Wolof Grammar M anual

Wolof Grammar Notes: Stative versus Active Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Wolof Grammar Not es: General Comments on the Wol of Verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Wo lo f Gramm ar No tes: Imp erative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Wo lo f Gram mar N ot es: Pre sen t Co nt inu ou s/Pr esen tat ive (M u n gi) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Wolof Grammar Notes: Completion Marker (Na) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Wolof Grammar Notes: Complement & Object Predicator (La) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Wolof Grammar Notes: Explicative (Dafa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Wolof Grammar Notes: Future Tense (Dina) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Wolof Grammar Notes: Subject Emphasis Pronouns (Moo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Wolof Grammar Notes: Minimum Verb Construction Pronouns (Mu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Wolof Grammar Notes: Obligation / Optative (Na nga) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Wolof Grammar Notes: Negation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Wolof Grammar Notes: Past Time Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Wolof Grammar Notes: Di . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Wolof Grammar Notes: Object Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Wolof Grammar Notes: Independent Subject Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Wolof Grammar Notes: Auxiliary verbs and double verb construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Wolof Grammar Notes: Possession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Wolof Grammar Notes: Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Wolof Grammar Notes: Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Wolof Grammar Notes: Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Wolof Grammar Notes: Relative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Wolof Grammar Notes: Temporal & Hypothetical Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Wolof Grammar Notes: Expression of Time & Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Wolof Grammar Notes: Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Wolof Grammar Notes: Exclamatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Wolof Grammar Notes: Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
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Wolof Gramm ar Notes: Stative versus Active Verbs

Wolof does not have adjectives and few adverbs of manner. Instead verbs and verb phrases are used to modify nouns
an d ve rb s. Th us t he re a re t wo kinds o f verb s in Wo lo f.
Active verbs are those which indicate an action or p rocess.
e.g. lekk to eat
Stative verbs are usually verbs which indicate being in a particular state or static condition.
e.g. baax to be good

A small number of verbs can take either sense depending on the context. In the case w he re a verb carries b ot h a n a ctive
and a passive sense, the di indicates the active incomplete sense.
e.g toog to sit down (active), to be seated (stative)
Mu ngi t oo g. He is sitting down.
Mu ngiy to og. He is in the process of sitting down.
Ma a n gi to og. I am seated.
Ma a n giy too g. I am in the process of sitting down.

T h e diff erence in meaning can sometimes be subtle. For instance: xalaat means to think about, ponder, an active
process of an active verb. Whereas foog means to think, or believe, a state of being of a stative verb.

One of the most concrete differences between these two kinds of Wo lo f verbs ha s to do wit h t he use o f th e p resen tative
-angi. Active verbs can be modified by -angi, while stative verbs ordinarily cannot. This provides the quickest way to
tell where a Wolof verb is active or stative: Simply ask a native speaker whether one can say Mu n gi x whe re x is
the verb in question.

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 39, 49
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 213, 2150
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 26
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 4-6
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 33 Revised 6 August, 1999

Wolof Grammar Notes: General Comments on the Wolof Verb

1. Often it is only the context (verbal pronoun s or articles) which permits one to distinguish between a verb and a
noun .
e.g. the word liggey could be a verb or a noun.
Damay liggey. I am w or kin g.
Liggey bi metti na. The work is hard.

2. The Wolof verbal system is more concerned with aspect than time. Even if one can distinguish the past, present
or future, the verbal struc tu res wo rk a ro un d c ompl ete d o r unc ompl eted act ion s. It revea ls wh eth er a n ac tio n is
momentaneous or habitual; at its start or at its end; single or multiple; recent or far away; accomplished or
unaccomplished.

3. There are three voices in Wolof: active; semi-active; passive.

a. The passive and semi-active are formed by adding the suffix -u.
e.g. Aali tj na bunt ba. Ali closed the d oor.
Bunt bi tju na. The door is closed.
Aali gaau na. Ali is injured.
b. T h e passive can also be formed by using the 3 rd per son plu ral form w ith an a ctive fo rm. In this case it
indicates the equivalent of the English structure one ....
e.g. oo ngi may gis One has seen me. OR I have been seen.
c. The p assive ca n a lso be ind icated b y th e st ru ctu re - ees /-e ef.
See S amb p 109 -11 3 for mo re de tails.
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Wolof Grammar Notes: Imperative

Forma tion:
Singul ar : Verb + -al (if verb ends in consonant e.g. waxal) [+/- obje ct pr ono uns]
Verb + -l (if verb ends in i, u or a long vowel e.g. noppil)
Verb + -vowel + -l (if verb ends in any other vowel e.g. booleel)
Ver b + - wal (if verb is mon osyl lab ic en din g in a vo wel e.g. jiwal)
Plural Verb + -leen (e.g. waxleen, noppileen, booleleen) [+/- obje ct pr ono uns]

Notes:
4. When the imperative singular is followed by an object pro noun , the mark -al/-l is dropp ed. The plural form does
not change when followed by a pronoun.
e.g. Nuyul! Gre et!
c.f. Nuyu ma! and Nuyuleen ma! Gre et me!

5. The suffix -al also can have the meaning to do for someone else.
e.g. Nuyul ma ko! Greet him for me!
c.f Nuyu ma! Greet me!

6. When two co mmand s are given one after ano ther, only t he first on e takes th e imperat ive suffix.
e.g. Demal to og! Go and sit down!
Too gal te no pp i! Sit down and be quiet!

7. In a series of commands numbering greater than two verbs, the third verb will often be in the form of the minimum
verb construction.
e.g. wal, toog te nga wax ak man! Come, sit and talk with me!

8. Exceptions to rule:
Kaay! Come here!
Am! Here, have th is!
Indi! Br ing!

9. The imp erative also exist s in a c on tin uo us fo rm wit h d i giving th e sen se o f a co mman dme nt whic h o ne is to do
continuously or habitually. In this case an object pronoun precedes the main verb, and the l of deel is dropped.
deel/de eleen/d ee [+/- object p ronou n] + verb
Affir mat ive Negative
Deel jng Bul di jng
Deeleen jng Buleen di jng

e.g. Deeleen aan ci xeeti aan ypp ci kttanu Xel mu Sell mi (Eph 6:18)
Dee ko jox buy Have the habit of giving him monkey bread.

The optative form (na nga dem) is also a form of imperative, as is the negative interrogative (doo dem?). All these
imperative forms only have one negative form: bul.
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10. Negative
nd
2 person singular is formed by bu l [+/- object p ronou n] + verb
e.g. Bul wax! Don 't speak!
The l of bul is dropped b efore a pronoun object, fi or ci
e.g. Bu ko wax! Don't say it!
2 nd person pl ural is formed by bulee n [+/- ob ject prono un] + verb
e.g. Bul een wa x! Don 't speak!

In Wolof, a negative imperative structure al so exists for 1 st and 3rd persons as a subjunctive negative.

Singular Plural

1 st person buma [+/- o bject pron oun] + verb bunu /bu u [+/- ob ject prono un] + verb

2 nd person bu(l) [+/- o bject pron oun] + verb buleen [+/- object pro noun ] + verb

3 rd person bumu + verb buu [+/- object pro noun ] + verb

bu +[+/- o bject pron oun] + sub ject + verb

e.g. Bum a ko gis! May I not see it!

Bu u wax! Let th em not speak!
Bu Mood u w! Let Moodu no t come!
Bu xaj bi d ugg! May the d og not ente r!
Bu ko pp xam! May everyone know it!
Bu ma kenn too! Ma y no- on e d o me wro ng!

In a se rie s of ne gative verbs, the second is not marked. When the negative imperative is followed by a positive command
the n, th e imper ative mark a ppe ars.
e.g. Bu l y eg too g! Do not climb up and sit down!
Bul dfenu, jaaxaanal! Do no t lie on your st omach , lie on your b ack!

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 50, 76, 169, 176
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 20
Baptist course: pp 8f, 46
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 76, 162-168, 173-177
Notes on W olof Grammar (Stewart): pp 25-27
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 99-100
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 6
Xam sa lkk: pp 68, 73

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 24, 33-36, 180
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Wolof G ram mar Notes : Present Continuous/Presentative (M u ngi)

Forma tion:
Noun or subject pronoun + a ngi/a nga [+/- object pronouns] [+/- di] [+/-verb] [+/-object]
e.g. M aa ngi k oy jn g I am stu dyin g it

Singular Plural

1 st person maa ngi nu ngi/ u ngi

2 nd person yaa ngi yee n a ngi

3 rd person mu ngi u ngi

/mi ngi

Notes:
1. Some regions distinguish between nu (1 st person plural) and u (3 rd person plural). Other regions make no such
distinc tion using u for bo th ca ses. This is tru e for al l th e sub ject an d ob ject p ron oun s of all m ode s.

2. Usage:
a. When used with either a nominal subject or a subject pronoun with a verb, it indica tes so meone or
something performing an action which is going on at the time of speaking. It is approximately equivalent
to the English present continuous tense.
e.g. Job a n gi wax. Dio p is spe aking.
b. When used wit h e ith er a n om ina l su bje ct or a su bje ct pr on ou n w ith ou t a verb it indicates something or
someone which exists at the time of speaking i.e. Here is/there is.
e.g. Kr a ngi. Here is a house.
Ma a ngi. Here I am.

3. Wh en used with nouns a s subject:

a. When the definite article follows the noun, the a of angi is doubled an d added to t he n oun class
consonant.
e.g. Kr gaa n gi. Here is the house.
b. In the absence of the definite article the noun in indefinite. An indefinite plural subject is indicated by ay
preceding the subject.
e.g. Kr a ngi. Here is a house.
Ay k r a n gi. Here a re some hou ses.
c. When the noun without article ends in a non-geminated final consonant, then the con sonant before the a
of angi, is pronounced as it would be when the possessive -u is added.
e.g. Xaj a ngi baw. Here is a d og w hic h is ba rkin g.
d. When the n oun without article ends in a vowel the a of angi is fused onto the noun following the
nor mal W olo f pho net ical ru les.
e.g. Kaa laa ngi. Here is a turban. (kaala)
Gunee ngi fo. Here is a child who is playing. (gune)
Sa jaa ro o n gi la ng. Your earring is falling. (jaaru)
4. The base -ang- has several suffixes which give spatio-temporal definition, often in c ombin ation with t he f- and
n- class auxiliaries. A doubling of the vowel or a dd ition of th e su ffix -le indicates insistance; f- indicates non-
visibility; n- ind icates visibility.
a. -i indicates proximity to the speaker.
e.g Maa n gi bey.
The ran ge of p ossib ilitie s is: angi; a ngii; a ngi fi; an gi fii; angi n i; an gi nii
Normally the mark of incompleteness, di, disappears when -i is used, but may be used when one wants to emphasize the
difference between the completed and uncompleted.
e.g. Maa ngi liggey oto. I am a mechanic.
Maa ngiy liggey oto. Here I am repairing a car.
Mu ngi t oo g. He is sit tin g.
Mu ngiy to og. He is in the process of sitting down.
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b. -a indicates that the action is remote. then the form a nga + di (or its variant y) is used. By definition, the
remote form can only be used with the 3 rd person singular or plural, as first and second persons cannot be
remote.
e.g. Job a n gay wax. Diop is speaking (over there).
The range of possibilities is: anga; angale; angee; anga fa; anga fale; anga fee; anga nale; anga nee;
c. -u indica tes an inde termin ate p osition . This may b e an imp recise location o r somewhere between close and
far away especially if there is a doubling of the u
e.g. Mu ngu fu. He is there somewhere (bu t I am not really interested ).
Mu ngu nuu. Here it is (par example a village situated a kilometre away or a needle
found some way away).
The range of possibilities is: angu; anguu; angu fu; angu fuu;
d. -oog indicates the resumption of a subject about which one has already spoken
e.g. Job a n googuley dem. Here is Diop (ab ou t who m we spoke) wh o is goin g.
Maa ngoog. Here I am (Now you know who I am).
Mungoog! Exact ly!
The range of possibilities is: angoog; angoogu; angoogule; angoogale; angoogee

5. When there is an ob ject pro nou n on e is require d to use di (o r its variant y)

e.g. u ngi lay n uyu They are greeting you.
Maa ngi leen di tggu. I am bidding you (pl) farewell.

6. The prese nta tive is onl y used with a ctive verbs, not with stative verbs (although th ere are some exceptions, mainly
being verbs which have both an active and a stative sense).
For verbs which can be both active or passive:
the acco mplish ed in dicat es the passive sen se
the un accomplished indicates the active sense.
e.g. Mu ngi t oo g. He is seated.
Mu ngiy to og. He is in the process of sitting down.

7. In its negative form the presentative only ever uses the -ul series suffixes on the verb.

Singular Plural

1 st person -uma -unu /uu

2 nd person -uloo -uleen

3 rd person -ul -uu

e.g. Maa n gi wax. I am s pe aking.

Waxuma. I am n ot spe aking.
References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 7f, 29, 49
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 21f, 78.1, 212
Baptist course: pp 2, 82
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 71, 115-125
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 1f
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 88
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 5, 12
Xam sa lkk: pp 64

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 24-26, 37f, 59-63, 80
Baptist Course: pp 22 Revised 6 August, 1999
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Wolof Grammar Notes: Completion Marker (Na)

Formation: [+/-nominal subject] + verb + na [+/- object pronouns] [+/- nominal object]

Usual form Elongated form

Singular Plural Singular Plural

1 st person naa nanu/nnu 1 st person naa/ namaa nanoo /naoo

/nau
2 nd person ngaa ngeena
nd
2 person nga ngeen
3 rd person naa naoo
rd
3 person na/n nau/nu

Impersona l: -ees na
e.g. jaayees na, jaayeesoon na One sol d it

Notes:
1. With Stative Verbs
It represents a state or condition which exists at the t ime of speaking. It indicates literally that the coming into
being of th e sta te o r co nd ition has bee n co mpl ete d. In a lo oser sen se h owe ver, it can be considered as simply a present
ten se marke r for sta tive verbs.
e.g. Ceeb bi neex na The rice is good

2. With Active Verbs

It represents an action completed; achieved either in past or present. Sometimes this aspect denotes what would
seem to be present action or a state of being but t his has come to be a condition because of a completed action in the
past. It is approximately equivalent to the English present perfect tense, but the idea has more o f a sense o f comp lete ness
than that of past/present distinction. In relation to the speaker the action could have been completed today or 100 years
ago without changing the structure of the mode.
e.g. Wax naa. I have spoken.
Lekk nga. You have eaten.
3. Elongated form is used in double verb constructions when subject pronoun is last syllable before second verb.
e.g. War ngaa d em. You must go.

4. When u sage causes ambiguity (1 st & 3 rd person plural; 1 st & 3 rd person singular elongated) the sentence may be
restructured using independent prono un + completed object predicator (see Wolof Grammar Notes: Object
Pron oun s 2.b )

5. Negative: Conjugated Negative Suffix -ul/-wul (See negation notes: Section A)

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 9, 30, 49f
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 42, 212
Baptist course: pp 31, 43
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 67f, 142-146
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 6-8, 50
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 59, 62
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 4, 13
Xam sa lkk: pp 64

Exercises:
Bap tist Co urse pp 32 Revised 6 August, 1999
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Wolof Grammar Notes: Complement & Object Predicator (La)

Formation: Noun/noun clause/independent question word/adverb/number + la [+/- verb]

Singular Plural

1 st person laa lanu/lnu/lau

2 nd person nga /n g ngeen

3 rd person la/l lau/lu

Impersonal: lees (rare)

e.g. Fii lees ko gise It is he re t hat on e saw it

Notes:
1. Function:
a. To predicate the noun, pronoun or question word. That is, to make the noun, pronoun or question words
complemen t of the subject - to be in En glish.
b. Emphasize the object of a verb. It is the structure used in response to questions like:
Lan ngay def? Foo jge? etc..

2. Usage:
a. As complement predicator
[+/-nominal subject/pronoun], nominal ob ject/noun clause/indep enden t question wo rd/adverb/n umber +
predicator
e.g. Man, Ameriken laa. Me, I am American.
Lii, cin la. This, it is a cauldron.
an lau? Who are th ey?
Fii la. It is here.
Benn la. It's one; it's one and the same.
b. As object predicator
nominal subject/pronoun , + nominal object/independent pronoun + predicator (conjugated) [+/ di] + main verb
e.g. Amerik laa jge. It is from America th at I come
Cin laa b gg. It is a cauldron that I want
an lau dem Dakar? Who are th ey who are going to Dakar?
Mo om la gis. It is him that he has seen.
Xale yi, a y t nga l la u b gg. The children, it is lollies that they want.
Whe n th e no minal subje ct is pl aced in fron t of th e ph rase as in the l ast exa mple , the n th ere is a shor t pau se in speech
between the subject and the complement.

or nominal ob ject/prono un + pred icator (unco njugated) [+/- di] + nominal subject/pro noun + main verb
When the subject appears directly before the verb, the neutral form la (i.e. unconjugated) is used.
e.g. Ay t n gal la xal e yi b gg. It is lollies that the children want.
Ben n sa gar la jigen ji fot e bo ol yi. It is with a c lot h th at th e wom an h as wash ed th e dish es.

