Word
Yaro ya riƙe kofi a baki, amma uwa ta ce ya ajiye ta a kan faranti.
Meaning
A boy held the cup at his mouth, but mother told him to put it down on the plate.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Yaro ya riƙe kofi a baki, amma uwa ta ce ya ajiye ta a kan faranti.
a
at
amma
but
a kan
on
uwa
the mother
Questions & Answers about Yaro ya riƙe kofi a baki, amma uwa ta ce ya ajiye ta a kan faranti.
What is a word‑for‑word breakdown of the sentence?
Yaro ya riƙe kofi a baki, amma uwa ta ce ya ajiye ta a kan faranti.
- yaro – boy
- ya – he (3rd person masculine subject pronoun, also marks aspect/tense)
- riƙe – hold, grasp
- kofi – cup
- a – in / at / on (general preposition)
- baki – mouth
So: Yaro ya riƙe kofi a baki
→ literally: Boy he-held cup in mouth.
amma – but
- uwa – mother
- ta – she (3rd person feminine subject pronoun)
- ce – say (here: said)
So: amma uwa ta ce
→ but mother she-said
- ya – he (here: “that he should…”, subjunctive)
- ajiye – put down, set down, leave (on a surface / in a place)
- ta – it/her (3rd person feminine object pronoun; here = the cup)
- a – on / at
- kan – top / surface (here with a = on top of)
- faranti – plate, dish
So: ya ajiye ta a kan faranti
→ literally: [that] he put‑down it on top‑of plate.
Why is ya used after yaro? Could I just say Yaro riƙe kofi?