Igbo Grammar: Grammatical Rules In Igbo Language 0988305119, 9780988305113

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Igb 0 Grammar I

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M, lgbo Alphabets (NKPURU EDEMEDE ASUSU IGBO)

A

B

CH

D

F

G

GB

GH

H

E

GW

J

K

M

N

I

KP

KWL

N

NW

NY

o

P

R

SH

T

U

U

V

W

Y

z

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loho

I

Grammar

IGBO DIGRAPH r Paired or double consonants (Udamkp!)

GB GW NW

KW CH

NY KP SH Variant Letters in lgbo Alphabets (Ndiche) !

U N

I a J

Igbo Vowels (Uda \fdaume)

A

I

I E,

o a U

U

4

loho

I

Grammar

Rules of Vowels (lwu Udaume)

QIllq qdaume (Vowel assimilation): when one vowel makes another vowel close to it to sound like it: Onye + isi: onyiisi (boss) Aka + ike: akiike (dictatorship)

Ndapg r,rdaume (Vowel Elision): a vowel js lost when two vowels are put together as one word: Nwa + oke: nwoke (male) Uso + ekwu: usekwu (kitchen) Nwa + anyi: nwany! (femalel

Ndakgrlta Udaume (Vowel Harmony): AkwUkwq L/tara

Qsisq Ukpaka

5

r, lobo'La

x,r-,*-r*F*!

lgbo Consonants Sounds (Uda IVlgbochiume) B

M

CH

N

D

N

F

NW

G

NIY

GB

P

GH

R

GW

S

H

SH

J

T

K

V

KP

W

KW

Y

L

Z

6

#Mk

@

Fact:

An lgbo consonant is always followed by a vowel to make a word. Two consonants can not go together in any given lgbo word except to form one letter sound as in paired consonants

7

Variant letter r vowel agreement (Ndiche)

! U N

I Rules of Variant Letters:

1. Variant letters almost always go together in a given word (Note: exceptions exist) o Lgrg (marry/fight)

. Zgrg (protecUcomPete)

o Mr=rrg (delivering a baby/learn)

2.

The only vowel that agrees with any of the variant is "a"

. AnY! (English: we, heavY) o

AkP$ (English: cassava, mold, knot

. AtU

)

(English: point, examPle) 8

lobo

Grammar

Large Numerals

Enqlish

lqbo

Hundred

Nar!

Two hundred

Nar! abqg

Five hundred

Nar! atg

Eight hundred

Nar! asatg

Thousand

Puku

Two thousand

Puku abgg

Five thousand

Puku atg

Eight thousand

Puku asato

tvl

illion

Nde

Two million

Nde abqg

Five million

Nde atg

Eight million

Nde asato 9

-***qdffi

@

Quantifying Numbers

Enqlish

lqbo

First

Nke mbu

Second

Nke abuo

Third

Nke ato

Fourth

Nke ano

Fifth

Nke ise

Sixth

Nke isii

Seventh

Nke asaa

Eighth

Nke asato

Ninth

Nke itolu

Tenth

Nke iri l0

lobo

Grammar

Telling Time Enqlish

lqbo

t\4inute

Nkeji

Hour

Elekere

6:1Oam

O jiri na

6:1Spm

O jiri na

nkeji iri gafee elekere isii nke gtytq

nkeji iri na ise gafee elekere isii nke mgbede

3.00am

Elekere atg nke UtUtU

3:00pm

Elekere ato nke ehihie

7.00pm

Elekere asaa nke mgbede

Half past one

O jiri na gkara gafee elekere

nke mbu What time is

it?

Kedu ihe na-aku ugbu a? 1l

Expressions Denoting Questions (Okwu nd! na r

egosipgta ajUjU)

Enqlish

lsbo

What

Kee, G!n!, KGdu, O lee ihe

Why

Maka gin!, G!n! kpatara

How

Keeka, Kedu ka, O lee otu

When

O lee mgbe, Kedu mgbe, Kee mgbe

Where

Ebee, O lee ebe, Kedu ebe, Kee ebe

What happened? Gin! mere, O lee ihe merenu,

Kedu ihe merenu When is it?

