The English word "be" is the verb that links one thing to another: Kofi is a teacher, the child is in the house, God is spirit. It is the second word on the house frequency list, and it is the most irregular verb English has (am, is, are, was, were). Ewe has no single verb that does all of this. It has two, and the learner chooses between them by asking one question: what is it, or where is it? The word chosen for this lesson is nye (/ɲe/), the verb for what a thing is: Kofi nye nufiala "Kofi is a teacher", Mawu nye Gbɔgbɔ "God is Spirit". Its partner le (/le/) says where a thing is, and it was met in Lesson 1: Ŋutsu la le aƒe la me "The man is in the house".
Why nye and not le? The list gives the word's job as "copula / existence, linking verb", and a linking verb joins a subject to what it is. That is nye. But the two verbs cannot be taught apart, and this lesson teaches both: nye for identity, role, name and class, le for place, presence and condition, and the choice between them.
The shape of a nye sentence is simple: the subject, then nye, then the noun. Ewe puts no word for "a" or "an" between them (Lesson 1): Kofi nye nufiala is, word for word, "Kofi be teacher". The noun after nye is a bare noun, and the verb never changes its form for a noun subject. The things the learner must watch are these:
- Adjectives do not take nye. "The book is good" is Agbalẽ la nyo, where the verb nyo "be good" already means "is good" (Lesson 1). Nye stands only before a noun. - Pronouns. "I am" is Nyee nye, and "you are" is Wòe nye. The small -e on the pronoun is a focus marker. The same -e is found on a noun: Kofie nye nufiala. - Negation is in two parts. A me- goes in front of the verb and an o closes the clause: Ama menye nufiala o "Ama is not a teacher". The me- is spelled like the me- that means "I" (melɔ̃, mekpɔ), and the lesson takes care over this.
Ewe nye is also the word for "my" and for the pronoun "I" (nye agbalẽ "my book"). The three words are spelled alike and are told apart by their place in the sentence: before a noun it is "my", at the front of a clause it is "I", between two nouns it is "be". Lesson 1 told the learner to expect this.
Orthographic points: ny is one letter-pair for one sound, /ɲ/. The added letters ɖ, ƒ, ŋ, ɔ and ʋ must be written as such (ɖevi "child", ŋutsuvi "boy", nyɔnuvi "girl", ƒe the linking word of possession). A nasal vowel carries a tilde (alẽ "sheep", hã "also"). Tones are not written.
FAQ: What does "be" mean in Ewe?
Ewe has two verbs where English has one. Nye is "be" in the sense of "is a": Kofi nye nufiala "Kofi is a teacher". Le is "be" in the sense of "is at": Kofi le aƒe la me "Kofi is in the house". Neither is used before an adjective: for "good" and the like Ewe uses the verb itself (nyo "be good").
Key Takeaways
- Nye joins a subject to a noun that says what it is: Kofi nye nufiala. Le says where it is: Kofi le aƒe la me. Never swap them. - Nye is followed by a bare noun, with no word for "a": Kɔsi nye ŋutsuvi "Kɔsi is a boy". - A pronoun subject is -e on the pronoun: Nyee nye nufiala "I am a teacher", Wòe nye nufiala "you are a teacher". - A negative has me- before the verb and o at the end: Ama menye nufiala o, Ɖevi la mele aƒe la me o. - Do not put nye in front of an adjective: Agbalẽ la nyo, not Agbalẽ la nye nyo.
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nye /ɲe/ is said like the first syllable of Spanish ñe, or like English "ny" in "canyon" followed by a short e as in French été: NYEH. It is one syllable. The ny is a single sound made with the middle of the tongue against the hard palate, and it is not an n followed by a y. le /le/ is an l and the same short e. o /o/ is the short closed vowel of French beau, with no glide.
Tone is not written in ordinary Ewe, and it is not marked here. The tones tell like-spelled words apart: lé "catch" has a high tone and le "be at" a low one, so learn them from a speaker. The IPA in this course is broad and orthography-level and gives each letter its main sound without the tones.
