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Thanks to our lesson on pluralisation, I believe you are now familiar with a number of ways by which plural nouns are formed in Twi. Now, how do we join Akan (Twi) words, phrases, clauses, and sentences together? We are looking at Twi Conjunctions (Nkabomdeɛ) in today’s lesson.
What is a Conjunction? | Nkabomdeɛ ne Deɛn?
A conjunction is a word that joins two or more words, phrases, clauses or sentences together. Common English examples of conjunctions include ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘but’.
Types of Conjunctions | Nkabomdeɛ Ahodoɔ
Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions join two or more sentences, main clauses, words, or other parts of speech which are of the same syntactic importance. Examples include “na/ne (and)”, “na (for), “nanso (but), “anaa (or), “nti (so), etc.
Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions join dependent clauses to independent clauses. Examples include “ansa (na) (before)”, “(a)gye sɛ (unless)”, “sɛ… a (if)”, “ɛfiri sɛ/ɛsiane sɛ (because)”, etc.
Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions come in pairs. They work together to join phrases or words that carry equal importance within a sentence. Examples of correlative conjunctions in Twi include “oo… oo (whether… or)”, “sɛdeɛ… saa ara na… (just as… so…)”, “ɛnyɛ… na mmom (not… but)”
List of Some Twi Conjunctions (Nkabomdeɛ)
Twi | English | Example |
---|---|---|
ne | and (for connecting words/phrases) | ɔtan ne aniberɛ (hatred and jealousy)
Kofi ne Ama (Kofi and Ama) |
na | and (for connecting clauses/sentences) | Ama ho yɛ fɛ, na ɔbu adeɛ nso. (Ama is beautiful, and she is respectful, too)
Kofi frɛɛ me, na mebaeɛ. (Kofi called me, and I came) |
nanso | but | na ɔpɛ sɛ ɔdi aduane no nyinaa nanso na ɔfɛre (he/she had wanted to eat the entire food but he was shy)
ɔyɛɛ nea ɔbɛtumi biara nanso ɔweeɛ (he/she tried all he/she could but he/she came last) |
nti | so | ɔbaa ntɛm nti yɛtenaa abɔnten kakra (he/she came early so we sat outside a little) |
anaa | or | ɛyɛ ɛkɔm anaa sukɔm (is it hunger or thirst?) |
ɛfiri sɛ ɛsiane sɛ | because | osuiɛ, ɛfiri sɛ na ne werɛ aho (he/she cried, because he/she was sad) |
sɛ… a | if | sɛ ɔba a, yɛbɛpue (if he/she comes, we’ll go out) |
sɛ | as | tuntum sɛ bidie (black as charcoal) |
asɛ | as if | wayɛ n’anim mmɔbɔmmɔbɔ asɛ kɔm de no (he/she has put on a sad face as if he/she is hungry) |
ansa (na) | before | to me nkra ansa na woaba (notify me before you come) |
mpo | even | ɔdware daa, mpo awɔ berɛ mu (he/she baths every day, even in cold times)
Kofi mpo antumi na wo (Even Kofi couldn’t and you (how much more you)) |
sɛ mpo | even if | sɛ mpo ɔyare a, ɔmmra (even if he/she is indisposed, he/she should come) |
sɛdeɛ ɛbɛyɛ a | in order that so that | maame no daa kɔm, sɛdeɛ ɛbɛyɛ a akwadaa no bɛdidi (the woman slept hungry, so that/in order that the child will eat) |
sɛdeɛ | just as | dɔ wo nua, sɛdeɛ Yesu dɔ yɛn (love your sibling, just as Jesus loves us) |
(a)gye sɛ | unless | mentua, gye sɛ me nsa ka (I wont pay, unless I receive it) |
kɔpem sɛ
kɔsi sɛ | until | mɛda saa kɔpem sɛ mɛnya adwuma (I’ll keep sleeping until I get a job) |
berɛ (korɔ) a | while | ɔkɔɔ so ara yɛɛ dede berɛ a na mada no (he/she kept making noise while I was asleep) |
fa no sɛ | suppose | yɛmfa no sɛ menni sika bio, nka wobɛkɔ so ara adɔ me? (let’s suppose I didn’t have money anymore, would you continue to love me?) |
oo… oo | whether… or | wobɛkɔ oo, wonkɔ oo, aban nsa aka wo (whether you’ll go or not, you’ve been nabbed by the government) |
ne nyinaa akyi no yei nyinaa akyi no | in spite of after all this | n’ahonya bebrebe nyinaa akyi no, ɔdwo pa ara (in spite of his/her wealth, he/she is very calm) |
sɛdeɛ… saa ara na | just as… so… | sɛdeɛ Noah nna no yɛeɛ no, saa ara na Yesu mmaeɛ no bɛyɛ (just as the days of Noah was, so would the coming of Jesus be) |
kyɛn | than | woanyini kyɛn me (you’re older than I am) |
Do you have more Twi conjunctions to add? Please leave them in the comments section below. We’ll appreciate that greatly. The lesson’s video will be uploaded on our YouTube channel soon. Please subscribe to our channel HERE. Thanks for reading.
Responses
I want to from you because your lesson is interesting.Esther
Medaase, Esther
What about the conjunction “that”? For example, “They believe that he is lying.”
Thank you.
Hi Clement, the conjunction “that” is “sɛ” as in “Wɔgye di “sɛ” ɔretwa ntorɔ (They believe that he is lying)”, “Kofi kaa “sɛ” Ama ada (Kofi said that Ama had slept)”, “”sɛ” ɔbɛdi w’aduane, ɛnsi da! (that he will eat your food, it’ll never happen!).
Thank you