A Claim Inside Another Claim

Level 6

Separate the outer report, the inner reporter and the final proposition.

How It Works

Cewa introduces reported propositions. Such a proposition can contain another reporting predicate and its content. Read from outside inward, identifying the participant and subject-TAM marker for each finite predicate. Explicit names help distinguish the people responsible for the reports.

In Mun ji cewa malam ya ce ɗalibai sun gama aikin., we hear a report, the teacher makes the embedded statement, and the students complete the work. The inner ce directly precedes its reported clause. Omission of cewa is construction-dependent; this example does not license deletion after any predicate.

English “would” and “had” can express contextual reporting-time relationships. Hausa does not require automatic English-style tense backshift. An embedded third-person pronoun needs a recoverable referent and is not automatically the reporter. Likewise, negating a departure inside a report differs from denying that the reporting event occurred.

Examples (3)

  1. Amina ta gaya wa Rabi cewa Musa ya ce zai dawo gobe.

    Amina told Rabi that Musa said he would return tomorrow.

    Amina tells Rabi about Musa’s statement. In this context, Musa is the person who plans to return.

  2. Mun ji cewa malam ya ce ɗalibai sun gama aikin.

    We heard that a teacher said the students had finished the work.

    We hear, the teacher reports, and the students finish the work.

  3. Mun ji cewa Rabi ta ce ba za ta tafi ba.

    We heard that Rabi said she would not leave.

    In the intended context, Rabi discusses her own departure. The negative future belongs inside her report.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

A Claim Inside Another ClaimLevel 6

Learn This First

Track the reporting voice and inherited finite-content frame before interpreting a further attributed proposition inside a report.