o_196h0fp7b15b9sam1rr8a4j13d8a.pdf

Unit 9: Describing people and towns 125
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Báwo ni a ße n; fo≥so≥?
How do we wash clothes?
Báwo ni a ße n; se ìrõsì?
How do we cook rice?
When the word “how” occurs in a clause that is not a question, you
will need to use bí . . . ße. For example:
N kò mo≥bí a ße n; se ìrõsì.
I don’t know how we cook rice.
Mo rí bí Olú ße fo≥àwo.
I saw how Olu washed the dishes.
Íé o rí bí Olú ße fo≥àwo?
Did you see how Olu washed the dishes?
More on adjectives
Yoruba either uses adjectives or descriptive verbs to describe people
or things. Here are examples of some of the descriptive verbs and
adjectives:
Descriptive verbs
Adjectives
ga to be tall gíga tall
kúrú to be short kúkúrú short
sanra to be plump/fat sísanra plump/fat
gùn to be long gígùn long
tínínrín to be skinny títínínrín skinny
dára to be good dáradára good
burú to be bad búburú bad
kanra to be bad tempered kíkanra bad tempered
Color terms
With color terms, there is no difference between the descriptive verb
and their adjective counterparts. For example:
funfun
dúdú
to be white or white
to be black or black