O lee mgbe g bU?

t2

lqbo Lanouaoe Grammar

Expressions Denoting Questions (Okwu ndi naegosipgta ajUjrI) How was your day? (kee ka qbgsi gi siri ga (kee ka gbgsi gi siri ga; OIee ka r.rbgsi g! siri ga?)

How is your day? (kee ka r,rbgsi g! si aga; kedu ka rpbgsi gi si aga; OIee ka gbgsi g! si aga?)

What are you doing? (Gini ka ! na eme; Kedu ihe ! na-eme; Kee ! na eme?) What is it? (Kedu ihe bu?)

g

bU; Q bg qini; Kee ihe g

Where are you going? (Ebee ka ! na aga; OIee ebe ! na-aga?) What are you eating? (gjni ka ! na eri; Olee ihe na-eri; Kee ihe ! na-eri)?

!

l3

,lo?p

\pnollflp

G

Parts of Speech (Nkeji asgsg)

Enslish

lsbo

Pronoun

(Nngchiaha)

Noun

(Mkpgaha)

Verb

(Ngwaa)

Preposition

(Mbuuzg)

Conjunction

(Njikq)

Adverb

(Nkgwaokwu)

Adjective

(Nkgwaaha)

Phrase

(Nkebiokwu)

t4

lobo

Grammar

Parts of Speech (Nkeji asqsg) Njiko (conjunction) En lish

lqbo

o And

Na

o Though

Ma

o BuUhowever

Mana

o Because

Maka

o Before

Tupu

olf

As!na

o Even if

A si kwa

Nrgaka (Demonstrative adjectives)

This That These Those

(Nke a) (Nke ahU) (Nd!a) (Nd! ahU)

15

lobo

Grammar

Preposition (Mbu Uzg)

Enqlish

lqho

At

n'

with

soro, w!ri, yiri

For

maka

To

n'

Before

tupu

Because of

maka ihi, maka na

During

mgbe

Under

n'okpuru

Between

n'etiti

In/lnside

n'ime

Near

n'akqkU

Above

n'elu

About

ihedika

And

na 16

loho

I

Grammar

Quantity Phrase (Mkpokq)

Enqlish

lqbo

All of them

Ha niile, Ha n'ile

All of us

Any! niile, any! n'ile

l\Iost of them

QtUtU n'ime ha

NIany of them

QtUt1r n'ime ha

Some of which

UfqdU n'ime ha

Few of them

Olemole n'ime ha

Dum

Ha dum blara (English: all of them came)

N'ile/niile

Ha n'ile blara (English: all of them came)

Ncha

Ha ncha blara (English: all of them came)

Olemole

Mmadu olemole ng ebe ahu (English. few people were there) t7

6iw*

Funtions of "NA" in lgbo language (QrU "Na" na - art1 n'asgsg lgbo) Niiko (Conjuction) - AnU na azp bU ihe oriri (English: N4eat and fish are food) MbuUzo (Preposition) n'elu oche (English: On the chair)

Enyemeaka ngwaa (Auxiliary verb) Ha na - aga egwu (English: They are going to dance) lsingwaa I ng n'Ulg (English: He is home)

Funtions of GA in lgbo Ianguage Enyemeaka ngwaa (Auxiliary verb)- Main role is in future tenses

I ga - aga ahla (English: You will go to market) Ha ga - abia (English: They will come)

Any! ga - emerlr! ihe iwu kwuru (English: We must do what the law said) He/She will give him/her food)

9 ga - enye ya nri (English:

Any! ga - enwe nmeri (English: We will have victory) 18

loho

I

Grammar

NOUN (MKP9AHA) House: Ulg

Dog:

[\4other Nne Food: Nri School: Ulq akwgkwg Song Egwu (Ukwe)

Father: Nna Church: Ulg qka Rain: Mmiri ozuzo Town: Obodo

Nklta

Use noun in a sentence: Were mkpgaha mee

ah!r!okwu Enqlish

lqbo

This house is big The dog is here My mother is a good mom His father is rich That food is tasty They are going to school

Rose shows kind everyone The rain is stopped We live in Florida

sto

Ulo nkea buru ibu Nkita a ng ebea Nne m bU ezi nne (Nne m bU ezigbo nne ) Nna ya nwere ego Nri ahu di utq Ha na aga ulo akwukwo (Ha l.la- aga akwukwo) Rose na-egos! onye qbqla obioma Mmiri ozuzo akwqrsila Anyi bi na Florida l9

ffi!@

*

NOUN (MKPQAHAI Similar to English language lgbo nouns can be singular (one) or pleural (more than one) forms.

