wɔ (Have)

To Have: Wɔ

Level 1

Wɔ also means "have": Mewɔ sika (I have money).

How It Works

The verb wɔ that says where someone is also means "have". The owner is the subject, and what is owned follows the verb: Mewɔ sika (I have money), Ɔwɔ mmofra baanu (She has two children), Fie no wɔ adan nnan (The house has four rooms).

Place or thing? What follows wɔ tells you the meaning. A place gives "be at": Mewɔ Kumase (I am in Kumasi). A thing or a person gives "have": Mewɔ adamfo (I have a friend). Both can appear in one sentence: Mewɔ adamfo bi wɔ Nkran (I have a friend in Accra).

Asking and answering. Wowɔ berɛ? (Do you have time?) can be answered Aane, mewɔ berɛ (Yes, I have time) or, with the negative nni, Daabi, menni berɛ (No, I do not have time). Like wɔ for place, it is a state verb: the plain form means "have now", and Na mewɔ sika means "I had money".

Not every English "have". Several English "have" sentences use other words in Twi. Hunger holds you: Ɛkɔm de me (I am hungry). Age is counted as years eaten: Madi mfe aduonu (I am twenty years old). "Have to" is ɛsɛ sɛ: Ɛsɛ sɛ mekɔ (I have to go). And "have done" is the perfect a-: Madidi (I have eaten).

To say simply that something exists, with no owner, use wɔ hɔ: Nsuo wɔ hɔ (There is water).

Examples (6)

  1. Mewɔ sika.

    I have money.

  2. Ɔwɔ mmofra baanu.

    She has two children.

    Baanu is the form of "two" used for counting people.

  3. Wowɔ berɛ?

    Do you have time?

  4. Ama wɔ nuanom baasa.

    Ama has three siblings.

    Baasa is the form of "three" used for counting people; see counting people with baa-.

  5. Mewɔ adamfo bi wɔ Nkran.

    I have a friend in Accra.

    The first wɔ means "have"; the second means "in".

  6. Fie no wɔ adan nnan.

    The house has four rooms.

Common Mistakes

  • Using wɔ to give your age.

    Mewɔ mfe aduonu.
    Madi mfe aduonu.

    Twi does not "have" years. Age uses di mfe (literally "eat years") in the perfect.

  • Using wɔ for "have to".

    Mewɔ sɛ mekɔ.
    Ɛsɛ sɛ mekɔ.

    Wɔ means owning something. Obligation is expressed with ɛsɛ sɛ (it is fitting that).

How It Connects

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

wɔ (Have)Level 1To Have: Wɔ

Learn This First

Wɔ meaning have is a second use of wɔ.

Words in This Pattern