kí ... tó
Before an Event
The predicate after tó supplies the later boundary.
How It Works
Form the time clause with kí, its subject, tó and a predicate. Kí o tó lọ means before you leave. The main clause identifies what precedes departure. Each clause can have different participants; the frame takes no person or number endings.
The before-clause can appear first or last. Even when written first, it names the later reference event. Context and the predicates determine whether the sentence describes past events, plans or an instruction. The construction orders the situations without itself guaranteeing that the later event eventually occurs.
Contrast kí o tó lọ, before you leave, with lẹ́yìn tí o lọ, after you left. Departure is the reference event in both, but the main action falls on opposite sides. Temporal tó belongs to this frame; its function must be distinguished from the contracted relative tó taught separately.
Examples (3)
- Pa fèrèsé náà kí o tó lọ.
Close that window before you leave.
Closing precedes departure.
- Kí àwọn ọmọ tó dé, mo se ìrẹsì.
Before the children arrived, I cooked rice.
The first clause names the later event.
- A yóò ra omi kí a tó bẹ̀rẹ̀ iṣẹ́.
We will buy water before we begin work.
Buying precedes beginning work.
Related Patterns
- lẹ́yìn tíAfter an Event
Expresses the reverse temporal relation.
Level 2 - nígbà tíWhen an Event Happens
Provides a broader temporal setting.
Level 2 - Clause With kíA Desired or Intended Event
Introduces other subordinate uses of kí.
Level 2 - tóA Contracted Relative Form
Separately treats contracted relative tó.
Level 2
Practice kí ... tó in Bubblegum
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