The English word "the" is the definite article, the first word on the house frequency list. It stands in front of a noun and tells the listener "you know which one I mean": the book, the woman, the food. Akan has no word that does this job in front of the noun, so the lesson teaches how Akan says the same thing instead. The word chosen is no (/no/), a small word that stands after the noun and marks it as known to both speaker and listener: nwoma no "the book", ɔbaa no "the woman", aduane no "the food". Where English puts "the" first, Akan puts no last. If the noun has an adjective, no comes after the adjective: dan kɛseɛ no "the big house", with house first, big second and the at the end.
This is the whole shape of the lesson, and it is a good first lesson because it asks the learner to do one thing the English habit resists: say the noun first, and the "the" last.
The lesson also shows three places where English and Akan part company:
- Akan has no word for "a" or "an". The bare noun does the work: Mepɛ nwoma can be "I like a book" or "I like books", and the context decides. - Akan does not always mark a known thing. In the first verse of the Bible, "the heaven and the earth" is ɔsoro ne asase, with nothing added to either noun (Section F). - No has a second job. After a verb it is the object pronoun "him", "her" or "it": pɛ no "like him", ɔfrɛɛ no ɛpo "he called it sea" (Genesis 1:10, Asante Twi Bible). The two jobs are told apart by where the word stands: after a noun it is "the", after a verb it is "him/her/it".
Akan no is a small, ordinary word and has nothing to do with English "the" by sound, so there is nothing to translate letter by letter. Think of it as a marker that is placed behind its noun. Its neighbour ɛno is "that" (Section D, rule 7).
Orthographic points: the two added letters, ɛ and ɔ, are different letters from e and o and must be written as such. Tones are not written. Doubled vowels (ɔbaa, kaa, yɛɛ) show long vowels or past forms and are never single.
FAQ: What does "the" mean in Akan (Twi)?
Akan has no word for "the" that stands before the noun. The nearest is no, which stands after the noun: nwoma no is "the book". The same word after a verb means "him", "her" or "it". For "a book" Akan says just nwoma.
Key Takeaways
- No means "the", and it comes after the noun and after any adjective that goes with it: nwoma no, nwoma foforo no, dan kɛseɛ no. - Akan has no word for "a/an" and often has none for "the" either, where English needs one: ɔsoro ne asase "the heaven and the earth". - No after a verb is "him, her, it": Mepɛ no "I like him/her/it" (compare Mepɛ nwoma no "I like the book"). - The verb takes the subject on its front: me- "I", wo- "you", ɔ- "he/she", yɛ- "we", wɔ- "they". A noun subject needs no prefix: Ɔbaa no di aduane. - Write ɛ and ɔ, never e and o in their place, and do not mistake no "the" for daabi "no, not so".
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no /no/ is said like English "no" without the glide at the end: one clean vowel, short. Tone is not written in Akan and is not marked here; learn the tones from a speaker. Tone tells apart words that are spelled alike.
The alphabet is a, b, d, e, ɛ, f, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, ɔ, p, r, s, t, u, w, y, with the digraphs ky, gy, hy, ny, dw, tw, kw, hw and nw. The IPA in this course is broad and orthography-level: it gives each letter its main sound. The vowels fall into two harmonic sets that shape the pronunciation of prefixes, and the notation does not show this.
Sounds in this lesson that English lacks or treats differently:
- ɛ = /ɛ/, as in "bed": yɛ /jɛ/, mepɛ /mepɛ/, sɛ /sɛ/. - ɔ = /ɔ/, as in British "thought" but short: ɔbaa /ɔbaa/, hɔ /hɔ/, wɔ /wɔ/. - ky = /tɕ/, close to "ch": Maakye /maatɕe/, kyɛw /tɕɛw/. - ny = /ɲ/, as in Spanish año: nyinaa /ɲinaa/, Onyankopɔn /oɲankopɔn/. - nw = /ɲw/: nwoma /ɲwoma/ "book". - r is a single tap /ɾ/: ɔbarima /ɔbaɾima/, ɔkraman /ɔkɾaman/. - Doubled letters are long: ɔbaa /ɔbaa/, yɛɛ /jɛɛ/, hann /hann/, aane /aane/. - m and n before another consonant make a syllable of their own: nsuo /nsuo/, nnipa /nnipa/, mfitiaseɛ /mfitiaseɛ/.
