Vocabulary List

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Presentational Communication

Context: Tolú is at the Yorùbá language table for the first time. She greets and introduces herself to her classmates.

Interpersonal Communication

Context: Tolú meets her Professor, greets her, and asks information about when to meet the professor.

Grammar Notes

Yorùbá Pronouns

Generally, pronouns are words used in place of nouns. While there are different categories of pronouns, including personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, and emphatic or strong pronouns, pronouns can function as the subject or object of a sentence. Each of these pronouns, regardless of their function in a sentence, can be in singular or plural form.

There are three subject pronouns and three object Yoruba pronouns, along with their plural forms in Yorùbá. Each of these pronouns may occur in the first, second, or third position.

First-person singular  subject  and object pronouns

Subject                                 Object

1. Mo     “I”;                             Mi “me”

Example:

• Mo lọ sí ilé ìwé  “I went to school.”
• Màmá  fún mi ní owó  “Mom gave me some money.”

Second-person singular  subject  and object pronouns

2.  O     “You”.                       Ẹ  “you”

Example:

•  O ti dé            “You have arrived.”
•  Bọ́lá rí ẹ.          “Bọ́lá saw you.”

Third-person singular  subject  and object pronouns

3.  Ó   “He/she/it ”               The object occurs as an extension of the vowel in the verb e.g., “i,”  “ẹ, ” “a,” etc.

Example:

• Ó ti lọ “He/she/it has gone”
• Olùkọ́ rí i ” The teacher saw him/her/it”
• Ṣọlá bẹ̀ ẹ́ ” Ṣọlá begged him/her”

Note: The “i” and “ẹ̀” in rí i  and bè ẹ́ are the object singular pronouns in the third person position. The marker varies depending on the verb in such sentences.

First-person plural subject and object pronouns

 Subject                              Object

4. A   “We ”                         Wa “us”

Example:

• A máa lọ sí ilé ìwé.  “We will go to school.”
• Tọ́lá rí wa ní ilé ìwé lánàá”  “Tọ́lá saw us at the school, yesterday.”

Second-person plural subject and object pronouns

5. Ẹ   “You ”                         Yín  “you”

Example:

• Ẹ ra ìrẹsì jọ̀lọ́ọ̀fù ní ilé oúnjẹ.           “You (pl.) bought jollof rice at the restaurant.”
• N kò rí i yín ni ilé oúnjẹ lánàá.         “I did not see you at the restaurant, yesterday.”

Important note. The plural subject and object pronouns “Ẹ” and “Yín” can be used as honorific pronouns in Yoruba. The honorific pronoun “ẹ/yín” communicates respect when speaking to a person who is older or of a higher status. As a result, “ẹ” in Yoruba does not always mark a plural or indicates that the speaker is addressing more than one person. Instead, the person being addressed in the conversation provides the context for determining if “ẹ” refers to more than one person, or if it is used to show respect to someone who is older, e.g., one’s parents, uncle, etc., or someone in a higher status, like the president of a nation.

Example:

When a student is referring to their father:

• Ṣé ẹ (singular/honorific) ti lọ sí ibi iṣẹ́ ? “Have you gone to work?

When referring to the president of a nation:

• Mo rí wọn (singular/honorific) ní orí tẹlifiṣàn “I saw him/her/ on the television”

Third-person plural subject and object pronouns

6. Wọ́n.  ” They ”                                   Wọn   “Them”

Examples:

• Wọ́n ti dé láti ilé ìwé.      “They have arrived from school.”
• A máa rí wọn lọ́la.             “We will see them tomorrow.”