Learn Hardcore Hausa: Bayan allura, likita ya ba shi ƙwaya uku na magani ya ce ya sha bayan abinci. - After the injection, the doctor gave him three tablets of medicine and said he should take them after food.

At the beginning:
- Bayan allura, likita ya ba shi… = After the injection, the doctor gave him…
Later in the sentence:
- Likita ya ba shi ƙwaya uku na magani bayan allura.

So bayan + noun = after X, and it’s quite flexible in position, though time expressions often come at the beginning in Hausa.

Does allura here mean “needle” or “injection,” and is a verb being left out?

Allura literally means needle, but in medical contexts it very often means an injection.

So Bayan allura is understood as After the injection (was given).

A fuller version could be something like:

Bayan da aka yi masa allura, likita…
After he was given the injection, the doctor…

In everyday speech, Hausa frequently leaves out that extra verb phrase (aka yi masa allura) when the context is clear, and just says bayan allura.

What is the basic word order in likita ya ba shi ƙwaya uku na magani?

The structure is:

likita – subject (the doctor)
ya – tense/person marker (3rd person singular, perfective/completive)
ba – verb to give
shi – indirect object pronoun (to him)
ƙwaya – direct object noun (tablet / pill)
uku – number (three)
na magani – genitive phrase (of medicine)

So the pattern is:
Subject – TAM marker – Verb – Indirect Object – Direct Object – Number – “of” phrase

Literally:
The doctor – he (past) – gave – him – tablet – three – of medicine.

Why do we see ya before ba, ce, and sha? What tense or aspect is that?

Ya here is the 3rd person singular masculine perfective (completive) marker. It appears before the main verb:

ya ba – he gave
ya ce – he said
ya sha – he drank / took (medicine)

So:

likita ya ba shi… – the doctor gave him…
ya ce… – he said…
ya sha bayan abinci – he (should) take it after food (in context, understood as a reported instruction)

In narrative and reported speech, this ya often carries a past/completed or decided‑action sense.

What does ba shi mean exactly, and could it be written as one word?

Ba shi is:

ba – to give
shi – him (3rd person singular object pronoun)

Together: ba shi = to give him.

You will also see it written as bashi in some informal texts, but the clearer analytic form is ba shi.

Other similar forms:

ba ni / bani – give me
ba ta – give her
ba su – give them

Why is it ƙwaya uku and not a plural like ƙwayoyi uku?

In Hausa, when you count things, it is very common to use the singular form of the noun + the number:

ƙwaya uku – three tablets
littafi biyu – two books
yaro huɗu – four boys

You can say ƙwayoyi uku in some contexts, but the default everyday pattern is singular noun + number.

So ƙwaya uku is completely normal and natural Hausa for three tablets/pills.

What does na do in ƙwaya uku na magani?

Na here is the linker/genitive marker, roughly meaning of:

ƙwaya uku na magani
= three tablets of medicine / three medicinal tablets

The pattern is:

[noun + number] + na + [noun]

Other examples:

kofi biyu na shayi – two cups of tea
ɗalibi uku na jami’a – three university students

So na links the tablets to the type of thing they are (medicine).

Why is it ya ce ya sha instead of something like a direct command?

Ya ce ya sha bayan abinci is reported speech without quotation marks:

Literally: he said he should take (it) after food.

If the doctor were speaking directly to the patient, you might hear:

Ka sha bayan abinci. – Take it after food. (2nd person singular command)

To report that, Hausa commonly uses:

Likita ya ce ya sha bayan abinci.

Here the subject of ya sha is the same person as in ya ba shi (that man/patient). Hausa often does not insert an explicit “that” (cewa), though you can say:

Likita ya ce ya sha bayan abinci.
Likita ya ce ya sha shi bayan abinci. (more explicit: take it)

Does sha always mean “to drink”? How can it mean “to take medicine”?

The verb sha basically means to drink, but it also has extended meanings:

sha magani – take medicine (regardless of whether it’s a liquid or a tablet)
sha taba – smoke tobacco
sha wahala – suffer (literally “drink hardship”)

So in medical contexts, sha with magani (or implied medicine) is the standard way to say take (medicine), just like English says “take medicine” rather than “eat” or “drink” medicine strictly.

In ya ce ya sha bayan abinci, where is the object? What exactly is he supposed to “take”?

The object is understood from context. Earlier we have:

likita ya ba shi ƙwaya uku na magani – the doctor gave him three tablets of medicine

So when the sentence later says:

ya ce ya sha bayan abinci – he said he should take (them) after food

Hausa doesn’t have to repeat ƙwaya or magani. Listeners automatically understand that ya sha refers to the medicine tablets that were just mentioned.

You could say:

ya ce ya sha ƙwayoyin bayan abinci,
but normally it’s not necessary.

Why is bayan used twice: Bayan allura and ya sha bayan abinci? Is that repetition normal?

Yes, that repetition is natural and clear in Hausa. Each bayan introduces its own time phrase:

Bayan allura – After the injection (time of giving the tablets)
ya sha bayan abinci – he should take them after food (time of taking the tablets)

You could rephrase to avoid repetition, but as it stands, it’s completely normal. Hausa often repeats a useful preposition or time-word rather than avoiding it.

Could the sentence be rearranged, or does it have to start with Bayan allura?

You can rearrange it, as long as the relationships stay clear. For example:

Likita ya ba shi ƙwaya uku na magani bayan allura, ya ce ya sha bayan abinci.
The doctor gave him three tablets of medicine after the injection; he said he should take them after food.
Likita, bayan allura, ya ba shi ƙwaya uku na magani ya ce ya sha bayan abinci.

Starting with Bayan allura simply emphasizes the time frame first, which is very common in Hausa narrative:

Bayan allura, … – After the injection,…