3. When <di' is used with main verb it is attached to object p redicato r in form <-y'. For the 2 nd person plural (ngeen)
<di' is used. Di cannot be used when it is acting as a complement predicator (i.e. no verb). Wh en di is present,
it indicates that the action is not yet accomplished (an action occurring at the time of speaking or about to happ en
in t he ne ar fut ur e). Whe n di is not pr ese nt th en th e action ha s been c om pl eted at th e time of spe aking.
e.g. Tefes laay dem It is to the beach I will go/am going
Tefes ngeen di dem It is to the beach that you (pl) will go/are going

4. When the complement is preceded by an indefinite article, then the phrase is more precise.
e.g. Nit laa. I am human.
Ak nit laa. I am a human.
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5. Negative
a. When actin g as a complement predicator (i.e. no verb) the du negative form is used (see negation notes).
e.g. Lii tere la Lii du tere
This is a book This is not a book
This form is incompatibl e with th e -ul n egative form.
b. When acting as an object predicator (i.e. includes verb ) th e -u l/- wul nega tive su ffix, no n co nju gated is
used, with the rest of construction remaining unaltered (see ne gation notes).
e.g. Mo om l aa gis Moom laa gisul
It is him I have seen It's not him that I have seen

Also <du' can be used before the complement.

e.g Du m oo m laa gis I have n't se en h im

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 30, 51
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 30, 42f, 213
Baptist course: pp 12, 23f
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 69, 126-132
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 11-14, 31
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 60, 63
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 5, 11
Xam sa lkk: pp 64

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 36f, 44f, 89
Baptist Course: pp 21 Revised 6 August, 1999
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Wolof Grammar Notes: Explicative (Dafa)

Formation: [+/-Nominal Subject] + Dafa [+/- object pronoun] [+/-di] + verb [+/ nominal object]

Usual Form Elon gated Form

Singular Plural Singular Plural

1 st person dama danu/dau 1 st person damaa danoo/daoo

2 nd person danga dangeen 2 nd person dangaa dangeena

3 rd person da fa dau 3 rd person dafa/daa daoo

1. With Stative Verbs

a. Used to describe a state of being: character, co lor, weathe r etc..
e.g. Dafa tan g. It is hot.
Dafa do f. He is craz y.
b. Used to give the explicative or causal sense. Often both functions b) and c) are present together. Hence
it often is the appropriate response to a particular situation or question.
e.g. A asks B: Doo gnn tey? Aren't yo u going ou t tod ay?
B replies: Deedeet, dafa tang. No, (because) it is hot.
cf. A greets B an d remar ks Tang na loo l tey It is very hot to day.
Y asks X why h e has sto ppe d in th e middl e of his work.
X replies Damaa sonn . (Because) I am tired.
cf. X walks into the house and flops down in a chair Sonn naa lool I am very tired.
For a sma ll nu mber o f verb s da fa sometimes ind icates a sta te which has alw ays existe d c on trast ing w ith th e com pl etive
mode (na) wh ich indicates a process which h as been comp leted. However, often there is no distin ction be tween da fa
and na.
e.g. Dafa gumba. He is blind (from birth).
cf. Gumba na. He is blind (has beco me blind).
c. Used to emphasize verb.

2. With Active Verbs

a. Used to emph asize verb
e.g. Damay liggey I am w or kin g (n ot pl aying) or Wh at I am d oin g is wo rkin g.
This is proper form to use after the question: Looy def?
b. Used t o give the e xplica tive or ca usal se nse
c. Used in conjunction with <di' to indicate an action practiced habitually in th e prese nt , in clud ing
professions, an action happening at the time or in the near future.
e.g. damay xy I go to work ( every day)

3. Use with Di
Di indicates the action is no t ye t ac co mplish ed . It appears as -y except after dangeen, where it appears as di. The
absence of di indicates an event which has been completed or a present state.
a. When used with active verbs can indicate:
-an action in process of occurring
-an action just about to occur
-an action occurring habitually
e.g. damay dem I am in the process of leaving
I wil l l eave
I am in a habit of leaving
Only con text e nab les on e to d istinguish between the three. Note that dinay dem can only indicate a habitual action.
b. When used without a verb indicates to be with an explicative value
e.g. Damay tuurist. It is that I am a tou rist explanation of something
cf. Tuurist laa. I am a to urist statement
10

4. Elongated form
The elo ngat ed fo rm is cr eat ed b y th e ad dit ion of th e su ffix -a, w hich is a variant of di and indicates the action is not
accomplished. If the re is a pronoun object between the pronoun subject and the main verb, then the -a is added to the
object pro noun which elon gates. When dafa app ears directly before an active verb, the elongated form above is used.

e.g. Damaa liggey I am w or kin g.

5. Contractions
dafay may be contracted to day or daf di (day used but not daf di in Mbane)
e.g. Dafay nelaw He is sleeping
= Day nelaw It's because he is sleeping
= Daf di nelaw He sleeps habitually
Dauy may be contracted to da (not used in Mbane)

6. In rapid speech, wh en followed by object pro noun s, the following contract ions may occur (used in Mban e):

Singular Plural

1 st person dam dan

2 nd person dan

3 rd person daf da

e.g Dam ko d ef (d ama ko d ef)

Dan ko d ef (d an ga ko de f)

7. Negative
a. negative of verb if accomplished
e.g. dama jangul It's because I haven't studied
b. negative of di if unaccomplished
e.g. dama dul jang It's because I am not studying

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 76, 93, 195
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 31, 78, 85, 150, 213
Baptist course: pp 27, 32
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 67, 132-142
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 2-4
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 86
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 5, 12
Xam sa lkk: pp 64

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 80 Revised 6 August, 1999
 11

Wolof Grammar Notes: Future Tense (Dina)

Formation: di + completive aspect pronoun [+/-object pronoun] + verb [+/-complement]

Singular Plural

1 st person dinaa dinanu/dinau

2 nd person din ga dingeen

3 rd person dina dinau

e.g. Din a ko d gg He w ill h ear it

Du ko d gg He w on 't he ar o f it
Dinaa ko def I will do it
Dinga dem dkk ba: Yo u a re goin g to th e vil lage
Dinanu fanaan Ndakaaru We will pass the day in Dakar

Notes:
1. Dina + di/y indicates an habitual action.
e.g. Ellg dinaa seeti Abdu Tomorrow I will go see Abdu
Dinaay seeti Abdu I go see Abdu habitually
cf. Ellg damay seeti Abdu Tomorrow I am going to see Abdu

2. Dina without a second di/y can indicate an habitual action or a future action
e.g. Dina le kk He (usually ) eats / He will eat

3. Negative (see n egation not es)

The negative of dina always take the du form of negation.

Singular Plural

1 st person duma dunu/duu

2 nd person doo dungeen

3 rd person du duu

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 162
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 57f, 212
Baptist course: pp 7
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 9f
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 4

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 150, 163
Baptist Course: pp 22 Revised 6 August, 1999
12

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: Subject Em phasis Pronouns (M oo)

Formation: [subject nominal + a] or [subject pronoun] [+/- object pronoun] [+/-di] [+/- verb] [+/- object nominal]
Singular Plural

1 st person maa noo/oo

2 nd person yaa yeen

3 rd person moo oo
Notes:
1. Functions:
a. The function of this structure is to emphasis the subject (as English speakers would do by stressing the
subject: He did it).
b. Thus it is the appropriate structure to respond to op en questions which enquire about the subject.
e.g. Ku dem? Who has left?
Sama xarit a de m. It is my friend who left.
c. Also used for forming open questions which relate to the sub ject [cf. la (complement/o bject predicato r)
which is used to form op en que stions relating to a complemen t or object].
e.g. Kan mo o koy jaay? Who is it that is selling th is?
Kan mo oy jaay ba tik? Who is it that is selling batik? [Question about subject]
Kan moo ko de f? Who is it that made it? [Question about subject]
cf Kan ngay s eet i? Who are you seeking? [Question about object]
cf Lan lay de f? What is he doing? [Question about object]
NB Kan moo can contract to Ku
an oo can contract to u
Lan moo can contract to Lu etc
e.g. Ku ko d ef = K an moo ko de f Who made it?
Note: With o pen que stions co ncern ing the sub ject on ly 3 rd person is possible
i.e. Kan moo(y) or an oo(y)
d. The subject emphasis pronoun followed by a stative verb can be exclamative.
e.g. Yaa siiw! How y ou a re famou s!
e. It is used w ith ce rtain struc ture s such as:
moo tax
loolu moo tax
looloo tax
aka Nekk milion eer, aka n eex!
2. The subject emphasis pronouns may serve alone as subject
e.g. Maa ko aw It is I who sewed it.
Yaa ma ko wax. It's you who said it to me.
3. They may be emphasised by an independent pronoun
e.g. Man, maa ko aw Me, it's I who sewed it.
Yaw, mi goor, yaa wara dem ci kram. You, who are a man, it is you who should go to his house.
4. The element -a can be reinforced by the element ka.
e.g. Be e bi m oo ka fun ki! How the beignet has swollen up!
5. With 3rd person singular or plural when subject is stated and:
a. If the subject ends in a consonant or a long vowel
moo/oo is usually contracted to a (rarely in Mbane)
e.g. Kan a ma woo? = Kan moo ma woo? Who calls me?
Kan a ko ko defaral = Kan moo ko ko defaral? Who mad e it for her?
Cey kii a rafet! Why how he is beautiful!
b. If the subject ends in a vowel, moo/oo is contracted to elongation of vowel
a + a aa
e,i + a ee
o,u + a oo
e.g. Faatoo ubbi bunt bi = Faatu moo ubbi bunt bi It was Faatu who o pened the do or.
Xale yee du gg = Xale yi o o d ugg. It is the children who entered.
 13

6. When pronoun objects are used they follow the subject emphasis pronoun.
e.g. Yaa ko aw? Is it you who sewed it?

7. Subject emp has is pronouns are often used with the particle di (-y). The absence of di indicates that the
action has bee n co mpl ete d o r th e sta te a cqu ired . Wh en di is pre sen t is in dica tes t hat the act ion of th e verb is
incomplete or oc currin g in the n ear futu re. Wh en foll owed by a noun and not accompanied by another verb, the
di stands for the verb to be. di usually appears in the contracted form y.
e.g. Yaa di sa mbindaanu boop? You are your own housegirl?
Maa di toggkat ci sunu kr. I am the cook at our house.
Singular Plural

1 st person maay nooy/ooy

2 nd person yaay yeenay or

yeena di

3 rd person mooy ooy

e.g. Maa y Mo ussa I am Mo ussa
(yeenay used more commonly in Mbane)

8. Negative
a. The negative of the subject emphasis pronouns without di: The verb remains invariable with the addition
of -ul while the sub ject prono uns chan ges as normal according to person and nu mber.
e.g. Maa demul Dakar It is I who did n ot go to Dakar.
b. The negative of the subject emphasis pronouns with di: The di is negated (dul)
Maa dul dem Dakar It is I who will no t go to Dakar.

9. When the subject is nominal it precedes the verb, and is followed by a emphatic marker a (usually for 3 rd person
plural & singular but can be found with the other persons plural)
e.g. Gtt-geen, gtt-geen a koy fey It is with the goat that one must pay the goat.
Feebar a tax mu byyi liggeyam The sickn ess made h im quit h is work.
Man ak waa Waakam a ndoon nppi I and the inhabitants of Ouakam went together to fish.

10. The subject can be:

a nou n simple or co mplex e.g. Njaay a ko def It is Njaay who did it.
an infinitive functioning like a noun Noppee ko gn To be qu iet is better.
pronoun Yaa di guy It is you who are a baobab.
indep end ent p rono un sep arated by rekk, Moom rekk a ko man def It is only him who can do it.
noun followed by independent pronoun. Guy moom moo di.... The baobab, he it is that.... kenn

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 130f
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 95, 214
Baptist course: pp 37f
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 70, 107-115
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 14-16, 23
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 59, 61
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 4, 11
Xam sa lkk: pp 64

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 97f, 100, 13, 190-193
Baptist Course: pp 39, 44 Revised 9 August, 1999
14

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: M inimum V erb Construction Pronouns (Mu)

Formation: MVC pronoun or nominal subject + verb [+/- object pronoun or noun]

Singular Plural

1 st person ma nu/u

2 nd person nga ngeen

3 rd person mu u

Notes:

1. Contains no verbal markers therefore gives no information on mode or time. Therefore it occurs in positions or
situations in which such information has already been given in the preceding sentences, or can be inferred from
the context. It is the most common mode used in practice. It is basically only used with active verbs. It value
lies in the fact tha t it is n on -emp hat ic therefore contrasts the emphatic modes, and also neutral allowing use when
an impre cision is nec essary.

2. Used in following situations:

a. Narration (stor ies, histo rical a ccou nts, fab les, inst ruct ions)
Appropriate information re garding time sett ing is given in early sentences then subsequent verbal constructions use MVC
pronouns. Usually in this case, it indicates short term events. May use many verbs in quick succession.
e.g. Benn bis, dama demoon lekool. Ma dugg, ma toog, ma jng ba pare, ma ibbi
One day I went to school. I went in, I sat down, I studied until I finished (and then) I went home.

b. Subordinate Clauses
i. relative clauses
e.g. Xal e bi nga indi..... The child wh om you ha ve brought.....
ii. temporal /conditional clauses
(1) temporal cl ause with bi/ba also laata/bal a naka (as soon as) etc...
e.g. Bi mu deeyee.... After he had d ied/when h e died..
e.g. Naka mu w, ne ci sama kaw kilib. As soon as he arrived he came suddenly upon me.
note: object pro noun s occur before verb in this structu re
(2) post temporal clause with bi/ba
e.g. Ba ma waxee u dem After I h ad spo ken , th ey l eft
no te: can als o u se o bje ct pred icato r or dafa
(3) post temporal clause with bu as conditioned
e.g. Bu ma waxee nu dglu. If I speak they will listen
(4) cla use s de scrib ing man ner (ni)
e.g. Deful liggey bi na mu ko w are e d ef. He did not do the work as he should have.
iii. lu (even though, howev er + adjective)
e.g. lu say luupi ndey laxlax, ca ngay toog Howe ver skinny are th e thigh s of you r mot her, you m ust sit
there.
c. Subjunctive Clauses
i. Certain conjunctions
ngir, ndax = in order to
e.g Jox na ma tere bi ngir ma man koo j ng. He gave me th e bo ok so tha t I co ul d re ad it
Note: When n dax has the sense o f because then it u ses the completive form
e.g. w naa ndax am naa liggey I have come because I have work
w naa ndax ma am liggey I have come in order to h ave work
ba (until)
e.g. Xaaral ba ma jo x ko ko
 15

ii. Comp letive cla uses with v erbs of wis hing, prohi biting, fearin g, causing etc.. .
e.g. Bgg naa nga dem jndal ma mburu I want you to buy me bread
Tere naa ko mu w I forbade him from coming
Ragal naa mu w I fear he is coming
Ne na nga w He said for you t o come
iii. With fww (must) This verb onl y indica tes pr esent /futu re. Al ways use s MCV pro nou ns.
e.g. Fww nga teewe n daje ma It is absolutely necessary for you to attend the meeting
iv. As imperative (with future overton es)
Has th e idea of let me/le t us.
e.g. Ma awal la benn? Shall I sew one for you?
Ma xaar la? Shall I wait for you?
Mu w suba! Let him come tomorrow!

d. Neutral conjugation
e.g. Ma w I am coming
The form maa ngi w insists too much on the duration of the action. ma w is more one off. It is almost like the
completive of an answered verb.
ie Xaaral ma w Wait I am coming

e. In exclamative phrases
e.g. Li ma la xalaal! How I have been thing of you!

f. In combination with relative pronouns used as questio n word

= relative pronoun + MVC + verb
e.g. Foo dkk? Where do you live?
Nu mu tudd? What is he called?
Fu may de m? Wh ere am I going?
Note: Contractions & 3rd person singular

FU + MVC NU + MVC DU + MVC

1 st Person Singular fu ma nu ma du ma

2 nd Person Singular foo (=fu nga) noo (=nu nga) doo (=du nga)

3 rd Person Singular fu (=fu mu) nu mu (not nu) du (not du mu)

1 st Person Plural fu nu /fu u nu nu /nu u du nu/ du u

2 nd Person Plural fu ngeen nu ngeen du ngeen

3 rd Person Plural fu u nu u du u

g. after phrase introduced by an adverb

e.g. Le gi ma gis ko. Now I will see it/him.
Tuu ti ma gis ko. I almost saw him.

h. Consecutive verbs
e.g. Soowam dafa lamb, mu maye ko. Her milk was unsold (so) she gave it.
Wa xaa t ko , ma d gg. Say it again, I am listening

i. Proverbs
e.g. Ku mu, muu

3. With a nominal subject the pronoun subject is dropped, ie mu/u

e.g. Lg dem. The hare has gone.
16

4. Place of Object Pronouns with the MVC.

na rra tive object pro noun (s) follows verb

subju nc tive imperative e.g. ma indil ko nd kki
ngir, ndax
fww
verbs of wishing etc
ba u nt il

temporal bi/ba/bu object pro noun (s) precede verb

conditional clauses e.g. nd kki l i ma ko ind il
li (even though) nominal ob ject follows verb
relative clauses e.g. bi mu beyee tool bi

5. The absence of the mark di indicates that the action of the verb has been completed. Wh en di is pre sen t it
indicates that th e action is in presently occ urring or soon to occur.
e.g. Bu wowee, nga gob ko. When it is dry, you harvest it.
Bu wowee nga di ko gob. When it is dry, you harvest it.
The first is completed because the action is being considered in its totality. The latter is being considered in its
ou twor kin g.
When u sed with conjugation with di the ob ject prono un is displaced be fore the verb.
di may precede o r follow the o bject pron oun. A n ominal object remains after the verb.
e.g. Mu di ko def cf. Mu d ef ko
Mu koy def
Muy def liggey bi

6. Negative
In relative clauses the MVC is negated by adding the suffix -ul to the verb, the rest of the structure remaining unchanged.
For the oth er structures, an ticip ated or hypo th etica l even ts a re ne gated wit h d u c on juga ted, an d simp le ne gative
con struc tion when ther e is a refere nce t o pa st or c omp lete d even ts.
e.g. Xale bi nu indiwul. The child whom he has not brought.
Bu ma waxee, duu dglu. If I speak they will not listen.
Bi ma waxee, dgluwuu. When I spoke they did not listen.
Benn bs, dama demoon lekool. Waaye duggu ma, jngu ma.
One d ay I went t o scho ol b ut I didn 't go in, and I didn't stu dy.