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Examples 1.1–1.15 are pedagogical constructions built from verified words and patterns (Acceptabile). They are not quotations. The glosses follow the Akan word order, so book the is how nwoma no reads word for word.
1.1a Nwoma book no the
1.1b Nwoma /ɲwoma/ book no /no/ DEF
1.2a Ɔbaa woman no the
1.2b Ɔbaa /ɔbaa/ woman no /no/ DEF
1.3a Aduane food no the
1.3b Aduane /aduane/ food no /no/ DEF
1.4a Dan house no the wɔ is-at hɔ there
1.4b Dan /dan/ house no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at hɔ /hɔ/ there
1.5a Nsuo water no the wɔ is-at ha here
1.5b Nsuo /nsuo/ water no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at ha /ha/ here
1.6a Nwoma book no the yɛ is foforo new
1.6b Nwoma /ɲwoma/ book no /no/ DEF yɛ /jɛ/ be foforo /foforo/ new
1.7a Mepɛ I-like nwoma book no the
1.7b Mepɛ /mepɛ/ 1SG.like.STAT nwoma /ɲwoma/ book no /no/ DEF
1.8a Ɔbarima man no the wɔ is-at dan house no the mu in
1.8b Ɔbarima /ɔbaɾima/ man no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at dan /dan/ house no /no/ DEF mu /mu/ inside
1.9a Ɔkraman dog kɛseɛ big no the wɔ is-at ha here
1.9b Ɔkraman /ɔkɾaman/ dog kɛseɛ /kɛseɛ/ big no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at ha /ha/ here
1.10a Mehunuu I-saw ɔbaa woman no the
1.10b Mehunuu /mehunuu/ 1SG.see.PAST ɔbaa /ɔbaa/ woman no /no/ DEF
1.11a Ɔbaa woman no the di eats aduane food no the
1.11b Ɔbaa /ɔbaa/ woman no /no/ DEF di /di/ eat.HAB aduane /aduane/ food no /no/ DEF
1.12a Ɔhene chief no the yɛɛ made dan house kɛseɛ big
1.12b Ɔhene /ɔhene/ chief no /no/ DEF yɛɛ /jɛɛ/ make.PAST dan /dan/ house kɛseɛ /kɛseɛ/ big
1.13a Nwoma book foforo new no the wɔ is-at dan house kɛseɛ big no the mu in
1.13b Nwoma /ɲwoma/ book foforo /foforo/ new no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at dan /dan/ house kɛseɛ /kɛseɛ/ big no /no/ DEF mu /mu/ inside
1.14a Ɔhene chief no the kaa said sɛ that nwoma book no the yɛ is foforo new
1.14b Ɔhene /ɔhene/ chief no /no/ DEF kaa /kaa/ say.PAST sɛ /sɛ/ that nwoma /ɲwoma/ book no /no/ DEF yɛ /jɛ/ be foforo /foforo/ new
1.15a Mehunuu I-saw sɛ that nnipa people no the pɛ like ɔhene chief no the
1.15b Mehunuu /mehunuu/ 1SG.see.PAST sɛ /sɛ/ that nnipa /nnipa/ people no /no/ DEF pɛ /pɛ/ like.STAT ɔhene /ɔhene/ chief no /no/ DEF
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1.1 Nwoma no. → "The book."
1.2 Ɔbaa no. → "The woman."
1.3 Aduane no. → "The food."
1.4 Dan no wɔ hɔ. → "The house is there."
1.5 Nsuo no wɔ ha. → "The water is here."
1.6 Nwoma no yɛ foforo. → "The book is new."
1.7 Mepɛ nwoma no. → "I like the book."
1.8 Ɔbarima no wɔ dan no mu. → "The man is in the house."
1.9 Ɔkraman kɛseɛ no wɔ ha. → "The big dog is here."
