a / ẹ / wọ́n

Plural and Respectful Subjects

Level 1

a: we; ẹ: plural or respectful you; wọ́n: they or respectful he/she.

How It Works

Place these subjects before the predicate or an aspect marker. A includes the speaker in a group. Ẹ addresses people; wọ́n refers to people being discussed. The verb does not acquire a plural or honorific ending.

Compare Ẹ ti dé, “You have arrived,” said respectfully to one senior visitor, with Wọ́n ti dé, “She has arrived,” referring respectfully to one's mother. The same forms can refer to several people. Age, status and the relationship help determine the respectful reading.

Preserve high-tone subject wọ́n in these affirmative examples. Object and possessor wọn belong to different constructions. Independent àwa, ẹ̀yin, àwọn have additional phrase-level uses, so the different pronoun tables cannot be substituted mechanically.

Examples (3)

  1. A ti ra aṣọ.

    We have bought clothing.

    A identifies a group containing the speaker.

  2. Ẹ ti ra aṣọ.

    You have bought clothing.

    Addresses several people or one person respectfully.

  3. Wọ́n ti ra aṣọ.

    They have bought clothing.

    Uses a plural reading; a suitable antecedent can instead support respectful singular reference.

How It Connects

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

a / ẹ / wọ́nLevel 1Plural and Respectful Subjects

Learn This First

A means we; ẹ means plural or respectful you; wọ́n means they or respectful he/she.