te (Live)

Living Somewhere: Te

Level 1

Use te to say where someone lives. The place comes right after it: Mete Kumase (I live in Kumasi).

How It Works

Te means live, or be settled in a place. It works like kɔ: the place follows the verb with no word for in.

  • Mete Kumase. (I live in Kumasi.)
  • Wote he? (Where do you live?)
  • Me maame te Nkran. (My mother lives in Accra.)

A state, not an action. Te describes where someone is settled, so the plain form is the present: Mete Kumase means I live in Kumasi now. You do not add re- for this. See state verbs. To put it in the past, add na before the clause: Na mete Kumase. (I used to live in Kumasi.) See na for past states.

A wider area. Name the town right after te, then add the wider area with wɔ: Mete Tafo wɔ Kumase. (I live in Tafo, in Kumasi.)

Another way to ask. You will also hear Ɛhe na wote? (Where is it that you live?) and answers like Kumase na mete. (It is Kumasi where I live.) These put the place first and add na to stress it.

Te, wɔ or firi? Wote he? asks where you live. Wowɔ he? asks where you are right now. See wɔ. Wofiri he? asks where you come from. See firi.

Te and tena. For the action of sitting down or staying, Twi uses tena: Tena ase. (Sit down.) Te is the settled state.

The short verb te also appears in Wo ho te sɛn? (How are you?) and te ase (understand).

Examples (6)

  1. Mete Kumase.

    I live in Kumasi.

    Word by Word: I-live Kumasi.

    The place follows te directly, with no word for in.

  2. Wote he?

    Where do you live?

    Word by Word: You-live where?

  3. Me maame te Nkran.

    My mother lives in Accra.

    Word by Word: My mother live Accra.

    A noun subject takes no prefix, so te stands alone.

  4. Mente ha.

    I do not live here.

    Word by Word: I-not-live here.

    The negative adds the nasal: mente.

  5. Mete Tafo wɔ Kumase.

    I live in Tafo, in Kumasi.

    Word by Word: I-live Tafo at Kumasi.

    The town follows te directly, and wɔ adds the wider area.

  6. Na mete Kumase.

    I used to live in Kumasi.

    Word by Word: (Past) I-live Kumasi.

    Na before the clause puts the state in the past.

Common Mistakes

  • Asking Wowɔ he? when you mean Where do you live?

    Wowɔ he?
    Wote he?

    Wowɔ he? asks where someone is at this moment. To ask where someone lives, use te.

  • Using firi for a place where you only live now.

    Mefiri Tafo.
    Mete Tafo.

    Mefiri Tafo means you come from Tafo. If you just live there now, say Mete Tafo.

How It Connects

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

te (Live)Level 1Living Somewhere: Te

Learn This First

Te is one of the state verbs.

Words in This Pattern

te