Welcome to the 8th lesson about Igbo grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Igbo and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Igbo and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Igbo.
| Prepositions - Igbo |
|---|
| and na |
| above n'enu |
| under n'okpuru |
| before tupu |
| after n'ikpeazụ |
| in front of n'iru |
| behind n'azụ |
| far from tee aka |
| near n'akụkụ |
| in ime |
| inside n'ime |
| outside n'ihe/n'ilo |
| with na |
| without ewepu/sọsọ |
| about ihedịka |
| between n'etiti |
| but mana |
| for maka |
| from si |
| to je |
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules - Igbo |
|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] e jiro m mma eri nri |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] o bi n'akụkụ ụlọ ụka |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] ọ ka ya too ogologo |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] ya na obele nkịta ya so bịa |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] ị ga eso m je? |
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules - Igbo |
|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] a ghọtara m gị |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] a ghọtarọ m gị |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] ọ bụghị okwu nke a |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] arapụkwana m |
| no problem [negation + noun] nsogbu adịrọ |
| Negative Sentences - Igbo |
|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] a dịghị m asụ asụsụ ndị french |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] ọ dịghị asụ asụsụ ndị french |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] ọ gaghị afụ anyị |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] ọ maghị azụ ches? |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] anyị adịghị abịa n'ikpeazụ |
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English - Igbo |
|---|
| how? kedụ? |
| what? gịnị/ọ gịnị? |
| who? onye? |
| why? maka gịnị? |
| where? ebee? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules - Igbo |
|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] ebee ka ị bi?/kedụ ebe ị bi? |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] ọ na asụ asụsụ ndị china? |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] ihe a ọbụ ego ole? |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] ị chọrọ enyem aka? |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] kedụ afa gị? |
It's time to learn the adverbs in Igbo. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Adverbs - Igbo |
|---|
| now kịta |
| yesterday echi gara aga/ụbọchị gara aga |
| today tata |
| tonight abani tata |
| tomorrow echi |
| soon mgbe n'adịghị anya |
| quickly ọsịsọ |
| slowly nwayọ nwayọ |
| together ọnụ |
| very ọfụma ọfụma |
| almost gom/kwa |
| always mgbe n'ine |
| usually mgbe n'ine |
| sometimes mgbe ụfọdụ |
| rarely tara akpụ |
| never ma ncha |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules - Igbo |
|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] ị ghọtago m kịta? |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] achọrọ m enyem aka kita kita |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] ọ nwere ezigbo akọ n'uche |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] m ga afụ gị n'anya mgbe n'ine |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] anyi ga amụkọ asụsụ ndị jemanị ọnụ |
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Igbo. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Personal Pronouns - Igbo |
|---|
| I mụ, mụwa |
| you gị, gịwa |
| he ọ |
| she ọ |
| we anyị |
| they ha, hawa |
| Object Pronouns - Igbo |
|---|
| me m |
| you gị |
| him ya |
| her ya |
| us anyị |
| them ha, |
| Possessive Pronouns - Igbo |
|---|
| my nke m |
| your nke gị |
| his nke ya |
| her nke ya |
| our nke anyị |
| their nke ha |
I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
| Personal Pronouns - Igbo |
|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] a bụ m ọnyị gị |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] ị na ekwu okwu ọsisọ |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] ọ nwere nkịta atọ |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] ọ ma asụ asụsụ ndị jemanị |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] anyị adịghị abịa mgbe oge gafere |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] ha gotara ala-efi na achịcha |
The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
| Object Pronouns - Igbo |
|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] ị ga agwa m afa gị? |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] m ga enye gị ego |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] ọ dere ya akwụkwọ |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] ha je fụ ya ụbọchị gara aga |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] ọ ga enyere anyị aka? |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] ọ nyere ha nri |
| Possessive Pronouns - Igbo |
|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] afa m bụ maya |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] nwa nne gị nwoke bi ebea |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] nne ya na esiri anyi nri |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] họbị ya bụ ịgụ akwụkwọ |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] nlọ m bụ ịje Paris |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] ụlọ ha eteghị aka |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns - Igbo |
|---|
| this is my house ihe a bụ ụlọ m |
| that restaurant is far ụlọnri ahụ tee aka |
| these apples are delicious aplụ a tọrọ ụtọ |
| those stars are shiny kpakpando a amukesi |
I hope you learned a lot about the Igbo grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |