Learn Hardcore Hausa: Yara suna so su sha ruwa daga kwalba maimakon daga kofi. - The children like to drink water from a bottle instead of from a cup.

If you really need to make it clear that you mean some children (not all, not a specific known group), you might say something like wasu yara (some children).

What exactly does suna mean in Yara suna so su sha…? Is it like are in English?

Suna is made up of:

su = they
-na = an imperfective aspect marker (often translated as be doing / do / usually do)

So suna together is something like they are (in the process of / generally).

In practice:

Yara suna so… ≈ The children want / like… (now or habitually)
suna sha ruwa ≈ they are drinking / they drink (water)

It doesn’t map exactly to English are, because -na also covers habitual actions, not only continuous ones.

Why do we have suna so su sha? Why two su-things and two verbs? Could we just say Yara suna sha ruwa daga kwalba?

There are two different structures here:

Yara suna so su sha ruwa…
- suna so = they want / they like
- su sha = to drink (literally they drink, but used here as an infinitive-type clause)
- Whole idea: The children want to drink water…
Yara suna sha ruwa daga kwalba…
- suna sha = they are drinking / they drink
- Whole idea: The children are drinking water from a bottle… (or The children drink water from a bottle…)

So:

If you want to express want to drink, you normally use so plus another clause starting with the appropriate pronoun:
- suna so su sha = they want to drink
- ina so in sha = I want to drink
- yana so ya sha = he wants to drink

Just suna sha would mean they are drinking / (habitually) drink, not that they want to drink.

What is the function of the su before sha in suna so su sha ruwa? Why is it needed?

The su before sha is the subject pronoun of the verb sha in the second clause:

First clause: suna so – subject = yara / su (they)
Second clause: su sha – subject = the same they

In Hausa, when so is followed by another verb, that next verb normally comes with its own subject pronoun:

Ina so in je. = I want to go. (literally: I am-want I go.)
Kana so ka ci. = You (m.sg) want to eat.
Yara suna so su sha ruwa. = The children want to drink water.

You usually can’t drop that second pronoun. *Yara suna so sha ruwa sounds wrong or incomplete.

Could we also say Yara suna son shan ruwa daga kwalba…? What’s the difference between suna so su sha and suna son shan?

Yes, you can say:

Yara suna son shan ruwa daga kwalba maimakon daga kofi.

Here’s the difference:

suna so su sha ruwa
- so is a verb: to want / to like
- su sha is a finite verb clause: they drink
- Literally: they are-want they drink water
suna son shan ruwa
- son is a noun form of so (like liking / love / desire)
- shan is the verbal noun of sha (drinking), with n added because of the noun–noun link:
  - son sha → son shan (n is a linker sound)
- Literally: they are in the state of having liking-of drinking water

In meaning:

suna so su sha ruwa = they want to drink water (now or generally)
suna son shan ruwa = they like drinking water / they (tend to) like to drink water

In many real contexts, either could be translated as they like to drink / want to drink, but son shan is more clearly about liking in general, and so su sha is more obviously wanting to do it.

What tense or aspect is suna? Does it mean are drinking, drink, or will drink?

suna uses the imperfective aspect (-na). This one is quite flexible in Hausa:

current ongoing actions
habitual or repeated actions
near future, depending on context

Examples:

Yara suna wasa.
- The children are playing. (now)
- Or The children play. (habitually)
Gobe za su tafi, yau suna shirya kaya.
- Tomorrow they’ll go, today they are preparing the luggage.

In Yara suna so su sha ruwa daga kwalba…, it can mean:

The children want to drink water… (now)
The children (usually) want to drink water… (habit/unit habit)

Context around the sentence tells you which reading fits best.

Why is ruwa (water) not plural? In English we sometimes say waters or bottles of water. How does Hausa handle that?

