Yoruba grammar, step by step
A guided tour through Yoruba grammar with glossed examples that show how each piece of a sentence fits together.
Grammar Walkthrough
Discover how the language works through examples
Yorùbá is a tonal language where pitch is part of every word — change the tone and you change the meaning entirely — and it expresses tense, aspect, and mood through a compact set of preverbal particles rather than verb endings.
Three tones, three meanings
three tones| Word | Tone pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| igbá | M–H | calabash (gourd bowl) |
| igba | M–M | two hundred (200) |
| ìgbà | L–L | time / season |
| oko | M–M | vehicle / farm |
| òkò | L–L | spear |
| ọkọ | M–M (open ọ) | husband |
These three words are written with the same consonants and vowels, but they sound different and mean completely different things. What is the only thing that changes between them?
Every syllable in Yorùbá carries one of three tones: high (marked ´), mid (unmarked), and low (marked `). Tone is as much a part of the word as its consonants and vowels — the wrong tone produces a different word entirely.
Subject comes before verb
SVO word orderCan you find the subject, the verb, and the object in the spine sentence? Where does each element sit?
Yorùbá is Subject–Verb–Object. The subject pronoun or noun comes first, then an optional aspect particle, then the verb, then the object. Unlike many African languages, Yorùbá rarely drops the subject pronoun.
Pronouns have no gender
subject pronouns| Person | Subject pronoun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG | mo | I |
| 2SG | o / ọ | you (singular) |
| 3SG | ó | he / she / it / they (sg.) |
| 1PL | a | we |
| 2PL | ẹ | you (plural) |
| 3PL | wọn | they |
Look at the pronoun ó. It is used for "he," "she," "it," and singular "they." Does Yorùbá ever distinguish gender in pronouns?
Yorùbá pronouns carry no grammatical gender. The same pronoun ó covers he, she, it, and singular they. Context and the names of people involved reveal the sex or identity of the referent.
ń marks ongoing or habitual action
progressive / habitual aspectThe particle ń sits between the subject and the verb in the spine sentence. When exactly does a speaker use it — only for actions happening right now, or also for things done regularly?
The particle ń (high tone) marks the imperfective: both actions in progress right now and habitual or repeated actions. It behaves like English "am -ing" and "do/does" fused into one. The verb that follows stays in its bare form.
ti marks a completed action
perfect aspectReplacing ń with ti seems to signal something finished. How is this different from a simple past?
The particle ti (low tone) marks the perfect aspect: an action that was completed and whose result is relevant now. It closely resembles the English "have done" construction and does not by itself specify when the action happened.
yóò / á marks the future
futureTwo different forms can mark future events — yóò and á. They seem interchangeable in many sentences. Where do they appear in the sentence?
Future events are marked by yóò (also written yió) or its shortened form á, placed between the subject and the verb. Both are pre-verbal particles, just like ń and ti. The form á is common in everyday speech.
kò and kì negate the verb
negationNegation in Yorùbá uses one of two particles — kò or kì — placed before the verb. What determines which one to use?
The particle kò (low-high or high tone) is the general negator, replacing or following the subject. The particle kì is specifically used to negate the progressive particle ń — together they form kì í (or kìí), meaning "does not habitually."
Two copulas: jẹ́ and wà
copulasYorùbá has two verbs that translate as "to be" in English but cannot be swapped. One is used for identity and classification; the other for location or existence. What is the key difference?
The verb jẹ́ links a subject to a class or identity (X is a Y). The verb wà signals that something exists or is located somewhere (X is in/at Y). wà is stative and appears bare before its complement — it does NOT take the progressive marker ń.
Questions: ṣé and wh-words
questionsTo ask a yes/no question, a single word appears at the beginning of the sentence. For wh-questions, where does the question word land — at the start or somewhere inside?
Yes/no questions are introduced by ṣé (or ǹjẹ́) at the sentence start. Wh-words like ta ni (who), kí ni (what), níbo (where), and ìgbà wo (when) typically appear in situ (where the questioned item would normally sit) or are fronted and followed by ni.
Possession by juxtaposition
possession| Person | Possessive form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| my | mi | ilé mi (my house) |
| your (sg) | rẹ | ilé rẹ (your house) |
| his / her / its / their (sg) | rẹ̀ | ilé rẹ̀ (his/her/their house) |
| our | wa | ilé wa (our house) |
| your (pl) | yín | ilé yín (your house) |
| their | wọn | ilé wọn (their house) |
To say "my house" or "his book," a short possessive pronoun follows the noun directly. Is there a separate linking word, or do they just sit side by side?
Yorùbá forms possession by placing a short pronoun directly after the noun, with no linking word. The pronoun often undergoes tone change when in this possessive position. Possession of a noun phrase uses the particle ti before the possessor.
Serial verbs chain actions together
serial verb constructionSeveral verbs appear in a row with no conjunction and no repeated subject or tense marker. Each verb adds a different piece of meaning. How do they share the subject and tense?
In Yorùbá serial verb constructions, a sequence of bare verb phrases shares the same subject and tense/aspect marker from the first verb. The second and later verbs add direction, instrument, beneficiary, or result. This is one of the most productive grammatical patterns in the language.
àwọn marks the plural
plural markerYorùbá nouns do not change their form to show plural. Instead, a separate word appears before the noun. What is it, and is it the same word as the third-person plural pronoun?
The word àwọn serves double duty: as the third-person plural pronoun "they" and as a pre-nominal plural marker on nouns. When àwọn precedes a noun, it marks that noun as plural. Number is not marked on the noun itself.
tí introduces relative clauses
relative clausesTo say "the person who speaks Yorùbá," Yorùbá inserts a small word between the noun and the verb that follows it. Does this word change form depending on the noun?
The relativizer tí is invariable — it has the same form regardless of whether it refers to a person, an object, or a place. It directly precedes the relative clause verb, and a subject or object gap inside the clause marks where the head noun fits.
Reduplication intensifies meaning
reduplicationSome words seem to repeat themselves completely or partially. Does the repetition change the meaning, or is it just emphasis?
Yorùbá uses full or partial reduplication of a verb or adjective to intensify, express habituality, or create a new noun. Full reduplication of verbs often creates a verbal noun or intensified action. Adjective reduplication means "very" or superlative.
Tones interact at boundaries
tone sandhiWhen words sit next to each other, their tones sometimes shift to fit the context. Which syllable gives way — the verb, the pronoun, or something else?
Yorùbá has concrete sandhi rules at morpheme boundaries. A monosyllabic verb with a lexical Low tone surfaces with a Mid tone when followed by a noun object: citation rà "buy" → surface ra in Mo ra ìwé "I bought a book". An object pronoun takes a tone polarized with the verb's tone — High after a Low or Mid verb (nà + á "beat him/her"), but a different tone after a High verb (rí i "see him/her"). Separately, the 1SG pronoun mo contracts with the negator kò to give mi ò. These are not optional flourishes — they are the forms you will actually hear.
The full picture
synthesisLooking back at everything — tones, aspect particles, serial verbs, tí relatives, àwọn plurals — can you read these sentences and name each piece?
Yorùbá packs information into tone, preverbal particles, and word order rather than inflectional endings. Once you hear how ń, ti, and yóò slot in, and how tí, àwọn, and serial verbs extend the sentence, the overall architecture clicks into place.