Jadawalin ya canza.

The schedule changed.

Breakdown of Jadawalin ya canza.

• canza: to change
• ya: he/it
• jadawali: the schedule; timetable

Questions & Answers about Jadawalin ya canza.

What does jadawalin mean, and why does it end in -n?

Jadawali means schedule or timetable.

The ending -n here makes it definite, so jadawalin is the schedule. In other words:

• jadawali = schedule / a schedule
• jadawalin = the schedule

This -n ending is very common with masculine nouns in Hausa.

Does ya mean he here?

Not necessarily. Ya is the 3rd person singular masculine marker, so it can correspond to he or it, depending on the subject.

In this sentence, the subject is jadawalin, which is an inanimate noun, so English translates it as it:

• Jadawalin ya canza = The schedule changed / The schedule has changed

So even though ya is the same form used for he, here it is best understood as it.

Why is ya there if jadawalin is already the subject?

This is a very common learner question.

In Hausa, it is normal to have:

• a full noun subject, and
• an agreeing subject marker before the verb

So Jadawalin ya canza is normal Hausa grammar.