de ... ma

Give to: De ... Ma

Level 3

De + thing + ma + person: Ɔde sika no maa me (He gave the money to me). In a command, fa takes the place of de: Fa nwoma no ma Ama (Give the book to Ama).

How It Works

1. The frame
Subject + de + thing + ma + person.

  • Ɔde sika no maa me. (He gave the money to me.)
  • Ama de aduane no maa ne maame. (Ama gave the food to her mother.)

In a command, fa takes the place of de: Fa nwoma no ma Ama (Give the book to Ama).

2. Ma alone or de ... ma?
Ma alone puts the person first: Ɔmaa me sika (He gave me money). De ... ma puts the thing first, which suits a particular thing both speakers know, marked with no.

3. Giving it
When the thing is it, leave it out (Leaving Out It): Ɔde maa me (He gave it to me), Fa ma no (Give it to him).

4. Tense
De does not change. In the past, ma becomes maa. In the future, bɛ- goes on ma: Mede nwoma no bɛma wo (I will give the book to you). In the negative, fa replaces de and both verbs are negative: Wamfa sika no amma me (He did not give the money to me).

5. Compare verb + ma
In Tɔ aduane ma me, ma means for someone. In de ... ma, the thing actually passes into the person's hands. Both are serial verbs.

Examples (6)

  1. Ɔde sika no maa me.

    He gave the money to me.

    Word by Word: he-took money the gave me

  2. Fa nwoma no ma Ama.

    Give the book to Ama.

    In a command, fa takes the place of de.

  3. Ɔde maa me.

    He gave it to me.

    The thing it is left out after de.

  4. Mede nwoma no bɛma wo.

    I will give the book to you.

    Word by Word: I-take book the will-give you

  5. Wamfa sika no amma me.

    He did not give the money to me.

    In the negative, fa replaces de and both verbs are negative.

  6. Ama de aduane no maa ne maame.

    Ama gave the food to her mother.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the thing after ma.

    Ɔde maa me sika no.
    Ɔde sika no maa me.

    In de ... ma, the thing must come right after de. The person comes after ma.

  • Using the present ma in a past sentence.

    Ɔde sika no ma me nnɛra.
    Ɔde sika no maa me nnɛra.

    De does not show the past, so ma must: maa.

How It Connects

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

de ... maLevel 3Give to: De ... Ma

Learn This First

Give-to combines de and ma.

Words in This Pattern

mafa