Gari, Ƙauye, da Muhalli
Chapter Overview
Chapter 3 continues Unit I by turning from people to place. You will describe the town or village where you live, compare it to another place, talk about infrastructure such as roads, water, and electricity, and discuss how a community has changed over time. This chapter carries forward the completive narration, comparative pattern, sequencing connectors, and reference-tracking systems introduced in Chapters 1 and 2 and applies them to a new communicative task: describing and comparing places rather than people.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Describe a town or village, including its size, layout, and general character.
- Name and describe common infrastructure: roads, water sources, electricity, and buildings.
- Compare two places using the consolidated comparative pattern.
- Describe how a place has changed, using a "before and now" contrast.
- Discuss environmental conditions and community concerns in simple terms.
- Ask a partner about their home town or village and respond to their answers.
- Track reference to more than one place across a connected passage.
- Ask for clarification or repetition when a description of a place is not understood.
- Read and interpret a short passage describing a place or a community change.
- Write a short, organized paragraph describing a place, its infrastructure, and a change it has undergone.
Communication Scenario
The following week, the instructor asks Halima and Sule to describe where they grew up and how it has changed. Sule, who grew up in a small village, describes how the roads and electricity supply have improved in recent years. Halima, who lives in a larger town, compares her neighborhood now to how it was when she was a child. As they talk, each asks the other to clarify a detail about the other's home area. This chapter follows their conversation and asks you to prepare a similar description of a place you know well.
- No new vocabulary domain beyond town, village, environment, and infrastructure terms is introduced in this chapter; relationship vocabulary from Chapter 2 and personal-history vocabulary from Chapter 1 remain active.
- No new grammar system is introduced. This chapter continues to consolidate independent pronouns, subject-reference patterns, and completive/habitual forms already active since Volume II, and extends the comparative pattern and reference tracking from Chapter 2 to descriptions of places.
- This chapter continues Unit I, which will be formally assessed in Chapter 5.
- Vocabulary and grammar from Chapters 1 and 2, and from Volume I and Volume II, remain fully active and are expected to appear accurately throughout this chapter's tasks.
Core Vocabulary
The table below presents the highest-value place, infrastructure, and environment vocabulary this chapter's discussion depends on. Relationship vocabulary from Chapter 2 and personal-history vocabulary from Chapter 1 remain active and are not repeated here.
| Boko | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| gari | town, city | masculine noun; plural garuruwa |
| ƙauye | village | masculine noun; plural ƙauyuka |
| unguwa | neighborhood, ward | feminine noun; plural unguwanni |
| hanya | road, way | feminine noun; plural hanyoyi; long final vowel in careful speech |
| gini / gine-gine | building / buildings | masculine noun; gine-gine is the common plural in ordinary use |
| famfo | water pump, tap | masculine noun; plural famfuna |
| wutar lantarki | electricity | fixed phrase; wuta (fire/power) + lantarki (electric) |
| muhalli | environment, surroundings | masculine noun |
| ci gaba | development, progress | masculine noun; samun ci gaba, to make progress |
| al'umma | community | feminine noun |
Pronunciation Focus
This chapter's pronunciation focus continues consolidating tone and vowel length in a recycled-pattern vocabulary set. Pay particular attention to the vowel length in hanya (road) and the tone contrast between gari (town) and similarly shaped words, since confusing these can affect whether a listener understands you to be describing a town or something else entirely. As in Chapters 1 and 2, keep an even syllable rhythm across full sentences, especially when a sentence names more than one place and compares them.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
This chapter introduces no new grammar system. It continues to consolidate independent pronouns, subject-reference patterns, and completive/habitual forms already active since Volume II, and extends the comparative pattern and reference-tracking work begun in Chapters 1 and 2 to passages describing two or more places.
3.1 Reviewing: Describing a place with identity and descriptive predicates
- Garinmu babba ne, kuma yana da mutane da yawa.Our town is big, and it has many people.
- Ƙauyenmu ƙarami ne, amma yana da kyakkyawan muhalli.Our village is small, but it has a beautiful environment.
