Pular grammar

Pular grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the Pular language, one of the Fula languages of the Niger-Congo language family spoken in West Africa. It is complicated and varies from region to region. This may explain why it is virtually impossible to find literature that teaches advanced topics in Pular Grammar. The following explanation concerns mainly the Pular language spoken in Futa Jallon. To facilitate learning, all expressions are translated into English, so this article could also be a tool for learning Pular vocabulary. Numerous examples are given in tables to demonstrate the rules provided and to allow the reader to decipher the rules of Pular grammar.

Nouns, pronouns and adjectives

Nouns and their articles

Since the articles of nouns vary significantly, it is probably better to learn each Pular noun with its appropriate articles. It is also useful to learn the plural and singular forms of Pular nouns together because no simple rules are apparent for going from the singular form to the plural form. This may sound like a daunting task, but a few generalizations can be made.

• Pular nouns don't have indefinite articles. So the "a" article in English is simply omitted in Pular. Example: a hand = jungo.
• The most common, definite articles associated with plural nouns are: bhen (which is reserved for nouns indicating many people), dhin and dhen. The latter two articles are used for nouns referring to objects or things. bhen, dhin and dhen correspond to "the" in English.
• on is the singular form of bhen, and they are used for nouns that indicate a single person or many people, respectively.
• Nouns imported from other languages, especially French, follow some systematic patterns. In the singular form of the noun, the definite article is on (there are some situations where other articles can work as well, but the on article seems to work all the time). If the noun indicates an object or a thing, the plural form of the noun is usually obtained by adding ji at the end of the singular form and dhin is used as the article for the plural form. If the imported noun indicates a person, the singular form of the noun will end with jo, but the plural form will end with bhe, and bhen is used as the article for the plural form. Please see the tables below for examples that demonstrate these systematic patterns.

Singular and plural forms of imported nouns:

Pular		English
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
proofeseerjo on	proofeseerbhe bhen	the school teacher	the school teachers
ministirjo on	ministirbhe bhen	the cabinet minister	the cabinet ministers
sofeerjo on	sofeerbhe bhen	the driver	the drivers
mekanisienjo on	mekanisienbhe bhen	the mechanic	the mechanics
dokteerjo on	dokteerbhe bhen	the doctor	the doctors
limiyeer on	limiyeerji dhin	the light	the lights
ordinateer on	ordinateerji dhin	the computer	the computers
frigoo on	frigooji dhin	the refrigerator	the refirigerators
kayee on	kayeeji dhin	the notebook	the notebooks
bik on	bikji dhin	the pen	the pens
vantilateer on	vantilateerji dhin	the fan	the fans
telee on	teleeji dhin	the TV	the TV's
lampu on	lampuuji dhin	the lamp	the lamps
torso on	torsooji dhin	the flash light	the flash lights
taasi on	taasiiji dhin	the coffee cup	the coffee cups
guverneman on	guvernemanji dhin	the government	the governments
lekkol on	lekkolji dhin	the school	the schools
seelfown on	seelfownji dhin	the cell phone	the cell phones

Plural and singular forms of most fruits and vegetables

The nouns of most fruits and vegetables follow a similar pattern when changing from singular to plural. These nouns have a root form, which perhaps was imported from other languages. The singular form of these nouns is obtained by adding re to the root, and nden is usually the definitive article. By contrast, the plural form is obtained by adding je to the root, and dhen is the definitive article for the plural form. The table below provides examples to demonstrate this pattern.

Pular			English
Root	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
putee	puteere nden	puteeje dhen	the sweet potato	the sweet potatoes
jaabere	jaabereere nden	jaabereeje dhen	"A kind of vegetable"	"A kind of vegetable"
piya	piyaare nden	piyaaje dhen	the avocado	the avocados
leemunne	leemunneere nden	puteeje dhen	the orange	the oranges
putee	puteere nden	puteeje dhen	the sweet potato	the sweet potatoes
cacchu	cacchuure nden	cacchuuje dhen	the lime/lemon	the lime/lemons
kobokobo	kobokoboore nden	kobokobooje dhen	the egg plant	the egg plants
pompiteeri	pompiteeriire nden	pompiteeriije dhen	the potato	the potatoes
mango	mangoore nden	mangooje dhen	the mango	themangoes
gnamaku	gnamakuure nden	gnamakuuje dhen	the pepper	the peppes
putee	puteere nden	puteeje dhen	the sweet potato	the sweet potatoes
bhohe	bhoheere nden	bhoheeje dhen	"A guinean fruit"	"A guinean fruit"
booto	bootoore nden	bootooje dhen	"A guinean fruit"	"A guinean fruit"
nete	neteere nden	neteeje dhen	"A guinean fruit"	"A guinean fruit"
poore	pooreere nden	pooreeje dhen	"A guinean fruit"	"A guinean fruit"
cappe	cappeere nden	cappeeje dhen	"A vegetable similar to cassava roots"	"A vegetable similar to cassava roots"