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 177
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 94, 120, 202
Baptist course: pp 10, 38, 58, 67
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 67, 146-161
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 16-18
Initiation la Gramm aire Wolof (Samb): pp 59, 62
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 4, 13
Xam sa lkk: pp 64

Exercises:
Baptist course: pp 67 Revised 6 August, 1999
 17

Wolof Grammar Notes: Obligation / Optative (Na nga)

Formation: na + [+/- ob ject prono un] [ +/- no minal subject] + verb

Singular Plural

1 st person naa nanu /nau

2 nd person nanga nangeen

3 rd person na nau

e.g. Naa dem Que je parte!

Notes:
1. Functions:
a. This is a softer, more polite way of expressing a command or recommendation.
e.g. Nan ga de m mar se b i! May you go to the market!
b. Form used o ften in prayer.
e.g. Ylla, na la Ylla wral! God, may God heal you!
c. to express permission.
e.g. Dafa bgg w seetsi la. He wants to come and seek you.
Na w! Let him come.
d. to express a wish or desire especially when used with the 1 st person.
e.g. Naa am xaalis! If only I had mone y!
e. Exhortation
Nanu moytu lu bon May we avoid evil!

2. If there is both a nominal subject and a pronoun object, the pronoun object precedes the nominal subject.
e.g. Na nu sunu boro om fey! Let o ur mast er pa y us!
Ylla, na leen Ylla barkeel! God, may God bless you all!
Go or gi, nan ga ko y de f! Sir, ma y yo u d o it co nt inu ally!

3. When there is a series of verbs in the ob ligative, the second verb is without marker and the third takes the MVC.
Sometimes the second verb may take the MVC.
e.g. Nan ga yiwi sikk et b i, y bb u ko ca k r ga, t e nga yeew ko fi.
May you release the ram, take it home, and tie it up here.
Nanu d aje ajuma, te ngeen yobb aale aari fas ypp.
Let us meet here on Friday, and you take both the horses away with you.

4. When used with a nominal subject whether singular or plural with 3rd person singular form na is used.
e.g. Na xa le yi n op pi.

5. The subject can be:

a noun Na dd ina si dglu sa ma wax!
a pronoun Na pp daw wuti kankiliba!
a proper name or title Na Abdu w bu gaaw!
a combination Na waa ddina pp booloo!

6. Use with di
The mark of an inco mpl ete act ion do es o ccu r wit h th e op tat ive bu t it is rare. When used it indicates an action in the
process of occurring or its repetition rather than the totality of the action.
e.g. Nangay bey May you cultivate.
18

7. Contractions which exist before an object pronoun

1 st plural nan
2 nd sing na
3 rd plural na

8. Negation (see n egation not es)

bu + object pronoun + nominal subject + verb

Singular Plural

1 st person bu ma bu nu/ bu u

2 nd person bul buleen

3 rd person bu mu bu u

If subject is stated mu is dropped

e.g. Bu Faal bey tool bi That Fall won't cultivate the field
Goor yi, buleen ko def Men, don't do it continually

References:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 108
Baptist course: pp 54
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 76, 168-173
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 27f
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 102
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 6, 12
Xam sa lkk: pp 68

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 181
Baptist Course: pp 54 Revised 6 August, 1999
 19

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: N egation

A. Negative: -ul

Formation:
[+/- nominal subject] + verb + negative suffix [+/- object pronoun]

Usual form Elongated for double verb constitutions

Singular Plural Singular Plural

1 st person -uma/-u m -unu/ -uu 1 st person -umaa -unoo/ -uoo

2 nd person -ulo -uleen 2 nd person -uloo -uleena

3 rd person -ul -uu 3 rd person -ula -uoo

Impersonal form -eesul

e.g. Amuma santu Wolof I don't have a Wo lof name

Demuma } I did not go
I am not going
I wil l n ot go
I do no t wan t to go

Notes:

1. With active verbs it indicates the negative of a completed action.

e.g. wul He did n ot come
With stative verbs it indicates the negative of the present tense.
e.g. Saful It is not spicy

2. This form usually carries the sense that an action has not occurred or a state does not exist without emphasising
subject, noun or verb. This is the usual way of negating most verb modes except dina. Hence all the following
usuall y have the same n egative form:
Mo o fa de m (Su bject emph asis)
Mu nga fa dem (Presentative)
Fa la dem (Object p redicator)
Dem u fa
Dafa dem (Explicative)
Mu dem fa (Minimal verb construction)
Dem na fa (Completed)

3. However, each of these verb modes can be expressed in the negative to guard its distinctive by adding -ul as an
invariable suffix (unconjugated) to the verb ste m, l eaving t he res t o f th e con str uc tio n t he sam e as th e p ositive
form.
Hence:
West bi moo ko neexul. It is the vest which he was not pleased about.
Moom laa xamul. It was that which I did not know.
Yfu tribunaal dafa gaawul. It is that the affaires of the tribunal are not fast.
Mu gu ndul ak jo oyt u ji. Pa tie nc e n ot acco mp an ied by co mp laining.
Loolu moo tax mu indiwul am xar That is why he did not bring a sheep.

4. -ul is used to indicate the negative in a subordinate conditional clause marking opposition with -ee
e.g. Bu wul , na n ga ma ko wax! If he does not come, please tell me!
20

5. Before the object pronoun, ci or fi, the 3 rd person singular negative drops the l
i.e. -ul -u
e.g. nekk to be
nekkul he/she/it is not
ne kku fi he/she/it is not here

6. If a verb end s in a vowe l, a w is add ed to the n egative forms.

ie. -wuma -wunu
-wuloo/-woo -wuleen
-wul -wuu

7. When the negated verb is the last syllable before a second verb in a double verb construction, the elongated form
of the negative is used.
e.g. mnumaa dem

8. man (to b e abl e), ma s (t o h ave ever) c ha nge ste m in ne gative

man mn e.g. mnumaa dem
mas mus e.g. musumaa dem
amuma is contracted to awma I do n't ha ve
xamuma is contracted to xawma I don't know

9. Geographical variations in usage.

i) 2 nd person singular: -ula / -wula
e.g. gisula dara you have not seen anything
-oo / -woo
e.g. yaw tabewoo , amoo njari, faroo ba ax..... you are not generous or useful, nor good
dajalewoo ko / dajale wulo o ko
ii) 3 rd person singular (especially Gambia & Cayer): -ut
e.g. demut He has not gone
When added to an auxiliary verb the u of -ut tends to disappear, thus
ku mnta w = ku mnula w He who canno t come
10. -agul
Indicates not yet, op posite of -agum (to have already do ne).
Singular Plural

1 st person -aguma -agunu /-aguu

2 nd person -aguloo/-agoo -aguleen

3 rd person -agul -aguu

e.g.Pareeguma dee. I am not ready to die yet.
Amagul jkkr She does not yet have a husband.
As for -ul, the l of the 3rd per son singu lar (-agu l) is d rop ped befo re a n o bjec t pr on ou n, c i or fi.
e.g. Waxagu ko ko. He has no t yet tol d it to h im.

11. -atul
Indicates no longer. It is the negative of -ati (to be still doing/being or repetition)
Singular Plural Singular Plural

1 st person -atuma -atunu /-atuu 1 st person doo tuma dootunu/ dootuu

2 nd person -atuloo/-atoo -atuleen 2 nd person dootuloo dootuleen

/dootoo/dootul
3 rd person -atul -atuu a

e.g. Amatu l sama caa bi. He no lon ger has my key. 3 rd person dootul dootuu
c.f Amati na sama caab i. He still ha s my key. e.g. Doot uma ko gis. I will no lon ger see him.
Astu dootul janq. Astou is no longer a young girl.
 21

B. Negative: Du
Formation: du (conjugated) [+/- object pronoun] + verb/noun
Singular Plural

1 st person duma dunu /duu

2 nd person doo du ngeen

/doo leen*

3 rd person du duu
*dooleen is commonly heard only in Dakar
e.g. Lii tere l. This is a boo k.
Lii du tere. This is not a boo k.
Kii sama baay l. He's my father.
Kii du sama b aay. He is not my father.

Notes:
1. Usage:
a. It is used as t he ne gative fo rm o f th e com pl eme nt pr ed ica to r (n egative of la) in which case it precedes the
nou n or nou n cla use
e.g. Lii simis l. This is a shirt.
Lii du simis. This is not a shirt.
Man Australian la I am Australian
Man duma Australian I am not Australian
b. It is used as the negative form of non completed actions ie. negative of dafay/dina
Hence, in this case it is used to deny an action in process of happening, or a future action
c. It is used to deny an habitual action used in combination with di/y or sometimes ci
e.g. Duma xiif suba I will not be hungry tomorrow
Dumay xiif suba/ci suba I am n ot hu ngr y in th e mo rn ings
d. Whe n exp ressed as a question, it is a polite way of asking for something (indicated by into nat ion ). In t his
case it is not a negative but expresses an affirmative in the same way tha t Is it not Joe? does in English.
It is functionally equivalent to please. In other words, the intonation changes the sense of the phrase to
the opposite.
e.g. Du d gg. It's not true
Du d gg? Is that not true?
Doo d em? Will you not go?
e. It can also be used to express a question in the negative which begs a positive response. In this case du
precedes the phrase in any mode in much the same way as ndax is used.
e.g. Du xam nga sama jabar? Do you not know my wife?
Du m oo wax n e ken n n ekku fi? Is it not he who said there is no-one here?
Du mi ngi dem Ndar suba? Will he not go to St Louis tomorrow?
Du fii laa ko gis? Is it not here th at I saw him?
Du dan gaa feebar? (But ) are you not sick?

2. The full negative form dul can occur when a negated di has t he function of a verbal particle (and not an
auxiliary verb as in du ma). It is relatively rare apart from with the M VC form.
e.g. Moo dul wax. It is he who won't speak (negative of Mo oy wa x) [Su bject emph asis]
Dara laa dul rbb. I will not weave anything [Complemen t predicator]
Duma n angu n it ku du l liggey. I will not accept a man who does not work. [MVC]

3. Take not e of the o verlap in mean ing between the two negative forms
e.g. duma dem I am not going, I won't be going
demuma I am not going, I haven't gone

4. Du is sometimes used in a proverbial, or absolute sense with no article attached to the noun
e.g. proverbial - Gumba du jiite yoon A blind man doesn't lead the way
absolute - Mb on aat du jar m ukk 50 0c fa A turtle doesn't ever cost 500CFA

C. Negative: Ba
22

To distingu ish betw een t he n egative of a co mple ted actio n (n a) an d ne gative of pre senta tive (angi) th e verb b a (t o refu se
to) can be used as an auxillary verb before the main verb.
lekk n ga ba ngaa lekk
You have eaten You, have not eaten / You have refused to eat

maa ngi lekk maa ngi ba a lekk

I am eating I am not eating / I have refused to eat

One may use MVC p ronou ns + verb + -ul (negative) only in relative temporal clauses. In other expressions using MVC
pronouns (ie narrative & subjunctive) must use other structures, e.g. ba

D. Suffix -adi

When added to a noun or a verb this indicates a limitation so severe to be equivalent of bein g witho ut, i.e . den ies a state
or an action.
e.g. jekkadi to be unacceptable (c.f. jekk - to be acceptable)
xamadi ignorance, to be ignorant (c.f. xam - to know)
dggadi to b e stub born (c.f. dgg - to h ear, to obe y)
teddadi to not be worthy of respect (c.f. tedd - to be worthy of respect)

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 20, 30, 50, 74
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 42, 78, 84f, 121, 178, 214
Baptist course: pp 12, 49f, 53f, 82f
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 238-251
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 18-25
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 103-108
Xam sa lkk: pp 70

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 43, 88, 179f
Baptist course: pp 50f, 55f, 68 Revised 6 August, 1999
 23

Wolof Grammar Notes: Past Time Marker

-oon
1. Formation:
a. In non-negated sentences without di the past time m arke r is suffixe d as -o on if th e verb end s in a
consonant, and -wo on if the verb end s in a vowe l. Th e structure o th erw ise r ema ins un ch an ged . It
represents a simple past or past perfect with active verbs, and th e impe rfect wit h stative verbs. In general
-oon is the last of the suffixes added to a word. In double verb structures -oon is attached to the first verb.
e.g. waxoon naa I spoke/I had spoken (completive)
cf wax naa I spoke/ I have spoken
moom lau indiwoon We/t hey (h ad) b rou ght it (o bject emph asis)
cf moom lau indi We/ th ey h ave b rou ght it
dafa woyoon What he did was sing (Explicative)
cf dafa woy What I am doing is singing
maa waxoon I spoke/ I had sp oken (Sub ject em pha sis)
cf maa wax I have spoken
Bggo on naa koo gis I wanted to see them.

b. In negated sentences without di, woon as independent form is added after the negation.
e.g. Non-negated Negated
co mp letive Demoon naa Dakar Demuma woon Dakar
ob ject emp has is Dakar laa demoon Dakar laa demul woon
Ex pl ica tive Dama demoon Dakar Dama demul woon Dakar
sub ject emp has is (Man) Maa demoon Dakar Maa demul woon Dakar

Any object pronouns are placed before woon.

e.g. Sa rakk waxul ko woon You r br oth er h ad n ot said it

c. In non-negated verbal construction with di

di + woon = doon
If there is more than one <di', the past marker combines with the first, the rest of the sentence remaining
unchanged. It is roughly equivalent to was/were....ing or used to.... In Dakar Wolof doon is rarely used.
e.g. Doon naa wax I was speaking/I used to speak
cf. Dinaa wax I (will) speak
Do on na nu y jng. We/they used to study
cf. Dinanuy jng We/they study habitually
Lool u la u do on l ekk That is what they were eating; That is what they used to eat
cf. Lool u la uy lekk That is what they/we eat

d. Negated verbal construction with di

di + woon + -ul = doonul (conjugated)
Doo nul is short ened to d oon u b efore a subje ct or objec t pro nou n. n egative ha bitu al ac tion in th e past
e.g. Doonu ma wax I wasn't speaking/I didn't used to speak
Doonul liggey He/she wasn't working
Doonu ko dimbali He / she wasn 't he lp ing him /He /sh e did n't u sed to h elp him

e. Structures without a verb use the independent form woon

e.g. Mu n ga fa woon de mb He was there yesterday (Presentative)
Sama xarit la woon He was my friend (Co mplement p redicator)
Fa lanu woon It was there that we were (C omplemen t predicator)
Benn janq la woon bu rafet lool There was a young woman who was very beautiful
Moo doon buur It was he who was Kin g (Di + Sub ject em pha sis)
Du fa woon buur He was not King there (Negative)
24

f. Rela tive clau ses (art icles wh ich ac t as co nne ctives)

e.g. Lat Joor, bu ur ba woo n.... Lat Dior, who was king.......
kk xam xam googule woon.... This lack of knowledge which existed.....
Noonu la jppe kangam, ya woo n ca rew me mp p.
It was thu s that h e caugh t all t he ch iefs, throu ghout all th e cou ntry.
When t he nou n is modified by a verb, -oon may be attac hed to t he verb or woo n may follow the structure
e.g. Lat Joor, bu ur bu mag ba wo on....
or Lat Joor, bu ur bu magoon ba...

2. Functions:
a. Anteriority either temporal or to indicate an action or state irrevocably separated from the present
e.g. Nga xolli sa rnd, rnd wi nga jndoon marse.
You peel your vegetables, vegetables that you have bought (previously) at the market
Dafa amoon a ari beykat u bo kk genn kr. There were 2 farmers who shared one house.
Ma daldi jg, dem fu mu ma joxooon. I got up and went where he had indicated

Note: When the anteriority has a value of separation from th e p resen t, it e xpresses an actio n w ho se c on seq ue nc es h ave
no r ole in th e pre sent o r a stat e whic h no lon ger exists.
ie. Dem na Ndar He went to St Louis (and is still there)
Demoon na Ndar He went to St Louis (and has returned)

The time interval is less important than the fact that the action continues or not.
e.g. Demoon naa Ndar tey si suba I went to St Louis this morning (and have returned)
Dem na Ndar; booba ak tey jurom fukki at la He went to St Lo uis (to l ive) 50 yea rs a go
Dafa baaxoon He was good (but is not anymore)

b. A situation not realized, i.e. a rup ture betw een t he in ten tion and its real isation ; or h ypo the tical ( past
condition ed).
e.g. Mu ne mbooloo ma waroona nd al. He said to the crowd that he should have accompanied them
Bu u de foo n n i see n n de y da an de f. If they had done like their mother used t o do.....
Su ma a moon xaalis, din aa dem Kaol ack. If I had had mone y, I would have gone to Ko alack.

c. As a form o f polit eness fo r a req uest in the present, wh en th e ex pr ession of a de sire see ms too dir ect . In
this case it d oes no t actu ally refer t o pa st time bu t rath er a lac k of immediacy.
e.g. Damaa bggoon nga dimbali ma. I would l ike you to h elp me
Loo bggoon? What is it you would like?
Dama la nuyusi woon I have come to greet you (if you have the time to receive me).
Bo o j goo n, n u ma n ko o gis If you would care to get up, we would see you.

