me / wo / ɔno / yɛn / mo / wɔn

Independent Pronouns

Level 1

The full pronouns are me (I, me), wo (you), ɔno (he, she), yɛn (we, us), mo (you all) and wɔn (they, them). You use them when the pronoun stands on its own: Me ne wo (you and I).

How It Works

The six full pronouns

  • me — I, me
  • wo — you (one person)
  • ɔno — he, she
  • yɛn — we, us
  • mo — you all
  • wɔn — they, them

There is no gender here: ɔno means he or she (see No Grammatical Gender). Wo is for one person of any age or rank, and mo is only for a group. Twi shows respect with greetings and titles, not with a special pronoun.

When to use the full form

  • Alone, as a short answer: Hwan na ɔbaeɛ? — Me. (Who came? — Me.)
  • With ne (and): me ne wo (you and I), Kofi ne me (Kofi and I). See And Between Nouns: ne.
  • With nso (also) and deɛ (as for): Me nso (me too), Na wo nso ɛ? (And you?), Me deɛ, mempɛ (As for me, I do not want it). See Also, Too: nso and As For: deɛ.
  • For focus with na: Ɔno na ɔbaeɛ (He is the one who came). See Focus on the Subject: X na.

Before a verb, use the prefix
When the pronoun is the subject and the verb follows it directly, Twi uses a short prefix joined to the verb: ɔno + kɔ = ɔkɔ (he goes), yɛn + kɔ = yɛkɔ (we go). The full form can still come first for emphasis, but then the verb keeps its own prefix too: Me nso mɛba (I will come too). See Subject Prefixes.

One form, several jobs
Me, wo, yɛn, mo and wɔn are also the object pronouns and the possessive words: Ɔfrɛɛ me (She called me), me fie (my house). Only ɔno changes: its object form is no and its possessive is ne. See Object Pronouns and My, Your, His and Her.

What about things?
For a thing, the stand-alone word is ɛno, which also means "that one": Mepɛ ɛno (I want that one). See This One and That One.

Examples (6)

  1. Hwan na ɔbaeɛ? — Me.

    Who came? — Me.

    Word by Word: Who FOCUS he-came? — Me.

    Me stands on its own as a one-word answer.

  2. Me ne wo bɛkɔ.

    You and I will go. (I will go with you.)

    Word by Word: Me and you will-go.

    After ne (and), both pronouns are in the full form.

  3. Ɔno na ɔbaeɛ.

    He is the one who came.

    Word by Word: He FOCUS he-came.

    Ɔno is put first for focus; the verb still carries ɔ-.

  4. Me ho yɛ, na wo nso ɛ?

    I'm fine, and you?

    Word by Word: My body is-good, and you also, eh?

    Wo stands apart with nso (also); ɛ at the end marks the question.

  5. Me nso mɛba.

    I will come too.

    Word by Word: Me also I-will-come.

    The full pronoun adds emphasis, and the verb keeps its own prefix.

  6. Ama frɛɛ me ne wo.

    Ama called you and me.

    Word by Word: Ama called me and you.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the full pronoun ɔno straight in front of a verb.

    Ɔno kɔ fie.
    Ɔkɔ fie.

    Right before a verb, Twi uses the short prefix ɔ- joined to the verb. Keep ɔno for when it stands apart, as in Ɔno na ɔkɔ fie (He is the one who goes home).

  • Answering with the object form no.

    Hwan na ɔbaeɛ? — No.
    Hwan na ɔbaeɛ? — Ɔno.

    No is only used right after a verb, as in Mefrɛ no (I call him). A one-word answer needs the full form ɔno.

How It Connects

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me / wo / ɔno / yɛn / mo / wɔnLevel 1Independent Pronouns

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Words in This Pattern

yɛnmowɔn