Sounds in this lesson that English lacks or treats differently:
- ny = /ɲ/, as in Spanish año: nye /ɲe/, nyɔnuvi /ɲɔnuvi/, nyui /ɲui/ "good". - ŋ = /ŋ/, as in English "sing": ŋutsuvi /ŋutsuvi/. - ɖ = /ɖ/, a d made with the tongue curled back: ɖevi /ɖevi/. - ƒ = /ɸ/, a soft f made with both lips: aƒe /aɸe/, ƒe /ɸe/. - gb = /ɡ͡b/ and kp = /k͡p/, each said as one sound with both lips closed: gblɔ /ɡ͡blɔ/, kpɔ /k͡pɔ/, Gbɔgbɔ /ɡ͡bɔɡ͡bɔ/. - ɔ is as in British "thought": Akɔsua /akɔsua/, Kɔsi /kɔsi/, xɔ /xɔ/. - x = /x/, as in Scottish "loch": xɔ /xɔ/. - v = /v/ and ʋ = /ʋ/ are different letters: ŋutsuvi has the plain v of vi "child". - A nasal vowel is said through the nose, as in French bon: hã /hã/, alẽ /alẽ/. - -e is joined to the word before it and is said in the same breath: Nyee is /ɲee/, a long e, and Wòe is /woe/, with the o and the e said one after the other.
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Examples 2.1–2.15 are pedagogical constructions built from verified words and patterns (Acceptabile), except where Section D names a source. They are not quotations. The glosses follow the Ewe word order. Where a prefix or -e is joined to a word, the gloss shows it after a hyphen, and o at the end of a negative clause is glossed not.
2.1a Kofi Kofi nye is nufiala teacher
2.1b Kofi /kofi/ Kofi nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher
2.2a Kɔsi Kɔsi nye is ŋutsuvi boy
2.2b Kɔsi /kɔsi/ Kɔsi nye /ɲe/ be.COP ŋutsuvi /ŋutsuvi/ boy
2.3a Akɔsua Akɔsua nye is nyɔnuvi girl
2.3b Akɔsua /akɔsua/ Akɔsua nye /ɲe/ be.COP nyɔnuvi /ɲɔnuvi/ girl
2.4a Ama Ama menye not-is nufiala teacher o not
2.4b Ama /ama/ Ama menye /meɲe/ NEG.be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher o /o/ NEG
2.5a Wòe you-FOC nye are nufiala teacher
2.5b Wòe /woe/ 2SG-FOC nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher
2.6a Ŋutsu man la the nye is nufiala teacher
2.6b Ŋutsu /ŋutsu/ man la /la/ DEF nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher
2.7a Nyɔnu woman la the menye not-is nufiala teacher o not
2.7b Nyɔnu /ɲɔnu/ woman la /la/ DEF menye /meɲe/ NEG.be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher o /o/ NEG
2.8a Ɖeviawo child-the-PL le are-at xɔ room la the me in
2.8b Ɖeviawo /ɖeviawo/ child-DEF-PL le /le/ be.at xɔ /xɔ/ room la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside
2.9a Ɖevi child la the mele not-is-at aƒe house la the me in o not
2.9b Ɖevi /ɖevi/ child la /la/ DEF mele /mele/ NEG.be.at aƒe /aɸe/ house la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside o /o/ NEG
2.10a Kofi Kofi nye is nufiala teacher eye and Ama Ama nye is nyɔnuvi girl
2.10b Kofi /kofi/ Kofi nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher eye /eje/ and Ama /ama/ Ama nye /ɲe/ be.COP nyɔnuvi /ɲɔnuvi/ girl
2.11a Kofie Kofi-FOC nye is nufiala teacher
2.11b Kofie /kofie/ Kofi-FOC nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher
2.12a Mele I-am-at aƒe house la the me in
2.12b Mele /mele/ 1SG.be.at aƒe /aɸe/ house la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside
2.13a Ŋutsu man la the gblɔ said be that Kofi Kofi nye is nufiala teacher
2.13b Ŋutsu /ŋutsu/ man la /la/ DEF gblɔ /ɡ͡blɔ/ say.PFV be /be/ that Kofi /kofi/ Kofi nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher
2.14a Mekpɔ I-saw be that ɖevi child la the le is-at xɔ room la the me in
2.14b Mekpɔ /mek͡pɔ/ 1SG.see.PFV be /be/ that ɖevi /ɖevi/ child la /la/ DEF le /le/ be.at xɔ /xɔ/ room la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside
2.15a Nyee I-FOC nye am nufiala teacher eye and wòe you-FOC nye are nufiala teacher hã also
2.15b Nyee /ɲee/ 1SG-FOC nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher eye /eje/ and wòe /woe/ 2SG-FOC nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher hã /hã/ also
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2.1 Kofi nye nufiala. → "Kofi is a teacher."
