Welcome back! Today’s lesson is going to be an interesting one.
Today we will be focussing on plural nouns in Igbo.
In English, to form plural nouns, we simply add ‘s’ or ‘es’ to the end of the word. For example:
Bag -> Bags
Boy -> Boys
Box -> Boxes
Dish -> Dishes
In Igbo, there are three ways to put nouns in their plural forms.
Here are the three ways:
- The use of ‘gá’ after the noun
- The use of ‘ụ́mụ̀’ as a prefix attached to the noun
- The use of ‘ńdị́’ before the noun
It is important to note that ‘gá’ is used for non-living things (e.g. books, cars e.t.c.) and ‘ụ́mụ̀’ and ‘ńdị́’ are used for living things (e.g. people, animals e.t.c).
Take note: ‘ńdị́’ is almost exclusively used for professions.
1. The use of ‘gá’ after the noun
In this method of forming plurals in Igbo, the word ‘gá’ is placed after the noun to show plurality.
ụ́́lọ̀ + gá = ụ́́lọ̀ gá
(‘ụ́́lọ̀’ means ‘house’ in Igbo)
Remember ‘gá’ is used for non-living things.
For example
ụ́lọ̀ = house
ụ́́lọ̀ gá = houses
ékwéńtị̀ = phone
ékwéńtị̀ gá = phones
ákwụ́kwọ́ = book
ákwụ́kwọ́ gá = books
ụ́gbọ́àlà = vehicle
ụ́́gbọ́àlà gá = vehicles
òròmá = orange
òròmá gá = oranges
2. The use of ‘ụ́mụ̀’ as a prefix attached to the noun
In this method of forming plurals in Igbo, ‘ụ́mụ̀’ is attached as a prefix to the noun to show plurality.
ụ́mụ̀ + nwókē = ụ́mụ̀nwókē
(‘nwókē’ means ‘man’ in Igbo)
Remember – ‘ụ́mụ̀’ is used for living things.
For example
nwókē = man
ụ́mụ̀nwókē = men
nwáànyị̀ = woman
ụ́mụ̀nwáànyị̀ = women
ánụ́mánụ̀ = animal
ụ́mụ̀ánụ́mánụ̀ = animals
nwáńnē = sibling
ụ́mụ̀ńnē = siblings
éwú = goat
ụ́mụ̀éwū = goats
3. The use of ‘ńdị́’ before the noun
In this method of forming plurals in Igbo, ‘ńdị́’ is placed before the noun to show plurality. It is exclusively used for professions.
ńdị́ + ńkúzí = ńdị́ ńkúzí
(‘ńkúzí ‘ means ‘teacher’ in Igbo)
For example
ónyé ńkúzí = teacher
ńdị́ ńkúzí = teachers
ónyé ùwéójíī = cop
ńdị́ ùwéójíī = cops
ónyé sójà = soldier
ńdị́ sójà = soldiers
ónyé ọ̀kàíkpē = judge
ńdị́ ọ̀kàíkpē = judges
ónyé òséfòtó = photographer
ńdị́ òséfòtó = photographers
Bonus method – using ‘ọ̀tụ́tụ́’
Another way of showing plurality in Igbo is by the use of ‘ọ̀tụ́tụ́’ which means ‘many’ in Igbo.
For example:
Ọ̀tụ́tụ́ ákwụ́kwọ́ = many books
Ọ̀tụ́tụ́ mmádụ̀ = many people
Ọ̀tụ́tụ́ ógè = many times
Today, you’ve learnt lots of different ways to make nouns plural in Igbo, making sure to try and use them in your Igbo sentences, the journey to Igbo fluency continues.
See you in the next lesson!