1.10 Mehunuu ɔbaa no. → "I saw the woman."
1.11 Ɔbaa no di aduane no. → "The woman eats the food."
1.12 Ɔhene no yɛɛ dan kɛseɛ. → "The chief made a big house."
1.13 Nwoma foforo no wɔ dan kɛseɛ no mu. → "The new book is in the big house."
1.14 Ɔhene no kaa sɛ nwoma no yɛ foforo. → "The chief said that the book is new."
1.15 Mehunuu sɛ nnipa no pɛ ɔhene no. → "I saw that the people like the chief."
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1.1 Nwoma no.
1.2 Ɔbaa no.
1.3 Aduane no.
1.4 Dan no wɔ hɔ.
1.5 Nsuo no wɔ ha.
1.6 Nwoma no yɛ foforo.
1.7 Mepɛ nwoma no.
1.8 Ɔbarima no wɔ dan no mu.
1.9 Ɔkraman kɛseɛ no wɔ ha.
1.10 Mehunuu ɔbaa no.
1.11 Ɔbaa no di aduane no.
1.12 Ɔhene no yɛɛ dan kɛseɛ.
1.13 Nwoma foforo no wɔ dan kɛseɛ no mu.
1.14 Ɔhene no kaa sɛ nwoma no yɛ foforo.
1.15 Mehunuu sɛ nnipa no pɛ ɔhene no.
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These are the grammar rules for no in Akan (Twi):
1. No stands after the noun. English puts "the" before its noun. Akan puts no after it: nwoma no (1.1), aduane no (1.3), dan no (1.4). The same holds in all three written standards. In the opening verse of Genesis the Asante Bible has Mfitiaseɛ no "the beginning", the Akuapem Bible has Mfiase no, and the Fante Bible has Ahyɛse no.
2. No stands after the whole noun phrase. An adjective, a number or a plural word that goes with the noun comes first, and no closes the phrase: ɔkraman kɛseɛ no "the big dog" (1.9), nwoma foforo no "the new book" (1.13), dan kɛseɛ no mu "inside the big house" (1.13). The Asante Bible shows the order with a number: nkanea akɛseɛ mmienu no lights big two the "the two great lights" (Genesis 1:16). English must reverse it: "the two great lights".
3. No marks a known thing; the bare noun is the unknown or the general. Use no when both speaker and listener know which one is meant: a thing already mentioned, or one that the situation shows. Hann no "the light" in Section F is the light that has just been made. The bare noun is used where English says "a" or "an", or says nothing: Mepɛ nwoma "I like a book / I like books". Akan also leaves out the marker where English puts "the" before a thing that is unique: ɔsoro ne asase "the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) has no no at all. Do not add no just because English has "the".
4. No after a verb is "him, her, it". Mepɛ no is "I like him/her/it", and ɔfrɛɛ no ɛpo is "he called it sea" (Genesis 1:10: Na Onyankopɔn frɛɛ pɛsɛɛ no asase, na nsuo mmoano no, ɔfrɛɛ no ɛpo, where no closes "the dry land" and "the gathering of the waters" and then stands as "it" after the verb). The two meanings are told apart by position: after a noun, "the"; after a verb, a pronoun. In 1.29 the two stand together: Ɔhene no … nnipa nyinaa pɛ no "the chief … all the people like him".
5. The plural. No does not change for number. Many nouns form the plural with a prefix, and no goes on the end of the plural noun as before: abɔfra no "the child" and mmɔfra no "the children". In 1.15 and 1.29 nnipa is the plural "people", and in Genesis 1:16 nkanea akɛseɛ mmienu no is "the two great lights".
6. The verb carries the subject. The verb takes a prefix for its subject: me- "I" (mepɛ 1.7, mehunuu 1.10), wo- "you", ɔ- "he/she" (ɔredi 1.23), ɛ- "it" (ɛyɛ F.2), yɛ- "we", mo- "you (plural)", wɔ- "they". When the subject is a noun, no prefix is added: Ɔbaa no di aduane (1.11), Onyankopɔn bɔɔ (F.1). Verbs are shown in three forms in this lesson:
- the plain form for a state or a habit: mepɛ "I like", ɔbaa no di "the woman eats"; - the progressive with re-: ɔredi "she is eating" (1.23), merekɔ "I am going" (1.26); - the past, made by lengthening the final vowel: yɛɛ "made" (1.12), kaa "said" (1.14), bɔɔ "created" (F.1), hunuu "saw" (1.10, F.2).