2.2 Kɔsi nye ŋutsuvi. → "Kɔsi is a boy."
2.3 Akɔsua nye nyɔnuvi. → "Akɔsua is a girl."
2.4 Ama menye nufiala o. → "Ama is not a teacher."
2.5 Wòe nye nufiala. → "You are a teacher."
2.6 Ŋutsu la nye nufiala. → "The man is a teacher."
2.7 Nyɔnu la menye nufiala o. → "The woman is not a teacher."
2.8 Ɖeviawo le xɔ la me. → "The children are in the room."
2.9 Ɖevi la mele aƒe la me o. → "The child is not in the house."
2.10 Kofi nye nufiala, eye Ama nye nyɔnuvi. → "Kofi is a teacher, and Ama is a girl."
2.11 Kofie nye nufiala. → "Kofi is the teacher." (It is Kofi who is the teacher.)
2.12 Mele aƒe la me. → "I am in the house."
2.13 Ŋutsu la gblɔ be Kofi nye nufiala. → "The man said that Kofi is a teacher."
2.14 Mekpɔ be ɖevi la le xɔ la me. → "I saw that the child is in the room."
2.15 Nyee nye nufiala, eye wòe nye nufiala hã. → "I am a teacher, and you are a teacher too."
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2.1 Kofi nye nufiala.
2.2 Kɔsi nye ŋutsuvi.
2.3 Akɔsua nye nyɔnuvi.
2.4 Ama menye nufiala o.
2.5 Wòe nye nufiala.
2.6 Ŋutsu la nye nufiala.
2.7 Nyɔnu la menye nufiala o.
2.8 Ɖeviawo le xɔ la me.
2.9 Ɖevi la mele aƒe la me o.
2.10 Kofi nye nufiala, eye Ama nye nyɔnuvi.
2.11 Kofie nye nufiala.
2.12 Mele aƒe la me.
2.13 Ŋutsu la gblɔ be Kofi nye nufiala.
2.14 Mekpɔ be ɖevi la le xɔ la me.
2.15 Nyee nye nufiala, eye wòe nye nufiala hã.
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These are the grammar rules for nye in Ewe:
1. Nye says what a thing is. The shape is subject, nye, noun: Kofi nye nufiala (2.1), Kɔsi nye ŋutsuvi (2.2), Ŋutsu la nye nufiala (2.6). The noun after nye names a role, a class, a name or a nationality, and it answers "Who is X?" or "What is X?". A noun subject needs no prefix on the verb, as in Lesson 1, and there is no word for "a": the bare noun does the work. Dzablu-Kumah's Basic Ewe for Foreign Students gives the same example, Kɔsi nye ŋutsuvi "Kɔsi is a boy", and the same account of the verb.
2. Le says where a thing is. The shape is subject, le, place: Ɖeviawo le xɔ la me (2.8), Mele aƒe la me (2.12). The place is given with the postposition me "inside", as in Lesson 1 (rule 8). Le has a low tone, and it differs from lé "catch" only in tone. It also reaches beyond place. It says that something is present or happens: in the Agbenya La, Eya me agbe le (John 1:4) is "In him was life", with le meaning "there is" and with no noun for a place. It can also say how something stands: Wòe le gbɔnye (Psalm 23:4) "you are with me", where gbɔnye is "beside me".
3. The choice. If the English can be asked with "who" or "what", use nye: Kofi nye nufiala. If it can be asked with "where", use le: Kofi le aƒe la me. Do not swap them. A noun after le is a place and a noun after nye is a predicate: Kofi le nufiala is not Ewe, and Kofi nye aƒe la me is not either.
4. An adjective takes neither. In Ewe most "adjectives" are verbs, so nyo "be good" already means "is good": Agbalẽ la nyo (Lesson 1). Do not write Agbalẽ la nye nyo. When "good" stands inside a noun phrase, the form is nyui and it follows the noun: ɖevi nyui "a good child" (2.27). The same order is in the Bible: alẽkplɔla nyui la "the good shepherd" (Section F). La still comes last (Lesson 1, rule 2).
