How to Create Negative Sentences in Igbo
Hello and welcome back to today’s lesson.
Today we are going to be looking at something a little different, how to construct simple negative sentences in Igbo.
There are different ways of forming negative sentences in Igbo depending on whether the verb is in the present tense or in the past tense.
- If the verb is in the present tense, ‘ànághị’ which means ‘is/are not’ is used to make the verb negative verb.
- If the verb is in the past tense, ‘ghị’ is attached to the verb to make the verb negative.
Constructing negative sentences using ‘ànághị’
To construct negative sentences in the present tense, Igbo uses ‘ànághị’ which can be pronounced phonetically as ‘Aah-nah-ghii’ starting with a low tone, moving to a high tone and ending with a downstep (low) tone. ‘Ànághị’ means ‘is/are not’.
Put Ànághị before the verb for standard sentences and before “m” in sentences with “I am” in Igbo.
Now let’s look at the sentences below:
Example 1
Ánà m èrí ńrī = I am eating
Ànághị m eri ńrī = I am not eating
Example 2
Òbí nà-èkwú ókwū = Obi is talking
Òbí ànághị èkwú ókwū = Obi is not talking
Example 3
Há nà-àgá ụ́lọ̀ákwụ́kwọ́ = They are going to school
Há ànághị àgá ụ́lọ̀ákwụ́kwọ́ = They are not going to school
Example 4
Ànyị́ nà-àgbá bọ́ọ̀lụ̀ = We are playing football
Ànyị́ ànághị àgbá bọ́ọ̀lụ̀ = We are not playing football
The special case for ‘Ọ’ and ‘ḷ’
Negative sentences with the pronouns ‘Ọ’ (he/she/it) and ‘ḷ’ (you) are treated slightly differently.
For the pronouns ‘Ọ’ and ‘ḷ’, the ‘à’ in front of ‘ànághị’ is removed and left with ‘nághị’ for the sentence to flow.
Example 1
Ọ́ nà-àbị́á = He/she/it is coming
Ọ̀ nághị àbị́á = He/she/it is not coming
Example 2
Ị́ nà-àgá ụ́kà = You are going to church
Ị̀ nághị àgá ụ́kà = You are not going to church
Constructing negative sentences using ‘ghị’
To construct negative sentences in the past tense, Igbo uses ‘ghị’ which can be pronounced phonetically as ‘ghii’ with a downstep (low) tone.
‘ghị’ which means ‘did not’ is attached to the verb to form negative.
Now let’s look at the sentences below:
Example 1
Chíọ́má tàrà àkwá = Chioma ate egg
Chíọ́má àtághị àkwá = Chioma did not eat egg
Example 2
Há dàrà n’ùlé = They failed in the exam
Hà àdághị n’ùlé = They did not fail in the exam
Example 3
Ágụ̀rụ̀ m ákwụ́kwọ́ = I read (book)
Àgụ́ghị m ákwụ́kwọ́ = I did not read (book)
The special case for ‘Ọ’ and ‘ḷ’
Also here, for the pronouns ‘Ọ’ (he/she/it) and ‘ḷ’ (you), the ‘à’ in front of the verb is removed for the sentence to flow.
Example 1
Ọ́ rụ̀rụ̀ ọ́rụ́ = He/she/it worked
Ọ̀ rụ́ghị ọ́rụ́ = He/she/it did not work
Example 2
Ị́ zàrà ụ́lọ̀ = You swept the house
Ị̀ zághị ụ́lọ̀ = You did not sweep the house
The case of ‘àchọ́ghị’ in Igbo
Another type of simple negative construction in Igbo which is seen in everyday conversation is ‘àchọ́ghị’ which means ‘don’t want’.
See some example sentences below
Example 1
Èméká chọ̀rọ̀ írī ńrī = Emeka wants to eat
Èméká àchọ́ghị írī ńrī = Emeka doesn’t want to eat
Example 2
Há chọ̀rọ̀ ị́gụ ákwụ́kwọ́ = They want to read
Há àchọ́ghị ị́gụ ákwụ́kwọ́ = They don’t want to read
Example 3
Áchọ̀rọ̀ m yá = I want him/her/it
Àchọ́ghị m yá = I don’t want him/her/it
The special case for ‘Ọ’ and ‘ḷ’
Here also, the ‘à’ in front of ‘àchọ́ghị’ is removed when the pronouns ‘Ọ’ (he/she/it) and ‘ḷ’ (you) is involved, so that the sentence will flow.
Example 1
Ọ́ chọ̀rọ̀ Ị́bịā = He/she/it wants to come
Ọ̀ chọ́ghị Ị́bịā = He/she/it doesn’t want to come
Example 2
Ị́ chọ̀rọ̀ ị́ṅụ ḿmírī = You want to drink water
Ị̀ chọ́ghị ị́ṅụ ḿmírī = You don’t want to drink water
Example 3
That is it for today, we will wrap it up here.
Today’s lesson may have felt a bit complicated, but don’t worry keep coming back to it and practicing creating negative Igbo sentences, to help you get a hand of it.
Happy learning!