pɛ sɛ (Want To)

Want to: Pɛ Sɛ

Level 2

Mepɛ sɛ mekɔ fie means I want to go home, literally I want that I go home. The second verb gets its own subject.

How It Works

1. Wanting to do something
pɛ sɛ + subject prefix + verb.

  • Mepɛ sɛ mekɔ fie. (I want to go home.)
  • Ɔpɛ sɛ ɔsua Twi. (She wants to learn Twi.)

2. Wanting someone else to do something
Change the subject of the second clause: Mepɛ sɛ woba (I want you to come). You will also hear the future form, Mepɛ sɛ wobɛba, with the same meaning.

3. Wanting a thing
With a noun, pɛ takes it directly, with no sɛ: Mepɛ nsuo (I want water). See State Verbs in the Present.

4. Negative and past
The negative goes on pɛ: Mempɛ sɛ mekɔ (I do not want to go). For the past, use na with the state verb, Na mepɛ sɛ mehunu wo (I wanted to see you), or the past form pɛɛ: Mepɛɛ sɛ mehunu wo. The negative past is mampɛ sɛ (I did not want to). See Past States With na.

Examples (6)

  1. Mepɛ sɛ mekɔ fie.

    I want to go home.

    Word by Word: I.want that I.go home

  2. Mepɛ sɛ woba.

    I want you to come.

    Word by Word: I.want that you.come

  3. Ɔpɛ sɛ ɔsua Twi.

    She wants to learn Twi.

    Word by Word: she.wants that she.learns Twi

  4. Mempɛ sɛ mekɔ.

    I do not want to go.

    Word by Word: I.not.want that I.go

    Mempɛ: the negative nasal is written m before p.

  5. Dɛn na wopɛ sɛ wodi?

    What do you want to eat?

    Word by Word: what FOCUS you.want that you.eat

  6. Na mepɛ sɛ mehunu wo.

    I wanted to see you.

    Word by Word: PAST I.want that I.see you

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out sɛ and the second subject, like English want to go.

    Mepɛ kɔ fie.
    Mepɛ sɛ mekɔ fie.

    Pɛ is not followed directly by a second verb. Join the action with sɛ and give it its own subject prefix.

  • Keeping sɛ but dropping the subject prefix of the second verb.

    Mepɛ sɛ kɔ fie.
    Mepɛ sɛ mekɔ fie.

    The clause after sɛ is a full clause, so its verb needs a subject: mekɔ, not kɔ. Plain kɔ would be a command.

How It Connects

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

pɛ sɛ (Want To)Level 2Want to: Pɛ Sɛ

Learn This First

Want to builds on the state verb pɛ.

Words in This Pattern