The identity-predicate pattern with ne/ce and the existential pattern with yana da, both consolidated since Volume II, are recycled here to describe a place's size and character rather than a person's identity.
3.2 Reviewing: Comparing two places
The comparative pattern ya/ta fi, already used in Chapter 2 to compare people (ya fi ni girma), is recycled here to compare places. As in Chapter 2, once the second place has been named, a pronoun such as shi or ita can replace it in a following sentence.
3.3 Reviewing: Describing change with "before and now"
- A da, ba mu da wutar lantarki a ƙauyenmu.Before, we did not have electricity in our village.
- Amma yanzu, mun samu ci gaba, kuma muna da wutar lantarki da hanyoyi masu kyau.But now, we have made progress, and we have electricity and good roads.
The time expression a da ("before, in the past") and the contrastive connector amma yanzu ("but now"), built from the sequencing pattern already practiced with amma daga baya in Chapter 2, allow a speaker to contrast an earlier state of a place with its present state using only completive and existential forms already consolidated.
3.4 Extending: Reference tracking with two or more places
When a passage describes or compares places, it usually names at least two. Track each place clearly with pronouns once each has been introduced, just as you tracked two people in Chapter 2.
- Sule ya girma a wani ƙauye kusa da Kano. Ƙauyen yana da ƙananan gidaje, kuma yanzu yana da famfo da wutar lantarki.Sule grew up in a village near Kano. The village has small houses, and now it has a water pump and electricity."ƙauye" named once, then tracked with "yana" (it, habitual/existential subject marker)
Atisayen ƙa'ida — Grammar practice: Complete each sentence with the word or expression that fits.
- Garin Kano ___ (ya fi/ne) ƙauyenmu girma.
- ___ (A da/Yanzu), ba mu da hanyoyi masu kyau, amma yanzu mun samu ci gaba.
- Ƙauyenmu ƙarami ne, ___ (amma/domin) yana da kyakkyawan muhalli.
- Unguwarmu tana da sabbin gine-gine. ___ (Ita/Unguwarmu) ta canja sosai a cikin shekaru biyar.
Model Dialogue
Yanayin hali: A cikin aji, malami ya nemi Sule da Halima su kwatanta gari ko ƙauyen da suka girma a ciki.
(Setting: In class, the instructor asks Sule and Halima to describe the town or village where they grew up.)
Tambayoyin fahimta — Comprehension questions:
- Where did Sule grow up, and how does he describe it?
- What has changed in Sule's village, according to him?
- What does Halima ask Sule to clarify, and why?
- How does Halima describe her own neighborhood?
- What general statement does Halima make at the end of the conversation?
Guided Practice
Aikin gane — Recognition: Underline every infrastructure expression, comparative form, and reference-tracking pronoun in the Model Dialogue.
Aikin zaɓi — Selection: Choose the correct word for each blank: (1) Garin Kano ___ (ya fi/ne) ƙauyenmu girma. (2) ___ (A da/Amma) ba mu da wutar lantarki, yanzu muna da ita.
Aikin gyara maimaici — Reference-tracking correction: Rewrite the following short passage, replacing unnecessary repetition of a place name with a pronoun where natural: Ƙauyen Sule yana da famfo. Ƙauyen Sule yana da hanyoyi masu kyau yanzu. Ƙauyen Sule ya canja sosai a cikin shekaru biyar.
Aikin haɗawa — Sentence-combination practice: Combine each pair of short sentences into one connected sentence using amma, kuma, or amma yanzu: (a) A da, ba mu da hanyoyi masu kyau. Yanzu muna da su. (b) Ƙauyenmu ƙarami ne. Yana da kyakkyawan muhalli.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud, twice. Answer the questions after listening. This task assesses your comprehension of a connected passage describing a place and its change over time.
Sauraro — Canjin Unguwar Amina (Listening: The Change in Amina's Neighborhood)
"Amina tana zama a wata unguwa a birnin Kaduna. A da, unguwarsu tana da ƙananan gidaje kawai, kuma babu hanyoyi masu kyau. Amma a cikin shekaru goma da suka wuce, unguwar ta sami ci gaba sosai. Yanzu, akwai sabbin gine-gine, hanyoyi masu kyau, da famfunan ruwa da yawa. Amina ta ce muhallin unguwarsu ya fi na da tsafta, domin al'umma sun fara tsare shi da kyau. Duk da haka, Amina ta ce hayaniya ta ƙaru, domin mutane da yawa sun ƙaura zuwa unguwarsu."