Singular and plural forms of other nouns:

Pular		English
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
koyngal ngal	koydhe then	the foot	the feet
leggal ngal	leddhe dhen	the stick (or branch)	the sticks
baafal ngal	baafe dhen	the door	the doors
dammugal ngal	dammudhe dhen	the gate	the gates
busal ngal	buse dhen	the thigh	the thighs
avionwal ngal	avionje dhen	the airplane	the airplanes
padhal ngal	padhe dhen	the shoe	the shoes
otowal ngal	otooje dhen	the vehicle	the vehicles
yiitere nden	gite dhen	the eye	the eyes
jullere nden	julle dhen	the carved piece of wood for sitting	the carved pieces of wood for sitting
jungo ngon	juudhe dhen	the hand (or arm)	the hands
gorko on	worbhe bhen	the man	the men
debbo on	rewbhe bhen	the woman	the women
aadenjo on	aadenbhe bhen	the human being	the human beings
karamokoojo on	karamokoobhe bhen	the teacher	the teachers
jangoowo on	jangoobhe bhen	the reader (or student)	the readers (or students)
hoore nden	koe dhen	the head	the heads
tuuba nban	tuube dhen	the trouser	the trousers
pantalon on	pantalonji dhin	xxx	the pants
telefon on	telefonji dhin	the phone	the phones
roobu on	roobuuji dhin	the dress	the dresses
bareeru ndun	bareeji dhin	the dog	the dogs
gnaariiru ndun	gnaariiji dhin	the cat	the cats
kerooru ndun	kerooji dhin	the monkey	the monkeys
motooru ndun	motooji dhin	the motocycle	the motocycles

Possessive adjectives

Term	Pular Example	English Meaning
an	jungo an	my hand
maa	jungo maa	your hand
makko	jungo makko	his/her hand
amen	jungo amen	our hand (excluding you)
men	jungo men	our hand (inclussive)
mon	jungo mon	your hand
mabbhe	jungo mabbhe	their hand

Note that unlike in English, in Pular the possessive adjective comes after the noun. In the table above, "jungo" is a noun that means hand. Similar to English, the possessive adjective does not vary with the genre or number of what is possessed. It varies only with the noun that possesses. For example:

• bheengu an (my wife) --> moodi an (my husband). Note here that the genre of the noun changed, but the possessive adjective stayed the same (an).
• jungo an (my hand) --> juudhe an (my hands). Note here that the noun changed from singular to plural, but the possessive adjective stayed the same (an).

Object pronouns

lan, ma, te, mo, men, en, on, bhe.

n	rank	Pular	English
1	1st sing.	Bhe wallay lan.	They will help me.
2	2nd sing. (future)	Bhe walle te.	They will help you.
3	2nd sing. (past)	Bhe wallii ma.	They have helped you.
4	3rd sing.	Bhe wallay mo.	They will help him/her.
5	1st plu. excl.	Bhe wallay men.	They will help us (excluding you).
6	1st plu. incl.	Bhe wallay en.	They will help us (including you).
7	2nd plu.	Bhe wallay on.	They will help you (plural).
8	3rd plu.	O wallay bhe.	He/she will help them.
11	Example	Example	Example

Interrogative keywords

ko hombo, ko hondhun, ko hombhe, ko honno, ko honto, ko ... hondhi, ko ... njelo, ko ... jelu

n	Pular	English
1	Ko hombo nii?	Who is this?
2	Ko hombhe nii?	Who are these people?
3	Ko hondhun nii?	What (object) is this?
4	Ko dolokaaji hondhi jeyudhaa?	Which shirts belong to you?
5	Ko honno innetedhaa?	What is your name?
6	Ko honno o innetee?	What is his/her name?
7	Ko honto yahataa?	Where are you going?
8	Ko chuudhi hondhi jeyudhaa?	Which houses do you own?
9	Ko yimbhe njelo ataakunomaa?	How many people attacked you?
10	Ko biiniiji jelu heddi ka frigoo?	How many bottles remain in the refrigerator?

