Learn Hardcore Hausa: A ajandanmu na makaranta, darasi na farko yau Hausa ce, darasi na biyu lissafi ne. - In our school agenda, the first lesson today is Hausa, the second lesson is math.

A cikin ajandanmu na makaranta… – literally “in the inside of our school timetable…”, but it just means the same thing: in our school timetable.

So a is introducing the location/context of what you are talking about: within the timetable.

What is the role of na in ajandanmu na makaranta?

Here na is a linking word (often called a genitive linker) meaning roughly “of / for / relating to”.

ajandanmu – our agenda
makaranta – school
ajandanmu na makaranta – our agenda *for school / our school agenda*

So na links the two nouns ajandanmu and makaranta, showing that the agenda is connected with school. In English you might show this with “of”, “for”, or by making a compound noun (school timetable).

What exactly does darasi mean here—“lesson”, “class”, or “period”?

Darasi can cover several related ideas, and English often splits them into different words. In a school context, darasi usually means:

a lesson / a class period / a subject period

In this sentence:

darasi na farko – the first period / first lesson
darasi na biyu – the second period / second lesson

So you can safely think of darasi here as “period” or “lesson (in the timetable)”.

How does na work in darasi na farko and darasi na biyu?

In darasi na farko and darasi na biyu, na links the noun darasi (“lesson/period”) with an ordinal (first, second, third…).

Structure:

darasi – lesson / class period
na farko – (the) first
na biyu – (the) second

So:

darasi na farko – the first lesson/period
darasi na biyu – the second lesson/period

Here na is not “of” in a possessive sense, but rather the normal linker used with ordinals:

mutum na farko – the first person
gida na biyu – the second house

Could I say farkon darasi instead of darasi na farko? What is the difference?

Both are grammatical, but they have slightly different focus:

darasi na farko – literally “lesson that is first” → the first lesson/period (in a sequence).
farkon darasi – literally “the beginning of the lesson” → the start/initial part of a (or the) lesson.

So:

To talk about period numbers in a timetable (1st period, 2nd period, etc.), darasi na farko / na biyu / na uku… is what you want.
Farkon darasi is about the beginning part of one lesson, not “period 1” in the day’s schedule.

Why is there no separate word for “is” in Hausa ce and lissafi ne?

Hausa normally does not use a separate verb that corresponds exactly to English “to be” (am/is/are) in simple equational sentences.

Instead it uses particles like ne and ce (and also nee/cee in some contexts) as copulas – small words that function like “is/are”:

Hausa ce – it is Hausa
lissafi ne – it is maths

The subject (“the first lesson”, “the second lesson”) is understood from context. More “complete” versions could be:

Darasi na farko yau Hausa ce. – The first lesson today is Hausa.
Darasi na biyu lissafi ne. – The second lesson is maths.

So Hausa uses ne/ce instead of a separate verb “is”.

Why do we say Hausa ce but lissafi ne? When do we use ce and when ne?

The choice between ne and ce mainly depends on the gender and type of the noun they refer to.

Very simplified rule of thumb (good enough for many cases):

ce – often used with feminine nouns.
ne – often used with masculine nouns and many other non-human nouns.

In this sentence:

Hausa (the Hausa language, or the school subject Hausa) is treated as feminine → Hausa ce.
lissafi (maths) is treated as masculine → lissafi ne.

So:

Hausa ce. – It is Hausa.
Lissafi ne. – It is maths.

In more advanced grammar, ne/ce also interact with focus and sentence structure, but for now, linking ce with feminine and ne with masculine/other nouns is a useful starting guideline.

Can the position of yau (“today”) move around in the sentence?

Yes, yau is an adverb of time and is quite flexible in position. All of these are possible and natural, with only small differences in emphasis:

A ajandanmu na makaranta, darasi na farko yau Hausa ce…
A ajandanmu na makaranta, yau darasi na farko Hausa ce…
A ajandanmu na makaranta, darasi na farko Hausa ce yau.

They all convey that today, the first lesson is Hausa.

The version in your sentence (…darasi na farko yau Hausa ce…) is very common: the time word yau comes right before the main information about the lesson.

Why is there no word like “the” before darasi na farko and darasi na biyu?

Hausa does not have a separate word that corresponds directly to the English definite article “the”.

Definiteness is usually shown by:

context (everyone already knows which thing you mean),
possessive forms (e.g. ajandanmu – our agenda is naturally definite),
demonstratives (e.g. wannan darasi – this lesson),
or just by the structure of the noun phrase.

So:

darasi na farko in this context is easily understood as “the first lesson (of the day)”
darasi na biyu as “the second lesson”

English needs “the”, but Hausa doesn’t insert anything there; the noun phrase itself plus context makes it definite.

Is ajandanmu na makaranta the only way to say “our school timetable”?

No. Hausa allows a few natural variations. Some common ones you might hear/read are:

ajandanmu na makaranta – our school timetable (as in the sentence)
ajandar makaranta ta mu / ajandar makaranta namu – our school’s timetable
ajandar makarantar mu – the timetable of our school

You can also add ciki for clarity:

a cikin ajandanmu na makaranta – in our school timetable

They all point to the same idea; the version in the sentence is a straightforward and clear one.