de (With, Using)

Using Something: De

Level 3

De + tool + verb means do something with it: Ɔde sekan twaa nam no (He cut the meat with a knife).

How It Works

1. The order
Subject + de + tool + main verb + the rest:

  • Ɔde sekan twaa nam no. (He cut the meat with a knife.)
  • Ɔde ne nsa didi. (She eats with her hand.)
  • Mede pɛn no twerɛɛ me din. (I wrote my name with the pen.)

2. Not only tools
De introduces whatever you handle or use: a language (Yɛde Twi bɛkasa, We will speak in Twi), or a thing you carry (Ɔde nsuo no baeɛ, He brought the water). See Bring and Take.

3. De does not change for the past
De keeps the same shape. The tense shows on the main verb: twaa is the past of twa (cut).

4. De and fa
De has a partner verb, fa (take), which replaces it in commands and in the negative: Fa sekan twa (Cut it with a knife), Wamfa sekan antwa (He did not cut it with a knife).

5. Ne is and, not with
Ne joins nouns: Kofi ne Ama. It never marks a tool.

Examples (5)

  1. Ɔde sekan twaa nam no.

    He cut the meat with a knife.

    Word by Word: he-takes knife cut meat the

  2. Ɔde ne nsa didi.

    She eats with her hand.

    Word by Word: she-takes her hand eats

  3. Mede pɛn no twerɛɛ me din.

    I wrote my name with the pen.

    Word by Word: I-take pen the wrote my name

  4. Yɛde Twi bɛkasa.

    We will speak in Twi.

    Word by Word: we-take Twi will-speak

    De has no future prefix itself; bɛ- goes on the main verb.

  5. Fa sekan twa.

    Cut it with a knife.

    In commands, fa takes the place of de.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ne (and) for with.

    Ɔtwaa nam no ne sekan.
    Ɔde sekan twaa nam no.

    Ne only joins nouns, like and. For a tool, use de before the main verb.

  • Putting the de phrase after the main verb.

    Ɔtwaa nam no de sekan.
    Ɔde sekan twaa nam no.

    The de phrase comes first, before the verb that does the action.

How It Connects

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

de (With, Using)Level 3Using Something: De

Learn This First

De introduces the tool in a serial verb.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern