Language/Hausa/Grammar/Pronouns

Hausa Grammar - Pronouns

Hi Hausa learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about pronouns in Hausa. Pronouns are words used to take the place of nouns in a sentence. They are one of the most important parts of speech as they make communication efficient and clear. So let's dive in and learn more!

Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: Future Tense, Conditional Mood, Negation & Possessive Case in Hausa.

Overview

In Hausa, pronouns are words that replace nouns, indicating a person, place, thing, or idea in a sentence. Unlike nouns, pronouns can be singular or plural and have different forms to indicate gender. Pronouns can be used as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, or possessive pronouns. Learning pronouns is essential to achieving fluency in any language.

Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns are used as the subject of a sentence. They perform the action of the verb. Here are the subject pronouns in Hausa:

Hausa	Pronunciation	English
Ina	ee-nah	I
Ka	kah	You (singular)
Ta	tah	He/She/It
Mun	moon	We
Ku	koo	You (plural)
Su	soo	They

Example dialogue:

• Person 1: Ina zan je? (May I come?)
• Person 2: Yaya, kana da wani abu? (Yes, do you have something?)

Object Pronouns

Object pronouns are used as the object of a verb or a preposition. They receive the action of the verb or follow a preposition. Here are the object pronouns in Hausa:

Hausa	Pronunciation	English
Ni	nee	Me
Ka	kah	You (singular)
Shi	shee	Him/Her/It
Mu	moo	Us
Ku	koo	You (plural)
Su	soo	Them

Example dialogue:

• Person 1: Na gode Ni. (Thank you for me.)
• Person 2: Ba shi da yawa. (He/she doesn't have much)

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership or possession. They function as adjectives, describing the person or thing that owns the object or objects. Here are the possessive pronouns in Hausa:

Hausa	Pronunciation	English
Nake	nah-keh	Mine
Kake	kah-keh	Yours (singular)
Suke	soo-keh	His/Hers/Its
Muke	moo-keh	Ours
Kuke	koo-keh	Yours (plural)
Suke	soo-keh	Theirs

Example dialogue:

• Person 1: Wannan gida Naka. (This house is mine)
• Person 2: Ba shi da suke. (He/she doesn't have theirs)

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used to refer back to the subject of a sentence. They end with '-n ba' or '-n ka' in Hausa. Here are the reflexive pronouns in Hausa:

Hausa	Pronunciation	English
Na...n ba	nah...n bah	Myself
Ka...n ba	kah...n bah	Yourself (singular)
Shi...n ba	shee...n bah	Himself/Herself/Itself
Mu...n ba	moo...n bah	Ourselves
Ku...n ba	koo...n bah	Yourselves (plural)
Su...n ba	soo...n bah	Themselves

Example dialogue:

• Person 1: Na ji shi na zo ni...n ba (I saw him and came by myself)
• Person 2: Ku...n ba sako ni hushe. (Do it yourselves properly)

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. They are used when seeking information such as 'What?', 'Who?', 'Whom?', and 'Which?'. Here are the interrogative pronouns in Hausa:

Hausa	Pronunciation	English
Me	meh	What
Wani	wah-nee	Which one
Wanda	wahn-dah	Who/Whom
Ina...n	ee-nah...n	Where (followed by a noun)
Daga	dah-gah	From where

Example dialogue:

• Person 1: Me zan fada? (What should I say?)
• Person 2: Wani tafiya ba za ka isa ba. (Which trip will you not go on.)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point to something or someone. They are often used to clarify or emphasize a noun. They can be translated as 'this,' 'that,' 'these,' or 'those'. Here are the demonstrative pronouns in Hausa:

Hausa	Pronunciation	English
Wannan	wah-nan	This (male)
Wannan...ni	wah-nan...nee	This (female)
Wannan...na	wah-nan...nah	These (male)
Wannan...mi...na	wah-nan...mee...nah	These (female)
Neman...nan	neh-mahn...nan	That (male)
Neman...na	neh-mahn...nah	That (female)
Neman...nan...nan	neh-mahn...nan...nan	Those (male)
Neman...na...na	neh-mahn...nah...nah	Those (female)

Example dialogue:

• Person 1: Wannan gona na hanji shi. (This road will hinder him)
• Person 2: Neman...na kasa suka kulawa. (Those children over there are playing.)

Conclusion

We've covered the different types of pronouns in Hausa. Knowing these will be essential to becoming fluent in Hausa. To improve your Hausa Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• PRONOUNS - Hausa Grammar
• Hausa language - Wikipedia
• Grammatical Restructuring in Hausa: Indirect Objects and Possessives

Now that you've completed this lesson, don't stop learning! Check out these related topics: Past Tense, Indefinite Articles in Hausa, Adjectives & Imperative Tense.

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• Gender
• Conditional Tense
• Give your Opinion
• Negation
• Past Participle in Hausa
• Questions
• Possessive Case in Hausa
• Prepositions

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