Enqlish

lqbo

o Singular nouns

r One person r Book r child r [\4an

Otu Onye AkwUkwg Nwa

Nwoke

o Plural nouns

r People

UmU mmadu/ndi mmadg

r Two people r Three people

Mmadq abgg

r Men r Children r Books

UmU nwoke/ ndi nwoke

Mmadg atg UmU lUmU aka QtUtU akwgkwg 20

lobo

Grammar

Singular and Pleural Nouns En Iish

!obo

Brother

Nwanne nwoke

Brothers

Umunne ndi nwoke

Sister

Nwanne nwanyi

Sisters

pmgnne nd! nwany!

Sibling

Nwanne

Siblings

Umunne

Father

Nna

Fathers

Ndi nna

l\4other

Nne

l\4others

Ndi nne

Poppy

Nwa nkita

Poppies

UmU nklta 2t

dffi{ffissd$ffi

Pronouns (Nngchiaha) Pronouns serve the same purpose in Igbo language as in English language. However, in Igbo language pronoun does not distinguish between male and female.

I Me You

(MU, M) (MU, M)

Them

Their They

(Ha) (Ha) (Ha)

Your Your

(Any!) (Anyi) (Gil - singular (UnU) - plural

(G!, !)

He/She (9)

Our Us

Him Her

(Ya) (Ya)

Fact: Notice 3'd person pleural is them in lgbo language whether being used as a subject or as an object:

o They (Ha) o Them (Ha) 22

lobo Lanouaoe

Use pronoun in a sentence:

Jiri Nngchiaha mee

ah!rlokwu

Enqlish

lqbo

He/She came

O blara

Give him/her food

Nye

Our family is happy

Ezi

E nri

naqlg anvi nwere obi

afruli We are happy

Anvi nwere

They are coming

Ha na-abia

We are going to your

Anvi na -aga n'Ulg UnU

house I saw them yesterday

They went to see him

We gave it to them

A

afrUli

hUrU m ha UnyahU

Ha gara fiere) ihU ya

Anvi nyere ha ya

Fact: Pronouns are always represented but not always in the same order as in English sentence 23

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,,,

Personal Pronouns E

lish

lqbo

ol

Mu, M

. You

G!, i

rHe o She

g,o g,o

.lt

9,O

oWe

Any!

o They

Ha

oMe

MU, M

o Him

Ya

. Her . Them

Ya

.Us . You

Anvi

Ha

Unu 24

loho

I

Grammar

When to use 'Q' versus 'O' to denote he/she/it:

1.lf the immediate verb has any variant letter (Ndiche) then '9' is the pronoun otheruvise ,O, is the pronoun o (9 blara) o (9 huru) o (9 rir!) o (O jere) o (O nyere) o (O riri)

he/she/it came he/she/it saw he/she/it climbed he/shelit went he/she/it gave he/she/it ate

z.lt the immediate verb has 'A' then g is the pronoun otherwise O will be the pronoun. o (9 lara) o (9 dara) o (9 zara) o (O lere) o (O kere)

he/she/it left he/she/it fell he/she/it answered he/she/it looked he/she/it divided

25

When to use'E'versus'A'to precede the 1tt person pronoun (l):

lf the immediate verb has any variant letter like 9, !, U, N (Ndiche) then 'A' will be used otherwise 'E' is used to precede the pronoun

A chgrg m A rUrU m A frUrU m

E

jere m

E lere m E dere m

Iwant lworked I drank

lwent I looked

lwrote

lf the immediate verb has 'a'then 'A' will always precede the 1"t person prounoun Ianswered Azara m Agbaram Iran Amaram Iknew 26

loho I anor

Grammar

Personal Pronouns: Can be singular or pleural o Singular:

Enqlish

lqbo

o Him

Ya Ya

.

