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Edo Grammar

The document defines a word as the minimal independent linguistic unit with meaning or grammatical function, highlighting the relationship between word forms and their meanings in the Ẹdo language. It discusses various word classes including nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositions, adverbs, adjectives, and conjunctions, providing definitions and examples for each class. Additionally, it emphasizes the role of morphology in understanding word structure and the importance of these classes in constructing meaningful sentences.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
12 views4 pages

Edo Grammar

The document defines a word as the minimal independent linguistic unit with meaning or grammatical function, highlighting the relationship between word forms and their meanings in the Ẹdo language. It discusses various word classes including nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositions, adverbs, adjectives, and conjunctions, providing definitions and examples for each class. Additionally, it emphasizes the role of morphology in understanding word structure and the importance of these classes in constructing meaningful sentences.

Uploaded by

Teddy
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.

1 The notion of words

We may define a word as the minimal independent linguistic unit which has an identifiable
meaning or a grammatical function. Words have specific phonological shapes , but this could
change to reflect its structural position in a sentence, as shown in examples 1 and 2 . The change
in form could also be for reasons such as transitivity and agreement.
1. I khẹẹ ọzọ ‘ i am waiting for ozo.’
2. Ọzọ khẹẹ mwẹ. ‘ ọzọ is waiting for me .’
3. Orumwu de fua vbe okhuae ‘ a pear fell out of the basket’
4. Orumwu dele kua vbe okhuae ‘ some pears fell out of the basket’
5. Osarẹtin dee ‘ osarẹtin is coming ‘
6. Osarẹtin di ugbo-ọka ‘ osarẹtin is coming to the maize farm’
Observe the forms did not change completely and the meanings remains constant. So one can
establish a relationship between dẹ and dele, fua and kua, as well as dee and di. This
similarity in form and meaning is not always obvious. Take for example plural nouns in the
ẹdo language:
7.ogie ‘king’ igiẹ ‘ kings ‘
8. Ọmwa ‘ person ‘ emwa ‘ persons’
9. Ọvbokhan ‘ child’ ibiẹka ‘ children’
10. Ovbiokuo ‘soldier’ ovbiokuo ‘ soldiers ‘

1.2 Word classes


We cant discuss word classes without first knowing what morphology is ( the study of word
structure or forms ) and the word itself as the minimal independent linguistic unit which has
an identifiable meaning or grammatical function. The term for WORD in Ẹdo is ikpẹmwẹ.
Omoregie(1983) and imasuẹn (1996 &1997) discusss eight classes of words . The classes are
eni ‘ noun’ , uta ‘verb’ , utaeni ‘ pronoun’, uniaeni’adjective’ , uniauta’adverb’ ,
agbadi’preposition’ ,arrilo’ conjuction’ and esohiẹ’ interjection’ .
Nouns are words that shows :
 People/names: “woman” (okhuo), “man”(okpia) , ọzọlua( the name of a past ọba of
Benin)
 Places: eko ( lagos)
 Animals: dogs ( ekita)
 Objects: phone
Semtence examples :
 Rhie ekadi na gie edọkita
 Rhie ebe gie osawe vbe udo
 Idiaghe ghi rrie ugbo ọ na sa amẹ mwẹẹn.

1.2.3 Verb ( uta)


*Definition:* In Ẹdo, a verb is a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of
being. Verbs are an essential part of Ẹdo grammar and are used to convey what is
happening, has happened, or will happen in a sentence or phrase.

*Examples:
Kun, khiẹn,giẹ
How about this we use these examples to form a semtence
 Rhie ekadi na gie edọkita ( uta = rhie)
 Rhulẹ ẹsẹse (uta= rhulẹ)
 Rri evbare ẹgiẹgiẹ (uta =rri from re. To eat )

1.2.4 utaeni ( pronouns )


Pronouns: In Ẹdo, pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence, referring to
individuals or things without repeating their names. They indicate person, number,
gender, and possession, functioning as substitutes for nouns to convey meaning and
relationships in a sentence.
In edo AVBE UTAENI NII RRE ẸDO ENA KHIN .
 Imẹ ,mẹ ,i ( first person or I )
 Uwẹ, wẹ , U ( you, singular)
 Irẹn , rẹn, ẹ,ọ ( she,he,i) ọ gua ruẹ(it takes you)
 Ima , ma , a ( we )
 Uwa, wa, ( you , plural)
 Iran, ran ( they)

1.2.5 ikpẹmwẹ Agbabi ( preposition gie, nẹ ) ( to) Prepositions:


In Ẹdo, prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other
words in a sentence, indicating location, direction, time, manner, or other relationships. They
typically precede the noun or pronoun they modify, forming a phrase that functions as a single
unit in the sentence. Examples of prepositions in Ẹdo include:
 Rhie ekadi gie edọkita [ gie (to) ] = agbadi
 Rhie ekadi gu/gun mwẹn [ gu/gun]( to)= agbadi
 I ya igho ne ozo [ ne (to) = agbadi]

1.2.6 uniauta ( adverb)


Adverbs: In Ẹdo, adverbs are words that modify verbs, other adverbs, or entire
sentences, indicating manner, time, place, frequency, or degree, providing additional
information about the action or state described.
Example :
 Ọ kakabọ rẹẹn ebe ẹdo
 Ọ gha rherhe rre
 Osazẹ rre nẹ
 I yoo Ẹko nukpo
 Ghee owa ne ima na waan.

1.2.7 Adjective( uniaeni)


Adjectives:_ In Ẹdo, adjectives are words that modify nouns or pronouns, describing their
qualities, properties, or characteristics, such as size, color, shape, temperature, or other
attributes.
Examples : Nọmose
Nimose
Nekhui ‘black one’
Nikhui~khui ‘ black ones ‘
Nọfua ‘white one’ Ni~fu~ofua. ‘ white ones ‘
Bẹtẹ ‘chubby’. Bẹtẹ~bẹtẹ. ‘chubby~plu’
Nọmose ‘beautiful one ‘. Nọmose ‘beautiful ones ‘

*Conjunctions
Definition: Conjunctions are words that connect words, phrases, or clauses together, showing
relationships between them. E.g re , kevbe .
- Types:
- Coordinating conjunctions (connect words, phrases, or clauses of equal importance)
- And (e.g., I like reading books and watching movies.)
- Or (e.g., Do you want to go to the beach or the park?)
- But (e.g., I wanted to go to the party, but I was too tired.)
- So (e.g., I’m tired, so I’m going to bed.)
- Yet (e.g., I’m tired, yet I still need to finish my work.)
- Subordinating conjunctions (connect a dependent clause to an independent clause)
- Because (e.g., I went to the store because I needed milk.)
- Since (e.g., I’ve been busy since morning.)
- After (e.g., I’ll go to bed after I finish my book.)
- Although (e.g., I wanted to go to the party, although I was tired.)
- Unless (e.g., I won’t go to the party unless you come with me.)
- Until (e.g., I’ll wait until you’re ready.)
- While (e.g., I’m studying while my friend is watching TV.)
- Functions:
- Connect ideas
- Show relationships (addition, contrast, cause and effect, time, condition)
- Introduce clauses or phrases
- Examples:
- I like reading books, and my sister likes watching movies. (coordinating)
- I went to the store because I needed milk. (subordinating)
- I’ll go to bed after I finish my book. (subordinating)

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