Subject pronouns

mi, a, o, men, en, on, bhe, dhe, dhi

n	Pular	English
1	Mi faamii.	I understand.
2	A faamii.	You understand.
3	O faamii.	He/She understands.
4	Men faamii.	We understand (excluding you).
5	En faamii.	We understand (including you).
6	On faamii.	You understand (plural).
7	Bhe faamii.	They understand (people).
8	Dhi tuunii.	They have gotten dirty (objects or animals).
8	Dhe tuunii.	They have gotten dirty (objects or animals).

Demonstrative adjectives

Pular has many demonstrative adjectives, which are keywords that indicate the location of a "noun" with respect to the speaker. However, they are usually derived from the definitive articles described above. Here is a partial list:

oo, bhee (plural = these people), dhii(plural), dhee(plural), [ngal, ngol, ngii, ngoo, nguu, nduu, ndee, ndii, dhan, mbaa, kun, etc...] The English equivalent of these adjective demonstratives are: this, these, that, and those.

Indefinite pronouns

Note that this is a partial list.

• goddho, goddhun, hay e gooto, hay e fus

See the table below for some expressions using indefinite pronouns.

n	Pular	English
1	Goddho no ka hurgo.	Someone is in the bathroom.
2	Goddhun luubhay.	Something will smell.
3	Wobbhe no arude.	Some people are coming.
4	Goddhun munchoto.	Something will be crushed.
5	Mi soodaali hay e fus.	I did not buy anything.
6	A fottaano hay e gooto?	Didn't you meet anyone?
7	Hay e gooto wallaano men.	No one helped us.

Others__location

dhoo, gaa, dhaa, too, gadha, gaanin

n	Pular	English
1	Aru dhoo.	Come here (where I am standing).
2	Aru gaa.	Come over here (In the area where I am).
3	Yahu dhaa.	Go over there (not too far from me).
4	Yahu too.	Go way over there (far away from me).
5	Himo darii ka ghadha chaangol.	He is standing across the river (the river is between the speaker and the person his is standing).
6	Himo darii ka gaanin chaangol.	He is standing on this side of the river (the speaker is on the same side of the river where the person is standing).

Verb forms and conjugations

Various verb types

Pular verbs are mainly distinguished by the endings of their infinitive forms. These endings include: ugol, agol, egol, angol, ingol, orgol and maybe others. The most common ending is probably ugol. Please see the table below for examples.

Verb ending	Pular verb	English
ugol	defugol	to cook
ugol	gnaamugol	to eat
ugol	yarugol	to drink
ugol	windugol	to write
ugol	ronkugol	to get tired
ugol	wallugol	to help
agol	joodhagol	to sit down
agol	immagol	to get up
agol	sulmagol	to wash one's face
agol	fubbagol	to swim
agol	lubhagol	to borrow (something from someone)
egol	labegol	to look pretty or handsome
egol	foolegol	to be defeated
egol	janfegol	to be cheated
egol	sokegol	to be jailed
angol	gollangol	to work for someone
angol	sonkangol	to yell at someone
angol	addangol	to bring something for someone
angol	aynangol	to keep an eye on something for someone.
angol	defangol	to cook for someone
ingol	findingol	to wake up someone
ingol	jibingol	to give birth to a baby
ingol	sunningol	to "circumscise" someone
ingol	yaggingol	to make someone regret
ingol	aaningol	to make someone worried
orgol	addorgol	to bring along
orgol	nabhorgol	to take someone or something along; to give someone a ride
orgol	okkorgol	to give a gift to someone

Affirmative forms of verbs:

The future form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the affirmative form of ugol verbs in the future, simply replace the ugol ending with ay. For example, soodugol turns into sooday. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "soodugol", which means to buy.