Negation uses an m- or n- prefix on the verb, and is left for a later lesson.
7. This, that, and the. No is close to the pointing word ɛno "that". For "this", Akan uses yei: Mepɛ yei "I like this", but a pointing word of this kind stands alone as a pronoun and is not the "the" of this lesson. The usual "the" is the plain no after the noun.
8. Being and having. Yɛ is "be" with an adjective: Nwoma no yɛ foforo (1.6). Wɔ is "be at a place": Dan no wɔ hɔ (1.4), with hɔ "there", ha "here" and he "where". The English "is" has no separate word in either.
9. Possession. Possessive words stand before the noun: me "my", wo "your", ne "his, her, its", yɛn "our", mo "your (plural)", wɔn "their". Me deɛ is "mine" (1.24), wo deɛ "yours" (1.25). Ne is also "and" between two nouns: ɔsoro ne asase (F.1). It is the same spelling for two jobs.
Common Mistakes
- Putting no before the noun. Wrong: no nwoma. Right: nwoma no. - Putting no before the adjective. Wrong: nwoma no foforo for "the new book". Right: nwoma foforo no. (Nwoma no yɛ foforo is the sentence "the book is new".) - Translating every English "the". "The earth", "the heaven", "I like books" and "the people in general" do not need no: ɔsoro ne asase, Mepɛ nwoma. - Looking for "a". Akan has none: I have a book is Mewɔ nwoma, with the bare noun. - Confusing no "the" with no "not so". The answer "no" is daabi, and "yes" is aane. - Spelling. Do not write e or o where the word needs ɛ or ɔ: ɔbaa, not obaa; yɛ, not ye; mepɛ, not mepe. - Short vowels in long words. Yɛɛ and kaa are the past tense; yɛ and ka are not.
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Frequency and register. No belongs to every register, from the market to the pulpit. It is not a literary word: it opens the Gospel of John in the Asante Bible (Mfitiaseɛ no, na Asɛm no ne Onyankopɔn na ɛwɔ hɔ "In the beginning was the Word with God", John 1:1), and it closes "the Word" there too (Asɛm no).
Three standards. Akan is written in three standards, Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi and Fante. They are mutually intelligible, and a common orthography was agreed in 1978. This course teaches Asante Twi, the most widely used written standard and the form of the New Revised Asante Twi Bible. The three differ in spelling and some words: the Asante text of Genesis 1:1 has Mfitiaseɛ no, the Akuapem has Mfiase no, and the Fante has Ahyɛse no.
Names. The two speakers in the Genre Section, Kofi and Ama, bear day-names. Akan children are named for the day of the week on which they are born: Kofi is a boy born on a Friday and Ama a girl born on a Saturday. A personal name takes no no, as in English: Kofi, Ama.
Courtesies. The morning greeting is Maakye. In the dialogue, Mepa wo kyɛw is a polite "please, pardon me" and Medaase is "thank you". The same courtesies recur in every register.
English "the". A learner whose first language is English meets Akan no as the small word that English puts in front of the noun and Akan puts behind it. That reversal is the whole lesson.
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Gyenesis (Genesis) 1:1 and 1:4, first sentence, in the New Revised Asante Twi Bible (ASW), as printed on bible.com. The English is the King James Version (1611). The two sentences are the first act of creation and the first thing God sees in it.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Mfitiaseɛ beginning no the Onyankopɔn God bɔɔ created ɔsoro heaven ne and asase earth
F.1b Mfitiaseɛ /mfitiaseɛ/ beginning no /no/ DEF Onyankopɔn /oɲankopɔn/ God bɔɔ /bɔɔ/ create.PAST ɔsoro /ɔsoɾo/ heaven ne /ne/ and asase /asase/ earth
F.2a Na and Onyankopɔn God hunuu saw hann light no the sɛ that ɛyɛ it-is-good
F.2b Na /na/ and Onyankopɔn /oɲankopɔn/ God hunuu /hunuu/ see.PAST hann /hann/ light no /no/ DEF sɛ /sɛ/ that ɛyɛ /ɛjɛ/ 3SG.be.good
F-B: Original → Translation
Mfitiaseɛ no Onyankopɔn bɔɔ ɔsoro ne asase.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Na Onyankopɔn hunuu hann no sɛ ɛyɛ.
