Lesson 6: Little words that look like English§
Many grammar words are spelled like English words and mean something else. Learn these as a set:
| Looks like | Means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to | I (English "to" is tun) | to obu "I come" |
| me | you | me obu "you come" |
| a | "you know", at the end of a sentence (not "a") | wan sin oyi bu, a. "She said it, you know." |
| o | focus: this one, not another | o to "me" |
| no | the one who… | no tofo "one who teaches", a teacher |
| go | anyone | |
| we | all | ewo we "all people", everyone |
| wi | even (not "we") | wi to "even me" |
| in | some | pasu in "some food" |
| kin | some but not all | kin pi foto la "some of the photos" |
| bo | some (unspecified) | ewo bo "someone" |
| tan | this | totu tan "this dog" |
| ben | that | guyi ben "that house" |
| pen | we, including you | so pen isi. "Let's go." |
| sun | he/she, in reported speech | lesson 5 |
| gun | is | guyi gun kudu. "The house is big." |
| tin | do it (a command) | tin obu. "Come." |
| nun | politely | so nun … "please …" |
| yen | and | mole yen wede "mother and father" |
| so | a request | so neke to osa. "Give me water?" |
| man | who, which | ewo man obu "the person who comes" |
| sin | done (finished) | to sin nawi. "I've eaten." |
| don | if |
There are no words for "a" and "the". Usually context is enough. When it matters, use tan "this", ben "that", bo "some (unspecified)" or a number, as in ewo bo "someone" and musu bo "something". These words go after the noun. Some can stand alone as a noun: we "all, everyone", in "some", fa "none". For part of a whole, put the word or a number before pi and the noun: kin pi foto la "some of the photos", fi pi ka "one of three".