kò sí

Saying There Is None

Level 1

Use kò sí + absent item + optional location: 'there is no', 'there are no' or 'there is nobody'.

How It Works

Name what is absent after kò sí. A location can restrict the claim; otherwise the conversation supplies the setting. The construction does not acquire singular or plural endings.

  • Kò sí wàrà nínú ilé. — There is no milk in the house.
  • Kò sí àga nínú yàrá yìí. — There are no chairs in this room.
  • Kò sí ẹni kankan ní ọjà. — There is nobody at the market.
  • Kò sí bàtà. — No shoes are available.

The same frame works with mass nouns, count nouns and people. A bare count noun does not force singular English agreement. Ẹni kankan explicitly excludes any person in the third example.

Contrast affirmative wà presence with negative kò sí. The affirmative can begin with the item being located; this negative existential frame begins with kò sí and then names the absent item.

Contrast absence with possession: a negative ní clause says that a particular person does not have something, while kò sí denies its presence or availability in the setting. Although sí has a destination use elsewhere, this negative presence construction does not mean 'not toward'.

Examples (4)

  1. Kò sí wàrà nínú ilé.

    There is no milk in the house.

    The location restricts the absence claim.

  2. Kò sí àga nínú yàrá yìí.

    There are no chairs in this room.

    The bare count noun permits this plural English rendering.

  3. Kò sí ẹni kankan ní ọjà.

    There is nobody at the market.

    Ẹni kankan explicitly excludes any person.

  4. Kò sí bàtà.

    No shoes are available.

    Context supplies the setting.

How It Connects

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

kò síLevel 1Saying There Is None