UNIT 14 ISI NKE IRI NA ANỌ ALA ANYị NA EBE ANYị BI (OUR NATIONALITY AND RESIDENCE)

Objective

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to: 1. Talk about people, their residences and nationalities 2. Compare and contrast residential areas and nationalities. 3. Talk about one’s own residences and nationalities. 4. Conjugate verbs to make

Introduction

Introduction (Nkọwa) When we meet people the first thing we want to do is to get to know our acquantainces. For instance, we would be interested in finding out their names, where they live, and where they come from. We also reciprocate by telling the same information to our acquantainces. In this unit, we are going to engage in a dialogue about people’s residences and nationalities.

Lesson Vocabulary

Ebe		Place
Ebe m bi		Where i live
Ebe m si		Where i'm from
Ebee		Where
Ebee		Where
Ibi		To live
Ime obodo		Cities/towns/villages
Maka		Because/About
Mana		But
Mgbada		South
Obodo		Country/state
ọdida anya		West
Ohimiri/osimiri		River/ ocean
Okwu dị mkpa		Vocabulary
Onye		Who
Onye isi obodo		Head of state/president/prime minister
ọwụwa anya		East
Ugwu		North
ụlọ		House

Lesson Conversation:

John	Kedụ	How is it?
Paul	It is good	: Ọ dị mma
John	Aha m bụ John. Kedụ aha gị?	My name is John. What is your name?)
Paul	Aha m bụ Paul	My nane is Paul
John	Kedụ ebe i bi?	Where do you live?
Paul	M bi na Bostịn	I live in Boston
John	M bi na Chikago	I live in Chicago
Paul	Nwanne m nwanyị bi na Chikago	My sister lives in Chicago
John	Ebee ka nwanne gi nwanyị bi na Chikago?	Where does your sister live in Chicago?
paul	Nwanne m nwanyị bi na 45 Stresa Street Chikago	My sister lives on 45 Stresa Street Chicago
John	I bụ onye ebee?	Where are you from?
Paul	M bụ onye Naijiria. Kedụ maka gị?	I am from Nigeria. How about you?
John	M bụ onye Kenya	I am from Kenya
Paul	Waoo!! M nụ na Kenya mara mma	Waoo!!, I heard Kenya is beautiful
John	Eee, ọ mara mma. Daalụ	Yes it is beautiful. Thank you

Lesson Monologue

Ijeọma na ekwu maka obodo ya na ebe o bi. Ijeoma is talking about her nationality and residence.

Aha m bụ Ijeọma. M bi na 24 Ụwani Striti, Ọnicha, Nigeria. M bụ onye Nigeria. Mu na nne m na nna m na ụmụnne m bi ebe a. Onicha di na akụkụ ọwụwa anyanwu Nigeria. Ọ bụ na Ọnicha ka e nwe nnukwu oshimiri, ana-akpọ Oshimiri Niger. Ọtụtụ mmadụ bi na Ọnicha ebe m bi. Ụzọ ọ bula nwe aha nke ya. Ụfọdụ ka e nyere aha mmadụ. Ndi ozo ka e nyere aha obodo. M hụ Ọnicha ebe m bi na anya. M hụ Nigeria na anya.

My name is Ijeoma. I live on 24 Ụwani Street, Onitsha, Nigeria. I am a Nigerian. Myself, my mother, my father, and my siblings live here. Onitsha is in the eastern part of Nigeria. It is in Onitsha that there is the big river called River Niger. Many people live in Onistha where I live. The streets in Onitsha have many names. Some are named after people. Others are named after towns. I love Onistha where I live. I love Nigeria.

Lesson Note

Grammar Notes

LET’S CONJUGATE THE VERBS

A. ị -Dot Verbs
To conjugate the “ị - dot verbs,” the following rules must be followed:

1. Remove the infinitive marker “ị” from the main verb and replace with “a” .
2. Place the auxillary verb ‘na’ before the main verb, and a hyphen (-) between the main verb and its
Auxillary verb.
3. Place the appropriate pronoun in front of the auxillary verb ‘na’.
4. Place the appropriate complement immediately after the main verb.

Example: igba egwu

M na - agba egwu (I am dancing)
(pronoun) (auxillary) (main verb) (complement)
verb

Remember! Any of the pronouns below can be used e.g.:

M na-agba ọsọ (I am running)
ị na-agba oso. (You are running)
Ọ na-agba ọsọ (He is running)
Ha na-agba ọsọ (They are running)
Anyị na-agba ọsọ (We are running)
Unu na-agba ọsọ (You all are running)

Note! However, the 1st person singular pronoun and the 3rd person plural pronoun have alternative forms as illustrated below:

1. Delete the hyphen between the main verb and its auxillary to create a word space
2. Move the pronoun to the just created word space
3. Place the letter ‘a’ at the beginning of the sentence

A + na + Pronoun + Main Verb + Complement

i) A na m agba ọsọ (I am running)

ii) A na ha agba ọsọ (They are running)

B. (i) - Dotless Verbs

The conjugation of these verbs are similar to the conjugation of the dot verbs above but with a minor difference.

1. Start with desired pronoun.
2. Place ‘na’ before the main verb and join the two with a hyphen
3. Remove the infinitive marker (i) and replace it with the letter ‘e’
4. Place the appropriate complement immediately after the main verbIge nti (to listen)

Pronoun + na - + Main Verb + Complement

M na - ege ntị =

M na ege nti. (I am listening)
Important! : The dotless verbs also have alternative forms for the 1st person singular and 3rd person plural pronouns.