"And God saw the light, that it was good."
F-C: Original Only
Mfitiaseɛ no Onyankopɔn bɔɔ ɔsoro ne asase.
Na Onyankopɔn hunuu hann no sɛ ɛyɛ.
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
- Mfitiaseɛ no: the English has "In the beginning", and the Akan has "the beginning" alone, with no word for "in". The no is the article of rule 1, after its noun, and it makes the beginning a known one. The Akuapem Bible spells it Mfiase no, and the Fante Bible Ahyɛse no. - Onyankopɔn bɔɔ: the subject is a name and a noun, so the verb has no prefix. Bɔɔ is the past of bɔ, made by lengthening the vowel (rule 6). - ɔsoro ne asase: English has "the" twice, and Akan has nothing. The heaven and the earth are unique, and Akan does not mark them (rule 3). Ne is "and" here (rule 9). - hann no: "the light". The light has just been made in the verse before, and so it is a known thing, and no follows it (rule 1).- hunuu … sɛ ɛyɛ: "saw … that it was good". The object hann no comes first, then sɛ "that" and a whole clause, whose subject ɛ- "it" is a prefix on yɛ "be good". The English says "that it was"; Akan has neither "was" nor "it" as separate words. - Na: Genesis in Asante Twi opens most sentences with Na "and", and the translator keeps to it in this chapter.
The Asante text is quoted from the New Revised Asante Twi Bible as printed on bible.com (version ASW), where the Akuapem text (AKNA) and the Fante text (MFANBRP) can also be read.
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A short conversation between a brother and sister, Kofi and Ama, one morning in the house. Ama speaks in 1.16, 1.18, 1.20, 1.22, 1.24, 1.26, 1.28 and 1.30. Kofi speaks in 1.17, 1.19, 1.21, 1.23, 1.25, 1.27 and 1.29. It is a pedagogical text built from verified patterns, with no in every line.
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
1.16a Maakye good-morning Kofi Kofi nwoma book no the wɔ is-at he where
1.16b Maakye /maatɕe/ good.morning Kofi /kofi/ Kofi nwoma /ɲwoma/ book no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at he /he/ where
1.17a Maakye good-morning Ama Ama nwoma book no the wɔ is-at dan house no the mu in
1.17b Maakye /maatɕe/ good.morning Ama /ama/ Ama nwoma /ɲwoma/ book no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at dan /dan/ house no /no/ DEF mu /mu/ inside
1.18a Dan house kɛseɛ big no the mu in
1.18b Dan /dan/ house kɛseɛ /kɛseɛ/ big no /no/ DEF mu /mu/ inside
1.19a Aane yes nwoma book foforo new no the wɔ is-at dan house kɛseɛ big no the mu in
1.19b Aane /aane/ yes nwoma /ɲwoma/ book foforo /foforo/ new no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at dan /dan/ house kɛseɛ /kɛseɛ/ big no /no/ DEF mu /mu/ inside
1.20a Mepɛ I-like nwoma book foforo new no the
1.20b Mepɛ /mepɛ/ 1SG.like.STAT nwoma /ɲwoma/ book foforo /foforo/ new no /no/ DEF
1.21a Nwoma book no the yɛ is fɛ beautiful
