Wayar ta tana a cikin jaka.

to be

Breakdown of Wayar ta tana a cikin jaka.

• a cikin: inside
• waya: the phone
• jaka: the bag

Questions & Answers about Wayar ta tana a cikin jaka.

Why is it wayar and not waya?

In Hausa, many nouns change form when they are immediately followed by something that “depends on” them (like a possessor or certain determiners).
waya (phone) becomes wayar before what follows it. So you get wayar ta rather than waya ta. This -r is often called a linker/genitive marker in learner materials.

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What does ta mean in wayar ta?

ta is the 3rd‑person feminine singular pronoun used in a dependent way here. Depending on context, this position most commonly functions as:

• a possessive: wayar ta = her/its phone
  and in some contexts it can also be used in a more determiner-like way (pointing out a specific feminine noun).
  Either way, it agrees with the noun’s grammatical gender (here: feminine).

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Can wayar ta also be written as one word?

Yes. Possessive pronouns are very commonly attached to the noun in writing:

• wayarta = her/its phone
  You’ll also see the separated form wayar ta. Both are widely used; many courses teach the attached form early because it’s very common in everyday writing.

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Why does the sentence have both ta and tana? Aren’t they both “she/it”?