Kula na sauraro — Questions: (1) Where does Amina live, and how does the passage describe her neighborhood in the past? (2) What has changed in the neighborhood over the past ten years? (3) According to Amina, why is the environment cleaner now? (4) What has gotten worse in the neighborhood, and why?
Rubutun sauraro don malami, abokin karatu, ko amfani da rubutun lantarki. Duba amsoshi a sashi na amsoshi.
(Listening Script for Instructor, Partner, or Text-to-Speech Use. See Answer Key for expected responses.)
Speaking Practice
Atisayen ƙa'ida — Controlled substitution drill
With a partner, take turns naming one place you know well, one piece of infrastructure it has or lacks, and one word describing its environment, using the sentence patterns from Sections 3.1 and 3.3.
Tattaunawa — Communicative task
With a partner, role-play the discussion scene from the Model Dialogue, but describe a real or invented place you know and compare it to another place, describing how it has changed. Include at least one comparative sentence with ya/ta fi, one reference-tracking pronoun for a second place, and one moment where your partner asks you to clarify something.
Madadin karatu kai tsaye — Solo alternative
Record yourself describing a place in at least eight connected sentences: what it is like, one piece of infrastructure, a comparison with another place, and a change it has undergone, tracking both places without repeating names unnecessarily.
Reading Practice
Read the short passage below. Underline every infrastructure or environment expression, circle every comparative form, and put a box around every instance of pronoun reference tracking.
Karatu — Ƙauyen Garba da Birnin Ɗan'uwansa (Reading: Garba's Village and His Brother's City)
Garba yana zama a wani ƙauye kusa da Sakkwato, amma ɗan'uwansa Bello yana zama a birnin Sakkwato. Garba ya ce ƙauyensu ƙarami ne, kuma yana da kyakkyawan muhalli, ba tare da hayaniya sosai ba. Bello kuwa yana zama a wani gari mai girma, wanda ya fi ƙauyen Garba yawan mutane da gine-gine. A da, ƙauyen Garba ba shi da wutar lantarki, amma yanzu, sun samu ci gaba, kuma suna da ita da hanyoyi masu kyau. Duk da wannan ci gaba, Garba ya ce ya fi son ƙauyensu, domin yana da natsuwa fiye da birni. Bello kuwa ya ce garinsu yana da dama masu yawa na aiki da makaranta, kuma hakan ya sa shi son zama a can.
Tambayoyin fahimta — Comprehension questions:
- Where does Garba live, and how does he describe it?
- Where does Bello live, and how does his place compare to Garba's village?
- What has changed in Garba's village over time?
- Why does Garba prefer his village, and why does Bello prefer his city?
Writing Workshop
- Karanta labarin da hankali. Reread Garba and Bello's story and notice how it links a place description, infrastructure, comparison, and change into one connected passage.
- Tsarawa. Plan a short passage of your own (real or invented) describing a place, its infrastructure, a comparison with another place, and a change it has undergone.
- Rubuta. Write 100–130 words in Hausa. Include a clear identification of the place, a description of its infrastructure or environment, a comparison using ya/ta fi, a "before and now" contrast, and at least one instance of reference tracking for the second place.
- Duba jerin bincike. Check your draft against the checklist below.
- Rubuta siffa ta ƙarshe. Produce a clean final version.
Jerin binciken gyara — Editing checklist:
- The place being described is clearly identified.
- Infrastructure or environmental features are described accurately.
- A comparison between two places is made using ya/ta fi.
- A "before and now" contrast appears where appropriate.
- The second place is tracked afterward with a pronoun, not repeated by name.
- Prior systems from Chapters 1-2 and Volume II (TAM/aspect, pronouns, connectors) remain accurate where they appear.