3. Dafa + woon
dafa + stative verb + (w)oon
dafa + doon + active verb
e.g. damaa feebaroon I was sick
dama doon liggey I was working
Negative Doo nul lekk He was n ot eat ing (from Du le kk)
Dafa du loo n lekk He was n ot in th e pro cess of eatin g (from Dafa du l lekk)

4. In the Cayor -oon/woon appears as the variant -an/wan

newoon may be contracted to noon (he said) [ne + woon] or in the Cayor to neen [ne + an]
e.g. Aman n a ci sunu dkk. There used to be some in our village.
Byyiwan na ko. He had left it.
 25

-aan

1. Formation:
-aa/-aan after a consonant or negative marker -ul
-waa/-waan after a vowel or negative marker -ul
di + aan = daan (negative is daanul)
e.g. Bu gerte orulaa, kenn du ko deqi If the peanu ts were no t ripe, no one wo uld h arvest them.
Bu fowaan... When h e was playing...
Su beyul waa.... If he did not cultivate the la nd...
Daan is used as a depe ndent and indep enden t syntagm (all modes indicative).
e.g. Sama baay mu ngi daa bey booba. My father had the habit of cultivating the land at that time.
Koc c da a na fexe b a t tey t er e yi d pp oo k yu ja man o ji.
Kot hie tr ied to adap t th e jud gement s of the boo ks to t he cu rren t times.
-aan is onl y foun d in d epen den t synt agm, and is never u sed in n onver bal struc ture s.
i.e. Mu n ga fa woon. but n ever Mu nga fa waan.

2. Functions:
a. To indicate the distant past, daan if often used once to situate event then doon appears. It is rarely used
in conversation but is not uncommon in recitation.
b. To indicate an imprecise time. Often the epoch is not stated and if stated , it is state d on ly in gen eral t erms.
c. To ind icate a h ab itu al act ion . It is used of an action repeated to the point of habit and not of a habitual
state. It is no t used with stat ive verbs, except to ind icate a sta te wh ich recu rs freque ntly.
i.e. Dafa rafetoon, but not Dafa daan rafet He was han dsome
e.g. Bu masaa sol mbu bb mu xon q, daa na rafet Each time that I wore his red rob e he was h andso me
Dafa d aan xiif He was ofte n hu ngry (no t he wa s always hu ngry)
Ku bggaan dem Indicates repeated action of wanting to go, not a continued
state of wanting.
Daan naa rawante fas I used to do horse racing (way back then)
Dama d aan jn gi bs bu n ekk I used to go to school every day

3. Daan may appear as daawoon and negative as daawul (conjugated)

e.g. Man, daawuma lekk kaani I didn't use to eat hot peppe rs
(daan , daan ul, d aawu l, are al l used in Mb ane wit h da awoo n & d aawu l bein g used mor e commo nly)

4. Contrast -aan / daan

Bot h can indica te a re pet itive actio n in t he p ast
e.g. bu ma beyaan / bu ma daan bey When I cultivated.........
In the first case the action is repeated b y seen as being accomplished. i.e Each time I had cultivated...
In the second case the event is again rep e a t ed b ut is seen as being progressive i.e. Each time I was in the process of
cultivating.....

5. Contrast daan / doon

In the context of situation of habitude, daan indicates repetitive events and doon indicates progressive events in the past.

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 138, 144f, 183, 193
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 130, 168, 178, 217-219
Baptist course: pp 42, 85-87
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 195-215
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 29-31
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 8
Xam sa lkk: pp 74 Revised 6 August, 1999
26

Wolof Grammar Notes: Di

It is an auxiliary verb with no meaning of its own. Usually appears as -y, and is usually placed directly before the verb.

Notes:

1. Functions
a. To ind ica te th at an actio n r eferre d t o b y th e verb is in co mp lete or pr ogr essive
e.g. Ba ma demee ca kr seri ba d i ko seet... When I went to t he Ma rabou t's house lo oking for him.
Mu nga ca jumaa ja di julli ajuma. He is at the Friday mosque p raying the Friday prayer.
Fekk naa xudbakat ba di xudba. I fou nd th e p reache r p reachin g.
Nu n ga do on waa ja jul li. They we re prep aring to p ray.
u koy tekki ci Wolof They w ere in t he proc ess o f exp lainin g it in Wo lo f.
Dama doon bey te jaan matt ma. I was in the process of cultivating when the snake bit me.
In the case where a verb carries bot h an active and a p assive sense. The di indicates the ac tive incomplete sense.
e.g. Ma a n gi to og. I am seated.
Ma a n giy too g. I am in the process of sitting down.

b. to be, when comb ined with su bject emph asis pro nou ns with a verb. T his same fu nct ion a lso exists for
all the o ther verb modes, alth ough rarely used with them.
e.g. Maa y Mo ussa I am Mo ussa
Fu mu mana dem, muy tur wu rafet ci Senegaal. Everywhere he went it will be a lovely name in
Senegal.
Legi, dinaa buur. No w I will be kin g.
Damay gor. It is that I am a man.
Kale aana l ma, te ma a ngi ni di bo room b arke He prayed for me, and now I am a blessed.
Ylla naa di ku jub That I could be a righteous man.

c. To indicate a habitual action, especially when appearing two or more times. The concept of habitual action
can b e a pe rman ent state of con tinu al ac tion , con tinu al rep etitive ac tion s or o ccasio nal repe tition s.
e.g. Xaj, lmmi lay naane. It is with the tongue that a dog drinks. (permanent)
Dinaa ko gis bs bu n ekk. I will see him everyday. (repetition)
Dees n a ko fiy gis. One sees him here occasionally. (occasional)

d. When the action is not situated in the prese nt, the n th e mar ker di s erves t o in dica te t hat the act ion is
being considered in its totality, whether it be situated in the past or the future.
e.g. Dama doon bey daaw. I was cultivating the land last year.
cf. Dama beyoon daaw. I cultivated the land last year.
The latter indicates an act ion comple ted at a po int in time. The former indicates a pr oce ss wh ich c on tin ues over a ce rta in
time, and is being envisages from that perspective.

e. It can also have be an intensive when the marker di is repeated.

e.g. Nit ki di dem, d i dem rekk. The man left, only just.

2. di may be shorted to -y or after consonants to a

e.g. Balaa naw et bi di jot...
Balaa naw et biy jot...
All equivalent: Before the wet season arrived ....
Balaa naw et di jot...
Balaa naw et a jot...
Normal ly: <di' after a consonan t at end o f word
<-y' after a vowel at end of word , but op tionally di may app ear.
<-a' In St Louis with dama e.g. Damaa liggey
In S alou m an d a mo ng t he Leb ou wit h p resen tative Maa ngee dem
 27

3. Generally di (in form of y) is attached to the subject or object pronouns immediately preceding the verb.
Di is placed immediately before the verb, except when:
with dina.
minimal verb construction wh en opt ionally it may be place d before the object pro noun (s)
attached to <dal' => daldi (to b egin to do something).
e.g. Mu da ld i ko de f. He is beginning to do it.
Mu d i ko door. He is hitting him.
May be u sed in association with any verb mod e.
e.g. Fii ak fukki fan lauy del lusi Ndakaaru In 10 days we will return to Dakar.
aari fan lau fay am I have two days there.
u n giy tggu A liw We are bidding Aliou farewell.
u ngi k oy tggu We are bidding him farewell.
Deel l iggey! Co nt inu e to h ave th e h ab it o f wo rkin g.

4. di + ees (impersonal) = dees (negative: deesul)

di + oon (past) = doon
di + aan (habitual past) = daan
e.g. Guy, deesu ca wacc dara. The baobab, one does not let anything be wasted.

5. di (in form of -y) placed before the verb indicates that the action referred to by the ve r b is incomplete.
Function ally this indicates that th e action is happe ning at the time or indicates the cl ose future
e.g. Dakar laay dem I am going to Dakar
Lu may wa x? Wh at am I a bo ut to say, o r in pr oc ess of saying?
cf. Lu ma wa x? What have I just said?

6. When there is an ob ject pro nou n in th e presen tative mod e on e is require d to use di (o r its variant y)
e.g. u ngi lay n uyu They are greeting you.
Maa ngi leen di tggu. I am bidding you (pl) farewell.

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 73f
Baptist course: pp 8, 74
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 178-194
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 9f
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 87

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 59, 63
Baptist course: pp 68 Revised 23 March, 1999
28

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: O bject Pronouns

Singular Plural

1 st person ma/m nu/u

(maa) (noo/oo)

2 nd person la/l leen

(laa) (leena)

3 rd person ko leen
(koo) (leena)

Notes:
1. Order of Pronouns
a. When two objects are present (ie direct & indirect)
1 perso n pr eced es 2 nd & 3 rd person
st

2 nd perso n pr eced es 3 rd
singular present plural except that ko is always last.
e.g. Maamam a ma ko wax His grandmothe r said it to me
Maamam a la ko wax His grandmother said it to you
Doo ma ko may Can you not give it to me?
Ma a ngi leen ko jox I gave them to him / I gave it to them

b. A pro nou n in rel ation to th e ben eficiary suffix -al prece des an y oth ers excep t if the pr ono un is ko
e.g. Joxal na la ma ko He gave it to me for you
Joxal na ko ko ko He gave it to him for her
To avo id p ut tin g <ko' in fron t, on e uses <ndax mo om'
e.g. Joxal nga ma leen ndax moom You gave it t o me for h im
(not Joxal nga ko ma leen)

c. Fa no rma lly fol lo ws t he ob ject p ro no un . If th ere is no ob ject p ro no un , fa normally stands where the
object pronoun would have stood. fi & ci are not placed together and would appear to be mutually
exclusive. Instead the adverb of location is after the verb radical with a long vowel of insistence.
e.g. Dina la ci jox fii He will give of it to you here.
(not Dina la ci fi jox)

Stew art re prese nts it t hus:

Non- 3rd Person 3rd Person Non-personal

Singular Plural Plural Singular Pa rtitive Lo cative

1st 2nd 1st 2nd

leen ko ci/ca fi/fa
ma la nu leen

Eric Church presents the following scheme.

-al (b eneficiary) ma nu ko c-
ma la leen f-
la leen
nu
leen
leen
 29

2. Ambiguity
a. When use of object pronoun leads to ambiguity, the pronoun can be replaced with independent pronoun
+ complement/object predicator
e.g. Gis na leen He has seen you (pl) or He has seen them
oo m la gis They, it is (that) he has seen
or Yee n la gis You, it is (that) he has seen
b. When use of the subject pronoun leads to ambiguity
e.g. Xam nau leen We know you / They know you / We know them / They know them
Nun, yeen lau xam We know you
oom, yeen lau xam They know you
Nun, oom lau xam We know them
oom, oom lanu xam They know them

3. Elongated form is used

a. in doub le verb construct ions when th e object pro noun is the final syllable before the secon d verb
e.g. Bgg na maa dimbali He wants to help me.
b. wit h e xplic ative
e.g. Dama koo gis

4. Position of Pronouns
Pronoun ob jects precede nominal objects
Completive (na) pronoun o bjects/noun objects Gis naa ko
MVC (narrative/subjective) follow verb Ma gis ko
Negative (-ul) Gisuma ko
Imp erative Xool ko

Pre sen tat ive (an gi) pronoun objects precede verb maa n gi koy gis
Explicative (dafa) noun objects follow verb dama koy gis
Negative (du) duma ko gis
Future (dina) dinaa ko gis
Subject emphasis (moo) maa ko gis
Obligative (na) naa ko gis
Negative imperative (bu mu) bu ma ko gis
Object predicator (la) Thies laa ko gis
MVC - relative clause (bu) ku ko gm...
temp oral clau se bu ma ko gise...
lu (even though) lu ma ko gis

In the following cases when the subject is a noun, the prono un object precedes the nominal subject
Negative su bju nc tive Bu ko keneen laal (Let no one touch it)
Optative (na) Na leen seen bo room fey (let t heir Lord pay the m)
La Object Predicator Fan la ma sama baay di tere? (When is my father returning me?)
MVC temp oral clau se Bi ma sama baay laata gis....(Before my father saw me...)
Lu (even though) Lu ko sama yaay setal ..... (Even though my moth er cleaned it...)

5. Double Verb Constructions

a. Object p rono uns co me betwe en the two verbs (elo ngated form)
MV C su bju nc tive ....ngir ma man koo gis
Completive (na) Bgg naa koo gis
Negative (-ul) Bgguma koo gis
b. Object pronouns comes before both verbs
Explicative (dama) Dama koo man a gis
Future (dina) Dinaa ko man a gis
Negative (du) Duma ko man a gis
Prese nt ative Ma a ngi koy joga gis
Subjective emphasis (moo) Maa ko jkka gis
bi/bu (temporal) bi u ko manee gis...
30

c. Ex cept ion to ab ove

Verbs end ing in suffix -si & -i when doubled with either w/dem. In this case the object pronouns follow the verb with
suffix.
e.g. ngir ma w seet si ko cf. ngir ma seet si ko
ngir ma man w seet si ko ngir ma man koo seetsi
maa w se etsi ko maa ko seetsi
bgg n aa w se etsi ko bgg naa koo seetsi
du ma w se etsi ko duma ko seetsi

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 74f
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 32 ,
Baptist course: pp 43, 106-108
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 93-95
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 51-54
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 64f
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 11
Xam sa lkk: pp 78-80

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 47, 59-63 Revised 9 August, 1999
 31

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: I ndependent Subject Pronouns

Singular Plural

1 st person man nun/un

2 nd person yow yeen

3 rd person moom oom

Notes:
1. Fun ction s:
a. Used inde pen den tly to answe r qu estion s, regard less of wh eth er th e con text d eman ds a subject or an object.
e.g. Kan moo ko def? ... Moom Who did it? ...He (did)
Kan nga gis? ... Moom Who did you see? .... Him.
b. Used independently as the object with the complement predicator with or without a verb.
e.g. Yow la It's you
c. Used as the subject with subject emphasis structure without verb.
d. After prepositions ag - and
ci - in/at
ba - to
ngir - because of
pur - for
e. To mar k em ph asis or cla rify the person reference of certain pron ouns wh en ambiguous. It is usual to place
a comma between the independent subject pronoun and the pronou n of the subject emphasis verb mode.
e.g. Nun, American lau Us, we are American
oom, American lau Them, they are American
oo m ii la ko jo x. It was those they he gave them to.
Man , maay dem. Me , it is I wh o a m going.
Xoolleen ko moom male Look at him, that person over there.
f. oom Pierre Duman Those who are with Pierre Duman + Pierre Duman

2. May be combined with a demonstrative adjective (mi, mii, male, i, ii, ale, yi, yii, yale etc) or replaced by a
demonstrative pronoun.
e.g. oo m o ou laa gis. It is them over there that I see.
Man mii la gis. It is I whom he saw.
Yooyu la ybbu. It is those th ings which h e too k away.

Demonstrative Pronouns

kooku this person in question (from kan = who?)

foofu this place in question (from fan = where?)
loolu this thing in question (from lan = what?)
noonu this manner in question (from nan = how?)
yooyu those things in question

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 29
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 31
Baptist course: pp 20
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 65
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 46,59,60, 64

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 80 Revised 9 August, 1999
32

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: A uxiliary verbs and double verb construction

Wolof has a nu mber of auxiliary verbs which serve to modify the verb which follows them.

ba to re fuse jot to have begun to do

bgg to want, d esire mas to have ever done
ragal to be afraid of doing mujj to be last to, have done finally
mn to be able nar to have the intention of doing
war to be obliged to do soog to have just done
tmbali to have begun to do
daan to have used to have done teel to be early in doing
dor to have just done xas to be too involved in an action to stop
faf to finish (b y doin g) xaw almo st
faral to do often ygg to be o r do for a lo ng time
ftte to forget to do yeex to do slowly
gaaw to do quickly
gj to no t have do ne for a lo ng time dq to be better
guddi to be late in doing gn to be more or better
jkk to do for the first time

When two verbs are used to fo rm a co mpo un d te nse, the re is a lengthening of the last syllable before the final verb. That
is to say an -a is added to the word (auxiliary verb, subject or object pronoun, or nominal object) which precedes the
second verb.

e.g. War ngaa d em. You must go.

Wa r nga ko o d ef. You must do it.
Ma a ngi so oga d ell usi. I have just returned.

The elongated forms of the subject pronouns are:

Singular Plural

1 st person naa/ namaa nanoo /naoo

2 nd person ngaa ngeena

3 rd person naa naoo

The ambiguity between 1 st and 3 rd perso ns singul ar is reso lved b y con text o r use o f indep end ent pro nou ns.
e.g Bgg ngaa dem. I want you to go.

