Negative form of the present perfect tense in Yoruba
It’s really simple to create a negative sentence in Yoruba in the present perfect tense, all you need to do is use is the negative marker ‘kò’ that you were first introduced to in Yoruba Lesson 6 and a few extra letters!
To make a negative present perfect tense sentence in Yoruba, put ‘kò ì tí ì’ before the verb. Examples of how to convert from a present perfect tense sentence to a negative present perfect tense sentence are shown below.
Olú tí sùn = Olu has slept
Olú kò ì tí ì sùn = Olu has not slept
Wálé tí jẹun = Wale has eat
Wálé kò ì tí ì jẹun = Wale will not have eat
PLEASE DON’T FORGET — Sometimes people say ò instead of kò in Yoruba, e.g.
Olú ò ì tí ì sùn = Olú kò ì tí ì sùn
As stated in Yoruba Lesson 3 Yoruba has two types of pronouns, standard pronouns and emphatic pronouns, Standard pronouns can change slightly if a sentence is in it’s negative form. The two tables below show how pronouns are expressed (if they change or don’t change) in the future tense.
For an explanation of the changes please refer to Yoruba Lesson 6.
Standard pronouns in the negative present perfect tense
| English | Yoruba |
| I have not | N kò ì tí ì |
| You have not | O kò ì tí ì |
| He/She/It has not | Kò ì tí ì |
| We have not | A kò ì tí ì |
| You all have not | Ẹ kò ì tí ì |
| They have not | Wọn kò ì tí ì |
Emphatic pronouns in the negative present perfect tense
| English | Yoruba |
| I have not | Èmi kò ì tí ì |
| You have not | Ìwọ kò ì tí ì |
| She/He/It has not | Òun kò ì tí ì |
| We have not | Àwa kò ì tí ì |
| You all have not | Ẹ̀yin kò ì tí ì |
| They have not | Àwọn kò ì tí ì |
Now that you’ve learnt how pronouns can change in the future tense, some example of negative Yoruba future tense sentences have been given below, to help you get more comfortable with the format.
Example Negative Yoruba Present Perfect Tense Sentences
| English | Yoruba |
| N kò ì tí ì lọ | I have not gone |
| O kò ì tí ì mu | You have not drank |
| Kò ì tí ì jẹun | She has not eaten |
| Àwa kò ì tí ì pariwo | We have not shouted |
| Ẹ kò ì tí ì sùn | You all have not slept |
| Àwọn kò ì tí ì sọ̀ | They have not spoken |
Now you have learnt how to create sentences in the negative present perfect tense in Yoruba!