kɔ- / bɛ- (Motion)

Go and, Come and: Kɔ- and Bɛ-

Level 2

Add kɔ- (go and) or bɛ- (come and) to the front of a verb to show that someone moves in order to do it: Kɔdidi (Go and eat), Bɛhwɛ (Come and see).

How It Works

Where they go. The motion prefix sits directly before the verb. In a command it starts the word: Kɔdidi (Go and eat), Bɛhwɛ (Come and see). After a subject or tense prefix it comes last: Merekɔdidi (I am going to eat), Merekɔfa me ba (I am going to get my child).

Away or toward. Kɔ- comes from kɔ (go) and means moving away from where the speaker is. Bɛ- comes from ba (come) and means moving toward the speaker. A parent at home says Bɛdidi (Come and eat) to call a child in, but Kɔdidi (Go and eat) to send the child somewhere else to eat.

The past goes on the verb. In the past, the verb after the prefix takes the past form: Ama kɔtɔɔ nam (Ama went and bought meat), Kofi bɛhwɛɛ me nnɛra (Kofi came to see me yesterday).

Two different bɛ-. This bɛ- is spelled like the future bɛ-. Ɔbɛdi can mean he will eat or he comes and eats; tone and context tell them apart. See Tone in Grammar.

Prefix or full verb. Kɔ and ba can also be full verbs in a verb series, especially when a place is named: Ɔkɔɔ dwam kɔtɔɔ nam (She went to the market and bought meat). The prefix alone is the short way to add the movement.

Examples (6)

  1. Kɔdidi.

    Go and eat.

    kɔ- + didi (eat): go somewhere else to eat.

  2. Bɛhwɛ!

    Come and see!

    bɛ- + hwɛ (look): come here and look.

  3. Merekɔdidi.

    I am going to eat.

    me- + re- + kɔ- + didi: I am on my way to eat.

  4. Merekɔfa me ba.

    I am going to get my child.

    kɔ- + fa (take): go and fetch.

  5. Ama kɔtɔɔ nam.

    Ama went and bought meat.

    The verb tɔ (buy) carries the past: tɔɔ.

  6. Kofi bɛhwɛɛ me nnɛra.

    Kofi came to see me yesterday.

    bɛ- because Kofi came toward the speaker; hwɛɛ is the past of hwɛ.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the verb without its past form.

    Ama kɔtɔ nam nnɛra.
    Ama kɔtɔɔ nam nnɛra.

    The prefix does not show the past. The verb itself changes: tɔ becomes tɔɔ before an object. Ama kɔtɔ nam describes a habit, which does not fit nnɛra (yesterday).

  • Using kɔ- to call someone over to look.

    Kɔhwɛ!
    Bɛhwɛ!

    To ask someone to come to you and look, use bɛ-. Kɔhwɛ tells them to go somewhere else and look.

How It Connects

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

kɔ- / bɛ- (Motion)Level 2Go and, Come and: Kɔ- and Bɛ-

Learn This First

The motion prefixes come from go and come, and this bɛ- must be told apart from the future bɛ-.

Words in This Pattern