The elongated forms of the object pronouns are:

Singular Plural

1 st person maa noo/oo

2 nd person laa leena

3 rd person koo leena

There are two exceptions to use of the elongated forms: w, dem do not take the -a
e.g. Dinaa d em seeti samay mb okk. I am going to l ook for my rel atives.
 33

When markers are presen t they are attached to the auxillary (or first) verb in double verb constructions. They can carry
the marks of person, mod e, aspect, past time and negation, as for any verb.
e.g. Wu tle en A ji Sax ji, le gi bi u ko ma nee gis Seek the Lord while he may be found.

Position of object pronouns in double verb constructions

a. Object p rono uns co me betwe en the two verbs (elo ngated form)
MV C su bju nc tive ....ngir ma man koo gis
Completive (na) Bgg naa koo gis
Negative (-ul) Bgguma koo gis
b. Object pronouns comes before both verbs
Explicative (dama) Dama koo man a gis
Future (dina) Dinaa ko man a gis
Negative (du) Duma ko man a gis
Prese nt ative Ma a ngi koy joga gis
Subjective emphasis (moo) Maa ko jkka gis
bi/bu (temporal) bi u ko manee gis...

c. Ex cept ion to ab ove

Verbs ending in suffix -si & -i when doub led with either w/dem. In this case the object pronouns follow the verb with
suffix.
e.g. ngir ma w seet si ko cf. ngir ma seet si ko
ngir ma man w seet si ko ngir ma man koo seetsi
maa w se etsi ko maa ko seetsi
bgg n aa w se etsi ko bgg naa koo seetsi
du ma w se etsi ko duma ko seetsi

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 114, 169
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 215
Baptist course: pp 42, 106-108
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 31
Xam sa lkk: pp 60-63

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 144-145
Baptist course: pp 44 Revised 9 August, 1999
34

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: P ossession

A. Suffix -u/ -i
1. Wh en two n ou ns sta nd in a gen itive rel ation ship ( 'of', often showing possession), the marker has two forms: -u
and -i. Alth ou gh som e sp eaker s use t he m in dis crimin ately, m ost p reser ve the distinction in which -u indicates that
the noun it follows is singular, while -i indicates it is plural.
e.g. xarit u Tapha Tapha's friend
doomu see f fi The chief's son; son of the chief
bunti kr The d oor s of the hou se
Optionally the marker for nouns ending in a vowel is the addition of the c lass ind icato r of th e first no un. If the cla ss
indicat or is j-, the marker o f choice is -y.
e.g. kddug Ylla the Word of God
tereb yoon wi the book of the way
e.g. yll ay jam ano ji 'the god of this world'
In the past, the addition of the class indicator was used even with nou ns ending in conson ants. This usage is becoming
archaic. It is useful when a nou n has several senses which are differentiated by the cla ss indicator.
e.g. bsub tte ba . bsu tte ba the day of judgement
dundub fukki fan ten d ays ' foo d ( du nd bi 'fo od ')
dundug nit a person's life (dund gi 'l ife)
mbgteg ndaw nd aw gi 'yout h' (cf. nd aw si 'yo un g wo man ')
Alternatively, if the word of more than one syllable ending in a vowel no particle is added
e.g. loxo Samba Samba's arm
A word with o nly one sylab le ending in a vowel has a -w add ed before th e -i or the -u
e.g. powu xale the toy of the child
2. Modified nouns are generally taken as being definite
e.g. Buntu kr gi The doo r of th e ho use
It is indicated as non-specific with benn/ab (sing) or ay (plural)
e.g. Benn buntu kr gi A doo r of th e ho use
3. The expression may take either th e article of the modified nou n or the modifier. Thus one cou ld hear:
Kru buur gii This house of the King
Kru buur bii The house of this King
4. one of the is indicated by benn ci
e.g. Benn ci bunti kr gi One o f the d oor s of the hou se
5. If the second noun is modified by a po ssessive adjective, the possessive adjective usually goes before bot h no uns.
e.g. Sama doomu xarit The son of my friend (my friend's son)
Sama doomi xarit The sons of my friend
This never indicates my son of the friend. The number with respect to the noun mod ified is ambiguo us. Sama do omu
xarit could mean either the son of my friend or the son of my friends. The -u marks the son as singular. When
it is necessary to remove this ambiguity, the appropriate noun determiner can be added.
e.g Sama doomu xarit bi The son of my friend
Sama d oomu xarit yi The son of my friends
Sam ay d oo mu xa rit The sons of my friends
6. -u is opt ion al an d r arely used after certain wo rd s in clud ing:
Kr; baay; yaay; boroom; biir; waa; bs;
e.g. Kr goor gi the man's ho use
except when these are followed by a noun modified by a possessive adjective, or one wishes to express the plural.
e.g. Sam a kr u xa rit My frien d's hou se
Kri go or gi The houses of the man.
7. The particle -u can also indicate:
a. nouns modified by another noun
e.g. jaaykatu jn The seller of fish / fish seller
kru tabax The hou se (made) of masonry
a) quantity
e.g. liibru mburu a pound of bread
paketu cere a packet of cous-cous
b) after numbers -i is used
e.g. eenti xaal 4 melons
B. Possessive ad jectives
 35

SINGULAR OBJECTS PLURAL OBJECTS

Singular Plural Singular Plural

1 st person sama/suma sunu/suu 1 st person samay/sumay sunuy/suuy

2 nd person sa seen 2 nd person say seeni

3 rd person noun + -am seen 3 rd person ay noun + -am seeni

Notes:
1. With the 3 rd person singular -am is suffixed to the noun. If the noun end s in a vowel, the vowel is elongated
and m is added.
a + am = aam
e + am = eem
, i, , + am = em
o + am = oom
, u + am = om
e.g. loxo loxoom his hand
tere tereem his book

2. With 3rd person if more than one object

ay jabaram (indefinite)
i jabaram (definite article)

3. Use of the possessive adjective does not exclude use of the article.
e.g. sama neg bi My room
sama ne g yii My roo ms
sama baag yale Our rings over there

C. Possessive Pronouns

SINGULAR OBJECTS PLURAL OBJECTS

Singular Plural Singular Plural

1 st person sama bos (mine) sunu bos ( our s) 1 st person sama yos sunu yos

2 nd person sa bo s (you rs) seen b os (yo urs) 2 nd person sa yos seen yos

3 rd person bosa m (his) seen b os (th eirs) 3 rd person yosam seen yos

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 10, 95
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 22, 30, 31, 42, 178
Baptist course: pp 37, 41
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 61-64
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 54,70-72
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 14f
Xam sa lkk: pp 82
Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 46
Baptist Course: pp 39, 47 Revised 6 August, 1999
36

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: C omparison

1. To expres s equali ty
a. Subject emphasis pronoun + certain stative verb such as tolloo, maase, niroo etc.
e.g. John ag Nancy oo tolloo. John and Nancy, they are the same height.
Sama rakk ag sa mag oo maase. My younger brother & your older brother have the same age.
Ndaka aru ak A bijan oo t ollo o rafeta ay. Daker an d Abijan are th e same in b eaut y.

b. Benn + object predicator

Tere yi benn lau These books are one/are the same.
Bii ag bale benn lau This one & that one are the same.

c. Use of th e foll owin g word s:

ni like
mel similar to
mel ni equal to, the same as
saamandaay to resemble
e.g. Dafa tng ni safara. It is as hot as a fire.
Dn saamandaay jant. As evident as the sun.

d. Ver bal suffix - e a tta che d to a sta tive ver b fo llo wed by ni
e.g. Dafa baaxe ni Moodu. He is as good as Modou.
Daoo nemee ni gaynde. They are as brave as a lion.

2. To expres s superio rity

a. Subject emph asis pronoun + gna (to be more) + verb
e.g. Justine moo gna njool Pat Justine is taller than Pat.
Too l yi oo gna yaat u to ol yii These fields are wider t han these fields.
Man, maa ko gna gtt I am shorter than he.
Yow, yaa ma gna rafet oto. Your car is more beautiful than mine.
(Lit. - You are more be autiful than me in cars.)
Yow, yaa ma gna rafetle. Yours is more beautiful than mine.
Rafet plus suffix -le: the pronominal substitute indicating a thing that is beautiful.

b. Subject emphasis pronoun [+/ ob ject pronoun] + pp (to have more) + noun [+/-nominal object]
e.g. Kumba moo pp xel Awa Coumba is smarter (has more brains) than Awa.
Yaw, yaa pp wrsg Musaa You have more luck than Moussa.
Maa la p p xaa lis I have more money than you.
Yeen u pp ay xarit. You h ave more friends tha n them.
Yaa ma pp ay lam You have more bracelets than me.
Yaa ma pple. You have more (of it) than me.
When one wishes to express more of some quality than the structure is A pp quality B.
When one wishes to express more [in quantity] things than the structure is A pp ay things B.
When B is reduced to a pronoun it precedes the verb pp.
The verbal suffix -le has the value of a prono minal substitute. pp le (more of it).

c. Subject emphasis pronoun + dq a (to be better) [+/- verb (active verbs only)] [+/- nominal object]
e.g. Seex moo dqa liggey Bala. Seex works better than Bala.
Note: dq can b e used witho ut a p rincipal verb in wh ich case t he mea ning dep end s on co ntext
e.g. Abi moo dq Ana. Abi is prettier than Ana.
Ceebu jn moo dq maafe. Ceebu jn is tastier than mafe.
Sene gal moo d q Ame rik. Senegal is better than America.
d. Use of the verb tane (b etter than ).
Tane means better but is not used in the same way dq is. It is the opp osite of ye s and in dicate s a general super iority.
Tane is used in the existence of some negative aspect of a description.
e.g. Siis b ii baa xul , siis bii it am b aaxu l, w nt e bii m oo tan e bii.

3. To expres s inferior ity

 37

a. Subject + negative of stative verb (suffix -ul) + ni + nominal object

e.g. Penda rafetul ni Aminata. Penda is not as beautiful as Aminata.
Kawlax tngul ni Tambaa. Kaolack is not as hot as Tamba.

b. Verbal suffix -e attached to a stative verb followed by the negative suffix -wul then followed by ni.
e.g. Aali sewewul ni man. Ali is not as skinny as me.
Faatu rafetewul ni Penda. Fatou is not as beautiful as Penda.

c. Verb day (to be equal to) with negative suffix -ul followed by ni
e.g. Baaxaayam d ayul ni fitam. He is not as good as he is courageous.

d. Subject emph asis pronoun + gna (to be more) + d iminutive verb

Note: Inferiority may be expressed with this structure, b ut the W olof are more likely to make a positive comparison than
a nega tive. T hat is th ey ar e mo re l ikely to s ay P end a is mo re b eau tiful th an Awa. rather than Awa is uglier than
Penda. Less than does not exist in Wolof. Thus the Wolof would say This house is prettier than that house not
This house is less pretty than t hat ho use.
e.g. Bii moo gn tuuti boobu This is smaller than t hat on e.

e. Yes (worse than).

e.g. Yoo n wi mo o ye s. This road is worse.

4. To express difference
a. wuute (to be different)
e.g. Bii ag bale wuute nau. This one and that one are different.

b. duu ben n (not the same one)

e.g. Senegal ag Amerik duu benn Senegal and America are not the same.

c. bokkuu (do not share)

e.g. oom aar bokkuu Those two are not related/not the same.

5. To express the superlative and make comparis ons

a. Use of structures with gn or dq plu s ci
e.g. Omar moo dq a bin d ci x ale yi. Omar is he who writes the best from among the children.
Xale yp p, Du udu moo c i gna baa x. Of all the children, Doudou is the best.
Xale yi, Omar moo ci dqa bind. Of the children it is Omar who writes the best.
Omar moo dqa bind ci Mbane. It is Omar who is the best writer in Mbane
Moo fi dqa bind. He is the best writer here.

b. Class marker or relative pronoun p lus gn.

Duudu moo xale bu gn. Doudou is the best child.
Gis naa taybaas bu gna xonq. I saw the most red blouse.

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 152-155
Baptist course: pp 44
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 77-79
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 41f

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 189, 194-209
Baptist Course: pp 45 Revised 6 August, 1999
38

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: Q uestions

1. fu (where) ma nu
fu + nga = foo = fan + n ga
ku/u (who) + MVC U nga ngeen [ + main verb
ku + n ga = koo = kan + n ga
lu/yu (what) I mu u O
u + nga = oo = a n + nga
nu (how)
yu + n ga = yoo = yan + n ga
Also:
lu + nga = loo = lan + nga
a. May be used to form questions, or as relative pronouns
nu + nga = noo = na n + nga
e.g. Fu mu nekk?
fu + ngeen may sometimes appear
Wax ma fu mu dkk. Tell m e whe re he lives.
as fooleen
b. Response takes the object predicator mode
e.g. Fu mu jge? Ame rik la jge
c. ku/ u/lu /yu whe n re fer to the sub ject is actually the contraction
of kan moo and hence mu is not used.
e.g. Ku wax? = Kan mo o wax? Who spoke?
2. Independent question words
a. May b e used in on e wor d qu estion s (the refore call ed in dep end ent que stion word s)
e.g. Lan? (What?) Lan la?(What is it?) Lan la def?(What is he doing?)
Kan? (Who?) Kan la? (Who is it?) Kay lay seet? (Who is he seeking?)
Mbokki fan? (Where do you belong?)
b. When the question refers to the object the response takes the object predicator mode
fan (where)
kan/an (who) complement laa lanu
lan/yan (what) + object U nga ngeen [ + main verb
nan/naka (how) predicator I la lau O
ka (when)
aata (how much)
e.g. Fan la jge? Amerik la jge. Whe re do es he c ome fro m? It is from Ame rica th at he come s.
aata lay jar? How much does it cost?
Not e: The tw o stru ctu res ab ove are equ ivalent and inter chan geable . Thu s:
Foo dkk? = Fan n ga dkk? Where do you live?
Looy w ax? = Lan n gay wax? Wh at are you saying?
Noo tudd? = Naka nga tudd? What is your name?
Koo gis? = Kan n ga gis? Who did you see?
Nu mu tudd? = Naka la tudd? How is he named?
Lu u b gg? = Lan l a u b gg? What do they want?
3. Kan/an/lan/yan + 3 rd person sub ject emphasis pronou n [moo/ oo] + main verb
When lan/kan refer to the subject of the sentence the response takes the subject predicator (moo) mode.
Kan moo may be shortened to Ku
Lan moo may be shortened to Lu
e.g. Ku k o se eti? Who is it who went to see him?
cf Ku m u se eti? Who is it he went to see?
4. Questions regarding place (ie where) can also be formed with Ana without a verb.
e.g. Ana Duudu? Where is Duudu?
Hence all the following are eqivalent:
Fan la kuddu yi nekk?
Kud du yi, fan l au nekk?
Fu ku ddu yi nekk? Where are the spoons
Kud du yi, fu u ne kk?
Ana kud du yi?
Note: When the subject appears directly before the verb, the neutral form la (i.e. unconjugated) is used.
 39

5. Most verbs after fan/fu, naka/nu/nan take suffix -e, the marker of instrumentation, place, manner or time.
e.g. Foo jnd e sa fas? Where did you buy your horse? (place)
Naka mu d efe lu mel n ii? How cou ld he do such a thing? (mann er)
Lan laay lekke? With what did you eat? (instrument)
Fan lauy jaare? Where did they pass? (direction)
Note: There are a number of verbs which do not take the -e place/manner suffix such as mel, nekk, fete, byyi, jge,
dem, dkk, jm, fekk, teg. Note that for most of these position or direction is inherent in the meaning of the verb.
6. Interrogative adjective -which
Formation: class indicator + an placed either before the noun or after
e.g. Ban waxtu? Which ho ur?
Wan fas? Which horse?
Yan tool? Whic h field s?
Weer w an la u n ekk? Which month are we in?
Ban may be used in place of the class indicator for all singular class indicator
e.g. Ban fas? = Wa n fas?
When the question concerns the subject then the subject emphasis structure (moo) is used.
e.g. Ma n mu us a ko xo si? Which c at scratch ed him?
7. Interrogative pronouns
These are the interrogative adjectives without the noun.
e.g. Jan n ga gis? Which (snake) did you see?
Muus xosi na la. Man? A cat scratched you. Which one?
8. Yes/n o qu estion s.
a. ndax (is it)
When p laced at th e head o f a phrase, it turns the p hrase into a qu estion which expec ts a yes/no answer.
e.g. Ndax Wolof la? Is he a Wol of?
b. Intonation
A phrase can also be turned into a yes/no question by the use of an interrogative intonation. The main characteristic of
th is interrogative intonation is a high start. That is, the sentence is begun with a much higher pitch than is normally used
for decl arative sen ten ces. Note that this is quite different from the corresponding English interrogative intonation, which
usually involves a rise in pitch at the end of the sentence. In fact, Wolof declarative sentences often have a high finish,
and may acc ord ingly be mistaken for qu estion s by E nglish sp eakers.
c. xanaa (is it not appa rently, as it appears)
It is used in qu estion s which occu r to t he q uestio ner b ecau se he has gotten some idea from the situation. Usually uses
either obje ct pr edica tor, subje ct emp hasis or verb emp hasis. Xa naa c an al so ha ve a ten se non int erro gative & exp lic ative
it is that... It can mark the effect of surprise, concern or astonishment. It is usually used with either the complement
pre dic ator (la), subject emphasis (moo) or the explicative (dafa) as by the context there will be an emp h a s is o n a
particular part of the sentence.
e.g. Xanaa Wolof la? That mea ns h e's W ol of?
Xan aa gj l aa gis It is that I have not seen you for a long time.
d. mbaa (I hope th at is ...)
This structure expects agreement with question asked (yes to an affirmative question; no to a negative one)
e.g. Mbaa kenn feebarul? Dedet! No on e is sick, are the y?
An exa mp le in p ractice . Th e sit ua tio n. Alha dji may na Fa Der ab man go
Kan la Alhadji may mango? Who did Alhadyi give the mango to
Kan mooy may Fa Der mango? Who gave the mango to Fa Der
Ku ko ko may? Who gave it to him/her
Kan moo ko de f/Ku ko de f? Who did it?
References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 8f, 20, 52, 63-65
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 42, 57, 96, 120, 150, 178
Baptist course: pp 6, 19, 26
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 74-76, 82
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 52f, 114-115
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 43-45
Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 48-51, 70f, 80, 99, 101-103, 179
Baptist Course: pp 22 Revised 6 August, 1999
40

