o_196h0fp7b15b9sam1rr8a4j13d8a.pdf

Unit 8: Talking about people 117
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gbá boœ$oΩ$lù
õlõœsõΩ
boœ$oΩ$lù alápõΩrõΩ
to play soccer
basketball
Language points
More on numerals—ordinals
tíroœ$npõœõΩtì trumpet
kàwé
to read
méjéèjì the two
In order to talk about the numerical position of a person or object in
comparison with another person or object, use words such as kìíní or
kejì to express the position. For example:
o≥mo≥kìíní
the first child
ìwé kejì
the second book
àbúrò mi kõtà
my third younger sibling
If the object that the ordinal number is modifying is implied, then use
words such as èkíní or èkejì. For example:
Mo ní oΩ$rõœ mõœtà.
I have three friends.
Orúko≥èkíní ni Tolú. The name of the first one is Tolu.
Orúko≥èkejì ni Délé. The name of the second one is Dele.
Orúko≥õΩkõtà ni Túnjí. The name of the third one is Tunji.
The use of méjèèjì
If you want to express notions such as “the two” or “the three,” use
words such as méjèèjì. For example:
Mo fõœ ìwé méjèèjì. I want the two books.
Mo fõœ ra mõœtõΩõΩta. I want to buy the three.
MõœrõΩõΩrin kò dára. The four (of them) are not good.
The word “to play”
From the above dialogue, you may have noticed that Yoruba uses
several different words to denote the verb “to play” in English. In
Yoruba, which word is used depends on what is being played. Here
are some of the words used to denote “to play” in Yoruba.
ßeré
to play (in general)
gbá boœ$oΩ$lù
to play a ball game