Subject	Future form	English
Mi	sooday	I will buy
A	sooday	You (singular) will buy
O	sooday	he/she will buy
En	sooday	We (including you) will buy
Men	sooday	We (excluding you) will buy
On	sooday	You (plural) will buy
Bhe	sooday	They (referring to people) will buy

Although the verb does not vary with the subject, it does vary with the object. That is when the object is the singular form of you, the "ay" ending becomes "e". The table below shows some examples of how the future form of "ugol" verbs varies with the object.

Subject	Future form	object	English
O	wallay	lan	He/she will help me.
O	walle	te	He/she will help you(singular).
O	wallay	mo	He/she will help him/her.
O	wallay	en	He/she will help us(including you).
O	wallay	men	He/she will help us(excluding you).
O	wallay	on	He/she will help you(plural).
O	wallay	bhe	He/she will help them(referring to people).

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the affirmative form of agol verbs in the future, simply replace the agol ending with oto. For example, fubbagolturns into fubboto. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "fubbagol", which means to swim.

Subject	Future form	English
Mi	fubboto	I will swim
A	fubboto	You (singular) will swim
O	fubboto	he/she will swim
En	fubboto	We (including you) will swim
Men	fubboto	We (excluding you) will swim
On	fubboto	You (plural) will swim
Bhe	fubboto	They (referring to people) will swim

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the affirmative form of egol verbs in the future, simply replace the egol ending with ete. For example, weelegolturns into weelete. Note however that this form does not always make sense if the subject is I (mi). For example, "mi sokete" sounds more like "I will have you jailed" than "I will be jailed". The table below provides more examples using the verb "weelegol", which means to be hungry.

Subject	Future form	English
Mi	weelete	I will be (get) hungry
A	weelete	You (singular) will be hungry
O	weelete	he/she will be hungry
En	weelete	We (including you) will be hungry
Men	weelete	We (excluding you) will be hungry
On	weelete	You (plural) will be hungry
Bhe	weelete	They (referring to people) will be hungry

4)Verbs ending in "angol", "ingol" or "orgol", : To express the affirmative form of these verbs in the future, simply replace the gol ending with ay. For example, jangangol turns into janganay; yaggingol into yagginay; and okkorgol into okkoray. Similar to above, the verb does not vary when the subject varies.

The terminated past form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the affirmative form of ugol verbs in the "terminated past" form, simply replace the ugol ending with uno. For example, soodugol turns into sooduno. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "soodugol".

Subject	Terminated Past form	English
Mi	sooduno	I bought
A	sooduno	You (singular) bought
O	sooduno	he/she bought
En	sooduno	We (including you) bought
Men	sooduno	We (excluding you) bought
On	sooduno	You (plural) bought
Bhe	sooduno	They (referring to people) bought

Here are some simple sentences where "ugol" verbs are conjugated in the Terminated Past form.

Time reference	Subject	Terminated Past form of "ugol" verb	Object	English
Hanki	mi	sooduno	motooru	Yesterday I bought a motocycle.
Rowani	men	yahuno	Pari	Last year we went to Paris.
Hanki	o	yhettuno	lekki kin	Yesterday he/she took the medicine.
Hande mbimbi	bhe	yahuno	ka lekkol	This morning they went to school.
Hanki jemma	a	hiruno	moyyha.	Last night you snored a lot.

Although the verb does not vary with the subject, it does vary with the object. That is when the object is either me or you(singular), the "ugol" verb can vary. The table below shows some examples of how the Terminated Past form of "ugol" verbs varies with the object. The chosen verb is "wallugol", which means to help.

Subject	Terminated Past form	Object	English
o	walluno	lan	He/She helped me.
o	wallanno	--	He/She helped me. (Note here that the object "an" is inserted in the verb.)
o	walleno	--	He/She helped you(singular). (Note here too that the object "e" is inserted in the verb.)
o	walluno	ma	He/She helped you (singular).

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the affirmative form of agol verbs in the "terminated past" form, simply replace the agol ending with ino. For example, joodhagol turns into joodhino. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "immgagol", which means to get up.

Subject	Terminated Past form	English
Mi	immino	I got up
A	immino	You (singular) got up
O	immino	he/she got up
En	immino	We (including you) got up
Men	immino	We (excluding you) got up
On	immino	You (plural) got up
Bhe	immino	They (referring to people) got up

Here are some simple sentences where "agol" verbs are conjugated in the Terminated Past form.

