ó yẹ kí
What Should Happen
Ó yẹ kí + subject + predicate: someone should act.
How It Works
Begin with ó yẹ kí, then give the subject and predicate of the recommended event. Initial ó belongs to the evaluating expression; it does not identify the recommended actor. That participant appears after kí. The action verb has no person or number ending.
First-person singular uses kí n. Compare Ó yẹ kí o sinmi, “You should rest,” with O gbọ́dọ̀ sinmi, “You must rest.” The first evaluates rest as advisable; the second presents it as required. Context affects the strength of the recommendation.
Neither expression asserts that rest occurs. Native sources write first-person plural a after kí, while the textbook has á in some passages. These attestations do not establish an automatic a-to-á conversion in every kí construction.
Examples (3)
- Ó yẹ kí n pe dókítà.
I should call a doctor.
N identifies the first-person singular actor.
- Ó yẹ kí o sinmi.
You should rest.
O identifies the singular addressee as the recommended actor.
- Ó yẹ kí Bísí ṣàyẹ̀wò àpótí náà.
Bísí should inspect the box.
The named actor follows kí.
How It Connects
Learn This First
After ó yẹ kí, give the participant and recommended action.
Related Patterns
Practice ó yẹ kí in Bubblegum
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