a ne ... no (Whose)

Whose: A Ne ... No

Level 5

Noun + a + ne + noun ... no means whose: ɔbarima a ne yere yare no (the man whose wife is sick).

How It Works

1. Building whose
Start from a sentence with a possessive: Ne yere yare (His wife is sick). Put it after the noun, with a in front and no at the end: ɔbarima a ne yere yare no (the man whose wife is sick).

2. Ne or wɔn
The possessive matches the noun in front: ne for one, wɔn for several.

  • abofra a ne papa frɛɛ no no (the child whose father called him)
  • mmofra a wɔn maame aba no (the children whose mother has come)

3. Before a vowel
Ne shortens to n' before a vowel: ɔbaa a n'adwuma yɛ den no (the woman whose work is hard).

4. Whose + object
The possessed noun can also be the object inside the clause: ɔbaa a mehunuu ne ba no (the woman whose child I saw).

5. Someone new
To introduce a new person, use bi and leave off the final clause-final no: Ɔbarima bi a ne din de Nyamekyɛ tenaa ase (There once lived a man whose name was Nyamekyɛ).

Examples (5)

  1. ɔbarima a ne yere yare no

    the man whose wife is sick

    Word by Word: man that his wife is-sick NO

  2. Abofra a ne papa frɛɛ no no amma.

    The child whose father called him did not come.

    Word by Word: child that his father called him NO did-not-come

    The first no is the pronoun him; the second closes the relative clause.

  3. Mmofra a wɔn maame aba no akɔ fie.

    The children whose mother has come have gone home.

    Mmofra is plural, so the possessive is wɔn (their).

  4. Ɔbaa a mehunuu ne ba no yɛ ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ.

    The woman whose child I saw is a teacher.

    Word by Word: woman that I-saw her child NO is teacher

  5. Ɔbarima bi a ne din de Nyamekyɛ tenaa ase.

    There once lived a man whose name was Nyamekyɛ.

    A new character: bi, and no final no.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the possessive.

    ɔbarima a yere yare no
    ɔbarima a ne yere yare no

    The possessive ne is what makes the clause mean whose. Without it, the wife is not linked to the man.

  • Using the question word hwan.

    ɔbarima hwan yere yare no
    ɔbarima a ne yere yare no

    Hwan (who) only asks questions. Relative clauses always start with a.

  • Using ne for a plural noun.

    mmofra a ne maame aba no
    mmofra a wɔn maame aba no

    Mmofra (children) is plural, so the possessive must be wɔn (their).

How It Connects

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

a ne ... no (Whose)Level 5Whose: A Ne ... No

Learn This First

Whose combines relatives and possessives.

Words in This Pattern

anewɔnno