Verb + ma (For)

Doing Something for Someone: Ma

Level 2

To do something for someone, add ma (give) and the person after the action: Tɔ aduane ma me (Buy food for me).

How It Works

How it is built. The action and its object, then ma, then the person: Tɔ aduane ma me (Buy food for me), Twerɛ krataa ma me (Write a letter for me), Ɔbɔɔ mpaeɛ maa me (She prayed for me). The person goes right after ma.

Ma follows the tense. Like every verb in a series, ma matches the first verb:

  • Present: Ɔtɔ aduane ma me (She buys food for me).
  • Past: Ɔtɔɔ aduane maa me (She bought food for me).
  • Perfect: Ama atɔ mpaboa ama Kofi (Ama has bought shoes for Kofi).
  • Future: Mɛtɔ bi ama wo (I will buy some for you), with consecutive a-.
  • Negative: Wantɔ aduane amma me (She did not buy food for me), Merentɔ bi mma wo (I will not buy any for you).

Ma has other jobs. On its own ma means give (Give: ma). With de it hands something over (Give To: de ... ma). After another verb and its object, it means for.

Examples (6)

  1. Tɔ aduane ma me.

    Buy food for me.

    Word by Word: Buy food give me.

    A command: tɔ (buy) + aduane (food) + ma me.

  2. Ɔyɛɛ adwuma no maa me.

    She did the work for me.

    Past on both verbs: yɛɛ and maa.

  3. Ɔbɔɔ mpaeɛ maa me.

    She prayed for me.

    Bɔ mpaeɛ (pray) + maa me.

  4. Ama atɔ mpaboa ama Kofi.

    Ama has bought shoes for Kofi.

    Perfect a- on both verbs: atɔ and ama.

  5. Mɛtɔ bi ama wo.

    I will buy some for you.

    After the future, ma takes a-: ama.

  6. Wantɔ aduane amma me.

    She did not buy food for me.

    Negative past on both verbs: wantɔ and amma.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving ma in the present form in a past sentence.

    Ɔyɛɛ adwuma no ma me.
    Ɔyɛɛ adwuma no maa me.

    In the past, ma takes the past form too: maa.

  • Using plain ma after the future.

    Mɛtɔ bi ma wo.
    Mɛtɔ bi ama wo.

    After a verb with bɛ-, the next verb takes a- instead of repeating bɛ-.

  • Making only the first verb negative.

    Wantɔ aduane maa me.
    Wantɔ aduane amma me.

    Both verbs are negative. Ma becomes amma in the negative past.

How It Connects

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

Verb + ma (For)Level 2Doing Something for Someone: Ma

Learn This First

Ma meaning for is a serial use of ma.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ma