ma (Make, Cause)

Make Someone Do: Ma

Level 4

ma + person + verb = make someone do it: Ɔma me sere (He makes me laugh).

How It Works

1. The pattern
causer + ma + person + verb.

  • Ɔma me sere. (He makes me laugh.)
  • Ɔma mmofra no sere. (She makes the children laugh.)
  • Wo nsɛm ma me bo fu. (Your words make me angry.)

2. Things can cause too
With ɛ- (it) as the subject, a situation causes the effect: Ɛma m'ani gye (It makes me happy). This works with the phrases in Feelings Through the Body.

3. Tense and negatives
Ma carries the tense, and the next verb follows the rules for verb series:

  • Past: Ɔmaa me suiɛ (She made me cry). The second verb can take the past too, or it can stay plain. The Asante Bible has both Onyankopɔn maa mframa bɔ (God made a wind blow) and maa osuo ... gyaee tɔ (made the rain stop falling).
  • Future: the next verb takes a-: Asɛm yi bɛma w'ani agye (This news will make you happy). See Consecutive a-.
  • Negative: every verb is negative: Mma me werɛ mfi (Don't let me forget). See Negatives in Serial Verbs.

4. Four jobs for one verb

A tip: when you ask to be allowed, the verb after ma has the optative nasal (Ma menkɔ). When you say what something causes, the verb is plain (Ɛma me sere).

5. Make a thing is yɛ
English make has two meanings. For making a thing, Twi uses yɛ: Ɔyɛ aduane (She makes food). For making someone do something, it uses ma.

Examples (6)

  1. Ɔma me sere.

    He makes me laugh.

    Word by Word: he-causes me laugh

  2. Ɛma m'ani gye.

    It makes me happy.

    Word by Word: it-causes my eye receive

  3. Wo nsɛm ma me bo fu.

    Your words make me angry.

  4. Ɔmaa me suiɛ.

    She made me cry.

    Ma takes the past maa, and su (cry) takes its clause-final past.

  5. Asɛm yi bɛma w'ani agye.

    This news will make you happy.

    After the future bɛma, the next verb takes a-.

  6. Mma me werɛ mfi.

    Don't let me forget.

    Word by Word: don't-cause my mind not-leave

    Werɛ fi means forget. In the negative command, both verbs take the nasal.

Common Mistakes

  • Using yɛ for make someone do something.

    Ɔyɛ me sere.
    Ɔma me sere.

    Yɛ means make or do a thing. To cause someone to act, use ma.

  • Naming the person twice.

    Ɔma me mesere.
    Ɔma me sere.

    Me after ma already names the person. The next verb does not add a second me-.

How It Connects

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

ma (Make, Cause)Level 4Make Someone Do: Ma

Learn This First

Make is a further meaning of ma.

Words in This Pattern

ma