Mu tattara shara a harabar makaranta kafin yara su iso.

Let’s gather the trash in the school yard before the children arrive.

Breakdown of Mu tattara shara a harabar makaranta kafin yara su iso.

• su: they
• mu: we
• kafin: before
• iso: to arrive
• shara: trash
• a: in/at
• harabar makaranta: school yard
• tattara: to gather/to collect
• yaro: child

Questions & Answers about Mu tattara shara a harabar makaranta kafin yara su iso.

Why does the sentence start with Mu? Is it the same as we?

Mu is the 1st‑person plural pronoun (we), but here it’s being used to make a suggestion/command: Mu + verb = Let’s … / We should ….
So Mu tattara … means Let’s gather/collect … (not simply “We collect …” as a statement).

What form is tattara—is it an infinitive like “to collect”?

In Hausa, after Mu (and in many other “command/suggestion” patterns), you use the plain verb form. tattara is the verb meaning to gather/collect/assemble.
So Mu tattara is literally We collect, but functionally it’s Let’s collect.

Is tattara different from other verbs meaning “clean” like tsaftace?

Yes. tattara focuses on gathering/collecting scattered things (like rubbish).
tsaftace means to clean more generally (cleaning a room, washing, making something clean).
So for rubbish, tattara shara is very natural: collect the trash.

What exactly does shara mean? Is it “trash” or “dirt”?

shara commonly means rubbish/trash/litter—things you throw away. Depending on context, it can overlap with refuse or sweepings, but in this sentence it’s clearly trash/litter to be collected.

Why is a used before harabar makaranta?

a is a very common preposition meaning in/at/on (location).
So a harabar makaranta = in/at the school compound/schoolyard.

What does harabar makaranta literally mean, and why is it phrased like that?

haraba = compound / yard / premises (enclosed area).
With the linking -r- (genitive connector), harabar makaranta means the school’s compound / the schoolyard.
This “noun + -r/-n + noun” structure is extremely common for “X of Y” relationships.

Why is it harabar and not just haraba?

You often see a form like harabar when the noun is being linked to another noun right after it (here, makaranta). It’s essentially haraba + -r- (of) → harabar makaranta = compound of (the) school.

What role does kafin play in the sentence?

kafin means before. It introduces a time clause:
… kafin yara su iso = … before the children arrive.

Why does it say yara su iso and not just yara iso?

Hausa typically marks the subject inside many subordinate clauses with a small pronoun-like marker. Here su is the 3rd‑person plural marker for they (referring to yara, “children”).
So yara su iso is literally children they arrive, i.e. the children arrive.

What does iso mean, and is it interchangeable with zuwa?

iso means to arrive / reach (a destination).
zuwa means to come/go to (movement toward a place) and is broader.
So su iso = they arrive (endpoint reached), which fits perfectly after kafin.

Does Hausa need a word for the here? Why isn’t there one?

Hausa doesn’t have a single word that always equals English the. Definiteness is often understood from context, or shown with other devices (like demonstratives).
Here, shara, harabar makaranta, and yara can all be understood as definite from context: the trash, the schoolyard, the children—without adding a separate the.

Could I swap the order, like putting the kafin… clause at the beginning?

Yes, you can front the time clause for emphasis, like:
Kafin yara su iso, mu tattara shara a harabar makaranta.
Meaning stays the same; it just highlights before the children arrive.