Language/Bambara/Grammar/Adjectives

Bambara Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Bambara learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be talking about adjectives in Bambara. Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. For example, in the sentence "the red car is fast", "red" is the adjective that describes the car. Adjectives in Bambara follow the noun they describe and agree with the noun in gender and number.

Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: Pronouns & Questions.

Adjective agreement

In Bambara, adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe. There are two genders in Bambara: masculine and feminine. The plural form is also used for groups that include both genders. Here are some examples:

Bambara	Pronunciation	English
tɔgɔ	taw-go	big (masculine singular)
wuli	woo-lee	small (masculine singular)
kura	koo-rah	hot (feminine singular)
kali	kah-lee	cold (feminine singular)
tɔgɔ-tigui	taw-go-tee-gee	big (masculine plural)
wuli-wari	woo-lee-waa-ree	small (masculine plural)
kura-koroni	koo-rah-koh-roh-nee	hot (feminine plural)
kali-koroni	kah-lee-koh-roh-nee	cold (feminine plural)

Notice that the adjective agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies. For example, "tɔgɔ" (big) becomes "tɔgɔ-tigui" in the plural masculine, and "kura" (hot) becomes "kura-koroni" in the plural feminine.

Placement of adjectives

In Bambara, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe. For example, "aw ye fɔlɔ lwili" means "the small dog". "Fɔlɔ" means "dog", and "lwili" means "small". However, adjectives can come before the noun for emphasis or clarification. For example, "lwili fɔlɔ bɛn bɛ" means "the small dog is over there". "Lwili" comes before "fɔlɔ" to emphasize that the dog is small.

Comparison of adjectives

In Bambara, there are three levels of comparison for adjectives: positive, comparative, and superlative. Here is an example of each:

• Positive: Muso ye tɔgɔ. (The mouse is big.)
• Comparative: Muso ye tɔgɔra. (The mouse is bigger.)
• Superlative: Muso ye tɔgɔra dɛ bɛ fɛ. (The mouse is the biggest of all.)

To form the comparative and superlative, we add "-ra" to the end of the adjective. The word "dɛ" means "of all" and is used to indicate the superlative.

Practice dialogue

To help you practice using adjectives in Bambara, here is a dialogue between two friends:

• Person 1: Aw ye kura hɛrɛyɛ? (Is the food hot?)
• Person 2: Aa, aw ye kura! (Yes, the food is hot!)
• Person 1: Aw ye tɔgɔna kɔrɔ. (The big car is fast.)
• Person 2: Wo, tɔgɔna ye, kɔrɔ ye! (Wow, it's big and fast!)
• Person 1: Tigɛ kɛ, mago ye mɔgɔya. (Look at that red shirt.)
• Person 2: Aa, aw ni mɔgɔya, kɛ ni falan. (Yes, it's red, but it's also cheap.)

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Other Lessons

• How to Use Be
• Pronouns
• Give your Opinion
• Conditional Mood
• Questions
• Plurals
• Negation
• How to Use Have

Sources

• The Structure of Bambara1