Learn Hardcore Hausa: Malami ya so su gabatar da rahoto a gaban aji su bayyana sakamakon bincikensu. - The teacher wanted them to present a report in front of the class and explain the results of their research.

Malami means “a teacher / the teacher” in the ordinary school sense.
Malam originally means “a learned man / religious teacher”, but in everyday speech it can also mean “teacher”.

In this sentence:

Malami ya so… = The teacher wanted… (neutral, school context)
Malam ya so… is also possible, and will often be understood the same way, though in some styles it may sound a bit more like “the (respected) teacher / learned man”.

So yes, you could say Malam ya so su gabatar da rahoto…, and it would still be correct and natural in many contexts.

What does “ya” mean in “Malami ya so…”? Is it a tense marker or a pronoun?

“ya” is the 3rd person masculine singular subject pronoun in the perfective (completed) aspect.

Malami ya so…
- Malami = the teacher
- ya = he (3rd person masc. singular, perfective)
- so = wanted / liked / loved

So “Malami ya so…” literally is: “The teacher (he) wanted…”, i.e. The teacher wanted… (a completed event in the past, or a specific instance).

It is both:

a subject pronoun (he), and
an aspect form (perfective).

Does “so” here mean “to like”, “to love”, or “to want”? How should I understand “ya so su gabatar…”?

The verb so can mean “to like / to love / to want”, depending on context.

In “Malami ya so su gabatar da rahoto…”, it clearly means “to want (someone to do something)”:

ya so su gabatar da rahoto
= he wanted them to present a report

So here you should understand so as “want”, not “like”.
A more literal breakdown:

ya so = he wanted
su gabatar da rahoto = (that) they present a report

Hausa does not need a separate word like English “that” in this structure. The su (subjunctive pronoun) already marks the subordinate clause.

What does “su” mean in “ya so su gabatar da rahoto…”?

“su” is the 3rd person plural subject pronoun in the subjunctive (or jussive) form.

In this sentence:

ya = he (the teacher)
su = they (the students)

So “ya so su gabatar da rahoto” = “he wanted them to present a report.”

The pattern is:

[someone] ya so [su + verb]
= [someone] wanted [them to verb]

Examples:

Malam ya so su tafi gida. – The teacher wanted them to go home.
Uwa ta so su yi aiki. – The mother wanted them to work.

Why is “su” repeated before “bayyana”: “su gabatar da rahoto … su bayyana sakamakon…”? Could we leave the second “su” out?

The second “su” is again the 3rd person plural subject pronoun, this time for the verb bayyana (to explain / to make clear).

su gabatar da rahoto = that they present a report
su bayyana sakamakon… = that they explain the result of…

Hausa prefers to repeat the subject pronoun for each new verb in a coordinated structure like this, especially in the subjunctive:

su gabatar … su bayyana …
literally: they present … they explain …

In more casual or fast speech, people might sometimes drop the second su, but the standard, clear form is to repeat it, just like in the sentence you have.

What is the function of “da” in “gabatar da rahoto”?

In “gabatar da rahoto”, da is a linking preposition often used after certain verbs to introduce their object.

gabatar da X = to present / introduce / submit X
gabatar alone means something like “to bring forward / to present”; the da + noun expresses what is being presented.

Other similar patterns:

ba da rahoto – to give a report
yi magana da shi – to talk with him
tsaya da mota – to stop the car

In this sentence:

gabatar da rahoto = to present a report.

You generally do not say “gabatar rahoto” without da in this meaning.

What exactly does “rahoto” mean here? Is it singular or plural?

“rahoto” means “report”, usually a single report.

gabatar da rahoto = present a report
Plural would be rahotanni = reports

So in the sentence, we are talking about one report (most likely each group/student gives their report, but grammatically it’s just “a report”).

Can you break down “a gaban aji”? Why do we need both “a” and “gaban”?

Yes, “a gaban aji” literally means “at the front of (the) class” / “in front of the class.”

