-foɔ

People Who Do: -foɔ

Level 2

Action + -foɔ = the person who does it: ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ (teacher), akyerɛkyerɛfoɔ (teachers), okuafoɔ (farmer), akuafoɔ (farmers).

How It Works

1. Building the word
Add -foɔ to an action to name the person who does it. One person takes ɔ- or o-, and several take a-:

  • kyerɛkyerɛ (teach) → ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ (teacher), akyerɛkyerɛfoɔ (teachers)
  • tu kwan (travel) → ɔkwantufoɔ (traveller), akwantufoɔ (travellers)
  • yɛ adwuma (work) → odwumayɛfoɔ (worker), adwumayɛfoɔ (workers)
  • okuafoɔ (farmer), akuafoɔ (farmers)
  • ɔsɔfoɔ (priest, pastor), asɔfoɔ (priests, pastors)

2. ɔ- or o-?
The singular prefix follows vowel harmony: ɔ- in ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ, but o- in okuafoɔ and odwumayɛfoɔ. The plural is always a-.

3. The object comes first
When the action has an object, the object moves in front of the verb inside the word: yɛ adwuma → odwumayɛfoɔ, tu kwan → ɔkwantufoɔ. The same order builds other nouns. See Nouns From Verb Expressions.

4. One person: -foɔ or -ni
Many of these words have a second singular that ends in -ni. You will hear both ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ and ɔkyerɛkyerɛni for a teacher, and both okuafoɔ and okuani for a farmer. Some words usually take -ni in the singular, such as osuani (a student, a disciple). The plural is always -foɔ: akyerɛkyerɛfoɔ, akuafoɔ, asuafoɔ. Place names work the same way: see Nationality: -ni and -foɔ.

5. Akuapem spelling
Akuapem Twi and many printed books write the ending -fo: ɔkyerɛkyerɛfo, akuafo. It is the same word.

Examples (6)

  1. Ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ no aba.

    The teacher has come.

    One teacher: ɔ- at the front and -foɔ at the end.

  2. Yɛwɔ akyerɛkyerɛfoɔ baasa.

    We have three teachers.

    Several teachers: a- replaces ɔ-, and -foɔ stays.

  3. Me papa yɛ okuafoɔ.

    My father is a farmer.

    The singular prefix is o- here because of vowel harmony.

  4. Akuafoɔ pii dua kookoo wɔ Ghana.

    Many farmers grow cocoa in Ghana.

    Akuafoɔ is the plural of okuafoɔ.

  5. Akwantufoɔ no aduru.

    The travellers have arrived.

    From tu kwan (travel): the object kwan comes first inside the word.

  6. Ɔyɛ odwumayɛfoɔ pa.

    She is a good worker.

    From yɛ adwuma (do work): dwuma comes before yɛ.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping ɔ- when there are several people.

    Yɛwɔ ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ baasa.
    Yɛwɔ akyerɛkyerɛfoɔ baasa.

    The prefix shows the number. For more than one teacher, change ɔ- to a-.

  • Putting the verb before its object inside the word.

    Ɔyɛ ɔyɛadwumafoɔ pa.
    Ɔyɛ odwumayɛfoɔ pa.

    In these nouns the object comes first: yɛ adwuma becomes odwumayɛfoɔ.

How It Connects

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

-foɔLevel 2People Who Do: -foɔ

Learn This First

The -foɔ nouns use the ɔ- to a- plural.

Words in This Pattern

-ni