- No grammar or vocabulary beyond the cumulative Chapter 1–3 scope appears.
- Special characters (ɓ, ɗ, ƙ, ƴ) and the apostrophe/glottal convention are used accurately.
Culture and Communication
Hausa-speaking communities live in a wide range of settings, from small villages to large cities such as Kano, Kaduna, and Sakkwato in Nigeria, and Zinder and Maradi in Niger. Infrastructure such as electricity, paved roads, and piped water varies considerably even within the same region, and access has been changing over time in many communities. Presenting one family's or one village's experience, as in Sule's and Garba's accounts, as an example rather than a universal description of "village life" or "city life" is a more accurate way to describe this variation.
The words used to describe administrative divisions, such as unguwa (neighborhood or ward), can carry different official or informal meanings depending on the country and local government context. This chapter uses general, widely understood vocabulary; more specific administrative terms are introduced for recognition in later chapters when the topic requires them.
Common Mistakes
Error: *Ƙauyen Sule yana da famfo. Ƙauyen Sule yana da hanyoyi masu kyau yanzu. Ƙauyen Sule ya canja sosai. (repeating the full place name in every sentence of a passage about one place)
Correction: Ƙauyen Sule yana da famfo. Yana da hanyoyi masu kyau yanzu, kuma ya canja sosai. — Once a place has been named, continue with the pronoun ya/ta/yana/tana, exactly as practiced with people in Chapter 2.
Error: *Ƙauyenmu ya fi girma garin Kano. (placing the point of comparison, girma, before the thing being compared to)
Correction: Garin Kano ya fi ƙauyenmu girma. — The pattern is [subject] + ya/ta fi + [item compared to] + [quality]. The quality word always comes last.
Chapter Summary
This chapter introduced town, village, infrastructure, and environment vocabulary and applied the identity and existential predicate patterns, the comparative pattern ya/ta fi, and the "before and now" contrast, already consolidated in Volume II and Chapters 1-2, to a new communicative task: describing and comparing places and their change over time. It also extended reference tracking from people to places, continuing the connected-discourse work of Unit I.
Chapter Review
Sashi na A — Kalmomi (Vocabulary)
1. Give the Hausa for: town, village, neighborhood, road, building, water pump, electricity, environment, development, community.
Sashi na B — Nahawu (Grammar)
1. Write two sentences comparing two places, using ya/ta fi.
2. Write one sentence describing a change in a place, using a da and amma yanzu.
3. Rewrite this passage to correct unnecessary place-name repetition: Garin Bello yana da sabbin gine-gine. Garin Bello ya fi ƙauyen Garba girma. Garin Bello yana da hanyoyi masu kyau.
Sashi na C — Karatu da Rubutu
1. Reread Garba and Bello's story and summarize it in three to four English sentences.
2. Write your 100–130-word passage about a place, following the Writing Workshop instructions.
Sashi na D — Magana
1. With a partner or instructor, perform the communicative task from the Speaking Practice section.
Practical Performance Task
Aikin Aiwatarwa — Chapter 3 Performance
Garina/Ƙauyena — My Town or Village
Complete all four components, drawing on vocabulary and grammar from this chapter, Chapters 1-2, and Volume II:
- Listening: Listen to Amina's neighborhood story and answer the comprehension questions.
- Speaking: With a partner, role-play a discussion of a place, including infrastructure, a comparison with another place, and a change over time.
- Reading: Read Garba and Bello's story and answer the comprehension questions.
- Writing: Submit your 100–130-word connected passage about a place.
Evaluation criteria: clear identification of the place; accurate description of infrastructure or environment; accurate use of the comparative pattern; an accurate "before and now" contrast; reference tracking across the passage; accurate integration of TAM/aspect, pronouns, and connectors carried forward from Chapters 1-2 and Volume II; natural use of communication repair; accurate ordinary Boko spelling and special characters. Consistent with B1 developmental expectations, comprehensible and task-fulfilling communication should not be penalized as though produced by an advanced speaker.
Independent Study Tools
Self-check: Can you describe a place, its infrastructure, a comparison with another place, and a change it has undergone, tracking both places across the whole passage, without looking back at this chapter? If not, review Sections 3.1–3.4 before submitting your final performance task.
