Uwa ta ce a zubar da shara kafin baƙi su zo.

Mother said to throw out the trash before guests come.

Breakdown of Uwa ta ce a zubar da shara kafin baƙi su zo.

• zo: to come
• su: they
• uwa: the mother
• ta: she
• ce: to say
• kafin: before
• baƙo: the guest
• zubar da: to throw out
• shara: the trash

Questions & Answers about Uwa ta ce a zubar da shara kafin baƙi su zo.

Why does ta appear in Uwa ta ce? Does it mean she?

Yes. ta is the 3rd‑person singular feminine subject pronoun (she) used with many verbs. Since uwa (mother) is grammatically feminine, you get:

• Uwa ta ce = Mother said (literally, Mother she said) If the subject were masculine (e.g., uba “father”), you’d use ya: Uba ya ce…

Does Uwa mean my mother here, or just a mother / mother in general?

On its own, Uwa can be understood as (someone’s) mother, and in everyday context it often means my mother or our mother if it’s clear who is speaking. If you want to be explicit, Hausa can add a possessive:

• Uwa ta = his/her mother
• Uwa ta can also be my mother depending on context, but for clear “my mother” you often see phrasing like uwar gida (housewife/mother of the house) in some contexts, or you use names/titles. In real conversation, context usually does the work.

Why is it ta ce and not something like ta ce cewa…?

Hausa often reports speech with ce (say) and then goes straight into what was said, without needing an equivalent of English that:

• ta ce a zubar… = she said (that) … You can add cewa (that) in some styles, especially for clarity or emphasis, but it’s frequently omitted:
• ta ce cewa a zubar da shara… (more explicit, sometimes more formal)

What is the function of a in a zubar da shara?

Here a is an impersonal/subjunctive marker—very common for instructions, orders, rules, and reported commands. It’s like “let it be done / one should…” rather than naming who does it. So a zubar da shara is essentially “(someone) should take out the trash / the trash should be disposed of.”

Is a zubar da shara passive?

It’s passive-like in meaning (because the doer isn’t stated), but grammatically it’s usually treated as an impersonal/subjunctive construction rather than a true passive like in English. It’s the normal Hausa way to express instructions without specifying the subject.

Why does zubar need da in zubar da shara?

Many Hausa verbs take da before their object in certain meanings. zubar literally relates to pouring/spilling, and zubar da X is the common pattern meaning dispose of / pour out / dump X. So:

• zubar da shara = dispose of the trash Here da isn’t “and”; it’s a particle introducing the object.

What does kafin do in the sentence?

kafin means before. It introduces a time clause:

• … kafin baƙi su zo = … before the guests come/arrive

Why is it baƙi su zo and not just baƙi zo?

Hausa finite verbs normally need a subject pronoun marker. Since baƙi is plural (guests), the clause uses su (they) before the verb:

• baƙi su zo = the guests should come / the guests come It’s especially common after words like kafin to use this pronoun + verb pattern.

Why isn’t there a future marker like za (as in za su zo)?

After kafin (“before”), Hausa commonly uses a subjunctive-style clause (su zo) rather than the explicit future za su zo. The “future-ness” is already implied by “before (they) come.” You can sometimes hear kafin baƙi za su zo in some speech for emphasis, but kafin baƙi su zo is the standard, natural phrasing.

What is the difference between zo and su zo?

• zo is the bare verb “come” (dictionary form / command to one person in some contexts).
• su zo includes the plural subject marker su = they come / they should come (depending on context).

How would I negate the instruction (e.g., “Mother said not to take out the trash before the guests come”)?

A common way is to negate the subjunctive/impersonal instruction with kada (don’t / lest):

• Uwa ta ce kada a zubar da shara kafin baƙi su zo. This means Mother said not to dispose of the trash before the guests come.

What should I know about the spelling/pronunciation of baƙi and shara?

Two common learner points:

• ƙ (as in baƙi) is a distinct consonant in Hausa (often described as an “ejective k”), not the same as plain k.
• sh (as in shara) is like English sh in ship. Also, Hausa tone isn’t usually written in normal text, so you’ll learn correct tone through listening and practice.