a- (Consecutive)

Consecutive a-

Level 3

Say bɛ- once, then use a-: Mɛtɔ aduane ama wo (I will buy food for you), Yɛbɛkɔ fie akɔdidi (We will go home and eat).

How It Works

1. After the future
Bɛ- goes on the first verb only:

  • Mɛtɔ aduane ama wo. (I will buy food for you.)
  • Yɛbɛkɔ fie akɔdidi. (We will go home and eat.)
  • Mɛba abɛhwɛ wo. (I will come to see you.)

In akɔdidi and abɛhwɛ, the a- sits in front of the motion prefixes kɔ- and bɛ-.

The one exception is de, which never takes a prefix, so bɛ- goes on the next verb instead: Mede nwoma no bɛma wo (I will give the book to you).

2. After the progressive
Re- works the same way: Kofi reto boɔ akɔ dan no mu (Kofi is throwing a stone into the room).

3. After the perfect
The perfect prefix is also a-, so a perfect series has a- on every verb: Ama akɔ Kumase aba (Ama has gone to Kumasi and come back).

4. Not after the past
The simple past is different: every verb is past (Tense Across Serial Verbs). Commands and the plain present use the bare verb throughout: Tɔ aduane ma me (Buy food for me).

5. Same spelling as the perfect
Consecutive a- is written exactly like the perfect a-. Its place after a future or progressive verb tells you it means and or to, not has.

Examples (6)

  1. Mɛtɔ aduane ama wo.

    I will buy food for you.

    Word by Word: I-will-buy food a-give you

  2. Yɛbɛkɔ fie akɔdidi.

    We will go home and eat.

  3. Mɛba abɛhwɛ wo.

    I will come to see you.

  4. Ama bɛtɔ mpaboa ama Kofi.

    Ama will buy shoes for Kofi.

  5. Kofi reto boɔ akɔ dan no mu.

    Kofi is throwing a stone into the room.

    Word by Word: Kofi is-throwing stone a-go room the inside

    After the progressive re-, the second verb takes a-.

  6. Ama akɔ Kumase aba.

    Ama has gone to Kumasi and come back.

    In a perfect series, every verb has a-.

Common Mistakes

  • Repeating the future prefix.

    Mɛtɔ aduane mɛma wo.
    Mɛtɔ aduane ama wo.

    Bɛ- (here mɛ-) goes on the first verb only. Later verbs take a-.

  • Putting the past on the second verb.

    Mɛtɔ aduane maa wo.
    Mɛtɔ aduane ama wo.

    Maa is past, which clashes with the future. After a future verb, the next verb takes a-.

How It Connects

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

a- (Consecutive)Level 3Consecutive a-

Learn This First

Consecutive a- continues a series after future bɛ- or progressive re-.