Learn Hardcore Hausa: Na gane cewa tattalin arziki mai ƙarfi yana ba al'umma amfanoni da dama. - I understood that a strong economy gives the community many benefits.

So Na gane = I have understood / I realized.
It is the perfective aspect, used for completed or newly-achieved understanding. In English, depending on context, you could translate it as “I understood,” “I’ve realized,” or “I now see that …”

What is the function of “cewa” in “Na gane cewa …”, and can it be left out?

cewa is a complementizer, similar to English “that” in sentences like “I realized that the economy is strong.”

Na gane cewa … = I realized *that …*
It introduces the clause that explains what you realized.

In many cases you can omit cewa, especially in speech, just like English can sometimes omit that:

Na gane tattalin arziki mai ƙarfi yana ba al'umma amfanoni da dama.

This is still grammatical and understandable, but including cewa is very common after verbs of thinking, knowing, saying, etc., and often sounds more natural and clear, especially in careful or formal speech.

How is “tattalin arziki” formed, and does it always mean “economy”?

tattalin arziki is a fixed expression meaning “the economy” (in the economic sense).

tattali – careful management, taking care of something
arziki – wealth, prosperity, resources

Together tattalin arziki is literally “management of wealth/resources”, which corresponds to “economy” in English.

In modern Hausa, tattalin arziki is generally used specifically in this economic sense (like when talking about a country’s economy, economic policy, economic growth, etc.), not just any kind of “care of wealth.” It behaves as a singular noun phrase, so verbs referring back to it use 3rd person singular agreement (like yana in the sentence).

How does “mai ƙarfi” work grammatically, and why does it mean “strong”?

mai ƙarfi is a very typical Hausa structure:

mai literally means “one who has / possessor of.”
ƙarfi means “strength, power.”

So mai ƙarfi is “one that has strength” → “strong/powerful.”

In this sentence:

tattalin arziki mai ƙarfi = an economy that has strength → “a strong economy.”

Some key points:

mai + noun is a productive pattern in Hausa used like an adjective:
- mutum mai ilimi – a person who has knowledge → an educated person
- gida mai tsada – a house that has expensiveness → an expensive house
For plural “possessors,” mai becomes masu:
- tattalan arziki masu ƙarfi – strong economies

So mai ƙarfi is not a single adjective like “strong” in English, but a “possessor-of-strength” phrase used adjectivally.

Why is “yana ba” used, and what’s the difference between “yana ba” and “ya ba”?

The verb part here is yana ba:

ya – 3rd person singular masculine subject pronoun (“he/it”)
-na – progressive marker (ongoing or habitual aspect)
ba – the verb “to give”

Together yana ba means “he/it is giving” or “he/it gives (habitually).”

Contrast with:

ya ba – perfective aspect → “he/it gave / has given.”

In this sentence:

tattalin arziki mai ƙarfi yana ba al'umma amfanoni da dama.

The idea is a general truth / habitual action:
A strong economy *gives many benefits to society (in general).*

So yana ba (ongoing/habitual) is more appropriate than ya ba (single completed event).

In “yana ba al'umma amfanoni da dama,” who is receiving what, and how does word order show that?

The structure is:

tattalin arziki mai ƙarfi – subject (“a strong economy”)
yana ba – “gives” (habitually)
al'umma – recipient (indirect object: the community/society)
amfanoni da dama – what is given (direct object: many benefits)

So literally:

A strong economy gives society many benefits.

Hausa often uses this basic pattern with ba (to give):

Subject + (aspect) + ba + recipient + thing given

For example:

Gwamnati tana ba manoma tallafi.
The government gives farmers subsidies.
- gwamnati – subject
- tana ba – gives (3sg fem, progressive/habitual)
- manoma – those who receive
- tallafi – what is given

You can also see ba wa/ba ga with an explicit preposition (wa/ga) for the recipient, but it’s common and perfectly correct to just put the recipient immediately after “ba” as in this sentence.

What does “al'umma” mean exactly, and is it singular or plural?

al'umma is a collective noun meaning roughly:

“community,” “society,” “the public,” “the people (as a community).”

In this sentence, al'umma is the community or society as a whole that receives the benefits of a strong economy.

Grammatically:

It is treated as a singular noun in Hausa, even though it refers to a group.
There is a plural form al’ummomi (“communities”), but al'umma itself already carries a collective sense and is often used that way without plural marking.

You’ll see it in phrases like:

ci gaban al'umma – progress of society
matsalolin al'umma – problems of society / community issues

What is “amfanoni”, and how is it related to “amfani”?

amfani means “use, benefit, advantage, usefulness.”
amfanoni is the plural form: “uses, benefits, advantages.”

So in the sentence:

amfanoni da dama = “many benefits” / “numerous advantages.”

This shows a common plural pattern in Hausa where -ni → -noni:

gani (sight) → ganoni (kinds of sight/visions – in some usage)
amfani (benefit) → amfanoni (benefits)

It’s useful to note the singular/plural pair:

singular: wannan amfani – this benefit
plural: wadannan amfanoni – these benefits

What does “da dama” mean in “amfanoni da dama”, and how is it different from “da yawa”?

da dama is an idiomatic phrase meaning roughly “many, several, quite a number of, plenty of.”

amfanoni da dama = “many benefits / quite a lot of benefits.”

Compared with da yawa:

da yawa also means “many, much, a lot (of).”
In many contexts da dama and da yawa overlap and both can translate as “many”.
da dama often has a nuance of “quite a few, a good number of”, and it’s common in more formal or written styles.
Position: both typically come after the noun:
- mutane da yawa – many people
- damammaki da dama – many opportunities

So you could also say amfanoni da yawa, but da dama is very natural sounding here.

Why does the verb use “yana” (3rd singular masculine) when the subject seems abstract, like “tattalin arziki mai ƙarfi”?

In Hausa, abstract or inanimate subjects often still take 3rd person singular agreement, and by default that is masculine:

ya / yana – he/it (3sg masculine)
ta / tana – she/it (3sg feminine)

tattalin arziki is treated as a singular noun phrase, and by default it takes 3rd person singular agreement, here realized as yana:

tattalin arziki mai ƙarfi yana ba …
A strong economy gives …

So even though “economy” is not male or female, Hausa grammar uses the 3rd person singular masculine series (“ya / yana”) as the default for many non-human or abstract subjects.