5. Pronoun subjects and the focus -e. "I am" is Nyee nye (2.15) and "you are" is Wòe nye (2.5, 2.15). The pronouns are nye "I" and wò "you", and the -e joined to them is a focus marker which makes the sentence say "it is I who …". The same -e is joined to nouns: Kofie nye nufiala (2.11), and in the Bible Yehowae nye kplɔnyela "the LORD is my shepherd" (Psalm 23:1) and Nya lae nye Mawu "the Word was God" (John 1:1), where the -e is joined to la because the subject is Nya la "the Word". The Lesson 1 sentence Emae nye nye nuɖuɖu "that is my food" is the same pattern, with ema "that" and -e. This course writes the pattern with -e on the subject, as the Agbenya La does.
6. Negation: me- … o. A negative clause has me- joined to the front of the verb and o at the end of the clause: Ama menye nufiala o (2.4), Nyɔnu la menye nufiala o (2.7), Ɖevi la mele aƒe la me o (2.9). Ama's sentence is the negative of Ama nye nufiala, the pair of sentences that studies of Ewe negation give side by side with Kofi nye nufiala. The same two parts are found in the Bible: womewɔ naneke … o "nothing was made …" (John 1:3), with wo- "they" first, then me-, then the verb wɔ "make". With "I" the pronoun nye- stands first, as in nyemavɔ̃ … o "I will not fear" (Psalm 23:4), and a negative "I am" is built the same way: Nyemenye nufiala o "I am not a teacher". Note that menye and mele are spelled like the me- that means "I" (melɔ̃, mekpɔ, Mele aƒe la me 2.12). Look for the o at the end of the clause: it shows that the clause is negative. With a noun subject, as in 2.4, 2.7 and 2.9, there is no doubt.
7. Possession with ƒe. To say "X's Y", Ewe puts the possessor first and joins it to the thing owned with ƒe: Kofi ƒe vi "Kofi's child" (2.17), ɖeviawo ƒe fofo "the children's father" (2.20). It is the order of the Bible phrase amegbetɔwo ƒe kekeli "the light of men" (John 1:4). A sentence with nye takes it as its predicate: Ama nye Kofi ƒe vi "Ama is Kofi's child".
8. Subordinate clauses with be. Be "that" works as in Lesson 1: Ŋutsu la gblɔ be Kofi nye nufiala (2.13), Mekpɔ be ɖevi la le xɔ la me (2.14). The clause after be has its own subject and its own nye or le.
9. Two more verbs of being. Li says that something exists, lives or is there: Nya la li "the Word was" (John 1:1), and meli hafi wodzi Abraham "I was before Abraham was born" (John 8:58). It is a third verb, and it belongs to a later lesson. The idiom ele be "it is necessary that" (John 4:24) is built from the e- "it" and le and be "that", so le is also in the phrase for "must".
10. The suffix -la. Many Ewe nouns for a person who does something end in -la: nufiala "teacher", alẽkplɔla "shepherd" (alẽ "sheep", kplɔ "lead"). This -la is the "doer" ending and is joined to its word. It is not the article la of Lesson 1, and it is spelled alike. The article comes after it: alẽkplɔla nyui la has both, the ending in alẽkplɔla and the article at the end.
Common Mistakes
- Using nye for place. Wrong: Kofi nye aƒe la me. Right: Kofi le aƒe la me. - Using le for what a thing is. Wrong: Kofi le nufiala. Right: Kofi nye nufiala. - Putting nye before an adjective. Wrong: Agbalẽ la nye nyo. Right: Agbalẽ la nyo. - Forgetting the o. Wrong: Ama menye nufiala. Right: Ama menye nufiala o. The me- alone does not make the negative; the clause needs both parts. - Adding a word for "a". Wrong: Kofi nye aɖe nufiala. Right: Kofi nye nufiala. The word aɖe "a certain" follows a noun and does not stand for English "a". - Confusing the three nye. Nye agbalẽ is "my book", nyee at the front of a clause is "I", and nye between two nouns is "be". Read the neighbours to decide. - Confusing the two la. The ending -la of nufiala is not the article la of agbalẽ la. - Spelling. Ŋutsuvi, not nutsuvi; nyɔnuvi, not nyonuvi; ɖevi, not devi; aƒe, not afe.