Her

.He

. She olt

.l

o You

oMe

.

9,O 9,O 9,O MtJ, M

G!, ! Mu, M

Plural:

Enqlish

lqbo

. Them . You

Ha

o They

Ha

oWe

Any! Any!

.US

Unu

27

,lgbo Personal pronouns similar to English language can function either as subjects or objects in sentences

. Subjects: you o He/She/it oI o

o o

We They

(!)

(9, O) (Mg, M) (Any!) (Ha)

He knows how to speak lgbo

('9' mara asg lgbo l'9' mara ka esi asq !gbo) I was there with them

('MU' na ha ng ebe ahg

lE soro 'm' ha ngrg ebe ahg )

They gave him some money

('Ha' nyere ya ego)

He put that knife on the chair

'O'detere nma ah n'elu oche 28

lohn

Grammar

I

o Objects:

Enqlish

.

lqbo

Him

Ya

o Them

Ha

.

Ya

Her

o You

G!, i

olt

Q,O

oMe

Mu, M

I sent the rent to her

(E zigara m

E ugwq utg)

My mother gave that bracelet to me (Nne m nyere m gla aka ahU)

29

lqF

Possessive Pronouns lsbo Enqlish IMy

M lmu

Your

Nke g!

His

Nke ya

Hers

Nke ya

Ours

Nke any!

Theirs

Nke ha

Yours

Nke

tvl

ine

Its

UnU

Nke m lnke mu Nke ya

ln lgbo langu?ge, possessive pronouns show ownership or possession similar to English language. lgbo possessive pronouns could be singular or pleural. 30

Iobo Lanouaoe

o Singular possessive pronouns:

Enqlish

lqbo

o Yours

Nke g!

o t\ily o Your

M lmu G!

o Hers

Nke m lNke mu Nke ya Nke ya Nke ya

o tvl ine o His o lts

They sent your book to you because it was vours (Ha zitere g! akwskwq g! maka ihi

g bU nke gi)

o Plural possessive pronouns: Enqlish o Theirs o Yours o Ours That book is thei

lqbo Nke ha Nke UnU Nke anyi ah

b

nke ha 3l

{intfl i'$sfl wlsl}'itsffi

ffi

ffi

Reflective Pronouns

Enslish

lsbo

Himself

N'onwe ya

Itself

N'onwe ya

Yourself

N'onwe g!

l\4yself

N'onwe m

Herself

N'onwe ya

Ourselves

N'onwe any!

Yourselves

N'onwe unu

Themselves

N'onwe ha

Reflexive Pronoun applies in lgbo language: when the doer of the action is identical to the receiver of an action. They could be singular or pleural 32

loho

I

Grammar

o Singular reflective pronouns: Enqlish

o Himself o ltself o Yourself

o Myself o Herself

lqbo N'onwe ya N'onwe ya N'onwe g! N'onwe m N'onwe ya

I did it by myself

(E mere m ya n'onwe m) She said it herself O kwuru n'onwe Note (E) usually begins a sentence when the Igbo verb has no variant letter and the corresponding English sentence begins with the personal pronoun '1"

. PIural reflective pronouns: o Ourselves o Yourselves o Themselves

(N'onwe any!) (N'onwe UnU (N'onwe ha)

We did it by ourselves mere

n'onwe an 33

Reciprocal Pronouns One another

(onwe ha n'otu n'otu)

Each other

(onwe any!)

Reciprocal Pronouns show shared actions or feelings For Example (Maka gmr,rmaatg)

. We can do it for each other (Any! ga - eme ya maka onwe any!)

.