Time reference	Subject	Terminated Past form of "ugol" verb	Object	English
Hanki	mi	gosino	laabhi tati.	Yesterday I brushed my teeth three times.
Rowani	bhe	waajino	lan moyyha.	Last year they gave me good advice (well).
Hanki	o	janfino	mignan an	Yesterday he/she cheated my younger sibling.

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the affirmative form of egol verbs in the "terminated past" form, simply replace the egol ending with ano. For example, lamminegol turns into lamminano. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "weelegol", which means to be(get) hungry.

Subject	Terminated Past form	English
Mi	weelano	I was hungry
A	weelano	You (singular) were hungry
O	weelano	he/she was hungry
En	weelano	We (including you) were hungry
Men	weelano	We (excluding you) were hungry
On	weelano	You (plural) were hungry
Bhe	weelano	They (referring to people) were hungry

Here are some simple sentences where "egol" verbs are conjugated in the Terminated Past form.

Time reference	Subject	Terminated Past form of "ugol" verb	Object	English
Hanki	mi	weelano	moyyha.	Yesterday I was hungry a lot.
Rowani	bhe	jattano	otowal mabbhe ngal.	[litt. Last year they were rubbed their vehicle.]
Hanki	o	gnawlano	dolaarji sappo.	Yesterday he/she was loaned ten dollars.

The simple past form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the affirmative form of ugol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the ugol ending with ii. For example, soodugol turns into soodii. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "gnaamugol", which means to eat.

Subject	Simple Past form	English
Mi	gnaamii	I have eaten.
A	gnaamii	You (singular) have eaten.
O	gnaamii	he/she has eaten.
En	gnaamii	We (including you) have eaten.
Men	gnaamii	We (excluding you) have eaten.
On	gnaamii	You (plural) have eaten.
Bhe	gnaamii	They (referring to people) have eaten.

Here are some simple sentences where "ugol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

Subject	Simple Past form of "ugol" verb	Object	English
mi	hewtii	ka suudo.	I have arrived at the house.
Gando	foolii	piiro ngon.	Gando has won the fight.
Bhe	ronkii.	--	They have gotten tired.
A	tampii	moyyha.	You have suffered a lot.
Boobo on	nawnii.	--	The baby has gotten sick.

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the affirmative form of agol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the agol ending with ike. For example, joodhagol turns into joodhike. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "immgagol", which means to get up.

Subject	Simple Past form	English
Mi	immike	I got up
A	immike	You (singular) got up
O	immike	he/she got up
En	immike	We (including you) got up
Men	immike	We (excluding you) got up
On	immike	You (plural) got up
Bhe	immike	They (referring to people) got up

Here are some simple sentences where "agol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

Subject	Simple Past form of "agol" verb	Object	English
mi	bhortike	dolokke maa on.	I have taken off your shirt.
mi	gnawlike	mo dolaarji joy.	I have borrowed five dollars from him/her.
Boobo on	suumitike	yeeso ngon.	The baby has covered his/her face (with a blanket).
A	bhornike	dolokke tuunu-dho.	You have put on a dirty shirt.

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the affirmative form of egol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the egol ending with aama. For example, lamminegol turns into lamminaama. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "weelegol", which means to be(get) hungry.

Subject	Terminated Past form	English
Mi	weelaama	I have gotten hungry.
A	weelaama	You (singular) have gotten hungry.
O	weelaama	He/she has gotten hungry.
En	weelaama	We (including you) have gotten hungry.
Men	weelaama	We (excluding you) have gotten hungry.
On	weelaama	You (plural) have gotten hungry.
Bhe	weelaama	They (referring to people) have gotten hungry.

Here are some simple sentences where "egol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

Subject	Simple Past form of "egol" verb	Object	English
mi	weelaama	haa reedu an ndun mutii.	I have gotten hungry to the point my belly has disappeared.
O	lamminaama	fii hitaa'de.	He has been elected for one year.
En	negliizaama	pandi.	We have been neglected too much.
A	halfinaama	sekeree on.	You have been entrusted with the secret.

The past participle form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the affirmative form of ugol verbs in the "past participle" form, simply replace the ugol ending with i. For example, nawnugol turns into nawni. Note that the past participle form of the verb behaves as an adjective and is preceded by the verb to be conjugated in the present. The table below provides more examples using the verb "ronkugol", which means to be tired.

