WAEC Hausa 2023
Questions & Answers

A test-taker might mistakenly select Ya, Zai, or Ke because they confuse the various tense markers in Hausa grammar. Looking at the example Yana karanta, which translates to He is reading, the specific word indicating the present continuous tense is Yana. Meanwhile, Ya typically indicates past time or completion, Zai denotes the future tense, and Ke is used for asking questions or giving commands. Common mistake: Mixing up the present continuous marker Yana with the past marker Ya.

A student might mistakenly choose a prepositional link (haɗin fiɗa), a time link (haɗin lokaci), or a reason link (haɗin dalili) by misinterpreting the grammatical function of the phrase. The sentence Abokin na ya zo daga gida contains a possessive conjunction, or haɗin abu, where the component abokin na indicates possession, meaning my friend. In contrast, time links deal with words like kafin and bayan, while reason links handle causality. Common mistake: Confusing possessive conjunctions with temporal or causal connectors.

A student might mistakenly select Mai gaske, Mai haƙuri, or Mai kyau because they misinterpret the semantic meaning of the adjective in conversational Hausa. The term mai banƙyama translates directly to a liar or a treacherous person, which is the exact opposite of being truthful (mai gaske), patient (mai haƙuri), or good (mai kyau). Common mistake: Translating negative behavioral traits as positive virtues.

A test-taker might mistakenly choose a question mark, a comma, or faɗaɗɗa because they confuse punctuation marks used in Hausa writing. Just like in English, a full stop, designated as alama na ƙarshe (.), is the correct punctuation used to show the end of a sentence. A question mark (?) is reserved for questions, a comma (,) is used for pauses, and faɗaɗɗa is not a punctuation mark at all. Common mistake: Using question marks or commas to close standard declarative sentences.

A student might mistakenly pick Yara tana da dafa abinci, Yara ta dafa abinci, or Yara za ta dafa abincin by misidentifying the correct tense markers and noun endings. Translating The girl is cooking food into Hausa yields Yara tana dafa abinci, where the word tana correctly marks the present tense. Conversely, ta indicates the past tense, za ta indicates the future tense, and adding abincin alters the grammatical definiteness incorrectly. Common mistake: Mixing up present tense markers with past or future tense forms.

A student might mistakenly choose Kyakkyawa, Mummuna, or Kyakkyawan by confusing gender-based and noun-specific adjectives in Hausa grammar. The phrase mummunan abu translates to bad thing, where mummunan functions specifically as the masculine adjective modifying the noun abu. Mummuna is used for feminine nouns, while kyakkyawa and kyakkyawan relate to beauty rather than badness. Common mistake: Applying feminine adjective forms to masculine nouns.

A student might mistakenly select Ci, Abinci, or Tafi because they fail to identify temporal adverbs within the clause structure. In the sentence Sun ci abinci kafin su tafi, the word kafin acts as the time indicator meaning before, successfully linking the clauses to show when the action occurred. Meanwhile, ci and tafi function as verbs, and abinci serves as a noun. Common mistake: Confusing action verbs with temporal connectors.

A student might mistakenly choose Fara, Zo, or Ji because they confuse vocabulary words related to actions and beginnings with those indicating completion. The Hausa word ƙare translates directly to finish or end, and it naturally emerges in contexts involving conclusions, unlike fara (to start), zo (to come), or ji (to hear). Common mistake: Confusing the concept of ending with the concept of beginning.

A test-taker might mistakenly choose options featuring semicolons, question marks, or trailing commas due to poor punctuation habits. The correct sentence must begin with a capital letter for the proper noun Sarki and end with a standard full stop (.), yielding Sarki ya je fada don shawara. Semicolons, question marks, and commas disrupt the normal declarative syntax of this sentence. Common mistake: Applying incorrect terminal punctuation to standard declarative sentences.

A student might mistakenly pick Yana, Da, or Babban gida by confusing noun phrases with verbs, conjunctions, or modified noun phrases. The correct example of a noun phrase, or fiɗar fiɗa, is Mai gaske, which means a truthful person and combines an adjective with a noun. Words like Yana and Da function as verbs or conjunctions, while babban gida is a descriptive noun phrase of a different category. Common mistake: Confusing simple verbs and conjunctions with true noun phrase constructions.

A student might mistakenly choose tatsuniyar aura, tatsuniyar haƙƙin mallakar, or tatsuniyar noma because they misclassify the thematic categories of traditional folktales. The tale of Dodo da kare serves as a classic fable with a moral lesson, categorized under tatsuniyar ƙarya da sakamako, where the dog encounters the monster. Common mistake: Mismatching moral animal fables with agricultural or marital folktale themes.

A student might mistakenly select proverbs about money having no power, patience being strong, or truth defeating falsehood because they misidentify proverbs specifically addressing knowledge. The proverb Ilmi ya fi kuɗi translates to knowledge is better than wealth, which directly highlights the value of true knowledge over material riches. Common mistake: Confusing proverbs about general patience with those celebrating intellectual attainment.

A student might mistakenly pick Kifi, Zogale, or Ruwa by misinterpreting the descriptive imagery of traditional riddles. In Hausa riddles, the correct answer for something that has legs but does not walk in a standard human fashion is Kwallo, representing a creature like a turtle that crawls rather than walks. Common mistake: Selecting aquatic animals that lack visible legs entirely.

A student might mistakenly link prayer songs to warfare, farming, or romance due to thematic overlaps in traditional music. Waƙar sallah is explicitly connected to religion and worship, functioning primarily as praise songs dedicated to spiritual devotion. Common mistake: Confusing religious devotion songs with secular work or love ballads.

A student might mistakenly select praise songs, work songs, or battle songs because they confuse the emotional tones of oral literature genres. Waƙar makoki specifically reflects sorrow and lamentation, serving as an elegy or mourning song in traditional oral literature. Common mistake: Confusing songs of mourning with songs of praise or battle.

A student might mistakenly choose Dandali, Kifi, or Kare because they misapply the metaphorical clues found in traditional riddles. The riddle describing something that has eyes but cannot see points to Zuma, referring to the honeycomb's eye-like patterned openings that lack actual vision. Common mistake: Choosing animals instead of structural objects when analyzing riddle metaphors.

A student might mistakenly pick fear, love, or lying because they misunderstand the philosophical takeaway of traditional adages. The proverb Haƙuri ya fi karfi teaches the supreme value of patience, asserting that patience is stronger than physical force. Common mistake: Mistaking patience-focused adages for lessons about deception or fear.

A student might mistakenly pick praise poetry, outbursts, or expressions of sorrow because they mischaracterize romantic folklore expressions. In a love song, or waƙar soyayya, the primary focus is on expressing love and affection, known as nuna soyayya da kunsa. Common mistake: Confusing romantic expressions with formal heroic praise singing.

A student might mistakenly choose farming, marriage, or warfare because they misidentify the overarching moral lessons of folktales. Traditional tales, or tatsuniyoyi, primarily teach about goodness versus deceit, encapsulated as alheri da ƙarya. Common mistake: Confining folktale lessons to physical activities like farming rather than moral binaries.

A student might mistakenly select truth and patience, romance, or warfare by misremembering character traits from Magana Jari Ce. Within the narrative, Dan Karami embodies deceit and pride, representing negative characteristics contrasted with virtue. Common mistake: Assigning heroic traits to characters designed to display negative behaviors.