They help one another (Ha na - enyere onwe ha aka n'otu n'otu)

o We respect each other

(Anyi na - asgpuru onwe any!) o They saved one another from that accident

(Ha zgpgtara onwe ha n'otu n'otu n'ihe mberede ahu) 34

loho Lanouaoe Grammar

Demonstrative Pronou ns Enslish lqbo This

a, nke a

That

ahU lnke ahU

These

ndi a

Those

ndi ahu

Demonstrative Pronouns: are pronouns that point towards nouns. They could be singular or pleural

. Singular:

This, That

That man is here This man is here This is my house That is his car

(Nwoke ahu ng ebe a) (Nwoke a ng ebe a) (Nke a bu ulg m) (Nke ahu bu Usbg ala ya)

o Pleural: These, those

Those pears are delicious (Ube ndi ahg di r,rtg) These men are here (UmU nwoke ndi a ng ebe a) 35

lgbo- Lanquaqe- Grammar

lnterro Enqlish

Pronouns lsbo

Which

OIe nke

Whom

Onye

What

Kedu, Glni

Whose

Nke onye

Who

Onye

lnterrogative Pronouns mainly introduce questions. o Example: Which, whom, what, whose, who o Whose is this? (Nke onye d! ihe a?) o Who is there? (Onye ng ebe ahr.r?)

o

What is this? (Gini b9 ihe a / G!n! d! ihe a)

.

Which of them is this? (Ole nke n'ime ha bU ihe a) 36

lobo

Grammar

Relative Pronouns Enqlish lqbo Whomever Whoever Whatever Who Whom Whose That

Onye I bunagh! lOnye gsgrg Onye I bunagh! lOnye gsgrg lhe I br,rnagh! llhe gsgrg Onye Onye Nke onye lhe ah

Example: Whomever, Whoever, Whatever, who, whom, whose, that

r That is what I said (Nke ahu bg ihe m kwuru)

. Whoever is there should open the door (Onye Q br4naghi nq ebe ahg kwesiri imepe Uzg) o Whose is this? (Nke onye d! ihe a?) o Whatever they want is

done (lhe g bunagh!

ha chgrg mere) 37

lobo Lanouaoe Grammar

lndefi nite Pronouns

lqbo

Enqlish Everyone

Onye gbqla

All

Niile, n'ile, dum, ncha

Nobody Nothing

I I

Everything

lhe niile, ihe n'ile

Anyone

Otu onye

No one

I

Something

lhe ufqd!

dlghi onye dighi ihe

d!gh! onye

o lMany were there but none could help

- (QtUtU mmadu ng ebe ahu ma g dlghi onye nwere ike inye aka) o No one saw that man

- (9 d!gh! onye hUrU nwoke ahq) 38

lobo Lanouaoe Grammar

Verb (Ngwaa) Enqlish

lqbo

ls

Bt:l

Was Were Are Went Go Come Eat Run

Bt:l

sit Walk Play Sing Take Give Bring Send Talk/Speak

Btt Bg Gara (Jere) Gaa (Jee) Bia Rie Gbaa gsg

Ngrg gdq lje Egwuru egwu Guq Were Nye

Wete (Weta) Zipu (Zite lZita) Kwuo (Gwa)

39

lobo Lanouaoe Grammar

$iffi]t#€xelffiffi

Use verb in a sentence (Were ngwaa mee

ah!riokwu) Enqlish

lqbo

Come dance

Bia gbaa egwu

Give me money

Nre m ego

Send us a message

Zitere any! ozi

Eftng-food to them

Wetara ha nri

Please talk to him

Biko gwa ya okwu

She went to church

I

That dog ig big

Nklta ahg buru ibu

These kids are

playing

sara Uka

UmU aka ndi a na-

egwuri egwu 40

Tenses Similar to English language, lgbo verbs change their forms in order to tell if something is happening now, has already happened or will happen Iater.

lgbo verbs can be: o Present tense r for things happening now

(maka ihe ndi no-Gme n'oge dlka ugbua

)

o Past tense r for things that have already happened (maka ihe ndi mere n'oge gara aga)

o Future tense for things that will happen in the future r (maka ihe ndi g?-€me n'gdlnaihu) 4l

-..toho Lanouaoe

Verb

aa Enqlish

Present Tense

lqbo

Take

Were/Nara

Look

Lee

say

Kwuo

Go

Jee/Gaa

Come

Bia

Took

Weere/Naara

Past Tense

Looked

Leere

Said

Kwuru

Went

Jere, Gara

Came

Biara

Future Tense lVill take

ga-ewere

Will look

ga-ele

Will say

ga-ekwu

Vfill go

ga-eie, go-aga

Will come

a-abia 42

loho I anor

Grammar

Verb (Ngwaa) Enqlish

Iqbo

Present Continuous Tense

ls Taking

Na-ewere

ls looking

Na-ele

ls saying

Na-ekwu

ls going

Na-eje/na-aga

ls coming

Na-abia

Has taken

E werelar!

