FocusType: focus type
| Values: | Compl | Subj | Verb |
Wolof has three focus conjugations of its auxiliaries: subject focus, verb focus, and complement focus. The form of the auxiliary varies according to the syntactic function of the focused constituent: subject, verb, or complement. The latter has a broad meaning and refers in general to any constituent which is neither subject nor main verb.
Subj: subject focus
The auxiliary indicates that the subject of the clause is in focus.
Examples
- maa lekk jën “I ate fish (it’s me who ate fish)”
- yaa lekk jën “you ate fish (it’s you who ate fish)”
- Faatu moo lekk jën “Faatu ate fish (it’s Faatu who ate fish)”
- noo lekk jën “we ate fish (it’s us who ate fish)”
- yeena lekk jën “you ate fish (it’s you guys who ate fish)”
- ñoo lekk jën “they ate fish (it’s them who ate fish)”
Verb: verb focus
The auxiliary indicates that the main verb of the clause is in focus.
Examples
- dama lekk jën “I ate fish (what I did is eat fish)”
- danga lekk jën “you ate fish (what you did is eat fish)”
- Faatu dafa lekk jën “Faatu ate fish (what Faatu did is eat fish)”
- danu lekk jën “we ate fish (what we did is eat fish)”
- dangeen lekk jën “you ate fish (what you guys did is eat fish)”
- dañu lekk jën “they ate fish (what they did is eat fish)”
Compl: complement focus
The auxiliary indicates that the constituent in focus is neither the subject nor the main verb.
Examples
- jën laa lekk “I ate fish (it’s fish what I ate)”
- jën nga lekk “you ate fish (it’s fish what you ate)”
- jën la Faatu lekk “Faatu ate fish (it’s fish what Faatu ate)”
- jën lanu lekk “we ate fish (it’s fish what we ate)”
- jën ngeen lekk “you ate fish (it’s fish what you guys ate)”
- jën lañu lekk “they ate fish (it’s fish what they ate)”
FocusType in other languages: [wo]