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Frequency and register. Nye and le are among the most frequent words in any Ewe text, in every register from the market to the pulpit. They stand at the centre of the most basic statements: who a person is, what a person does, where a person is. A learner who has them can introduce a family, name a trade and say where someone is.
Roles. The nouns of this lesson are everyday roles: nufiala "teacher", alẽkplɔla "shepherd", fofo "father". The word for "teacher" is built on the word for teaching, and the word for "shepherd" on alẽ "sheep" and kplɔ "lead". In the Bible, the shepherd is the picture of God: Yehowae nye kplɔnyela (Psalm 23:1), and Jesus' words Nyee nye alẽkplɔla nyui la (John 10:11, Section F). The Ewe reader who knows the pastoral picture finds nye at the centre of both lines.
The Bible as a source. The Agbenya La (Ewe Contemporary Scriptures) is an open text, written in the standard Ewe of Ghana and Togo, and it is a good place for the learner to meet nye in a long run of real sentences. John's gospel has a series of "I am" sentences, each with Nyee nye …, among them the good shepherd (10:11) and the light (8:12). Names. The family in the Genre Section bears common Ghanaian names. Kofi is the name of a boy born on a Friday, one of the day-names that are given in Ewe and Akan culture alike, and Kɔsi, Akɔsua and Ama are common Ghanaian names too. A personal name takes no la, as in Lesson 1, and the name stands first in the sentence: Kofi nye nufiala.
Courtesies. Akpe "thanks", E "yes" and Ao "no" recur in every register (Lesson 1).
English "be". An English-speaker meets a sorting task in Ewe: one English verb, two Ewe verbs, and the question to ask before choosing is "who or what?" against "where?". It is the whole lesson.
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Yohanes (John) 4:24, first clause, and 10:11, first sentence, in the Agbenya La (Ewe Contemporary Scriptures), as printed on bible.com. The English is the King James Version (1611). The first is Jesus' saying about the nature of God, and the second is one of his "I am" sayings.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Mawu God nye is Gbɔgbɔ Spirit
F.1b Mawu /mawu/ God nye /ɲe/ be.COP Gbɔgbɔ /ɡ͡bɔɡ͡bɔ/ Spirit
F.2a Nyee I-FOC nye am alẽkplɔla shepherd nyui good la the
F.2b Nyee /ɲee/ 1SG-FOC nye /ɲe/ be.COP alẽkplɔla /alẽk͡plɔla/ shepherd nyui /ɲui/ good la /la/ DEF
F-B: Original → Translation
Mawu nye Gbɔgbɔ.
"God is a Spirit."
Nyee nye alẽkplɔla nyui la.
"I am the good shepherd."
F-C: Original Only
Mawu nye Gbɔgbɔ.
Nyee nye alẽkplɔla nyui la.
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
- Mawu nye Gbɔgbɔ: the shape of rule 1, subject, nye, noun. The sentence says what God is, and so it takes nye and not le. The Ewe has no word for "a", and the King James Version has one ("a Spirit"). The sentence goes on in the verse: eye ame siwo le esubɔm la, ele be woasubɔe le gbɔgbɔ kple nyateƒe me "and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth". There le stands with esubɔm "worshipping him" for an action going on, and ele be is "must" (rule 9). - Nyee nye: the pronoun nye "I" with the focus -e, then the verb nye "be" (rule 5). The two are spelled alike and are different words: the first is the pronoun and the second is the verb. The sentence is used twice in John 10, in verses 11 and 14. - alẽkplɔla nyui la: the noun, the adjective, the article, in the order of Lesson 1, rule 2. Alẽkplɔla "shepherd" ends in the doer-suffix -la (rule 10), and the article la closes the phrase. Nyui is the modifier form of "good" (rule 4), the verb nyo being used for "is good". - The Agbenya La text is quoted as printed on bible.com (version AL, Ewe Contemporary Scriptures). Its 1913 predecessor can be read on the same site (EWERV).
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A short account of a family in a house, told in the third person, with two reported sayings. Kofi is a teacher and the father of Ama and Kɔsi. The text uses nye for who they are and le for where they are. It is a pedagogical text built from verified patterns.
