An Action and Its Result
An object affected by the first action can undergo the second event.
How It Works
The documented pushing-and-falling construction joins an action to its consequence. Put the actor before the pushing verb, the affected participant after it, and ṣubú, “fall,” after that participant. In Délé ti Bísí ṣubú, Délé pushes and Bísí falls. The initial subject therefore does not perform both events.
The pushing verb is cited as tì. The resultative construction uses mid-tone ti before an overt nominal object. The examples here follow that frame; this evidence does not establish its surface tone in every other environment. This lexical verb differs from preverbal aspect ti.
Compare Délé ti Bísí, “Délé pushed Bísí,” with the longer sequence, which additionally reports the fall. In an affirmative event report, the result occurs; a purpose construction describes an intended outcome. Neither this pattern nor its English translation licenses arbitrary action–property combinations.
Examples (3)
- Délé ti Bísí ṣubú.
Délé pushed Bísí down.
Bísí undergoes the resulting fall.
- Ọmọ náà ti àga ṣubú.
The child pushed a chair over.
The chair is affected by the push and falls.
- Wọ́n ti Títí ṣubú.
They pushed Títí down.
Ti is the pushing verb here, followed by its nominal object.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Identify who or what undergoes the result.
Related Patterns
Practice An Action and Its Result in Bubblegum
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