gbé ... wá / lọ

Bringing and Taking

Level 2

Subject + gbé + object + wá/lọ combines carrying with directed movement.

How It Works

Use gbé + object + wá for bringing and gbé + object + lọ for taking away. The carried object follows gbé and precedes the directional verb. No conjunction separates the verbs. The carrier moves the object in the direction expressed by the final verb.

Wá indicates movement toward a reference point, commonly the speaker’s location; lọ indicates movement away or onward. Context supplies the reference point. The verbs have no person or number endings. An aspect marker before the sequence can frame the combined event: ti marks completion in the third example.

Compare Gbé àpò yìí wá, ‘Bring this bag’, with Gbé àpò yìí lọ, ‘Take this bag away’. Changing the final verb changes direction while preserving the object’s position. Bringing or taking an object does not itself express a change of ownership.

Examples (3)

  1. Gbé àpò yìí wá.

    Bring this bag.

    Wá directs the bag toward the relevant reference point.

  2. Adé gbé àga náà lọ.

    Adé took the chair away.

    The carried chair appears between gbé and lọ.

  3. Wọ́n ti gbé oúnjẹ wá.

    They have brought food.

    Ti presents the linked carrying and movement as completed.

How It Connects

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

gbé ... wá / lọLevel 2Bringing and Taking

Learn This First

Place the carried object between gbé and wá ‘come’ or lọ ‘go’.