The verb to be in the present	Past Participle form of "ugol" verb	English
Midho	ronki	I am tired.
Hidha	ronki	You (singular) are tired.
Himo	ronki	He/she is tired.
Hidhen	ronki	We (including you) are tired.
Medhen	ronki	We (excluding you) are tired.
Hidhon	ronki	You (plural) are tired.
Hibhe	ronki	They (referring to people) are tired.

Here are some simple sentences where "ugol" verbs are converted to the Past Participle form and used as adjectives.

Verb to be	Simple Past form of "ugol" verb	Object	English
Midho	juuti	--	I am tall.
Hidha	rabbhidi	--	You are short.
Veloo-an on no	boni.	--	My bicycle is broken down.
Lekkol-an on no	woddhi	--	My school is too far.
Hibhe	nawni.	--	They are sick.

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the affirmative form of agol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the agol ending with ike. For example, joodhagol turns into joodhike. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "immgagol", which means to get up.

Subject	Simple Past form	English
Mi	immike	I got up
A	immike	You (singular) got up
O	immike	he/she got up
En	immike	We (including you) got up
Men	immike	We (excluding you) got up
On	immike	You (plural) got up
Bhe	immike	They (referring to people) got up

Here are some simple sentences where "agol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

Subject	Simple Past form of "agol" verb	Object	English
mi	bhortike	dolokke maa on.	I have taken off your shirt.
mi	gnawlike	mo dolaarji joy.	I have borrowed five dollars from him/her.
Boobo on	suumitike	yeeso ngon.	The baby has covered his/her face (with a blanket).
A	bhornike	dolokke tuunu-dho.	You have put on a dirty shirt.

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the affirmative form of egol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the egol ending with aama. For example, lamminegol turns into lamminaama. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "weelegol", which means to be(get) hungry.

Subject	Terminated Past form	English
Mi	weelaama	I have gotten hungry.
A	weelaama	You (singular) have gotten hungry.
O	weelaama	He/she has gotten hungry.
En	weelaama	We (including you) have gotten hungry.
Men	weelaama	We (excluding you) have gotten hungry.
On	weelaama	You (plural) have gotten hungry.
Bhe	weelaama	They (referring to people) have gotten hungry.

Here are some simple sentences where "egol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

Subject	Simple Past form of "egol" verb	Object	English
mi	weelaama	haa reedu an ndun mutii.	I have gotten hungry to the point my belly has disappeared.
O	lamminaama	fii hitaa'de.	He has been elected for one year.
En	negliizaama	pandi.	We have been neglected too much.
A	halfinaama	sekeree on.	You have been entrusted with the secret.

Negative forms of verbs:

The future, negative form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the negative form of ugol verbs in the future, simply replace the ugol ending with ataa. For example, soodugol turns into soodataa. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "soodugol", which means to buy.

Subject	Future, negative form	English
Mi	soodataa	I will not buy
A	soodataa	You (singular) will not buy
O	soodataa	he/she will not buy
En	soodataa	We (including you) will not buy
Men	soodataa	We (excluding you) will not buy
On	soodataa	You (plural) will not buy
Bhe	soodataa	They (referring to people) will not buy

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the negative form of agol verbs in the future, simply replace the agol ending with ataako. For example, fubbagol turns into fubbataako. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "fubbagol", which means to swim.

Subject	Future, negative form	English
Mi	fubbataako	I will not swim
A	fubbataako	You (singular) will not swim
O	fubbataako	he/she will not swim
En	fubbataako	We (including you) will not swim
Men	fubbataako	We (excluding you) will not swim
On	fubbataako	You (plural) will not swim
Bhe	fubbataako	They (referring to people) will not swim

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the negative form of egol verbs in the future, simply replace the egol ending with ataake. For example, janfegol turns into fubbataake. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "janfegol", which means to be cheated.

Subject	Future, negative form	English
Mi	janfataake	I will not be cheated
A	janfataake	You (singular) will not be cheated
O	janfataake	he/she will not be cheated
En	janfataake	We (including you) will not be cheated
Men	janfataake	We (excluding you) will not be cheated
On	janfataake	You (plural) will not be cheated
Bhe	janfataake	They (referring to people) will not be cheated

Adjectives and adverbs

The word "very" in English takes many different forms in Pular depending on what adjective is being emphasized. Here are a few examples:

• kaani kas means very ugly.
• laabhi pos means very clean.
• woddhi pon means very far.
• rabbhidhi pot means very short.