Wolof Grammar Notes: Articles

Wolof is a language of classes. Each of the 8 singular noun classes and 2 plural classes is marked by a consonant which
serves as the base for a col lec tio n o f det ermin ant s an d n ou n su bst itu tes w hich app rox imat e in function the English simple
and demo nstra tive articl es. Wo lof do es no t distin guish be tween male a nd fem ale e ither in de termin ant s or p ron oun s.
1. Definite Article
Formation: class indicator + vowel
follo ws no un o r rela tive verb p hrase
singular b-; g-; j-; l-; m-; s-; w-; k-; -i = near
plural y-; -; -a/- = distant
e.g. dk k bi the town -u = neutral
xale bu njool bi the tall child
Note: the neutral -u is increasing being replaced by -i, carrying the same neutral function. It is also used to reinforce the
pejorative nuance of the diminutive s
e.g. Mbaay si lay jooyal di He cries for his small father.
Mbaay su lay jooyal di He cries for his self said small father.
For pronouns and p roper nouns m- is used for the article and determinants
e.g. Yeesu mi this Jesus
The p lura l artic le mar ker is u sed wit h th e foll owin g words:
nit (person)
jigen (woman)
gor (man)
gaa (the people)
mag/mggat (elde rly)
2. Indefinite article
There are two way s of e xpressing th e in de finit e ar tic le in W ol of.
a. ab
Formation: a + class indicator
a + y if plural
e.g. ab d kk a town
ay dkk some towns
precedes noun
The class markers j-, l- and - are no t us ed in this form. They are replaced with ab. Similarly, as is only used to
mark the diminutive, and is often accompanied by a prenasalisation of the first consonant of the noun. A noun with the
class marker s- in a non diminutive sense takes ab.
e.g. as ngilem a small camel
as ngarab a bush, small tree
cf ag gilem a camel
ag garab a tree
This form indicates an ob j e ct n ot ide nt ified a n o bjec t wh ich st and s for a pro to typ e, o r use d wit h a p rop er n ame it
indicates a characteristic which the individual considers to be shared with a social type.
e.g. Ab xale d afay dggal sriam. A disciple should obey his marabout.
Ab Baay Moor laa doon jaay. Jndul dara. I ba rgaine d w ith a B aay M oo r. H e b ou ght no th ing.
b. benn
Formation: class marker + -enn
e.g. genn kr a ho use
benn xale a child
Jenn jiit fettu ko No scorp ion has stu ng him.
Benn jigen toggul Not one of the women has cooked.
cf. ben n ci d oo mi goo r gi one of the sons of the man
ben n d oo mu go or gi a son of the man
This can carry the sense of the number one or of the indefinite article a/an
There is a tenden cy for all class markers to be reduce d to th e b form, benn , especially in Dakar e.g. benn kr.
c. With relative verb phrase in stative verbs (adjectival) absence of the definite article indicates indefinite.
e.g. xale bu njo ol bi the tall child
xale bu njool a tall child

3. Demonstratives
 41

The Wolo f system of determinants is systematic for all classes.

Th e syst em is b ased on :
the class indicator;
the distance which separates the speaker and the listener;
and th e position of the o bject with respect to the speaker and the listener.
Accordingly the determination can be simple (no special emphasis or focus); emphatic (with special focus on the
referent); or associative (when the spea ker associates the referent in some way with the p erson spoken to).
Also by an alteration of the vowel pattern of the determiner, the speaker can indicate whether the referent of the noun
is close or remote.
Furthermo re to furt her att rac t at ten tio n o ne c an a dd the suffix -le to the demonstrative adjective. The general effect of
th is suffix is to make the determiners more specific in their reference. It is rarely used in Dakar Wolo f. This can also mark
surprise, warning, or exclamation. When used to address humans it indicates either the second person, or exclamation
in the third person.
e.g. Jigen ile, jgleen! You ladies, stand up.
Gone gile, yemal! Eh! Child, calm down.
Xale bile moo sob! How that child is turbulent.
Bii and bee are o ften u sed to stress the exist enc e or iden tity o f the refer ent , ap pro ximat ely e qu ivalen t in E nglish to t his
and that.
e.g. Ginaar bii walla bee laa bgga jnd. I want to buy this or that chicken (while pointing them ou t).
Boobu and bo oba are used when there is some kind of association between the person being spoken to and the referent.
This may be physical as when the referent is near to or in the hands of the person sp o k e n t o , or it may be one of
acquaintance as when the speaker feels that the referent is known or familiar to the person spoken to.
The demonstrative adjectives (ex cep t th ose con tain ing th e suffix - le) can be p lac ed b efor e or after the no un . It is
normally placed after. Placement before the noun creates an effect of insistence.
e.g. aq ul oo ala l jii. You did no t earn this mon ey ho nestly.
aquloo jii alal. This mon ey, you did n ot ea rn it ho nestly.

4. Qualifiers
a. Bpp (all , each)
Formation: class marker + -pp
Bpp if placed before the noun means each.
if placed after the noun mean all or all of the
e.g. wpp fas each hor se
fas wpp all o f the h orse
The class markers k-, g-, j-, are replaced by b-. Hence one says bpp garab not gpp garab.
b. Beneen (another)
Formation: class marker + -eneen (oth er)
e.g. weneen fas ano the r ho rse
c. Bu ne/bu nekk (every, each)
Formation: class marker + -u ne
e.g. Loxo b u ne laal n a ko He touched each and every hand.
Note: Alth ough in th eory, these are co nstru cted with t he cl ass markers, in practice especially in urban areas only the b
is u sed . He nc e b p p; be nn ; b en een t en d t o r ep lace everyt hin g.
d. Indefinites
i. Sngam (Adj. Such-and-such a)
e.g. Maa n gi jm brb sngam. I am going to such-and-such a place.
ii. Nngam li (n ou n. Ind etermin an t thin g. Suc h- an d- such a thin g)
e.g. M nu lo o wa x ni n nga m lii mo o la naq adi. You cannot say that you are complaining about such and
suc h a th ing.
iii. Nngum ak nngam. (and so forth, etc .)
iv. Diw mi (noun. indeterminate person. So-and-so)
e.g. Demuloo fo, noo mn a waxe ne diw w na, diw wul? You did n o t go t h e r e s o h ow can you say
that so-a nd -so c ame w hil e so -an d-so did
not?
42

Demonstrative Adjectives
Indefinite
Simple article
article Emphatic Asso cia tive

Interrogative
close
remote remote
close (that o ne
a one, a close far (that o ne (that o ne
(this one here) there close All,
there) over there)
to you) Each Another

Singular noun ab benn bi ba bii bile bee bale boobu booba(le) ban bpp beneen
classes ag genn gi ga gii gile gee gale googu googa(le) gan gpp geneen
jenn ji ja jii jile jee jale jooju jooja(le) jan jpp jeneen
ak kenn ki ka kii kile kee kale kooku kooka(le) kan kpp keneen
lenn li la lii lile lee lale loolu loola(le) lan lpp leneen
am menn mi ma mii mile mee male moomu mooma(le) man mpp meneen
as senn si sa sii sile see sale soosu soosa(le) san spp seneen
aw wenn wi wa wii wile wee wale woo lu woowa(le) wan wpp weneen

Plural noun ay yi ya yii yile yee yale yooyu yooya(le) yan ypp yeneen
classes enn* i a ii ile ee ale oou ooa(le) an pp eneen*

Non visible in fi fa fii file fee fale foofu foofa(le) fan fpp feneen
place

Manner or ni na nii nile nee nale noonu noona(le) nan

visible in place

* enn and eneen can o nly be used with nit where it indicates a party of the people or another party of the people.
Close Far

bii bale
Emphatic

boobu boobale
Associative

5. Demonstrative pronouns

Beneen another (non human) Benn a, one

Lpp all Leneen somet hing else Lenn something
Ypp everything Yeneen oth ers (no n hu mans)
Kpp anyb ody Keneen someb ody e lse Kenn someone/no-one
pp all people, everybody eneen other pe ople, o thers enn some people
Fpp everywhere Feneen somew here else Fenn somewhere/n owhere
Neneen some other manner Dara nothing
 43

also ku nekk (everyone, each person, anyone)

lu ne kk (everyt hin g, ea ch th ing, an yth ing)
lu mu man do on (an yth ing)
lu mu man ne kk (an yth ing)
fii mu nekk (now in this place)
li ci des (the rest)
i ci des (the others which remain)
Demonstrative Pronouns

Emp hat ic Assoc iat ive

Interrogative
close remote clo se
(this o ne (that o ne (that o ne
here) there) there close to
you)

Singular noun classes bii bile bee bale boobu ban benn beneen
kii kile kee kale kooku kan kenn keneen kpp
lii lile lee lale loolu lan lenn leneen lpp

Plural noun classes yii yile yee yale yooyu yan yeneen ypp
ii ile ee ale oou an eneen pp

Place fii file fee fale foofu fan fenn feneen fpp

6. Indefinite pronouns
ku/u to replace humans
bu/yu to replace all non hu man objects
The e xpressio n So me..., o the rs is expre ssed u sing the demo nstra tive pro nou ns:
ii, ee , al e (for h uman s)
Yii, yee, ya le (for animal s and thin gs)
e.g. ii toog, ee jog, ale tdd. So me w ere sea ted, ot he rs st an din g an d stil l o th ers ly ing.
Yii toj, yee xm, yale fn x. Some were broken, others burnt and still others worm eaten.

7. Negative demonstrative pronouns

Th ese are exp ressed w ith th e p ro no un s kenn (n o- on e) an d d ara (n ot hin g)
e.g. Ku w? Kenn. Who has come? No-one.
Loo def? Dara. Wh at are you d oin g? Not hin g.

8. Other adverbs of insistence

dgg
do (onl y)
kepp (onl y, exactl y)
kese (on ly)
kott (only, unique)
rekk (on ly)

References:
La determination Nominale en Wolof
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 53
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 57, 68-70
Baptist course: pp 2f, 13
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 55-61
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 23-35, 56-58
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 9f, 46-48, 50f
Xam sa lkk: pp 45-50
Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 72f Revised 6 August, 1999
44

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: R elative P ronouns

Formation: class marker + u (independent article) or i (definite article) = which
e.g. relative pronoun for kr = gu
jigen = ju
piis = bu
u indicates that the referent is either non specific or hypothetical
fu = where/the place
ku = who/person
lu = which/thing

1. Adjectival clauses
Formation: Noun + class marker + -u + modifying noun or verb [+/- article]
a. Wolof has no adjectives. Adjectival clauses are formed by creating a relative clause with the noun
connected to a modifying verb or noun by a relative pronoun.
e.g. kr gu ry a ho use th at is big / th e big ho use
tool bu mag a field that is big / a big field
fas wu gor a male hor se
b. If the qu alifie r is a noun only -u can b e u sed . If th e q ua lifie r is a verb an y of th e sim pl e o r d emo nstrative
article forms can be used as the relative pronoun.
e.g xale yi rafet the beautiful children
xale ba rafetoon the child who was beautiful
xale bii rafet lool this very attractive child
xale bale rafet lool that bea utiful child over there
c. The definite article when present comes after the relative verb phrase.
e.g. xale bu njool bi the tall child
ndox mu sedd mooma nga doon naan the said cold water which you were drinking
If the relative verb phrase is followed by another noun + determiner the determiner of adjectival clause is not used.
e.g. Xale bu n jool bu n ekk ci biir kr gi... The child wh o is inside the house...
d. adjectival phrases can be accumulated with or without a relative pronoun connector, and with or without
use a connector such as te. The following are all equivalent.
e.g Mbr mu njool, ry, am doole
Mbr mu njool, mu ry, mu am doole
Mbr mu njool, mu ry, te am doole
e. The negativeis formed by use of negative suffix -ul
e.g. xale bu baaxul bi the child who is not good

2. Relative clauses
-i (indicates referent is specific or established)
Formation: noun + class indicator + -a() (indic ates re ferent is specific bu t furth er awa y) + mod ifying clause
-u (indicates referent is non specific or hypothetical)
a. When the modified noun is the object of the phrase the object relative pronoun is followed by subject &
verb. When the subject is a pronoun, the MVC pronouns (mu) are used before the verb.
e.g. kr gi Ablaye jnd... the ho use which Abla ye bought...
nit ki nga gis... the person you saw...
kr ga mu jnd.. the ho use he bo ught...
jaaykat bu mu fa xaritool... A seller with whom h e has ties of friendship...
u ngi ci ja ju u naan marse Kermel... They are in a market which on e calls Kermel...
b. Use of class marker + u vs class marker + i/a
jaaykat bu mu fa xaritool... A seller with whom h e have ties of friendship...
jaaykat bi mu fa xaritool... The seller with whom h e has ties of friendship...
c. Note that for active verbs, the particle di attached to the relative pronoun indicates an habitual action.
The absence of di indicates that the action is completed. It is placed immediately before the verb.
e.g. jigen juy liggey ci dkk ba... a woman th at works in town...
cf. jigen ju liggey ci dkk ba... a woman th at has worked in th e town...
piis b muy jnd... the material he is buying...
d. The negative if formed by adding negative suffix to verb ie -ul / -wul (not conjugated)
e.g. xale bi mu indiwul... the child h e has not b rought...
 45

xale yi mu indiwul... the children he has no t brought...

e. If the relative clause applies to a pronoun or proper noun, the class marker forming the relative pronoun
intro duc ing the clau se is <m-'.
e.g. Yaw mi eme... You wh o are coura geous...
Paul mi baax... Paul who is loud...

Compare: xale bi sama xarit indi... The child whom my friend brought... (dependent clause)
xale bi la sama xarit ind i. It's the child (that) my friend has brought. (independent phrase)
sama xarit ind i na x ale bi. My friend has brought the child. (independent phrase)

3. Independent relative pronouns

Formed on the basis of their referent
if place f
+u (indicates referent is non specific or hypothetical)
if manner n
or +i (indicates referent is specific or established)
if person k,
+a
if thing l,y
e.g. ku mu, muu He who is patient will smile.
ki agsi legi, Americain l The person who just arrived is American.
Fu Seyd u dem? Where ever did Seydou go?
Fi nga jge sore na Where you are coming from is far.

Note: -u being hypothetical has a incomplete connotation even without <di' whereas -i has a completive connotation.
e.g. Ku fi w lau wax They talk(ed) about whoever comes here.
cf Ki fi w lau wax They talk(ed) about him/her who has come here.
Nu u defare bunt yi lau may won They're sh owin g me how they repa ir the doo rs.
cf Ni u defare bunt yi la u may won They're sh owin g me how they fixed th e do ors.