Has looked

E leelar!

Has said

E kwuolari

Has gone

E jeelar!

Has came

A biaruolari

Present Perfect Tense

43

lobo Lanouaoe Grammar

WWlffili$ill$j$Uillljjl*lltlllllllliillllll$llllllllil$flifti'$*$$M$#$iE&i:l{ti:4ll4WE47?!,/lul!f46j$fU&?,rririljtna}X.t:S$}ErSKl

Unlike English language where simple present tense verbs use special form for the third person singular; in lgbo language, the verb does not change its form based on the degree of the personal pronoun.

Singular Enqlish

lqbo

1tt Person

l(Mu/M)

Take

Were

Person

You (Gi)

Look

Lee

He/she/ it (A)

Speaks

Kwuo

2nd

3td Person

Pleural

1tt Person 2nd

Person

3td Person

Enslish

lqbo

Take

Were

You (Unu)

Look

Lee

They (Ha)

Speak

Kwuo

We (Any!)

44

loho I anor raoe

!n lgbo language, the subject - verb agreement is applicable just Iike in English language (the 3'd person singular verb must be used with a third person subject in simple present tense.

Singular 1tt Person

l(Mu/M)

am (bu)

Past Future Was (bU) Will be (ga-abU)

Person

You (Gi)

Are (bu)

Were

Present

2nd

3'd Person

He/she/it (9)

ls (bu)

(bU)

Will be (ga-abU)

Was (bU)

Will be (ga-abU)

Pleural

Present Past 1tt Person 2nd

Person

3td Person

we(Any!) You

Future

(bu-bu)

\lVill be (ga-abu)

(Unu) Are (bu) were (bq-bu)

\lVill be (ga-abu)

Are (bu) were

They(Ha) Are (bu) were (bu-bu) will

be (ga-abu)

45

lobo Lanouaoe Grammar

Also in ln lgbo language, a subject comes before a verb and an object comes after it just like in English language. tVlary ate meat

(Mary riri anu)

Enqlish

Subject: Mary Verb: Ate Object

Meat

lqbo Mary

riri anu

Auxiliary Verbs or helping verbs (Enyemeaka ngwaa)

Example (QmgmaatU)

Enqlish

lqbo

Be

bu

WiII

ga

Shall

ga

lMay

nwere ike, ikekwe 46

lobo

Grammar

Like English language, Present, past and Future perfect verb forms in lgbo language are made up of more than one words that usually begins with 'will'for future.

Perfect forms

Tenses Present:

Take (were)

Has/have taken (E werela)

Past:

Took (weere)

Had taken (E werelar!)

Future:

Will take

Will have taken

ewere

Singulair Present 1't

znd

3'd

Person

I(MU/M)

Person You (Gi) Person He/she/it (9)

Past

Future

Have (nwere)

Had (enweelar!)

Will have (ga-enwe)

Do (mee)

Did (emeelar!)

Will

Have (nwere)

Had (enwelar!)

Will have (ga-enwe)

Do

Did (emeelar!)

Will

(mee)

do do

(ga-eme)

(ga-eme)

Has (nwere)

Had (enweelar!)

Will have (ga-enwe)

Does (mere)

Did (emeelari)

Will

Have nwere)

Had(enweelari)

Will have (ga-enwe)

Do

Did (emeelar!)

Will

Have(nwere)

Had(enweelar!)

Will have (ga-enwe)

Do mee)

Did(emeelar!)

Will

Have(nwere)

Had(enweelar!)

Will have (ga-enwe)

Do (mee)

Did(emeelar!)

Will

do

(ga-eme)

Pleural 1't Person We(Any!)