However, in general, most of these Pular adverbs could be replaced with moyyha to emphasize the adjective. But the style would be lost. The table below contains additional examples with their appropriate adverbs.

n	Pular	English
1	luubhi dus	smells very bad
2	gnaadhi gnas	very mean person (or very rough surface)
3	rawni pen	very white (color)
4	bhawli kiron	very black (color)
5	satti ken	very difficult (or very hard)
6	ronki kof	very tired
7	sembi pimpitin	very fat (usually a person)
8	sewi gnila	very thin

Sentence structure

Making Comparisons

• Comparing with "bhuri"

n	Pular	English
1	Veloo an on no tuuni bhuri veloo maa on.	My bicycle is dirtier than your bicycle.
2	salon mabbhe on no yaaji bhuri salon men on.	Their living room is wider than our living room.
3	Bindhi maa dhin no jangoo bhuri bindhi an dhin.	Your hand writing is more legible than mine.
4	Faransee no satti bhuri matematik.	French is more complicated than Math.
5	Hanki hari hibhe ronki bhuri ko woowi kon.	Yesterday they were more tired than usual.
6	Ko arata mi antereenoto bhuri ko mi antereenii rowani kon.	Next year I will train more than I did last year.
7	Midho faalaa soodude bhuri killooji tati teewu.	I want to buy more than three kilos of meat.
7	Seppugol soondowoo no wondi e chellal bhuri dogugol wondewonde.	Walking often is more healthy than running occasionally.

• Comparing with "wa"
• Comparing with "fotta"

Contrasting ideas

• Expressing contrasting ideas with "kono" (which means but)

Pular	English
Kotoo an no juuti, kono jaaja an no rabbhidhi.	My older brother is tall, but my older sister is short.
Himo weelaa, kono o sali gnaamude.	He/she is hungry, but he/she refuses to eat.
Hibhe jogii jawdi, kono bhe wallataa tampudho	They are rich, but they don't help poor people.
Mi wadhii duubhi joy ameriki, kono mi ronku waawude ingiliisi.	I have lived in America for five years, but I can't speak English.

Cause and effect

• Expressing cause with "bhayru"

#	Pular	English
1	Bhayru a moyyhaa, hay e gooto wallataa ma.	Because you are not nice, no one will help you.
2	Bhe inni: "O naatataa bhayru doloke makko on no kaani."	They said: "He/she will not come in because his/her shirt is ugly."
3	Bayru a sattinii pirii on, mi waawataa soodude buy.	Since the price is too high [litt. you made the price too high], I cannot buy a lot.
4	Bhayru o jangaano, o paasaano.	Since he/she did not study, he/she did not pass.
5	Bhayru bhe juulataa, bhe naatataa aljanna.	Since they don't pray, they will not go to heaven.
6	Bhayru a fiimay, a wadhataa espoor ekadi a vaksinataako, a nawnay soondowoo.	Since you smoke, you don't exercise and you don't get vaccinated, you will often be sick.

Time clauses

• Expressing time clauses with "tuma"

#	Pular	English
1	Tuma reedu maa ndun fetti, a acchay gnaamugol haa feyyhintina.	After (when) your belly explodes, you will stop eating too much.
2	Tuma o arti, mi yeetoto mo.	After (when) he/she returns, I will tell him/her.
3	Tuma mi ndikki, mi fuddhitoto gollude.	After (when) I get better, I will go back to work [litt. restart working].
4	Tuma booboobhe bhen waawi wowlude, bhe jentataako	After (when) the babies learn to speak, they will not be quite.
5	Tuma fenoowo wowli goonga, lagine gagnay Cup-Dafrik.	After a lier tells the truth, Guinea will win the African Cup of Nations.
6	Tuma otowal ngal gayni wulude, ayskriim maa on yoosay.	After the car is done warming up, your ice-cream will melt.