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 77, 94, 114
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 130
Baptist course: pp 63
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 36-41
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 48
La Determination Nominale en Wolof pp 50-55

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 133-135
Baptist course: pp 66-68 Revised 6 August, 1999
46

Wolof Grammar Notes: Temporal & Hypothetical Clauses

I. Bu/Su + (conjugation MVC) [+/- object pronouns] + verb + -ee/oo/aa
Su is interchangeable with bu.

1. Formation
Singular Plural

1 st person bu ma bu u

2 nd person boo bu ngeen

/boo leen

3 rd person bu bu u
bu ngeen used in Mbane
a. Indicates an action or state that the time referred to is either anticipated (future) or hypothetical ie when
or if; It can also indicate an habitual action in the present. (Church sees the distinction between bu and bi
as being non-det ermined/dete rmined rather th an tempo ral see Church p227 ).

b. Suffix attached to verb

i. if the verb ends in a consonant -ee
e.g. bu ma waxee... when/if I speak...
ii. if the verb ends in a long vowel no marker
e.g. bu u xuloo... when/if they fight...
iii. If the verb is mon osyl lab ic an d en ds in a vowel the suffix depends on the preference of the speaker.
It may be - ee/ e (ee preceded by glottal stop) or -yee or -wee.
a, , e, o attach -ee after the vowel preceded by a glottal stop
, i , u attach -e after the vowel preceded by a glottal stop
e.g. bu leen foee.... [f]e :] when/if we/they pl ay....
This is the case for:
ba to leave woo to call
dee to die luu to be mute
ju to sow t to be impossible
No te tw o e xcep tion s:
di to be bu dee If it is that...
ne to spe ak bu nee If he said...
iv. polysyllabic verb end ing in e, , i (short front vowels) replace final vowel with -ee/e
e.g. bu ma ko teree ... if/when I prohibit it...
bu ko ind ee... when if he brings it...
v. polysyllabic verb end ing in a, (short central vowels) replace final vowel with -aa
e.g. bu ma du maa xale bi... when/if I spank the child
vi. polysyllabic verb end ing in o, , u (short bac k vowels) replace final vowel with -oo/-o
e.g. bu ma ko soxlo o... when/if I need it...

c. If the verb is negative, the temporal suffix is not used, but the 3 rd person singular negative suffix -ul/-wul
or d ul (fo r di) is .
e.g. bu ma waxul... if I don't speak [negative of bu ma waxee]
bu ma du l wax... if/when I am n ot spe aking [negative of bu may wax]

d. If the verb is marked by di, the temporal suffix is not used and di/y comes between subject pronoun &
verb, ind ica tin g a con dit ion al pr ese nt or a fu tu re pr ogr essive
e.g. bu may wax... if/when I am speaking
buy liggey.... if/when he is working
 47

e. To indicate a hypothetical action in the past, the temporal suffix is also not used. The past marker -oon/-
woon is added. The hypothetical action can be unaccomplished indicated by doon.
e.g. bu ma waxoo n... if I had spoken
bu dee woon... if he had died
Bu ma k o d oo n gis , d ina a ko wax dgg. If I had seen him regula rly, I would have told him the truth.
When stringing two past conditions together, the second bu + -oon are optional
e.g. Bu ma doon liggey walla (bu) ma am(oon) sama kru bopp, dootuma naqarlu.
If I were working or had my own house, I would no longer be distressed.

f. Special construction bu dee (if it turns ou t....)

e.g. bu dee baax nau if it turns out that they are good
bu dee dgg la if it turns out that it is the truth

2. The temporal clause does not distinguish between the future and hypothetical possibilities (when and if). The
struct ure o f the po st temp oral c lause c an remo ve this ambiguity.
ii. When a future event is anticipated (i.e. when), the subordinate clause uses conjugation of dina
e.g. Bu ma waxee dinau dglu When I speak they will listen
ii. When a future hypothetical or conditional event is envisaged (i.e. if), the subordinate clause uses
the MVC pronouns
e.g. Bu ma waxee u deglu If I speak they will listen
Not e tha t th e po st temp oral clau se can take a ny of th e Wo lof mo dal forms.

3. Special constructions for avoiding MVC conjugation

a. bu fekkee ne..../ bu fekkeente ne... (if it happens that, if...) followed by a phrase with its normally
modal conjugation.
e.g. Su fekkee ne gisoon naa ko, kon waxoon naa la ko. If I had seen h er, I would have said it to her.
b. boo xamee ne/bi nga xamee ne (when you know that , when...)
e.g. Bs boo xamee ne, dinga liggey na nga ma ko wax The day yo u will wo rk, tell me

4. Temporal clauses commencing with a time word use a relative pronoun b ased on class marker
e.g. Bs bu ma sama baay joxee sama xaalis, dinaa ci jnd dll.
The day my fat her gives me my mon ey, I wil l bu y san dal s with it
Waxtu wu ma ko gisee dinaa ko jpp The ho ur I se e it, I'll ca tch it
Saa su u demee, dinaa ko wax The moment they come I will tell you

5. bu + noun (time) + -ee is used to form adverbial clauses

e.g. Bu Tabaskee, dinaa w. At the Tabaski (when it's Tabaski) I will come.
Bu subaa, dinaa ko indil a. Tomorro w (when it's tomorrow) I will brin g lunch for h im.

6. Contrary to fact condition

a. Affirmative su/bu (co njugated) + verb + -oon , du/dina.....
e.g. Su ngeen ma xamoon, dingeen xam Baay bi itam
If you had known me, you would have known the Father also.
b. Negative su/bu (co njugated) + verb + -ul + wo on, du /dina....
e.g. Su nu amu l wo on bt , du nu gis If we had no eyes, we would not see.
c. su fekkoon (equivalent to su fekkee ne)
e.g. su fekkoon loolu amul, duma leen ko wax If I were not so, I would not have told you.
d. di + oon (doon) without verb
e.g. su ma doon yaw ... If I were you.
e. The p rogressive form is indicate d by di + oon (doon) with verb
e.g. bu u doon liggey, dinau ko noppi If they were working, they would be quiet.
f. bu + -ee contrasts with bu + -aa which indicates an habitual action or a state situated in the past.
e.g. Nu u gobaa, u di ci maye. When they used to harvest, they had the hab it of distributing from it.
48

II. Bi / Ba + MVC [+/- object pronoun] [+/- y/di] + verb + -ee/oo/aa

Indicates bot h cla uses ar e situa ted in th e past and the subordinate clause precedes the principle action, ie when or after.
a. <ba' indicates the action occurred in the more distant past than <bi'. It is more often than not u sed
interchangeably with bi. But on the whole the closer to the present the event h as occurred t he more
likely bi is to be chosen. The further in time from the present the event has occurred the more likely ba
is to be used . This can be represen ted by t he follo wing diagram.
b. When di is not present bi + -ee indicates that the
action or state referred to by the verb in the temp oral
clau se is co mpleted, thus indicating when or after.
When di is u sed this i n d ic a t e s t h a t t h e a c t io n i s
occurring (the p ast progressive) i.e. when.. was....ing
c. bi / b a cannot be c o m b i n e d w i t h -o o n . T h e
hypothetical situated in the past is formed with bu.
d. Su ffix follow s sam e ru le as fo r bu (see I)

Singular Plural

1 st person bi ma bi u

2 nd person bo o/ bi n ga bi ngeen
/boo leen

3 rd person bi mu bi u

e.g. bi ngay liggey Wh en you w ere wor kin g.

ba ngeen wee When/after you had come.
bi mu deeee When/after he had died.
bi ma waxul When I hadn't spoken
bi ma dul wax Wh en I wasn't sp eakin g
e. Post temp oral clau se
Normally consists of MVC + verb +/- nominal object
e.g. Ba ma waxee u dem When/after I had spoken, they left.
But may also take the complement predicator mode.
e.g. Bi ma waxee lau dem It was after I had spoken that they left.
Or m ay a lso be co nju gate d w ith da fa
e.g. Bi ma jgee kr gi, dama dugg woto ba Dakar After I left the house, I took the b us to Dakar.
f. When the subject is stated the 3 rd person pronoun mu/u is dropped; and the object pronouns precede the
subject
e.g. bi ko Fall beyee... When/ after Fall cultivated it...

III. BA + MVC + verb without suffix

ind icat es u nt il
e.g. ba ma w..... until I arrived
cf. ba ma wee... when/after I arrived

IV BA + verb
expresses the consequences or results of an action
e.g. Lekk na b a no pp i. He ha s al rea dy eaten/ he ha s fin ish ed eatin g.
Xaar naa leen ba sonn. I waited for you until tired. ie. I have waited a long time for you.
Damaa ree ba sonn. I laugh ed un til I was tir ed of l au ghin g.
Liggey na ba bgga dee. I worked until I was dead tired.
Rafet na ba bgga dee. She is killingly beautiful.
 49

Note: Do not confuse the temporal/conditional clauses with the negative of the obligative
bu (con jugated) + object pro noun + verb
bu ma bu u
bul bu leen
bu mu bu u
e.g. bu ma ko gis let me se e it

V Koon , kon, kon te

In the past another structure existed to express the conditional, but it has all but disappeared from use now. Koon was
suffixed to the verb to indicate the hypothetical in the past.
e.g. defkoo n na a ko If I had do ne it...
Cey am koon naa jabar, bu sama coro deewul woon. I would have had a wife if my fiance hadn't died.
This is related to the current word kon or konte at the start of a phrase which indicates therefore.
e.g. Fey naa la ba mu jeex, kon danga war far sama tur. I have finished paying you, therefore yo u m u st
remove my name.

References:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 57, 108-110
Baptist course: pp 70, 73f, 77, 81, 88, 109f
PhD Thesis of Eric Church: pp 216-237
Notes on Wolof Grammar (Stewart) pp 41-46
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 100
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 6

Exercises:
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: pp 64, 112-115
Baptist course: pp 71 f, 75, 88 f Revised 6 August, 1999
50

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: E xpression of Time & Duration

1. bu ygg since a lon g time
bu yggul not been long since
lu ygg for a long time
e.g. Dem na b u ygg. He left ages ago.
Dem na lu ygg. He has been gone for a long time.
Ygg naa sey I have been married for a long time
Yggu oo jn d kr gi It has n ot b een l ong sinc e we b ough t th e ho use
NB Double verb construction

2. gj It has been a long time since I have no t....I have not.... for a long time
gjul It has not been long since....
e.g. gj na a ko o gis I have not seen him for a lon g time
gjum a ko o gis It ha s no t be en l on g since I saw h im
NB Double verb construction

3. Since (date of origin)

Date + object p redicator + verb of time + principle verb
verbs of time e.g. tm bal i, do or, gj, mu jj
e.g. Daaw la a tmb alee t ux I have smoked since last year (It is last year that I started to smoke).
14 No vembre la do or njng mi He commenced her apprenticeship on 14 Novembre.
Bsu sambaraax ba lau gja dem tefes We have no t been to th e beach since the d ay of the sto rm.
Bi ma noppee jng lau mujjee dem sinemaa We have not been to the cinema since I finished my studies

Questions may be formed in a similar way

Ka n ga tmbal ee tu x? (Since)When did you begin to smoke?
Ka la d oo r jn g mi? When did you begin your apprenticeship?
Ka l au gja dem t efes? When did you last go to the beach?
Ka ngeen mujjee dem cinema? When did you last go to the cinema?

4. Ex pr ession of d ur ation in r elation to th e mo men t whe n spe aking.

Ka n ga tmbal ee tu x? When did you begin to smoke?
a. am na + expression of duration (i.e x fan/ayu-bs/weer/at etc)
e.g. Bi ma tmbalee tux ak legi am na aari at. I have been smoking for 2 years.
[lit. S ince t he mo ment I began t o smo ke an d no w the re are 2 year s]
b. aari at a ngi may tux. It's been 2 years that I have smoked.

5. Expression of duration not related to the moment when speaking

Ban d iir nga tux? How long have you smoked?
a. Tux naa lu tollook aari weer I have smoked for 2 months
b. Tux naa diiru aari weer I have smoked for 2 months

6. ci/ca + temp oral cla use (bi/ba /bu + tempor al marker) during, while
ba + tempo ral clause (bi/ba /bu + temp oral marker) un til
e.g. Xaaroon naa ba ba mu wee I waited until he arrived.
Dinaa xaar ba bu gnnee I will wait until he leaves
Ku scc jagal bi yit, ci bi muy taw biig ci gud di. He who stole the ram, it was while it was raining last
night
Cere, ca bu muy tng lau koy laaloo. It is while it is hot that one add s the b aob ab le aves.
 51

7. Before
a. Before in past time laata
bi/ba....laata There is no elongation with this construction
i. bi/ba + MV C [+/- object p ronou n] + laata + verb
e.g. Bi nga laata w tey, jng naa lu bari Before you came today, I studied much.
Bi ma ko l aat a gis, xa m na xeb aar bii Befor e I saw him h e kne w the news.
ii. Can also b e used with a no un or an expression without a verb
e.g. Bi u laata Tabaski, dem na
Bi u laata ak Tabaski, dem na Before Tabaski, he went
cf Bi Tabaski di laata w, dem na
iii. Laata may also be used alone with elongation of the pronoun or di/y
e.g. Def naa ko laata ngay w I did it before you came
Waajaloon nau ay yre laata moo juddu They prepared clothes before he was born.
[moo = mu elongated]
iv. The verb suffix -agul may have same sense as laata.
e.g. Def naa ko, fekk na wagul I did it, you hadn't come yet
= Def naa ko laata ngay w I did it before you came
b. Before in future time bala
i. balaa + nou n designating time
e.g. Balaa Tabaski, dinaa la jndal yre yu bees Befor e Tab aski, I will b uy yo u ne w clo the s.
Bgg naa laa gis, balaa dibee r I want to see you before Sunday
ii. balaa + no minal subject + di + verb
e.g. Bala a Tab aski di w, d inaa l a jnd al yr e yu b ees. Befor e Tab aski, I will b uy yo u ne w clo the s.
Balaa naw et di jot....... Before the wet season comes..
iii. bala + M VC [+ /-ob ject prono un] [+/-di] + verb
e.g. Bala ma la koo jox...... Before I give it to you
Bala ma la koy jox.... Before I give it to you
iv. bala may also be combined with laata => before in future time (rare)
e.g. Dinaa ko def bala ngay laata w I will do it before yo u come
c. Before in future time soga
e.g. Baleel neg bi, nga soga dem
Sweep the bedroom before you go.
= Baleel neg bi, bala a ngaa dem A

8. Legi
a. Near future Legi + MVC + verb
e.g. Legi mu w. She is coming right now.
Legi mu taw. It is going to rain now.
b. Near past Co mplet ive + l egi
e.g. Wc c na le gi. He has ju st quit w ork.
Taw na l egi. It has just rained.

9. After
a. After in past time
i. bi/b a + te mpo ral cl ause
This can mean when o r after in past time
ii. Gannaaw/ginnaaw + temporal clause with bi/ba
Empha sizes the idea of after.
e.g. Gannaaw ba mu fa jge , demoon na dkk ba. After he got up from there, he went to town.
Gannaaw ba mu demee, doomam w. After he had left, his child came.
b. After in future time
i. bu/ su + fut ure t empo ral cl ause
This can indicate if, when or after.
ii. Gann aaw/ ginnaa w + bu + futu re tem por al cl ause
Empha sizes the idea of after.
e.g. Gan na aw b u we e, d ina a ko de f. After he comes, I will do it.
52

10. After that

bu looluee
bu loolu amee
bu ko defee
bu mu wee su fo ofu

11. As soon as
A conditional present progressive clause (bu + future temporal clause with di), followed by another clause beginning
with d i. The su bject must b e iden tical fo r bo th cl auses.
e.g. bu may egg, di la ko ygal. As soon as I arrive, I will tell you.
Buy egg, di la ko ygal As soon as he arrives, he will tell you.

12. Anticipated event in the future fi ak

e.g. Dinaa jge Senegaal fi ak aari at. I will lea ve Sene gal in 2 years.
Fi ak many be said as feek

13. Duration of event in the future

e.g. Dinaa jge Senegaal aari at. I will lea ve Sene gal for 2 years.

References:
Pe ac e C or ps Co ur se: pp 95f, 193
J'Ap pr en ds l e W ol of: p 58
Baptist course: pp 77f, 82

Exercises:
Baptist course: pp 78f Revised 6 August, 1999
 53

Wolof Gram ma r Notes: C onjunctions

1. Conjunctions of coordination
ak joins two nouns, or two fas ak xar a horse and a sheep
pronouns with the sense of man ak yow me and you
and, or introduces an Pentaak Faatu Penda and Fatou
adverb of manner with the Faatook Penda Fatou and Penda
sense of with. When the daw ak doole Run strongly
preceding word ends in a
vowel the ak is added to
that word.
te joins two propositions, or Toogal te xaar ko. Sit down and wa it for him.
two verbs Am na jom te am na xel. He has a sense of honour and he
is reasonable.
di joins two verbal
expressions
walla or Biiram dafay daw, jox ko buy He h as d iarrh ea, give him
walla mbiskit. monkey bread or a biscuit.
mbaa or, o r else, oth erwise Xaar ma nu nd, mbaa nga jiitu Wh at for me so w e can go
ma, boo ykkamtee. to geth er o r el se go o n ah ead if
you a re in a h urry.
am or Danga y dem, am d an gay t oo g? Are you going, or are you
sta yin g?
koon/kon therefore, given that, in that Fey naa la ba nu jeex, kon I have finishe d pa ying you , so
case danga wara far sama tur. you should remove my name.
boonte/bon/boon therefore Nee nga tey ngay dem, bon jox You said you were going to day,
ma sama xa alis! so give me my money!
boog the refore , in th at ca se Boroom kr gi nekku fi, nau The head of the house is not
ib bi b oo g. he re, so in t ha t case let u s go
home.
nag the refore , in th at ca se Jox ma nag li ma la abaloon! Give me, then, what I loaned
you.
kon boog therefore
kon nag therefore
ndaxte beca use Duma la dig ndaxte bgguma laa I will not promise you because I
fen. do not want to lie to you.
ngir for, because, in order to
ndax for, because, in orde r to. Toppaatal aw bi ndax mu gna Redo the sewing so that it will
May indicate either goal or dgr! be more solid.
cause Dau fomm sabar gi ndax taw The dance was put of because of
bi. the rain.
nde in effect, since Sikkuma la, nde li nga xalaat I do n ot h old a grud ge against
nga wax. you since you said what you
thought.
ndegam given that Ndegam saxaar gi raw na nu, Given that we have missed the
nanu skk meneen pexe. train, let us find another
solution.
maaxllaa the reason is, it is that Kenn jndul jn yi, maaxllaa No-one has bought the fish,
dau jafe. because they are too expensive.
54

2. Conjunctions marking opposition

moona /moon te yet , h ow ever, e ven th ou gh Wegu ma, moona n ijaayam laa. He does not respect me, even
though I am his uncle.
ndaxam how ever, ne verthe less Ndaxa m yedd n aa lo ba tyyi Never th ele ss, I oft en ga ve him
de. advice.
wnte /waa ye but, however Kr gi sotti na, waaye kenn The house is finished, but no-
dk kagu c i. one is living in it yet.
terewul/teewul however, yet

3. Other Conjunctions
maanaam that is to say Warax, maanaam wann am To swal low wh ole, t hat is to say,
woo sqamiwul, mn na jur swallow food which has not
metitu biir. been chewed, can give stomach
aches
naka jekk normally
rawatina especially, in particular Na n u n daw p p wu yusi, May all the youth answer our
raw atin a i d kk c i gox b i! cal l, e spe cial ly th ose from t his
suburb.
ndare unl ess Tey o to sau l jaa r ci ko b i, To da y, t he cars must n ot dr ive
nd are dafa am p ermi. on th is ro ad , u nl ess th ey h ave
permission.
ndeke/nd ekete co nju nc tio n in trod uc ing a Da u fo ogo on ne xal e b i da fa We thought that the child had
discovery, while in fact sibbiru, ndeke dafa as malaria, while in fact he had
measle s.
amaana perhaps, without doubt Amaan a sa baay w tey. Perhap s your father w ill come
tod ay.
daanaka approximately, about, so to Daan aka loo lu la a wax. That was about what I said.
speak
gannaaw since, after Baal ma gannaaw li ma la wax Fo rgive me sin ce I wh at I sa id
neexu la! was not pleasing to you.