1.21b Nwoma /ɲwoma/ book no /no/ DEF yɛ /jɛ/ be fɛ /fɛ/ beautiful
1.22a Na and aduane food no the wɔ is-at he where
1.22b Na /na/ and aduane /aduane/ food no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at he /he/ where
1.23a Mehunuu I-saw ɔbaa woman no the sɛ that ɔredi she-is-eating aduane food no the
1.23b Mehunuu /mehunuu/ 1SG.see.PAST ɔbaa /ɔbaa/ woman no /no/ DEF sɛ /sɛ/ that ɔredi /ɔɾedi/ 3SG.PROG.eat aduane /aduane/ food no /no/ DEF
1.24a Daabi no aduane food no the yɛ is me my deɛ one
1.24b Daabi /daabi/ no aduane /aduane/ food no /no/ DEF yɛ /jɛ/ be me /me/ 1SG.POSS deɛ /deɛ/ one
1.25a Mepa I-beg wo you kyɛw pardon Ama Ama aduane food no the yɛ is wo your deɛ one
1.25b Mepa /mepa/ 1SG.beg wo /wo/ 2SG kyɛw /tɕɛw/ pardon Ama /ama/ Ama aduane /aduane/ food no /no/ DEF yɛ /jɛ/ be wo /wo/ 2SG.POSS deɛ /deɛ/ one
1.26a Medaase thank-you Kofi Kofi merekɔ I-am-going dan house no the mu in
1.26b Medaase /medaase/ thank.you Kofi /kofi/ Kofi merekɔ /meɾekɔ/ 1SG.PROG.go dan /dan/ house no /no/ DEF mu /mu/ inside
1.27a Ɔhene chief no the yɛɛ made dan house kɛseɛ big no the
1.27b Ɔhene /ɔhene/ chief no /no/ DEF yɛɛ /jɛɛ/ make.PAST dan /dan/ house kɛseɛ /kɛseɛ/ big no /no/ DEF
1.28a Ɔhene chief no the wɔ is-at he where
1.28b Ɔhene /ɔhene/ chief no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at he /he/ where
1.29a Ɔhene chief no the wɔ is-at dan house no the mu in na and nnipa people nyinaa all pɛ like no him
1.29b Ɔhene /ɔhene/ chief no /no/ DEF wɔ /wɔ/ be.at dan /dan/ house no /no/ DEF mu /mu/ inside na /na/ and nnipa /nnipa/ people nyinaa /ɲinaa/ all pɛ /pɛ/ like.STAT no /no/ 3SG.OBJ
1.30a Medaase thank-you Kofi Kofi nwoma book no the yɛ is me my deɛ one nso also
1.30b Medaase /medaase/ thank.you Kofi /kofi/ Kofi nwoma /ɲwoma/ book no /no/ DEF yɛ /jɛ/ be me /me/ 1SG.POSS deɛ /deɛ/ one nso /nso/ also
Part B: Natural Sentences
1.16 Maakye, Kofi. Nwoma no wɔ he? → "Good morning, Kofi. Where is the book?"
1.17 Maakye, Ama. Nwoma no wɔ dan no mu. → "Good morning, Ama. The book is in the house."
1.18 Dan kɛseɛ no mu? → "In the big house?"
1.19 Aane, nwoma foforo no wɔ dan kɛseɛ no mu. → "Yes, the new book is in the big house."
1.20 Mepɛ nwoma foforo no. → "I like the new book."
1.21 Nwoma no yɛ fɛ. → "The book is beautiful."
1.22 Na aduane no wɔ he? → "And where is the food?"
1.23 Mehunuu ɔbaa no sɛ ɔredi aduane no. → "I saw the woman eating the food."
1.24 Daabi, aduane no yɛ me deɛ! → "No, the food is mine!"
1.25 Mepa wo kyɛw, Ama, aduane no yɛ wo deɛ. → "Please, Ama, the food is yours."
1.26 Medaase, Kofi. Merekɔ dan no mu. → "Thank you, Kofi. I am going into the house."
1.27 Ɔhene no yɛɛ dan kɛseɛ no. → "The chief made the big house."
1.28 Ɔhene no wɔ he? → "Where is the chief?"
1.29 Ɔhene no wɔ dan no mu, na nnipa nyinaa pɛ no. → "The chief is in the house, and all the people like him."
