wɔ- + Perfect

Has Been Done: Wɔ- + a-

Level 4

Wɔasi dan no means The house has been built. Word by word: they have built the house, with no particular people in mind.

How It Works

1. The pattern
wɔa- + verb + the thing or person affected.

  • Wɔasi dan no. (The house has been built.)
  • Wɔatɔn ne nyinaa. (It has all been sold.)
  • Wɔakyere ɔkorɔmfoɔ no. (The thief has been arrested.)

This wɔ- does not point to anyone in particular. It is the impersonal wɔ- of Wɔfrɛ me Ama (I am called Ama), joined with the perfect a-.

2. Why the perfect?
The perfect shows a result that holds now: the house stands built, the goods are gone. That is why news reports and signs use it so often: Wɔakyere ɔbarima bi (A man has been arrested). On a shop door, Wɔato mu means Closed.

3. Wɔa- or wa-?
Keep the ɔ. Wɔasi dan no means The house has been built. Wasi dan no means He or she has built the house, because ɔ- (he, she) and a- join as wa-. See the subject prefixes.

4. Saying no and asking
For has not been done, use the negative perfect, often with nnya: Wɔnnya nsii dan no (The house has not been built yet). To ask, use a question voice: Wɔafrɛ wo? (Have you been called?)

5. Naming the doer
Twi has no word for by here. To say who did it, make that person the subject: Kofi asi dan no (Kofi has built the house).

Examples (6)

  1. Wɔasi dan no.

    The house has been built.

    Word by Word: they-have-built house the

  2. Wɔatɔn ne nyinaa.

    It has all been sold.

    Word by Word: they-have-sold its all

  3. Wɔakyere ɔkorɔmfoɔ no.

    The thief has been arrested.

    Word by Word: they-have-caught thief the

    A common shape in news reports.

  4. Wɔato ɔpon no mu.

    The door has been closed.

    Word by Word: they-have-thrown door the inside

    To ... mu means close. On a shop, Wɔato mu means Closed.

  5. Wɔafrɛ wo.

    You have been called.

    Word by Word: they-have-called you

    Someone has asked for you, and it does not matter who.

  6. Wɔnnya nsii dan no.

    The house has not been built yet.

    Word by Word: they-not-yet not-built house the

    Nnya with the negative perfect gives not yet.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the affected person the subject, as in English.

    Ɔkorɔmfoɔ no akyere. (meaning the thief has been arrested)
    Wɔakyere ɔkorɔmfoɔ no.

    The subject of kyere is the one who catches, so Ɔkorɔmfoɔ no akyere says the thief has caught something. Keep the thief after the verb and put wɔa- on the verb.

  • Writing wa- instead of wɔa-.

    Wasi dan no. (meaning the house has been built)
    Wɔasi dan no.

    Wa- is ɔ- (he, she) plus a-, so Wasi dan no means He or she has built the house. For an unnamed doer, keep wɔ-.

  • Leaving out the perfect a-.

    Wɔsi dan no. (meaning the house has been built)
    Wɔasi dan no.

    Without a-, Wɔsi dan no describes an action, such as they build the house. The perfect a- shows the job is done.

How It Connects

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

wɔ- + PerfectLevel 4Has Been Done: Wɔ- + a-

Learn This First

Has been done combines impersonal wɔ- and the perfect.

Words in This Pattern

a-