2nd Person

3'd

You (UnU)

Person They (Ha)

(mee)

do do do

(ga-eme)

(ga-eme)

(ga-eme) 47

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l"ilT r

Adjective: (Nkgwaaha)

Igbo language has limited adjectives (they are as follows)

Enqlish

lqbo

Big

Buru ibu /Nnukwu

Smallllittle

Obere

DarklBlack

oii (ojie)

Wh ite/C lea n/b

ri g

hUl i g ht

9cha

New

thuru

Good

9ma

Bad/Ugly

9jee /Nje/ Jere njp

otd

Ochie

Long/tall

Ogologo

Dirty

Unyi 48

lobo

Grammar

Use adjective in Sentences: Were nkowaaha mee

ahiriokwu

Enqlish

lqbo

day Taa bg Ubqs! gma g zUrU Ugbq ala ghgrg He bought a new car She has a clean house Q nwere Ulg di gcha Her house is clean Ulq ya di gcha They have a small dog Ha nwere obere nklita Our church is big Ulg Uka anyi buru ibu Hate is bad lkpq as! di njg / lkpq as! j9r9 njg His hair is dark Ntutu isi ya d! oji Today is a good

We have a tall orange tree Anyi nwere ogologo

osisi oroma They saw a long

snake

Ha hgrg agwg ogologo 49

!

lobo Lanouaoe Grammar

ffi1/...,,,,.ry.@*/w

Adverb Enqlish

lqbo

Slowly

Nwayg

Quickly

Qslsq

Hopefully

lkekwe

Now

Ugbua

Firstly

N'mbg

Lastly

N'ikpeazp

Early

N'oge

Yesterday

UnyahU

Tomorrow

Echi

Today

Taa, tata

Later

Mgbe emesi?, ka emesia, ffi? emesla

Often

Mgbe n'il€, oge n'ile

Never

Ncha ncha

[\4onthly

N'gnwa n'gnwa

Yearly

N'afg n'afg 50

lobo

Grammar

Enqlish

lqbo

Rarely

Rara ohg, tara akpg

Always

Mgbe n'ile, oge n'ile, mgbe gbgla

Enough

Zuru ezu

Rather

Kama

Soon

N'ad!gh! anya

Sometimes

Mgbe UfgdU

Use Adverb in Sentences:

ahiriokwu We always feed them food (Any! na enye ha nri mgbe n,ile) Hopefully she will be there (lkekwe

g ga - ang ebe ahr.r)

later (Q chgrg lhU gi ma emesia) They will be here soon (Ha ga - ang ebea mgbe n' He wants to see you

adighi anya) Please get there

early

(Biko rute ebe ahg n,oge)

5l

XW

Borrowed Words in lgbo Language (Okwu mbite)

These are words that are not originally included in Igbo language so they were borrowed from other languages mainly from English language. lji maa atq (for example): o Television

(Televishgn)

o Pool

(Puulu)

o Electric/Electricity

(Eletriki)

o Telephone

(Telefonu)

o Photo

(Foto)

o Video

(Vido)

o t\Iap

(Mapu)

o Tea

(rii)

o Clock

(Klqku)

.

(Kalinda)

Calendar

52

loho

Grammar

Sentence (Ah!rlokwu)

Simple Sentence (Ah!r!mfe)

o Uche is my child (Uche bu nwa m) o This is your money (Nke a bU ego gi) Compound Sentence (Ah!r!nha)

o Ada came but didn't see us (Ada biara ma g hughi any!) o They have food but it was not enough (Ha nwere nri ma o zugh!)

Complex Sentence (Ah!r!ukwu)

. .

They came while it was raining (Ha blara mgbe mmiri na-ezo) We arrived after there school dismissal (Any! rutere ebe ahg mgbe akwqkwg gbasachara)

Passive Sentence (Ah!rlnju)

o He did not eat food (O righ! nri) o

They did't come

(H

a ablagh!)