Vocabulary review method: Add this chapter's town, village, infrastructure, and environment vocabulary to your Volume III flashcard set, and quiz yourself on which words describe places, features, and change.
Extra practice: Write or record two additional short passages describing places, one about a town or city and one about a village or neighborhood, and check your work against this chapter's checklist before moving to Chapter 4.
Answer Key / Amsoshi
Aikin zaɓi (Word selection)
- Garin Kano ya fi ƙauyenmu girma.
- A da, ba mu da wutar lantarki, yanzu muna da ita.
Aikin gyara maimaici (Reference-tracking correction)
Sample: Ƙauyen Sule yana da famfo. Yana da hanyoyi masu kyau yanzu, kuma ya canja sosai a cikin shekaru biyar. (Other natural revisions that reduce repetition are acceptable.)
Aikin haɗawa (Sentence-combination practice)
Sample: (a) A da, ba mu da hanyoyi masu kyau, amma yanzu muna da su. (b) Ƙauyenmu ƙarami ne, amma yana da kyakkyawan muhalli. (Other accurate combinations are acceptable.)
Atisayen ƙa'ida (Grammar practice, Section 3)
- Garin Kano ya fi ƙauyenmu girma.
- A da, ba mu da hanyoyi masu kyau, amma yanzu mun samu ci gaba.
- Ƙauyenmu ƙarami ne, amma yana da kyakkyawan muhalli.
- Unguwarmu tana da sabbin gine-gine. Ita ta canja sosai a cikin shekaru biyar.
Tambayoyin fahimta na tattaunawa (Dialogue comprehension)
- Sule grew up in a village near Kano; he describes it as small but with a beautiful environment.
- Roads and electricity have both improved in his village.
- Halima asks Sule to clarify whether it was the roads or the electricity that improved, because his explanation was unclear at first; he confirms both improved together.
- Halima describes her neighborhood in Kano as having new buildings now and being much bigger than Sule's village.
- Halima states that every place has its own good points and challenges.
Kula na sauraro (Listening responses)
(1) Amina lives in a neighborhood in Kaduna; in the past it had only small houses and no good roads. (2) Over the past ten years, new buildings, good roads, and many water pumps have appeared. (3) The environment is cleaner now because the community has begun maintaining it well. (4) Noise has increased, because many people have moved into the neighborhood.
Tambayoyin karatu (Reading comprehension)
- Garba lives in a village near Sakkwato; he describes it as small with a beautiful, quiet environment.
- Bello lives in the city of Sakkwato, which is bigger than Garba's village in population and buildings.
- Garba's village did not have electricity before, but now it has electricity and good roads.
- Garba prefers his village because it is calmer; Bello prefers his city because it has more opportunities for work and school.
Sashi na B (Chapter Review grammar)
- Sample: Garin Kano ya fi ƙauyenmu girma. (Other accurate sentences are acceptable.)
- Sample: A da, ba mu da wutar lantarki, amma yanzu muna da ita.
- Garin Bello yana da sabbin gine-gine. Ya fi ƙauyen Garba girma, kuma yana da hanyoyi masu kyau.
Sashi na C (Sample writing)
Na girma a wata unguwa a Kano. A da, unguwarmu tana da ƙananan gidaje kawai, amma yanzu, ta canja sosai. Muna da sabbin gine-gine, hanyoyi masu kyau, da famfunan ruwa da yawa. Unguwarmu ta fi na kakannina ci gaba, domin sun yi aiki tuƙuru don inganta muhallinsu. Duk da haka, hayaniya ta ƙaru domin mutane da yawa sun ƙaura zuwa nan.
Other accurate, well-formed passages meeting the stated requirements are equally acceptable.
Looking Ahead
Abin da ka/ki koya — What you have learned
This chapter carried forward pronouns, completive/habitual narration, the comparative pattern, and sequencing connectors from Chapters 1-2 and Volume II and applied them to a new task: describing places, infrastructure, and community change. It also extended reference tracking to passages naming two places, continuing the connected-discourse work of Unit I.