Tense Across Serial Verbs
Past on one verb means past on all: Ɔtɔɔ aduane maa me (She bought food for me), not Ɔtɔɔ aduane ma me.
How It Works
1. Every verb is past
Mark the past on the first verb and on each verb after it.
- Ɔtɔɔ aduane maa me. (She bought food for me.)
- Kofi too boɔ kɔɔ dan no mu. (Kofi threw a stone into the room.)
- Ɔtuu mmirika kɔɔ fie. (He ran home.)
2. Which past shape?
Each verb follows the usual rules: a doubled vowel when something follows (Simple Past Before an Object), and -eɛ or -iɛ when it ends the clause (Simple Past at the End of a Clause): Ama tɔɔ paanoo diiɛ (Ama bought bread and ate it).
3. Motion prefixes
A verb with kɔ- or bɛ- is past too: Ɔkɔɔ dwam kɔtɔɔ nam (She went to the market and bought meat).
4. De stays de
The verb de (take, use) has no past form of its own. The past shows on the verb after it: Ɔde sekan twaa nam no (He cut the meat with a knife).
5. Other tenses work differently
After the future, the progressive or the perfect, only the first verb carries the prefix; later verbs take consecutive a-. In the negative, every verb is negative (Negatives in Serial Verbs).
Examples (5)
- Ɔtɔɔ aduane maa me.
She bought food for me.
Word by Word: she-bought food gave me
- Kofi too boɔ kɔɔ dan no mu.
Kofi threw a stone into the room.
Word by Word: Kofi threw stone went room the inside
- Ɔtuu mmirika kɔɔ fie.
He ran home.
Word by Word: he-pulled running went home
- Ɔkɔɔ dwam kɔtɔɔ nam.
She went to the market and bought meat.
Kɔtɔɔ is kɔ- (go and) + the past of tɔ (buy).
- Ama tɔɔ paanoo diiɛ.
Ama bought bread and ate it.
The last verb ends the clause, so it takes -iɛ.
Common Mistakes
Marking the past on the first verb only.
Ɔtɔɔ aduane ma me.Ɔtɔɔ aduane maa me.Every verb in a past series must be past. Ma becomes maa.
Mixing the past with the progressive.
Kofi too boɔ rekɔ dan no mu.Kofi too boɔ kɔɔ dan no mu.All verbs in the series share one tense. After a past verb, the next verb is past too, not progressive.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Tense across serial verbs combines both.
Related Patterns
- a- (Consecutive)Consecutive a-
After the future, progressive or perfect, later verbs take a- instead.
Level 3 - Negatives in Serial Verbs
The negative likewise appears on every verb.
Level 4 - Simple Past at the End of a Clause
The -eɛ/-iɛ past used at the end of the clause.
Level 1 - Verb + ma (For)Doing Something for Someone: Ma
A common series where ma must also be past: maa.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
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