53

Exercise: ldentify the parts of speech for each word in this sentence

(Depgtachaa nkejiasqsg mkpgrqokwu n'ile di kwu a n'ime ah Sentence English: We remembered that the lady returned to

lgbo:

her town

Any! chetera na Nwanyi ahq lgtara n'obodo ya

Aziza (Answer).

lqbo

Enqlish

Any! We/Us Ghetara (Remembered) Na (That) Nwanyi (Lady) Ahu (The) Lgtara (Returned) (To) N' Obodo (Town) (Her) Ya

Enqlish lqbo Nnochiacha (Pronoun) Ngwaa (Verb) (Conjuction) Njikg Mkpgaha (Noun) Nrgaka (Article) Ngwaa (Verb)

MbuUzg (Preposition) Mkpgaha (Noun)

Nngchinkeonye (Personal Pronoun) 54

lobo Lanouaoe

Glauses (Nkebiahiri) o Independent Clause (Nkebiahiri nngrg onwe) - They danced (Ha gbara egwu)

- He/she agreed (O kwere)

.

Dependent Clause (Nkebiahlr! ndabe) - When we got there (Mgbe any! rutere ebe ahg) - Where she was sent (Ebe ezipgrr,r ya)

Other Example (Qmgmaatg ndi qzq)

This soup is delicious (Ofe a d! Utq) That soup is delicious (Ofe ahg d! Utq) That soup was delicious (Ofe ahg tgrg Utq) I am

hungry

(ASUU na agg m)

55

lobo Lanouaoe Grammar

-!ffi#+

F1ffi@SSS#SSfS#ffiWW,

Other Examples (Amgmaatg ndi qzq) I have three

goats (E nwere m eghu atq)

This is my second

gift (Nke a bU ihe onyinye

m

nke abgg) Did you read the third book? (! gUrV akwgkwg nke

at9?) Have you read the third

book? (! gggla akwgkwg nke atg?)

I am from

Africa

(E si m Africa)

I live in the U.S

(E bi m na Amerika)

I am an African

(A br/ onye Afrlka)

I am a student

(A bU m nwata akwUkwg)

I am a university

student (A bU m nwata akwr,rkwg mahadum)

I am ten years old

(A d! m afg iri) 56

loho

I

Grammar

Other Examples (gmgmaatg ndi qzq)

My brothers are

tall (tJmqnne m ndi nwoke toro

ogologo) My brother is tall (Nwanne m nwoke toro ogologo) My sisters are beautiful (t/mr.rnne m ndi nwanyi mara mma) My sister is beautiful (Nwanne m nwanyi mara mma) She is my friend (9 bU enyi m) He speak very fast (9 na - ekwu okwu Osiso qsisq) He speak fast (9 na - ekwu okwu gslsg) She talk very slow (9 na - ekwu okwu nwanyg nwanyg) She talk slow (O ji nwanyg ekwu okwu) They have three cows and two dogs (Ha nwere ehi atg na nkita abUq)

57

Other Examples (Amgmaatr4 ndi qzq)

This is my

house

(Nke a bu Ulg m)

That is my

house

(Nke ahg bg UIg m)

These are my houses (Nd! a bU UIg m) Those are my houses (Nd! ahg bU Ulg m) This was my I don't

house (Nke bU Ulg m mgbe mbU)

understand

What is

this?

(A ghgtaghi m) (G!n! d! ihe a?)

What do you mean? (Kedu nkgwapqta nke a?) I don't

know

(A magh! m)

There is no problem (O nweghi nsogbu di ng) No

problem

(Nsogbo adighi) 58

lobo I ano

Grammar

Other Example (gmgmaatg ndi qzq)

How did it happen? (Kedu ka O

siri mee?l

When did it happen? (Kedu mgbe O mere?l Why did it happen? (Kedu ihe mere O jiri mee?) Who made it happen? (Onye mere ihe O jiri mee) What happened? (Gini mere/Kedu ihe merenu?) What if it happened? (A slkwanu na O mere?l Where did it happen? (Kedu ebe O mere?l To whom did it happened?

(9 bu onye ka o

mere?l 59

**SeeF,nfl

Hfi sr,

F{smm$fr

,,,,,,

Online lgbo courses are available at www.iqbonetwork.com

60

Made in the USA Middletown, DE 27 November 2020

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