kọ́ / kọ́ ni
Denying a Selected Identity
Nominal phrase + kọ́; or selected constituent + kọ́ ni + remaining identification or clause.
How It Works
Kọ́ follows the nominal identity or selected constituent being rejected. A short nominal response can end there. A fuller identification or focus construction retains kọ́ ni and the following material. Use an independent pronoun such as èmi in the selected position.
When a singular named actor is focused, retain the subject pronoun in the following clause: Kúnlé kọ́ ni ó …. Object focus keeps the actor in that clause and leaves the selected object understood. Kọ́ itself takes no person or number endings.
Compare Bísí kò lọ, ‘Bísí did not go’, with Bísí kọ́ ni ó lọ, ‘It was not Bísí who went’. The second corrects the proposed actor. Preserve high-tone kọ́ and mid-tone ni. Kì í ṣe also expresses identity denial. These are Standard Nigerian Yoruba frames; the comparative reference describes Ẹ̀gbá alternatives separately.
Examples (3)
- Dókítà kọ́.
Not a doctor.
A nominal response fragment rejecting a proposed identity.
- Èmi kọ́ ni olùkọ́ rẹ.
I am not your teacher.
The identification frame uses independent èmi and second-person possessive rẹ.
- Kúnlé kọ́ ni ó gbé àpò náà wá.
It was not Kúnlé who brought the bag.
The rejected actor precedes kọ́ ni; ó remains in the following clause.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Place kọ́ after the rejected identity or choice; retain ni in the fuller frame.
Related Patterns
Practice kọ́ / kọ́ ni in Bubblegum
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