Possessive ti

The One Belonging to Someone

Level 2

A possessed noun can precede ti + possessor; established contracted forms include tèmi, tìwọ and tòun.

How It Works

Mid-tone ti marks a genitival relation. In the full nominal construction described by the textbook, the possessed noun precedes ti and the possessor follows it. The textbook also discusses vowel lengthening and contraction at these boundaries. Ti carries no person or number ending.

With independent pronouns, contraction produces established possessives: ti + èmi → tèmi, ‘mine’; ti + ìwọ → tìwọ, ‘yours’; and ti + òun → tòun, ‘his or hers’. The pronoun’s initial low tone remains. These forms can identify an understood possessed item before mid-tone ni, as the examples show.

Compare Tèmi ni àpò yìí, ‘This bag is mine’, with Mo ní àpò, ‘I have a bag’. The first identifies belonging; the second predicates possession. Distinguish nominal ti from completion ti before a verb and high-tone relative tí. The third-person possessive does not encode the owner’s gender.

Examples (3)

  1. Tèmi ni àpò yìí.

    This bag is mine.

    Tèmi is the established contraction of ti + èmi.

  2. Tìwọ ni ìwé náà.

    That book is yours.

    Tìwọ identifies a singular second-person possessor.

  3. Tòun ni àga yẹn.

    That chair is his or hers.

    Tòun identifies a third-person singular possessor without specifying gender.

How It Connects

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

Possessive tiLevel 2The One Belonging to Someone

Learn This First

Mid-tone ti marks nominal belonging; ti + èmi contracts to tèmi ‘mine’.