References
Initiation la Grammaire Wolof (Samb): pp 123-124
Grammaire Wolof (Dial) pp 39-40 Revised 20 July, 1999
 55

Wolof Grammar Notes: Exclamatives

1. Interje ction s.
Astafurlaa! Blasp hemy!
Axakay! Certa inly!
Ayca! Aywa! Lets go!/Go!/Do it!
Ayo! Heave!
Bajo! Bravo! Not bad!
Billaa y! I swear by the name of God!
Cam!/Cem!/Cim!/Cu m! Pooh! Bah! (Repugnance or indignation)/ Oh ah! (Admiration)
Cy Ylla! Oh my Go d (sign of pity)
Cy / Cy Oh! (admiration or surprise)
Cy waa y! Oh dear!
Cip iri! Bah! Ph one y!
Dggit! Absol utel y, certain ly!
Duul! Blast! Bloody hell! Shit! Dash!
e Hey! (For calling someone a long way away, to threaten or to warn)
pppp! Oh la la! Fantastic!
skey Bravo! (Surprise, admiration)
y followed by a noun preceded by its possesive adjective and followed by its article! (Expresses commiseration)
e.g. y sama ndey ja! Oh, my poor mo ther!
Iii! Hey! (Surprise, indignation)
Iiya! Ouch!
Kaar! (Protection against evil eye)
Laay! I say! (Surprise)
Laaylaaylalaa! Oh my God!
Ma ara dey taa li! Certainly not!
Massa! Tak e co ur age! C on sol e yo ur sel f!
Mb as! Go to hell! I have had enough! Damn!
Miig!/Muut!/Cell! Silence! Shut up!
Mo o! Lo oy xu lli? But! Why are you looking at me like that?
Moo! But ! I say!
Ndeysaan! / Andaysaan Oh de ar! (Sign of pity)
Ndo kk! So much the bett er!
Ngal la +(n ou n/ pr on ou n) ! Woe to
e.g. Ngalla yaw! Woe to you!
aw! Well done! Bad luck! That will teach you!
Pupp! Pooh! (Disgust)
Saay! Oh! (Admiration)
Sllaaw! Agreed! Understood!
Sas! Oh! (Used to emphasize something, admiration, gratitude)
Stttttt! Oh la la!
Tasaa Never! Certainly not!
Tuug! Dont do that!
Uf! Wuf! Bah! Phooey! So what!
Us! Ouch! (To express pain)
Waawaaw! Of cou rse, yes!
Waay! Look here! I say! (Surprise and ?indignation)
Wey wal ooy! Help!
Wy man !/wy yaay! Help
Woo y/Wu y sama nd ey! Ouch
Xuu x! Boo! (To frighten)
Ylla tere! God forbid!
Ye! Oh! (S urp rise o r forget fuln ess)
Yo! Oh no! Oh, oh! (Mistrust, fear, surprise)
56

2. To call for help one adds the siffix -eey

e.g. Sacce ey! Hel p, th ief!
Lakkeey! Fire!
Jaanee y! Help, a snake!

3. Sentence beginning with li

e.g. Xalaat naa la lool. Li ma la xalaat!
I thought a lot about you. How I have thought about you!

Jmbat nau leen lool. Li u leen jmbat!

They complained about them a lot. How th ey have comp lained a bou t them!

4. Op tative
e.g. Nga dem! Leave!

References
SAMB, Amar Initiation la Gram maire Wolof IFAN 1983 p125-128
DIALO, Amadou Elements Expressifs du Wolof Contemporian 1985 p42-44f Revised 9 August, 1999
 57

Wolof Gramm ar Notes: Adverbs

1. General adverbs
a. Lool very
e.g. Baax na lool. It is very good.
b. Ba pp too
e.g. or na ba pp. It is too ripe,
c. Ba dee very, reinforces the idea of the verb
e.g. Dafa bon ba dee. He is very wicked.
Dafa aaw ba dee. She is very ugly.
Liggey naa ba dee I worked very hard.
Baax na ba dee He is very good.
Daw na ba dee. he ran until breathless, ran fast.
d. Torop Very (deformation of the French trop)
e.g. Dafa tang torop. It is very hot.
e. Fuuf adverb of comparison; by far
e.g. Ma a la man fuu f. I am better than yo u by far.

2. Temporal adverbs
a. Similaak-saala in the blink of an eye.
e.g. Simila ak- saa la, dugu b ji n ekk sun guf. In the blink of an eye th e millet was transformed into flour.

3. Adverbs of intensity/ superlatives

a. Idiomatic with verbs

bees tq/pull/peq to be completely new
dgr k /kcc to be very solid or hard
diis gann to be very he avy
dijj ft to be very pl ump
doy skk to be completely sufficient
duuf ba ne futt to be very fat
far n ip to be very syrupy, very concentrated
fatt taraj to be totally blocked
fees dell completely full
fs cinn very evident
fey kamaj to go out suddenly
forox toll to be very sour, acid
gudd coleet/ba ne loos very long
janoo mkk/ kk to be completely face to face
jeex tkk to be completely finished, used up
jub xocc to b e com ple tely st raight, sq uare or h one st
leer n to be crystal clear, very bright
lj witt to be completely twisted together
ljal witt to harass energetically
lndm kruus/kuruus to be co mpletely dark
lew do mm to be completely honestly acquired
lewet d omm to have no taste
mat skk to be totally complete
mokk rumbux/rumbax/rup to be completely assimilated or learnt; to be completely milled or plucked or crushed
aa pp to open the mouth completely
niin mbott/batt to be very oily or fatty
nooy nepp to be very soft o r sp on gy
or xo mm to be thoroughly cooked, completely ripe or very aged
uul kukk/kurum totally black
pes tll to slap with all one's might
rattax bnda /bareet very slippery
saf sp to be full of flavour
sedd guyy cold as ice
58

seey xorom to be completely dissolved

ss rkk to be placed completely against something or just next to something
set wecc to be clean as snow
sew ruuc/ruuj to be very skinny, to be very fine
sii f to smile showing well all the teeth
suba cuuy very early
suur kll to be completely full (from eating), stuffed
tkk jreet to suddenly flare out or blaze
tlli dd /areet/ rr to be very tight or stretched
tang jrr/jpp to be very hot
taq ripp to be completely stained or spotted or very dirty
tas tasar to be completely scattered
taxaw temm to be completely resolute, to stop suddenly
taxaw jonn to be totally vigilant
t ticc to be completely rebellious, disobedient
tee dd to be s tre tch ed t o th e limit
tooy xipp/xepp to be completely soaked
ub rpp close energetically
ubbi ba ne ll/ yy/ yeet to open wide brutally
way denn well curdled, well understood
wet w y totally deserted
weex tll/du rr white as snow
wr c /p to be completely certain, completely healed
wex xtt to be very bitter
wow ko to be co mpletely dry
woyo f toyy to b e very light or ea sy
xam xll to be certain of, to know certainly
xppit pp/ ll
xasaw xunn to stink
xees pecc to have a very pale complexion
xonq curr/ coyy very red
yaa pp/ymbala to be vast, spacious and clear
yq yaxeet to be totally destroyed, worn out or used
yem kepp to be just right, equal

b. Idiomatic with nouns

kaat a riit a painful pinch on the ears with fingernails
kurpe tu yy a hard punch
rkk dill a hard punch on the back
talaata fuuf a violent slap
wx tyy a hard kick backwards
xt faac a violent whack
yet/yat wrr/drr a hard blow with a staff/stick

c. Intensity can also be expressed by a doubling of stative verb.

e.g. uula uul Very black
weexa weex Very white
dawa daw Run very fast.
 59

d. Co-verbs using ne
A certain group of co-verbs are accompanied by ne and usually express intensity. In this structure ne functions as the
verb and the other part of the co-verb follows the n ormal conjugation stru cture. It is not a dou ble verb con stru ctio n in
that there is no elongation of the vowel preceding the second verb. Some examples are given below. Other examples
can be found in DIALO 1985 Elements Expressifs du Wolof Contemporain.pp 47-57

ne cell to be silent, calm Mu n gi ne cell ci ruqa m. He is quiet in his corner

ne cocc to be completely Sfor b aa nga ne co cc; i mu The chauffeur was unhurt; it was
recovered, to be yeboon a am u gaau. among the passengers that th ere were
unscathe d, unh urt injuries
ne f to be visible, to be kenn di werante kunte gi; weer waa No one will argue about the start of
apparent ngi n e f . Ramadan as the moon was well
Amul dara luy kumpa lu u dul siiwal visible.
bs, walla lu lqu lu u dul feeal, ba For there is nothing hidden that will
mu ne f . (Lk 8:17) not be disclosed, and nothing
concealed that will not be known or
brought out into the open.
ne fuuf to eat gluttonously Niiru na ku xiifoon; dau ko jox a It app ears t ha t h e is h un gry; th ey ga ve
bi, mu ne ko fu uf. him lunch and he scoffed it down
glutto nou sly.
ne g to be in abundance Nawet bi baax na; dugub jaa ngi ne The wet season was good; there is an
g. abundance of millet.
ne jadd to be co mpletely stiff Dama xy saam loos ne jadd. I woke up with a co mplet ely stiff neck.
ne jkk to lool with a fixed Dama ko ne jkk, mu tiit. I stared at him and he got frightened.
gaze, to stare
ne jaas to arrive suddenly Fggu l; d afa n e jaa s ca b iir n eg bi. He did not knock; he just suddenly
entered the ro om.
ne jppt to blaze up suddenly ax mi ne jppt, xale yi daw. The grass suddenly caught fire and the
child ren ran away.
ne jodd to be completely Mu ngi n e jod d c i tt bi. He is standing straight in the the
vertical courtyard.
ne jonn with viligance, Taxawleen jonn ba kenn baa yq Be careful so hat no-one will ruin your
attentively seen liggey. work.
ne lcc to be flaccid, Sunuy bkkaar a tax mu gaau, But he was pierced for our
spiritless, dog tired, ne lcc ndax sunuy too. (Isa 53:5) transgressions, he was crushed for our
exhausted iniqu ities;
ne ldd to be in great Gerte gaa ngi ne ldd. The peanuts are in abundance.
abundance
ne l to be gaping, wide Bunt baa nga ne l. The door is wide open.
open
ne mes to disappear suddenly Dun ypp daldi ne mes, te kenn Every island fled away and the
as if by magic gisatul tund ya. (Rev 16:20) mountains could not be found.
Bi mu defee loolu, lpp leer ci seeni Then their eyes were opened and they
bt , u dald i ko xmme . Waa ye Yee su recognised him, and he disappeared
ne mes, gisatuu ko. (Lk 24:31) from their sight.
ne mll to appear suddenly Kenn foogul woon ne dana w ca No one thought he would come to the
ndaje ma, moo tax ba mu ne mll, meeting which is why when he
pp a b g. appeared suddenly everyone was
Moo tax keroog tte ba i bon ne delighted.
dll, iy bkkaar ne mll ci The refo re t he w icked will no t sta nd in
mbooloom i jub. the judgement, nor sinners in the
assembly of the righteous
ne mrr to disappear Ceeb bu sew dara ne mrr; kenn The broken rice has disappeared. No
completely, furtively gisatu ko c i bitig yi. one sees it an y lon ger in th e sho ps.
ne m iig to become silent ni lay nekke kemaan ci xeet yu bare; So will man y nation s marvel at him,
fu mu tee w bu ur y i ne m iig and kings will shut their mouths
ci gis lu u musu l a gis, because of him. For wh at they were
xam lu u musul a xam. (Isa 52:15) not told, they will see, and what they
have not heard they will understand.
60

ne muut to be saturated/ Poo s baa n gi me muut ak xaal is. The p ocket is full of mon ey.
to be silent
ne mbpp to fall heavily, to fall Dafa ko puus, mu ne mbpp daanu. He pushed him and the other fell flat
flat on the ground. on the ground.
ne nrm prostrate at full length Mu dugal loxo ba ci mboxosam, jl ca Reaching into his bag and taking out a
aw xeer, te mu snni ko ak mb aqam, stone, he slung it and struck the
mu dal waayi Filisti ji ca j ba, te xeer Philistine on the forehead. The stone
wa n uu r ca biir j bu waa yi Fil isti ji. sank into his forehead, and he fell face
Mu n e nrm, dp p kanam gi ci suuf. down on the ground.
(1 Sam 17:49)
ne u mm to be whole, Mb uru mu n e u mm la ind i. He brought a whole loaf of bread.
complete.
ne ala to collapse at full Coono b ee tax mu agsi ne ala ci Tiredness was the reason he spread
length basa gi. out full length on the mat.
ne pp to b e very vast Neg baa ngi ne pp, beneen la xaj The room is vast; one can put another
na fi. bed in here.
ne patt to stay silent Nii laa janook mo om, ma woo ko mu I was righ t in fr on t of h im, I ca lle d h im
ne patt. bu t h e sa id n ot hin g.
ne pcc to cut into 2 equal Neel p cc mburu mi jox ko wllam. Cu t the br ead e xac tl y in two a nd give
hal ves. him his share.
ne pll to exit like a Dafa ne p ll, n e ma jkk. He left like a whirlwind and stared at
whirlwind. me.
ne poset to leave suddenly Dafa ne poset, digg ci oto bi ko doon He suddenly left and entered the car
xaar. which was wa iting for him.
ne to be too tight Dama mujj simmi taybaas bi, dafa ne I was obliged to remove the blouse as
racc/ra rac c ci n digg li. it was too tight at the waist.
ne rww to throw into prison tte na u ko b a ne ko rww c i kaso He was judged and thrown into prison.
bi.
ne remm/ to be calm, still (for Gej gaa ngi ne re mm. The oce an is very calm.
rmm water, sea)
ne rll to explo de with a dry Bal bi nee na rll. The bullet resounded.
sound.
ne rodd to stand up straight Mu ngi ne rodd ci bopp ko bi, di The stood without moving on the
without moving xaar xaritam. corner waiting for his friend.
ne secc to drink in one gulp Waroon naa mar, dafa ne secc bisaab He must have been thirsty. He drank
bi. the bisaap juice in one gulp.
ne selaw to be without a sound, Mbote ma dindi na jurom-aareelu Then he o pened the seventh seal, the re
completely silent tayu ga, asamaan si ne selaw lu mat was silence in heaven for about half an
genn-wllu waxtu. (Rev 8:1) hour..
ne seef to arrive unexpectedly Dafa jkki-jkki ne seef. He arrived u nexp ected ly.
ne taraj to be completely Fat t na u pax mi ba mu n e ta raj. They seal ed th e ho le co mplet ely.
closed, blocked,
sealed.
ne tasar to be completely Caq bi deg na, p er yi ne tasar. The necklace broke and the pearls
dispersed, scattered scattered everywhere.
ne tll to appear suddenly Bs boobu ca ngoon sa, taalibe yaa On the evening of that first day of the
nga daje woon ca genn kr, tju ca week, when th e disciples were
biir ndax ragal Yawut yi. Yeesu ne together, with the doors locked for
tll ci seen biir. (Jn 20:19) fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood
among them...
ne tembe exactly, precisely Ni Obaja nekke ci kaw yoon, ne As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah
temb e Ilias d aje ak m oo m. ( I Kin gs met him.
18:7)
ne tipp to severe or cut Buum gi dafa ne tipp. The ro pe was c ut cl eanl y.
cleanly
ne w alb it to return suddenly Dafa dgg bkk wi rekk ne walbit. As soon as he heard the watchword,
he ret urne d sud den ly.
 61

ne wyn to be completely Kr gaa ngi ne wyn. The h ouse is to tally e mpty.

empty of occupants or
furniture
ne xmm to b e com ple tely l ost Dggul dara, mu n gi ne xmm. He cant hear anything. He is totally
in ones thoughts lost in his th ough ts.
ne xs to collide violently Wo to bi d afa n e xs c a kaw garab gi. The car collided violently with the
tree.
ne yagg to have a guilty look Xale baa ngi ne yagg ndax li mu saw The child has guilty look because he
tub yam. has we t his p ant s.

References
SAMB, Amar Initiation la Gram maire Wolof IFAN 1983 p116-122
DIALO, Amadou Elements Expressifs du Wolof Contemporian 1985 p45ff Revised 6 August, 1999