In Hausa, ruwa is a mass noun, like water in standard English:

ruwa ≈ water

For quantity, Hausa usually uses numbers or measure words with ruwa:

ruwa ɗaya – one (portion of) water
ruwa biyu – two (portions / bottles / cups) of water
kwalban ruwa – a bottle of water
kofin ruwa – a cup of water

There is a plural ruwoyi in some contexts, but it’s not normally used for everyday water to drink. So sha ruwa is just drink water, not drink waters.

What does daga mean in daga kwalba and daga kofi? Is it always from?

Daga is most often translated as from.

Common uses:

Na fito daga gida. – I came from home.
Ya zo daga Kano. – He came from Kano.
Sha ruwa daga kwalba. – Drink water from a bottle.

It can also appear in time expressions (e.g. daga yau – from today on) and some idioms, but in this sentence it’s the straightforward spatial from:

daga kwalba = from a bottle
daga kofi = from a cup

What exactly does maimakon mean, and how is it used in a sentence?

Maimakon means instead of / rather than.

It links two alternatives, just like English instead of:

Yara suna sha daga kwalba maimakon daga kofi.
- The children drink from a bottle instead of from a cup.

You can use maimakon with:

Nouns or noun phrases:
- Na ci shinkafa maimakon tuwo.
  → I ate rice instead of tuwo.
Verbs (usually via verbal nouns or a clause):
- Maimakon yin aiki, yana wasa.
  → Instead of working, he’s playing.
- Maimakon ya je kasuwa, ya zauna gida.
  → Instead of going to the market, he stayed at home.

In the given sentence, it’s linking two prepositional phrases:

daga kwalba … maimakon daga kofi
→ from a bottle instead of from a cup

Do we have to repeat daga before kofi? Could we say daga kwalba maimakon kofi?

You don’t have to repeat daga. Both of these are possible:

Yara suna so su sha ruwa daga kwalba maimakon daga kofi.
Yara suna so su sha ruwa daga kwalba maimakon kofi.

Difference:

With daga repeated (version 1), the structure is very explicit:
- from a bottle instead of from a cup.
Without daga repeated (version 2), it’s slightly shorter:
- from a bottle instead of a cup.

Both are understandable and natural. Repeating daga just makes the parallel clearer and is common in speech.

What are the plurals of kwalba and kofi? And do kwalba and kofi mean specifically bottle and cup?

Meanings:

kwalba – bottle (usually a narrow-neck bottle, glass or plastic)
kofi – cup / mug (usually for drinking, like a tea cup or mug)

Plurals (using common patterns):

kwalba (sg.) → kwalabe (pl.)
- kwalba ɗaya – one bottle
- kwalabe biyu – two bottles
kofi (sg.) → kofuna (pl.)
- kofi ɗaya – one cup
- kofuna uku – three cups

In daga kwalba and daga kofi, the singular is used because we usually say from a bottle / from a cup, not from bottles / from cups, when describing how someone is drinking.

Is the word order in Yara suna so su sha ruwa daga kwalba maimakon daga kofi basically the same as English?

The overall order is similar, but with some Hausa-specific details.

Breakdown:

Yara – children (subject)
suna – they are (imperfective) (subject+aspect)
so – want / like
su sha – they drink (used as to drink)
ruwa – water (object)
daga kwalba – from a bottle (prepositional phrase)
maimakon daga kofi – instead of from a cup

So structurally:

Subject – (Subject+Aspect) – Verb – Subordinate Verb – Object – Prepositional Phrase – Contrast Phrase

In natural English:

The children want to drink water from a bottle instead of from a cup.

So yes, the main elements appear in a familiar order, but notice:

The “want to” idea is split as suna so su sha (with a pronoun repeated).
Aspect (-na, in suna) is built into the verb form, not a separate are / do.

If I only want to say The children are drinking water from a bottle instead of from a cup, how would I say it without the want meaning?

You would drop so and the second su, and just use sha with suna:

Yara suna sha ruwa daga kwalba maimakon daga kofi.

This means:

The children are drinking water from a bottle instead of from a cup.
(or The children drink water from a bottle instead of from a cup, if talking about a habitual action.)

The key change:

suna so su sha = they want to drink
suna sha = they are drinking / they drink