nsa aka (Receive)

Receive, Get Hold of: Nsa Aka

Level 4

Me nsa aka means I have received it. Word by word: my hand has touched (it).

How It Works

1. The pattern
receiver + nsa + aka + thing received.

  • Me nsa aka wo krataa. (I have received your letter.)
  • Kofi nsa aka sika no. (Kofi has received the money.)

The receiver is a possessive pronoun or a name: me nsa (I), wo nsa (you), ne nsa (he or she), yɛn nsa (we), mo nsa (you all), wɔn nsa (they).

2. No person prefix on the verb
The subject is me nsa (my hand), a noun, so the verb takes no me- or wo-. It only takes the tense marker: Me nsa aka, never Me nsa maka. See Noun Subjects Without a Prefix.

3. Tenses

  • Perfect, the most common form: Me nsa aka (I have received it). With nothing named after it, the thing is understood: Wo nsa aka? (Have you received it?)
  • Past: Me nsa kaa sika no nnɛra (I received the money yesterday).
  • Future: Wo nsa bɛka ɔkyena (You will get it tomorrow).
  • Negative: Me nsa nkaa m'akatua (I have not received my pay). See the negative perfect.
  • Plain form in a condition: Sɛ wo nsa ka a, frɛ me (When you get it, call me), Mentua, gye sɛ me nsa ka (I will not pay unless I receive it). See sɛ ... a and gye sɛ.

4. Catching someone
With a person after aka, nsa aka means get hold of or catch: Polisifoɔ nsa aka ɔkorɔmfoɔ no (The police have caught the thief).

5. An invitation to eat
If you are eating when someone arrives, say Me nsa aka! It means You are welcome to eat with me. The guest can thank you with Medaase, or decline politely with Me nsa wɔ mu, medaase (My hand is in it, thank you).

6. A body-part expression
Nsa aka is built like the body-part feelings, such as M'ani agye (I am happy): a body part is the subject, and the perfect shows a result that holds now.

Examples (6)

  1. Me nsa aka wo krataa.

    I have received your letter.

    Word by Word: my hand has-touched your letter

    Me before nsa shows who received the letter.

  2. Me nsa kaa sika no nnɛra.

    I received the money yesterday.

    Word by Word: my hand touched money the yesterday

    For a finished past event, ka becomes kaa before the object.

  3. Wo nsa aka?

    Have you received it?

    Word by Word: your hand has-touched

    Nothing is named after aka, so the thing received is understood from context.

  4. Me nsa nkaa m'akatua.

    I have not received my pay.

    Word by Word: my hand not-touched my pay

    The negative perfect: the nasal before ka and the doubled vowel before the object.

  5. Polisifoɔ nsa aka ɔkorɔmfoɔ no.

    The police have caught the thief.

    Word by Word: police hand has-touched thief the

    With a person as the object, nsa aka means catch.

  6. Me nsa aka! Bra ma yɛnnidi.

    You're invited! Come, let us eat.

    Word by Word: my hand has-touched! come let we-eat

    Said by someone who is eating when another person arrives.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding a person prefix to the verb.

    Me nsa maka wo krataa.
    Me nsa aka wo krataa.

    The subject is me nsa (my hand), a noun, so the verb takes only the perfect a-. The person is already shown by me before nsa.

  • Leaving out nsa.

    Maka wo krataa. (meaning I have received your letter)
    Me nsa aka wo krataa.

    Without nsa, ka is an ordinary verb with me as its subject, so Maka wo krataa reads as I have touched your letter. The meaning receive comes from the hand being the subject.

How It Connects

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

nsa aka (Receive)Level 4Receive, Get Hold of: Nsa Aka

Learn This First

Receive uses the perfect, with the receiver as the owner of nsa.

Words in This Pattern

nsaka