biya / jira / kira / riga

A Small Exceptional Verb Group

Level 4

Biya, jira, kira and riga have high–high lexical tone.

How It Works

Biya ‘pay’, jira ‘wait for’, kira ‘call’ and riga ‘precede’ retain long final -a before ordinary noun and pronoun objects. Their lexical tone is high–high. Imperative tone must be distinguished from this citation pattern.

Compare kira / kira ta / kira Hauwa with Grade 2 saya / saye ta / sayi riga. This small class does not share Grade 2’s vowel alternation. Subject-TAM markers still distinguish completed, intended and future actions.

Verbal nouns are lexical. Continuative kiran yara and kiransa use nominal linking, unlike finite kira shi. Riga permits a pronoun object followed by a coming verbal noun: riga ni zuwa means arriving before me.

Examples (4)

  1. Na kira Hauwa.

    I called Hauwa.

    Kira retains long final a before the noun.

  2. Mun jira malam a ƙofar gida.

    We waited for the teacher at the house door.

    Jira retains its finite vowel.

  3. Zan biya ku gobe.

    I will pay you tomorrow.

    Biya retains long final a before ku.

  4. Musa ya riga ni zuwa.

    Musa arrived before me.

    Ni identifies the person preceded; zuwa specifies arrival.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

biya / jira / kira / rigaLevel 4A Small Exceptional Verb Group

Learn This First

Recognize finite complement contexts, lexical verbal nouns and plural direct-object participants before distinguishing the small biya/jira/kira/riga group from ordinary variable-vowel verbs. In Zan biya ku gobe, final ku is the addressed group’s short direct object.

Words in This Pattern

biya