gets angry” in a habitual sense:
- “When children make a lot of noise, the mother gets angry.”
If you wanted a more simple “she is angry” as a state, Hausa might more often say something like:
- Uwa tana fushi. = The mother is angry.
Yes, you can absolutely say:
- Uwa tana fusata idan yara suna yin amo da yawa.
This is natural and means essentially the same thing:
- “The mother gets angry when the children make a lot of noise.”
The difference is just which part you mention first:
- Idan yara suna yin amo da yawa, uwa tana fusata.
– Starts with the condition. - Uwa tana fusata idan yara suna yin amo da yawa.
– Starts with the result.
In everyday Hausa, both orders are common and acceptable.
Yes, suna contains “they”, but Hausa verbs require a subject pronoun, even when there is a full noun subject.
- yara = children (full noun)
- suna = they are (subject pronoun + aspect marker)
So:
- Yara suna yin amo. = Children are making noise.
Here yara is the noun subject, and suna is the agreement pronoun attached to the verb phrase.
You cannot say:
- *Yara yin amo da yawa. (no finite verb)
You need suna to make a full clause:
- Yara suna yin amo da yawa. ✔︎
A natural negative version would be:
- Idan yara ba sa yin amo da yawa, uwa ba ta fusata.
Breakdown:
- Idan = when / if
- yara = children
- ba sa yin amo da yawa = they are not making a lot of noise / they do not make a lot of noise
- ba sa = they don’t (negative progressive/habitual)
- yin amo da yawa = make a lot of noise
- uwa = mother
- ba ta fusata = she does not get angry
You may also see speakers add ba at the very end of the sentence:
- ... uwa ba ta fusata ba.
Yes, several expressions are used depending on the type or feeling of the noise:
- yin amo – making noise / making sound (quite general)
- yin hayaniya – making a racket, commotion, loud disturbance
- yin kara – making a loud sound / shout / cry (often a sharp or sudden noise)
- yin ihu – screaming / shouting loudly
In your sentence, yin amo works well for neutral “making noise”, but if you want to stress that it’s really loud and disturbing, you could say:
- Idan yara suna yin hayaniya da yawa, uwa tana fusata.
= “When children make a lot of commotion, the mother gets angry.”