• Expressing time clauses with "haa"

n	Pular	English
1	Jiwo on jombataake haa o hebha duubhi sappoo e jeetati.	The girl will not be wedded (taken as a bride) until she turns eighteen.
2	Fewndo men waynondiraynoo ka ayropooru, mi wulluno haa gite an dhen bhuuti.	While (when) we were saying our good-byes at the airport, I cried until my eyes got swollen.
3	Mo suttii sigareeti, o fiimay haa gnalaande (gnande) o maayi.	If someone gets addicted to cigarettes, he/she will smoke until the day he/she dies.
4	Fii Alla, sabbolan haa mi gayna.	Please, wait for me until I finish.
5	Den gnande mi huluno. Bhayru gayuurindin jokkiilan, mi doguno haa koythe an dhen acchi meemude leydi.	That day I was really terrified. When the lion chased me, I ran until my legs stopped touching the ground. [Note that "bhayru", which usually mean because, is used here to mean when]

• Expressing time clauses with "tuma woo"
• Expressing time clauses with "fewndo"

n	Pular	English
1	Fewndo mi hewti ka labutaane, hari moodi makko no wullude.	When I arrived at the hospital, her husband was crying.
2	Fewndo laamu Seeku Tuuree, hari gineyen bhe bhen no tampi.	During Seeku Tuuree's administration [litt. During the reign of Seeku Tuuree], the Guineans were suffering.
3	Ee, awa oo debbo no wakkilii! Fewndo mi feyyhaynoo dhoo bimbi, hari himo gollude. Haa jooni o fowtaaki.	Men, let me tell you this lady is a hard worker! While I was passing here this morning, she was working. She still has not taken a break.
4	Fewndo mi wonunoo ka koleez hari moodi an no ka liisee	While I was in middle school, my husband was in high school.
5	Rowani, fewndo ka vakansiigi, hari midho Pari.	Last year, during the summer vacations, I was in Paris.

Relative clauses

Relative clauses in Pular are often used to give more details about a noun or an idea within a sentence. Thus they play a similar role in English.^[1] They are often associated with the following relative pronouns:

• dho = who (singular). This pronoun usually comes after a conjugated verb. Ex: ... gorko nawnu dho. = ... a man who is sick.
• mo = who (singular). Unlike dho, mo usually comes after a noun. Ex: ... gorko mo nawnaa. ... a man who is not sick.
• bhe = who (plural)
• wondema = that
• dhi, dhe, ko, dhan, ngal, etc... = that
• [mo/bhe/dhi/dhe ... mun = whose. This is a partial list since these pronouns are related to the definitive articles of the nouns.

Please see the table below for examples that demonstrate the use of relative clauses.

n	Pular	English
1	Midho jogii bhibbe dhidho hodhu bhe Pari.	I have two children who live in Paris.
2	Suka an hodhu dho Niw york on no nawni.	My son who lives in New York is sick.
3	Midho andi mawdho mo suka mun jogii otooje tati.	I know an old man whose son has three vehicles.
4	Ko hombo jeyi dhii vellooji dhi pineeji mun haajitoraa hendu.	Who owns these bicycles whose tires don't need air?
5	Medhen yewtude fii worbhe bhe bheynguuli mun dogi sabu angal kaalisi.	We are talking about men whose wives left because of a lack of money.
6	Mi faalaaka gorko mo maraa jawdi.	I don't want a man who does not have money.
7	Mi yidhaa gnaamugol maafe ko wadhaaka gnamaku.	I don't like any sauce that doesn't have pepper.
8	Midho andi hidha seytini.	I know that you are upset. Note that the relative pronoun is omitted here.
9	Mi nanii wondema hanki hari hibhe nawni.	I heard that they were sick yesterday.
10	Mi jangii e deftere wondema leydi ndin no murlidhiri wa balonre.	I read in a book that the earth is round like a soccer ball.
11	Bhe hoolaaki wondema wakkilaare bheyday arsike gorko.	They don't believe that hardwork can increase a man's luck.
12	Midho sikki tun o alaa e yeetaade en ngoonga on.	I just think that he/she is not telling us the truth.
13	Mi nanuno ka radioo hanki woo (wondema) gere on bhuttii.	I heard on the radio yesterday that the war has ended.

Conditional clauses

• Expressing conditional clauses with "si"

List of references

External links

• Herb Caudill and Ousmane Besseko Diallo. "Pular Resources". Midho Waawi Pular! Learner's Guide to Pular (Fuuta Jallon). Retrieved 7 July 2011.