M na-eri nri  A na m eri nri
(I am eating food)

M na-ebe akwa  A na m ebe akwa
(I am crying)

Ha na ehi ụra  A na ha ehi ụra
(They are sleeping)

Ha na echu mmiri  A na ha echu mmiri.
(They are fetching water)

Remember!
1. Always use the appropriate pronoun.
2. The sentences above and their alternatives have the same meaning.
3. In order to conjugate the verbs correctly, be sure to maintain vowel harmony (ndakọrịta ụdaụme) to determine what group, each of the infinitive markers belongs to.

ibi (verb: to live)

Verb Subject Pronoun + Preposition + Noun
E bi m na Bọstịn (I live in Boston)

Note: Subject Pronoun “m” ( I ) has an irregular grammar pattern in the above sentence

Subject Pronoun + Verb + Preposition + Noun

i bi na Bọstin (You live in Boston) [singular]

O bi na Bọstin (He/She lives in Boston)

Anyị bi na Bọstin (We live in Boston)

Unu bi na Bọstin (You live in Boston) [plural]

Ha bi na Bọstin (They live in Boston)

Interrogation:

Wh- Question: What place do + you + live?
Kedụ ebe i bi? Or Olee ebe i bi?)

Answer: Ebi m na Bọstin (or) m bi na bọstịn (I live in Boston)

Wh- Question: What + is + the name (of) + your + country? ( or Where are you from?)

Gịnị bụ aha obodo gi?
Answer: Aha obodo m bụ Bọstịn.

Wh - Question Kedụ onye ebe ị bụ?

Answer: Abụ m onye Naijiria. Or m bụ onye Naijiria (I am from Nigeria)

Yes/No Question: ị bụ onye Naijiria? (Are you from Nigeria?)

Answer: Ee, Abụ m onye Naijiria (Yes, I am from Nigeria)
OR
Mba, Abụghị m onye Naijiria (No, I am not from Nigeria)

Lesson Exercise

Ajụjụ
1. Onye bi na Bostịn?
2. Kedụ ndi bi na chikago?
3.Onye ebee ka John bụ?
4. Kedụ ebe nwanne Paul nwanyị bi?
5. Onye ebee ka Paul bụ?

Translate and Answer these following questions

1. Where do you live?
2. Where does your brother/sister live?
3. Where do you come from?
4. Do your friends live in Cambridge?
5. Where does Nelson Mandela live?
6. Does Oprah come from Cambridge?
7. Where does your teacher come from?
8. Where does President Drew Faust live?
9. Where do Hilary and Bill Clinton live?
10. Are you from Nigeria?

Exercise 2:

Write 20 sentences about your city, town, or country where you live.

Exercise 3:

Fill in the blank spaces according to the monologue, dialogue, and common knowledge

1. John bụ onye ____________________________

2. Onye nkuzi Igbo bụ onye _________________________

3. Paul bụ onye ______________________________

4. President Bush bụ onye ________________________

5. President Obasanjọ bụ onye _____________________

6. Professor Mugane bụ onye ______________________

7. Senator John Kerry bụ onye _____________________

8. Senator John Edwards bụ onye ___________________

9. Sadam Hussein bụ onye ________________________

10. President Clinton bụ onye _______________________

11. Senator Kennedy bi na _________________________

12. Prime Minister Tony Blair bi na ___________________

13. Ezi na ụlọ m bi na _____________________

14. Ụmụ akwụkwọ bi na ________________________

Exercise 4:

Make sentences with these words:

1. Obodo _______________________________________________
2. Ụlo _________________________________________________
3. Ime bodo _________________________________________________
4. Onye isi obodo _____________________________________________
5. Ọwụwa anyanwụ ___________________________________________
6. Oshimiri ___________________________________________________
7. Ọdịda anyanwụ _____________________________________________
8. Bi ________________________________________________________
9. Onye _____________________________________________________
10. Ebee _____________________________________________________

Exercise 5:

Translate these Igbo sentences into English.

1. Eze bụ nna m ___________________________________________________
2. Anyi m bi na ime obodo Abuja _____________________________________
3. Ada bụ nwa ya __________________________________________________
4. Ụmụ nwanyị na ụmụ nwoke bi na obodo ha. ___________________________
5. Bia na ụlọ m. ____________________________________________________
6. Obi na Ada bụ ụmụnne. ___________________________________________
7. Ha nile gara obodo ha echi. _________________________________________
8. Onye bụ enyi gi? __________________________________________________
9. Uchenna biri obodo ahụ afọ atọ. ______________________________________
10. Ọtụtụ mmadụ biara taa. ____________________________________________

Exercise 6
Conjugate the following verbs.

1. ịtụ egwụ. _____________________________________________________
2. iche echiche. ___________________________________________________
3. ichu mmiri. ____________________________________________________
4. ịzụ akwụkwọ. ___________________________________________________
5. ịmu akwụkwọ. __________________________________________________
6. ịgba ụtụ. ________________________________________________________
7. ịso oyi. _________________________________________________________
8. ịsa ahụ. _________________________________________________________
9. ịrụ orụ. __________________________________________________________
10. ibe akwa. _______________________________________________________

Exercise 7
Match the following infinitives with their correct replacement letter.

A ị kewa
ị gụ
ị mụ
E ihi
ibe
iwere
ị chu
ite
ị zụ

Translate these sentences to English.

1. Anyi na-achi ọchi na ụlọ akwụkwọ.
2. O na-ere ahia.
3. Ha na-eche echiche.
4. M na-ese ụlọ.
5. O na-asa ahu na mmiri.
6. I na-azụ ihe na ahia.
7. Ha na-arahụ ura na akwa.
8. Onye nkụzi na echu mmiri.
9. Umu akwụkwọ na-asụ Igbo.
10. Unu nile na-aga ụlo akwụkwọ.