Language/Hausa/Grammar/Regular-Verbs
In this lesson, you will learn about regular verbs in Hausa, their conjugation, and their usage in sentences. As you progress through your Hausa language journey, mastering verb conjugation will aid in your ability to express yourself more fluently and communicate with native speakers with ease. Let's dive into the wonderful world of Hausa verbs!
Regular Verb Conjugation
In Hausa, there are three groups of verbs: regular verbs, irregular verbs, and defective verbs. In this lesson, we will focus on regular verbs.
Regular verbs fall into two categories depending on the final vowel sound of their infinitive form. We have two groups, Group A regular verbs and Group B regular verbs. The conjugation rules for these two groups of verbs are quite similar.
Group A Regular Verbs
Group A regular verbs end in the vowel '-a' or '-e' when in the infinitive form. For instance:
- kawa - to be enough
- taka - to kick
- zuba - to enter
There are two different endings to the past tense of Group A verbs, depending on the subject pronoun used. We will use the verb 'kawa' as an example to illustrate this point.
| Hausa | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| kawa-njĩ | ka-wa-n-jĩ | I was enough |
| kawa-ka | ka-wa-ka | you (singular) were enough |
| kawa-ke | ka-wa-ke | he/she/it was enough |
| kawa-mu | ka-wa-mu | we were enough |
| kawa-ku | ka-wa-ku | you (plural) were enough |
| kawa-su | ka-wa-su | they were enough |
As you can observe, the verb stem remains unchanged in all the subject pronouns; only the tense marker changes. The conjugation pattern for regular verbs, Group A, for the present or future tense and gerund is the same for all subject pronouns, as shown in the example below:
- Form the present tense by adding '-i' to the verb stem.
- Form the gerund by adding '-a' or '-awa' to the verb stem.
For instance:
| Hausa | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| kawa | ka-wa | to be enough |
| kaɗi | ka-ɗi | I am enough |
| kaɗa | ka-ɗa | you (singular) are enough |
| kaɗo | ka-ɗo | he/she/it is enough |
| kaci | ka-ci | we are enough |
| kaku | ka-ku | you (plural) are enough |
| kasu | ka-su | they are enough |
| kawawa | ka-wa-wa | existing |
Group B Regular Verbs
Group B regular verbs end in '-o', '-u', '-i', '-e', '-aa', '-ee', '-uu' when in the infinitive form. For instance:
- cece - to eat
- yunke - to lie down
- yinje - to burn
The conjugation pattern is the same as Group A verbs. The only difference is in the irregularities in verb stems as opposed to the uniformity in Group A verbs.
For instance:
| Hausa | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| cece | ce-ce | to eat |
| cece-ni | ce-ce-ni | I ate |
| cece-ka | ce-ce-ka | you (singular) ate |
| cece-ke | ce-ce-ke | he/she/it ate |
| cece-mu | ce-ce-mu | we ate |
| cece-ku | ce-ce-ku | you (plural) ate |
| cece-su | ce-ce-su | they ate |
Negation of Regular Verbs
In Hausa, the negative particle 'ba' is usually used to negate verbs. The particle 'ba' appears before the verb stem to create the negative form of the verb. Additionally, the verb stem changes slightly in its form.
For instance:
| Hausa | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| yi fadi | yi fa-di | to bury |
| ba shi fadi | ba shi fa-di | he did not bury |
In this example, the verb changes to retain its final consonant sound and '-a' ending is replaced with '-i'.
Usage of Regular Verbs
In Hausa language, verbs come after the subject pronoun and often carry the tense markers. For instance:
- Inni na shiga makaranta - I will go to school
- Ku waya cece - You have eaten
- Zan iya ba ka damu ba - I can't stand you
Regular verbs can also function in the Hausa language as transitive or intransitive verbs. Here is an example of the regular verb 'sami' serving as a passive and intransitive verb:
| Hausa | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| sami | sa-mi | to be found |
| sun yi sami | sun yi sa-mi | they were found |
| sai sun sami | sai sun sa-mi | they only found |
In this example, 'sami' is a passive verb; it does not require a direct object. The verb is followed by the verb 'yi,' which is the Hausa word for 'to do.' This sentence translates to "they did be found," and its normal English equivalent is "they were found."
On the other hand, the verb 'dauke' can serve as an active and transitive verb:
| Hausa | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| dauke | dau-ke | to take |
| ke dauki irin buƙatar ku | ke dau-ki irin bu-katar ku | He took your necessary things |
In this example, 'dauke' is an active verb; it requires a direct object after it. The object in this sentence is 'irin buƙatar ku,' which is your necessary things.
Conclusion
In this lesson, we have learned about regular verbs in Hausa, their conjugation, usage in sentences, and negation. We focused on Group A and Group B regular verbs and their conjugation pattern, and we rounded up by looking at the usage of regular verbs in Hausa sentences.
Keep practicing and applying these regular verb conjugations, and pretty soon, you'll be speaking like a native Hausa speaker!
Videos
Koyon Turanci cikin Hausa. ENGLISH GRAMMAR: REGULAR VERBS
Other Lessons
- Imperative Tense
- Past Participle in Hausa
- Conditional Tense
- Questions
- Plurals
- Past Tense
- 0 to A1 Course
- Irregular Verbs
- Conjunctions
- Negation