Naming an Activity
Compare rà → rírà, ga → gíga and sanra → sísanra.
How It Works
One gerund pattern places the base's initial consonant followed by high-tone í before the base. Attested forms include rà → rírà, ‘buying’, ga → gíga, ‘height/tallness’, and sanra → sísanra, ‘being fat’. Preserve the attested base and its tones. The digraph gb represents one consonant onset and is treated as a unit.
The derived expression can name an activity in a nominal position or describe a property after a noun. Compare Adé ga, ‘Adé is tall’, with ènìyàn gíga, ‘a tall person’. Established descriptive forms such as kékeré and kúkúrú follow other patterns. Full-copy agentive reduplication names a performer and has separate input restrictions. Its minimum-base-size condition does not exclude monosyllabic gerund bases such as rà. Use attested formations rather than applying this pattern indiscriminately.
Examples (3)
- Rírà àga kò rọrùn.
Buying a chair is not easy.
The activity expression functions as subject.
- Ènìyàn gíga ni Bísí.
Bísí is a tall person.
Gíga describes height after ènìyàn.
- Sísanra kò túmọ̀ sí agbára.
Being fat does not mean strength.
Sísanra names the property rather than its bearer.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- gbReading Gb
Establishes the digraph as one onset.
Level 1 - Naming Someone by an Activity
Contrasts partial gerunds with full-copy performer nouns.
Level 3 - Repeated Descriptive Forms
Compares other descriptive formations.
Level 3 - Focused Gerund + niHighlighting the Action Itself
Uses an activity nominal to focus the action.
Level 5
Practice Naming an Activity in Bubblegum
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