1.30 Medaase, Kofi. Nwoma no yɛ me deɛ nso. → "Thank you, Kofi. The book is mine too."
Part C: Target Language Only
1.16 Maakye, Kofi. Nwoma no wɔ he?
1.17 Maakye, Ama. Nwoma no wɔ dan no mu.
1.18 Dan kɛseɛ no mu?
1.19 Aane, nwoma foforo no wɔ dan kɛseɛ no mu.
1.20 Mepɛ nwoma foforo no.
1.21 Nwoma no yɛ fɛ.
1.22 Na aduane no wɔ he?
1.23 Mehunuu ɔbaa no sɛ ɔredi aduane no.
1.24 Daabi, aduane no yɛ me deɛ!
1.25 Mepa wo kyɛw, Ama, aduane no yɛ wo deɛ.
1.26 Medaase, Kofi. Merekɔ dan no mu.
1.27 Ɔhene no yɛɛ dan kɛseɛ no.
1.28 Ɔhene no wɔ he?
1.29 Ɔhene no wɔ dan no mu, na nnipa nyinaa pɛ no.
1.30 Medaase, Kofi. Nwoma no yɛ me deɛ nso.
Part D: Grammar Notes for the Genre Section
- Questions by intonation and by he. A question about a place uses he "where" and wɔ "be at": Nwoma no wɔ he? (1.16), Aduane no wɔ he? (1.22), Ɔhene no wɔ he? (1.28). A question with no question word, such as Dan kɛseɛ no mu? (1.18), is marked by the voice alone. - Noun, adjective, no. The order of Section D, rule 2, runs through the dialogue: dan kɛseɛ no (1.18, 1.19, 1.27) and nwoma foforo no (1.19, 1.20). - No after a verb. In 1.29 the word stands twice: Ɔhene no "the chief" and pɛ no "like him". The first follows a noun, the second a verb. - Hunu … sɛ. In 1.23 Mehunuu ɔbaa no sɛ ɔredi aduane no has the same shape as Genesis 1:4 (F.2): the verb "saw", its object with no, then sɛ and a clause. The clause takes its own subject prefix, ɔ-, on redi. - Progressive. Ɔredi "she is eating" (1.23) and merekɔ "I am going" (1.26) have re- between the prefix and the verb. - Possession. Me deɛ "mine" and wo deɛ "yours" (1.24, 1.25, 1.30) stand where English has a possessive pronoun. Nso "also" comes at the end of the sentence (1.30). - Courtesy. Maakye greets, Mepa wo kyɛw asks pardon or politely requests, and Medaase thanks. A name follows the phrase, as in English (1.16, 1.17, 1.26). Daabi "no" and aane "yes" answer a question. - Names. Kofi and Ama take no no.
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Check these in every sentence:
- no /no/: one short vowel, no glide. After a noun it is "the", after a verb it is "him, her, it". It is never written before the noun. - ɛ and ɔ. Every ɛ and ɔ must be present: ɔbaa, ɔhene, ɔbarima, yɛ, mepɛ, kɛseɛ, sɛ, hɔ, wɔ, Onyankopɔn, kyɛw. Replacing them with plain e and o writes another word, or a misspelling. - Doubled vowels. Ɔbaa, yɛɛ, kaa, bɔɔ, hunuu, Maakye, aane, daabi, medaase and nyinaa each have two letters for a long vowel. Hann has a doubled n. - Digraphs. ky, ny, nw: Maakye, kyɛw, nyinaa, Onyankopɔn, nwoma. They are single sounds. - Syllabic nasals. Nsuo, nnipa, mfitiaseɛ begin with a nasal that is a syllable of its own. - Tone is not written. The IPA here shows the sounds of the letters and not the tones. - Asante spelling. The Asante Bible writes Mfitiaseɛ where the Akuapem Bible writes Mfiase. When a book uses another spelling, it is another standard and not an error. - Capital letters begin sentences and names (Kofi, Ama, Onyankopɔn), and the markers ɛ and ɔ have capitals Ɛ and Ɔ at the start of a sentence: Ɔbaa no di aduane no.
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Course Index: [latinum.substack.com/p/index](https://latinum.substack.com/p/index)