In our introductory lesson to Twi verb tenses, we got to know what a verb tense is, the three main types of verb tenses, and went on to show, through examples, the forms that some Twi verbs take when they are used to describe situations in the past, present, or future. I am guessing you’ve already gone through that lesson. If you haven’t, please click here to check it out before resuming the present lesson.

Now, let’s look at the simple present tense in Twi.

The Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense is used to refer to actions, conditions, or experiences that is currently happening or that are always the case. We use the simple present form of a verb when we want to describe an action that is currently happening or happens regularly (habitually). It is the most original form (the root) of a verb.

In English, most regular verbs use their root forms to inidcate the present tense. The only exception to this is when a regular verb in its present tense state comes after the 3^rd person singular pronouns he, she, it. When that is the case, an -s or -es is suffixed to the verb. For example:

–> I eat

–> You eat

–> He/she/it eats

–> We eat

–> You (plural) eat

–> They eat

The Simple Present Tense in Twi | Daa Kabea

The good news is, in Twi, the concept of subject-verb agreement is non-existent. So, we only make use of the original, infinitive form of the verb to show the present tense. That is to say, no matter the pronoun that a verb follows, we use its original (root) form to talk about present events. So, if you need to form any sentence in the present state, whichever Twi verb you know, just go ahead and use it as it is; nothing changes. You may click here and/or here to see some Twi verbs to use.

Let’s look at some examples. You will find the Twi verbs, in their original, infinitive forms italicized and underlined. As you will see from the set of examples, when the subject is a pronoun, we combine it and the verb into a single word in writing. For subject nouns, we separate them from the verbs.

1. Menom nsuo

    I drink water.

2. Medi aduane.

    I eat food.

3. Mesoa.

    I carry.

4. Ɔkye nkosua.

    He/she fries eggs.

5. Ama tɔn nneɛma.

    Ama sells things.

6. Kofi pɛ akenkan

    Kofi likes reading.

7. Yɛsom Nyame.

    We worship God

8. Asumadu kyini

    Asumadu roams

9. Opoku kasa dodo.

    Opoku talks a lot.

10. Wosua Twi.

      You learn Twi. 

Do go ahead and add to the examples. Use as many Twi verbs as you know to form different sentences in the present state. In our next lesson, we will be looking at the past tense in Twi.

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