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
2.16a Kofi Kofi nye is nufiala teacher
2.16b Kofi /kofi/ Kofi nye /ɲe/ be.COP nufiala /nufiala/ teacher
2.17a Ama Ama nye is Kofi Kofi ƒe of vi child
2.17b Ama /ama/ Ama nye /ɲe/ be.COP Kofi /kofi/ Kofi ƒe /ɸe/ GEN vi /vi/ child
2.18a Kɔsi Kɔsi nye is Kofi Kofi ƒe of vi child hã also
2.18b Kɔsi /kɔsi/ Kɔsi nye /ɲe/ be.COP Kofi /kofi/ Kofi ƒe /ɸe/ GEN vi /vi/ child hã /hã/ also
2.19a Kɔsi Kɔsi nye is ŋutsuvi boy eye and Ama Ama nye is nyɔnuvi girl
2.19b Kɔsi /kɔsi/ Kɔsi nye /ɲe/ be.COP ŋutsuvi /ŋutsuvi/ boy eye /eje/ and Ama /ama/ Ama nye /ɲe/ be.COP nyɔnuvi /ɲɔnuvi/ girl
2.20a Kofi Kofi nye is ɖeviawo child-the-PL ƒe of fofo father
2.20b Kofi /kofi/ Kofi nye /ɲe/ be.COP ɖeviawo /ɖeviawo/ child-DEF-PL ƒe /ɸe/ GEN fofo /fofo/ father
2.21a Kofi Kofi le is-at aƒe house la the me in
2.21b Kofi /kofi/ Kofi le /le/ be.at aƒe /aɸe/ house la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside
2.22a Ama Ama le is-at xɔ room la the me in
2.22b Ama /ama/ Ama le /le/ be.at xɔ /xɔ/ room la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside
2.23a Ama Ama gblɔ said be that afikae where Kɔsi Kɔsi le is-at
2.23b Ama /ama/ Ama gblɔ /ɡ͡blɔ/ say.PFV be /be/ that afikae /afikae/ where.FOC Kɔsi /kɔsi/ Kɔsi le /le/ be.at
2.24a Kɔsi Kɔsi mele not-is-at xɔ room la the me in o not
2.24b Kɔsi /kɔsi/ Kɔsi mele /mele/ NEG.be.at xɔ /xɔ/ room la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside o /o/ NEG
2.25a Kofi Kofi gblɔ said be that Kɔsi Kɔsi le is-at aƒe house la the me in
2.25b Kofi /kofi/ Kofi gblɔ /ɡ͡blɔ/ say.PFV be /be/ that Kɔsi /kɔsi/ Kɔsi le /le/ be.at aƒe /aɸe/ house la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside
2.26a Ama Ama kpɔ saw Kɔsi Kɔsi
2.26b Ama /ama/ Ama kpɔ /k͡pɔ/ see.PFV Kɔsi /kɔsi/ Kɔsi
2.27a Kɔsi Kɔsi nye is ɖevi child nyui good
2.27b Kɔsi /kɔsi/ Kɔsi nye /ɲe/ be.COP ɖevi /ɖevi/ child nyui /ɲui/ good
2.28a Ama Ama nye is ɖevi child nyui good hã also
2.28b Ama /ama/ Ama nye /ɲe/ be.COP ɖevi /ɖevi/ child nyui /ɲui/ good hã /hã/ also
2.29a Kofi Kofi nye is fofo father nyui good
2.29b Kofi /kofi/ Kofi nye /ɲe/ be.COP fofo /fofo/ father nyui /ɲui/ good
2.30a Ɖeviawo child-the-PL le are-at aƒe house la the me in eye and Kofi Kofi le is-at aƒe house la the me in hã also
2.30b Ɖeviawo /ɖeviawo/ child-DEF-PL le /le/ be.at aƒe /aɸe/ house la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside eye /eje/ and Kofi /kofi/ Kofi le /le/ be.at aƒe /aɸe/ house la /la/ DEF me /me/ inside hã /hã/ also
