When to use it
Use it at a ticket counter when you only need a single, not a return.
“I would like a one-way ticket to Naples.” · The sentence in English
In “I would like a one-way ticket to Naples.” ‘would like’ is polite and ‘one-way’ is a hyphenated adjective.
- I
- pronounpersonal pronoun, always written with a capital letter
- would
- auxiliary verbwill · form: conditional · with "like" it makes a polite request
- like
- verblike · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · "would like" means "want", said politely
- a
- determinerindefinite article
- one-way
- adjectivecompound adjective; a ticket only for going, not for coming back
- ticket
- nounnoun
- to
- prepositionpreposition of direction
- Naples
- proper nounproper noun; the English name of Napoli
“Ina son tikitin zuwa Naples, ba na dawowa ba.” · The sentence in Hausa
In “Ina son tikitin zuwa Naples, ba na dawowa ba.” there is no single word for one-way: Hausa adds ‘ba na dawowa ba’ (not for return). ‘Ina son’ (I am wanting) is I would like.
- Ina
- pronoun'I am'; ina son = I want
- son
- verbso · form: verbal noun + -n · 'wanting (of)'
- tikitin
- nountikiti 'ticket' + linker -n
- zuwa
- preposition'to, going to'
- Naples
- proper nounthe city of Naples in Italy
- ba
- particlefirst ba of the negation
- na
- preposition'of, for'
- dawowa
- noun'return'; ba na dawowa ba = not a return
- ba
- particlesecond ba closes the negation
What changes from one language to the other · English × Hausa
English has the adjective ‘one-way’; Hausa explains it with a phrase at the end.
Example conversation
— Ina son tikitin zuwa Naples, ba na dawowa ba.
— I would like a one-way ticket to Naples.
— Na wace rana?
— For which day?