When to use it
Use it at the end of a meal to ask the waiter politely for the bill.
The sentence in English — “Could you bring the bill, please?”
In “Could you bring the bill, please?” ‘Could’ softens the request and ‘please’ closes it.
- Could
- auxiliary verbcan · form: conditional · modal verb; "Could you…?" is a polite request
- you
- pronounpersonal pronoun
- bring
- verbbring · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · after a modal verb the main verb has no "to"
- the
- determinerdefinite article
- bill
- nounnoun; the check at a restaurant
- please
- adverbpoliteness word
The sentence in Hausa — “Don Allah, za a iya kawo min lissafin kuɗi?”
In “Don Allah, za a iya kawo min lissafin kuɗi?” there is no ‘you’: the impersonal ‘a’ (one, someone) avoids choosing masculine ‘ka’ or feminine ‘ki’. ‘Don Allah’ (for God's sake) is the usual please, and ‘lissafin kuɗi’ (count of money) is the bill.
- Don
- preposition'for'; don Allah = please
- Allah
- proper nounAllah, in the polite formula don Allah
- za
- auxiliary verbza · tense: future · future marker: za a iya = could one
- a
- pronounimpersonal 'one, someone'; softens the request
- iya
- verbiya · form: base · 'be able, can'
- kawo
- verbkawo · form: base · 'bring'
- min
- pronoun'to me, for me'
- lissafin
- nounlissafi 'count, bill' + linker -n
- kuɗi
- noun'money'; lissafin kuɗi = the bill
English × Hausa — What changes from one language to the other
English addresses ‘you’ directly; Hausa uses the impersonal ‘a’, which also suits any waiter.
Example conversation
— Don Allah, za a iya kawo min lissafin kuɗi?
— Could you bring the bill, please?
— To, yanzu nan.
— Yes, right away.