Malami ya so mu kwatanta amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati da amfanoni na kasuwanci.

The teacher wanted us to compare the benefits of working in government with the benefits of business.

Breakdown of Malami ya so mu kwatanta amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati da amfanoni na kasuwanci.

• so: to want
• da: with
• malami: the teacher
• aiki: the work
• na: of
• mu: we
• a: in
• kasuwanci: the business
• gwamnati: the government
• kwatanta: to compare
• amfani: the benefit

Questions & Answers about Malami ya so mu kwatanta amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati da amfanoni na kasuwanci.

What does ya do in Malami ya so …? Why isn’t it just Malami so …?

In Hausa, a full noun subject (like Malami) is usually followed by a subject pronoun that agrees with it.

• Malami = teacher (masculine, singular)
• ya = “he” (3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun)
• so = to want / to like

So Malami ya so … literally feels like “Teacher, he wanted …”, but in Hausa that’s normal grammar and just means “The teacher wanted …”.

You can’t normally drop ya here; *Malami so mu kwatanta… is ungrammatical in standard Hausa.

Does so here mean “want” or “like”? What’s the nuance of Malami ya so …?

so can mean both “to like” and “to want”; context decides.

In Malami ya so mu kwatanta …, it clearly means “he wanted (us to compare)”, not “he liked us to compare”.

To say “he likes (in general)” you’d more often see a progressive/continual form like:

• Malami yana son mu kwatanta … = The teacher likes us to compare … (habitually / in general)

So:

• ya so (perfective) → a specific act of wanting at some time
• yana son … → liking / wanting in general, ongoing

What is the function of mu in ya so mu kwatanta …? Is mu the subject or the object?

mu is the 1st person plural subject pronoun (“we”) of the verb kwatanta (“compare”).

Structure:

• Malami ya so [mu kwatanta …]
  
  • Malami = the teacher (subject of ya so)
  • ya so = wanted
  • mu kwatanta … = that we compare …

So:

• Grammatically, mu is the subject of kwatanta (“we compare”).
• Semantically, that whole clause “that we compare …” is what the teacher wants.

There is no separate word for “us” as an object of so; instead, Hausa uses this “subject pronoun + verb” pattern to express “want someone to do something”:

• Ya so mu tafi. = He wanted us to go.
• Ta so ka zo. = She wanted you to come.

Why is there no word for “to” before “compare”? Why isn’t it like “ya so mu to kwatanta …”?

Hausa doesn’t use a separate “to” infinitive particle like English.

Instead, it uses a subject pronoun directly before a bare verb to express ideas like “to do something” after verbs such as “want, try, begin”:

• Ya so mu kwatanta … = He wanted us to compare …
• Na fara aiki. = I began to work.
• Sun yi ƙoƙari su gane. = They tried to understand.

So mu kwatanta is literally “we compare”, but in this context it corresponds to English “(for) us to compare”.

What exactly does kwatanta mean? Is it a special verb form?

kwatanta is the basic verb form meaning “to compare”.

• kwatanta = to compare, to contrast, to liken

It’s not an infinitive marked by anything special; Hausa verbs are usually cited in a form that looks like this bare stem.

Examples:

• Mu kwatanta sakamakon. = Let’s compare the results.
• Sun kwatanta farashin kayayyaki. = They compared the prices of the goods.

What does amfanoni mean, and what is the singular form?

• amfanoni = benefits, advantages, uses (plural)
• Singular: amfani = benefit, use, advantage

So:

• amfani na aiki = the benefit/use/advantage of the job/work
• amfanoni na aiki = the benefits/advantages of the job/work

In your sentence, both sides are plural:

• amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati = benefits of working in government
• amfanoni na kasuwanci = benefits of business/commercial work

What does na do in amfanoni na aiki and amfanoni na kasuwanci?

Here na is a linker meaning roughly “of”. It connects one noun to another noun that specifies it:

• amfanoni na aiki ≈ “benefits of work”
• amfanoni na kasuwanci ≈ “benefits of business”

So the pattern is:

• [Noun 1] na [Noun 2] = [Noun 1] of [Noun 2]

Other examples:

• firayim minista na ƙasar = prime minister of the country
• littafi na Hausa = a book of Hausa (a Hausa book)

What is the role of a in aiki a gwamnati? Why is it a, not na or something else?

a is a preposition that usually means “in, at, on” (sometimes “with/by” depending on context).

• aiki a gwamnati = work in government
  
  • aiki = work
  • a = in/at
  • gwamnati = government

So the pattern is:

• aiki a ofis = work in an office
• ya zauna a gida = he sat at home

na links two nouns (“of”), while a marks location or setting (“in/at”).

What does da do in … a gwamnati da amfanoni na kasuwanci? Is it “and” or “with” or “than”?

In this sentence da works like “and” linking the two things being compared:

• amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati da amfanoni na kasuwanci
  = the benefits of working in government and the benefits of business

In many comparison contexts, Hausa uses A da B around verbs like kwatanta (“compare”), so da is the natural coordinator here.

Note: da can also mean “with” and sometimes functions like “than” in comparisons, but here you can safely read it simply as “and”.

Why is amfanoni repeated? Could you say just amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati da na kasuwanci?

Yes, you can avoid repeating amfanoni, and Hausa often does that:

• Malami ya so mu kwatanta amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati da na kasuwanci.

Here na kasuwanci is understood as short for amfanoni na kasuwanci (“benefits of business”).

Both versions are fine:

1. … amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati da amfanoni na kasuwanci.
2. … amfanoni na aiki a gwamnati da na kasuwanci.

Version 1 is more explicit; version 2 is a bit more natural and less repetitive in fluent speech.

Why is it Malami ya so… and not Malamin ya so…? Doesn’t Hausa mark “the teacher” somehow?

Hausa doesn’t have separate “a / the” articles like English. Bare nouns can be interpreted as “a” or “the” depending on context.

• malami can mean “a teacher” or “the teacher”.
• malamin (with -n) is the definite/construct form: “the teacher (of/with something)”, often used before another noun:
  
  • malaminmu = our teacher
  • malamin makaranta = the school teacher

In your sentence, we don’t need that extra -n; Malami ya so … is fine and naturally translates as “The teacher wanted …” in context.

Could this sentence mean “A teacher wanted us…” instead of “The teacher wanted us…”?

Yes, grammatically it can. Hausa doesn’t force the distinction:

• Malami ya so mu kwatanta …
  ≈ “A teacher wanted us to compare …”
  or “The teacher wanted us to compare …”

Which one you choose in English depends on the wider context (whether a specific known teacher is being talked about or just some teacher). The Hausa form itself is neutral.

What tense/aspect does ya so express? Is it past, or could it be present?

ya so is the perfective aspect of so for 3rd person masculine singular. In most contexts, that corresponds to simple past in English:

• Malami ya so … = The teacher wanted …

If you wanted a more present/ongoing sense (“the teacher wants/likes”), you’d usually use progressive or imperfective forms:

• Malami yana son mu kwatanta … = The teacher likes/wants (generally) us to compare …
• Malami na son mu kwatanta … (colloquial) = same idea, ongoing desire/liking.

So your sentence is best understood as a past, specific act of wanting.