Breakdown:

a – a common locative preposition: in / at / on
gaba – front, ahead
gaban – “the front of …”
- gaba + -n (linker) = gaban
aji – class / classroom

So:

a = at
gaban aji = the front of the class
→ a gaban aji = at the front of the class / in front of the class

You need the a because Hausa normally uses a preposition to express location:

a gida – at home
a kasuwa – at the market
a gaban aji – in front of the class

Could the phrase “a gaban aji” move to a different position in the sentence?

Yes. Hausa word order is fairly flexible for adverbial/locative phrases like this, as long as the sentence remains clear.

You have:

Malami ya so su gabatar da rahoto a gaban aji su bayyana sakamakon bincikensu.

You might also hear:

Malami ya so su gabatar da rahoto su bayyana sakamakon bincikensu a gaban aji.

Both are acceptable.
Placing “a gaban aji” earlier or later slightly changes the focus or rhythm, but not the core meaning. The original version is perhaps more natural: it directly tells you where they are to present the report.

What does “bayyana” mean, and how is it different from just “saying” something?

“bayyana” means “to make clear, to explain, to reveal, to show openly.”

In this sentence:

su bayyana sakamakon bincikensu
= that they explain / make clear the result of their research.

It’s stronger than just faɗa (to say):

su faɗi sakamakon bincikensu – they say/announce their result
su bayyana sakamakon bincikensu – they explain / lay out clearly their result, perhaps with details or justification.

So bayyana implies clarity and openness, not just mentioning.

Can you break down “sakamakon bincikensu”? What does the -nsu part mean?

“sakamakon bincikensu” means “the result of their research/investigation.”

Breakdown:

sakamako – result, outcome
sakamakon – “the result of …”
- sakamako + -n (linker) = sakamakon
bincike – investigation, research, study
bincike + -n + su → bincikensu
- -n is a genitive/possessive linker
- su is “they / their”
- In writing, bincike + n + su usually merges to bincikensu

So literally:

sakamakon bincikensu
= the result of their investigation
(or: the result of their research)

Structure:

[sakamakon] [bincikensu]
result-of [their-research]

Why is it “bincikensu” and not simply “bincike su”?

Hausa usually marks possession (X of Y / Y’s X) with a linking consonant (often -n / -r) before the possessor.

For bincike + su:

Without linker: bincike su is not the normal possessive form.
With linker: bincike + n + su = bincikensu = “their research”.

Compare:

motar su → motarsu – their car
littafin su → littafinsu – their book
binciken su → bincikensu – their research

So bincikensu is the correct possessed form, not just “bincike su”.

Is there an English-like word for “that” in this sentence, like “The teacher wanted *that they present…”*? Where is it?

Hausa can use a word similar to English “that” (cewa), but it is not needed in this structure.

Your sentence:

Malami ya so su gabatar da rahoto…
literally: The teacher wanted they present a report…

The pattern is:

so + [subjunctive pronoun + verb]
→ this already expresses “want (someone) to do something” or “want that (someone) does something”.

You might occasionally see:

Malami ya so cewa su gabatar da rahoto…

But this is less natural here. Native speakers normally just say:

ya so su gabatar… (no cewa).

So, English “that” is basically built into the “so + su + verb” structure. There is no separate word for it in this sentence.

What tense/aspect nuance is there between “Malami ya so…” and “Malami yana so…”?

Malami ya so…
uses ya (perfective): a completed or specific wanting.
→ The teacher wanted… (at a particular time / on a particular occasion).
Malami yana so…
uses yana (progressive/imperfective): a current, ongoing, or habitual wanting.
→ The teacher wants… / The teacher likes (for them) to… (more general or ongoing).

In your sentence, “Malami ya so su gabatar da rahoto…” sounds like:

The teacher, on that particular occasion, wanted them to present a report.

If you said “Malami yana so su gabatar da rahoto…”, it would sound more like:

The teacher (generally) wants them to present a report (as a rule or ongoing wish).