Language/Ga/Grammar/How-to-Use-Have
Hi Ga learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to use "have" in Ga. "Have" is a verb used to indicate possession or ownership. Mastering this verb is essential to build more complex sentences in Ga. Let's get started!
Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Adjectives & Gender.
"Have" in Present Tense[edit | edit source]
In Ga, "have" is translated to "nii". It is used in a sentence to indicate possession, like "I have a book". Here are some examples:
| Ga | Pronunciation | English | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Míí nii bùùkù | /míí nìì bùùkú/ | I have a book | Núú nii kàpì | /núú nìì kàpí/ | You have a cap | Èwè nii dʒèlè | /èwé nìì dʒèlè/ | He/she has a dress | Màà nii ʃáá | /màː nìì ʃáá/ | We have a house | Yáà nii dùù | /yàː nìì dùù/ | They have a car |
To form a sentence with "have", you need to follow this pattern: Subject + "nii" + Object.
For example:
- Míí nii bùùkù (I have a book)
In the example above, "míí" means "I", "nii" means "have" and "bùùkù" means "book".
Let's practice with a dialogue:
- Person 1: Míí nii káàsí (I have a chair)
- Person 2: Núú nii tààbu (You have a table)
- Person 1: Èwè nii móó (He/she has a goat)
- Person 2: Màà nii síílì (We have a farm)
"Have" in the Past Tense[edit | edit source]
In the past tense, "have" is translated to "nɔɔ". To use "have" in the past tense, you need to follow this pattern: Subject + "nɔɔ" + Object. Here are some examples:
| Ga | Pronunciation | English | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Míí nɔɔ bùùkù | /míí nɔ́ɔ́ bùùkú/ | I had a book | Núú nɔɔ kàpì | /núú nɔ́ɔ́ kàpí/ | You had a cap | Èwè nɔɔ dʒèlè | /èwé nɔ́ɔ́ dʒèlè/ | He/she had a dress | Màà nɔɔ ʃáá | /màː nɔ́ɔ́ ʃáá/ | We had a house | Yáà nɔɔ dùù | /yàː nɔ́ɔ́ dùù/ | They had a car |
Let's practice using "have" in the past tense with a dialogue:
- Person 1: Míí nɔɔ bùùkù (I had a book)
- Person 2: Núú nɔɔ kàpì (You had a cap)
- Person 1: Èwè nɔɔ dʒèlè (He/she had a dress)
- Person 2: Màà nɔɔ síílì (We had a farm)
"Have" in Negative Sentences[edit | edit source]
To form a negative sentence using "have" in Ga, you just need to add "máà" before "nii" or "nɔɔ". "Máà" means "not". Here are some examples:
| Ga | Pronunciation | English | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Míí máà nii bùùkù | /míí máà nìì bùùkú/ | I do not have a book | Núú máà nɔɔ kàpì | /núú máà nɔ́ɔ́ kàpí/ | You did not have a cap | Èwè máà nii dʒèlè | /èwé máà nìì dʒèlè/ | He/she does not have a dress | Màà máà nɔɔ ʃáá | /màː máà nɔ́ɔ́ ʃáá/ | We did not have a house | Yáà máà nii dùù | /yàː máà nìì dùù/ | They do not have a car |
For example:
- Míí máà nii bùùkù (I do not have a book)
In the example above, "míí" means "I", "máà" means "not", "nii" means "have" and "bùùkù" means "book".
Let's practice using "have" in a negative sentence with a dialogue:
- Person 1: Míí máà nii káàsí (I do not have a chair)
- Person 2: Núú máà nɔɔ tààbu (You did not have a table)
- Person 1: Èwè máà nii móó (He/she does not have a goat)
- Person 2: Màà máà nɔɔ síílì (We did not have a farm)
"Have" in Questions[edit | edit source]
To form a question using "have" in Ga, you just need to change the word order. You need to start with "nii" or "nɔɔ" and follow with the subject. Here are some examples:
| Ga | Pronunciation | English | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nii míí bùùkù? | /nìì míí bùùkú/ | Do I have a book? | Nɔɔ núú kàpì? | /nɔ́ɔ́ núú kàpí/ | Did you have a cap? | Nii èwè dʒèlè? | /nìì èwé dʒèlè/ | Does he/she have a dress? | Nɔɔ màà ʃáá? | /nɔ́ɔ́ màː ʃáá/ | Did we have a house? | Nii yáà dùù? | /nìì yàː dùù/ | Do they have a car? |
For example:
- Nii míí bùùkù? (Do I have a book?)
In the example above, "nii" means "do", "míí" means "I" and "bùùkù" means "book".
Let's practice forming questions using "have" with a dialogue:
- Person 1: Nɔɔ núú káàsí? (Did you have a chair?)
- Person 2: Nii míí tààbu? (Do I have a table?)
- Person 1: Nɔɔ Èwè móó? (Did he/she have a goat?)
- Person 2: Nii màà síílì? (Do we have a farm?)
Remember, practice makes perfect! If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ If you want to improve your Ga grammar, check out our Grammar section. ➡ To practice speaking with native speakers, join Polyglot Club and find native speakers and ask them any questions! ➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]