Part B: Natural Sentences
2.16 Kofi nye nufiala. → "Kofi is a teacher."
2.17 Ama nye Kofi ƒe vi. → "Ama is Kofi's child."
2.18 Kɔsi nye Kofi ƒe vi hã. → "Kɔsi is Kofi's child too."
2.19 Kɔsi nye ŋutsuvi eye Ama nye nyɔnuvi. → "Kɔsi is a boy and Ama is a girl."
2.20 Kofi nye ɖeviawo ƒe fofo. → "Kofi is the children's father."
2.21 Kofi le aƒe la me. → "Kofi is in the house."
2.22 Ama le xɔ la me. → "Ama is in the room."
2.23 Ama gblɔ be afikae Kɔsi le. → "Ama said, 'Where is Kɔsi?'"
2.24 Kɔsi mele xɔ la me o. → "Kɔsi is not in the room."
2.25 Kofi gblɔ be Kɔsi le aƒe la me. → "Kofi said that Kɔsi is in the house."
2.26 Ama kpɔ Kɔsi. → "Ama saw Kɔsi."
2.27 Kɔsi nye ɖevi nyui. → "Kɔsi is a good child."
2.28 Ama nye ɖevi nyui hã. → "Ama is a good child too."
2.29 Kofi nye fofo nyui. → "Kofi is a good father."
2.30 Ɖeviawo le aƒe la me eye Kofi le aƒe la me hã. → "The children are in the house, and Kofi is in the house too."
Part C: Target Language Only
2.16 Kofi nye nufiala.
2.17 Ama nye Kofi ƒe vi.
2.18 Kɔsi nye Kofi ƒe vi hã.
2.19 Kɔsi nye ŋutsuvi eye Ama nye nyɔnuvi.
2.20 Kofi nye ɖeviawo ƒe fofo.
2.21 Kofi le aƒe la me.
2.22 Ama le xɔ la me.
2.23 Ama gblɔ be afikae Kɔsi le.
2.24 Kɔsi mele xɔ la me o.
2.25 Kofi gblɔ be Kɔsi le aƒe la me.
2.26 Ama kpɔ Kɔsi.
2.27 Kɔsi nye ɖevi nyui.
2.28 Ama nye ɖevi nyui hã.
2.29 Kofi nye fofo nyui.
2.30 Ɖeviawo le aƒe la me eye Kofi le aƒe la me hã.
Part D: Grammar Notes for the Genre Section
- Who they are and where they are. The text follows the choice of Section D, rule 3. The sentences that say who someone is take nye (2.16–2.20, 2.27–2.29). The sentences that say where someone is take le (2.21–2.25, 2.30). No sentence swaps them. - ƒe. Kofi ƒe vi (2.17, 2.18) and ɖeviawo ƒe fofo (2.20) put the possessor first, then ƒe, then the thing owned (rule 7). The sentences are the predicate of nye: Ama is Kofi's child. - Adjective after the noun. In 2.27–2.29 the modifier nyui "good" stands after its noun, and the sentence has one nye: Kɔsi nye ɖevi nyui. Compare Kɔsi nyo, "Kɔsi is good", where the verb nyo is used and nye is absent (rule 4). - Where-question. In 2.23 the question word afikae "where" stands in front of the subject and le closes the clause, as in the Lesson 1 dialogue (1.16, 1.28). The question is inside Ama's speech, after gblɔ be. - Negative. In 2.24 mele … o is the negative of le. The positive Kɔsi le xɔ la me would say that he is in the room. - Hã. Hã "also" stands at the end of the clause (2.18, 2.28, 2.30), as in Lesson 1. - Names. Kofi, Ama and Kɔsi take no la.
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Check these in every sentence:
- nye /ɲe/ and le /le/: one short syllable each. Nye says what a thing is and le says where it is. The ny is one sound. - me- … o. A negative has both: menye … o, mele … o. The o is a separate short word at the end of the clause. - -e (focus) is joined to the word before it: Nyee, Wòe, Kofie. It is not a separate word. - ɖ, ƒ, ŋ, ɔ and ʋ. Every one must be present: ɖevi, ɖeviawo, aƒe, ƒe, ŋutsuvi, nyɔnuvi, Akɔsua, Kɔsi, kpɔ, gblɔ, xɔ, Gbɔgbɔ, alẽkplɔla. - The tilde. Alẽkplɔla and hã have a nasal vowel, written with a tilde. - Digraphs. ny, gb, kp: nye, nyui, gblɔ, kpɔ, Gbɔgbɔ. Each is a single sound. - Tone is not written, except where a tone mark tells two like-spelled words apart, as in wò "you" against wo "they". The IPA here shows the sounds of the letters and not the tones. - Capital letters begin sentences and names (Kofi, Kɔsi, Ama, Mawu, Gbɔgbɔ in the Bible text), and the added letters have capitals Ɖ, Ŋ, Ɔ at the start of a sentence: Ɖeviawo le xɔ la me.
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