kò ... kankan

None at All

Level 2

Subject + kò + verb + noun + kankan; kò sí + noun + kankan.

How It Works

In an action clause, kò precedes the verb. An overt noun object can be followed by kankan to deny any relevant member of that kind. Títí kò ra ìwé kankan excludes any book purchase, rather than merely denying purchase of one particular book.

Existence denial uses kò sí with a noun and kankan. Kò sí ọmọ kankan níbí excludes any child from this location. The location limits the claim; it does not deny children's existence everywhere.

Learn these complete negative frames. Kankan alone does not substitute for a negative reply. These negative constructions do not make kankan a freely interchangeable affirmative or question marker. Total coverage with gbogbo differs from excluding any member: denying “all” does not automatically assert “none”.

Examples (3)

  1. Títí kò ra ìwé kankan.

    Títí did not buy any book.

    Kankan follows the overt object within action negation.

  2. Délé kò ra aṣọ kankan.

    Délé did not buy any clothes.

    The frame excludes any purchase of clothes.

  3. Kò sí ọmọ kankan níbí.

    There is no child here at all.

    Existence denial is limited to this location.

How It Connects

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

kò ... kankanLevel 2None at All

Learn This First

Use kankan within a complete negative frame to exclude any relevant member.