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.
Nouns, pronouns and adjectives
Nouns and their articles The articles of nouns vary significantly and there are no simple rules are apparent for going from the singular form to the plural form; however, a few generalizations can be made.
Pular nouns do not have indefinite articles. For example: a hand = jungo .
The most common definite articles associated with plural nouns are: ɓen (which is reserved for nouns indicating many people), ɗin, and ɗen. The latter two articles are used for nouns referring to objects or things. ɓen, ɗin, and ɗen correspond to "the" in English. on is the singular form of ɓen, and is used for nouns that indicate a single person.
Nouns borrowed 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 created by adding 𞤶𞤭 ji at the end of the singular form, and ɗin 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 ɓe, and ɓen is used as the article for the plural form.
The plural articles ɓen, ɗin, and ɗen correspond to ɓe, ɗi, and ɗe in other varieties of Fula, respectively. Pular pronunciation tends to nasalize these words, which is represented by the trailing letter "n."
Please see the tables below for examples that demonstrate these systematic patterns.
Singular and plural forms of borrowed nouns PularEnglishSingularPluralSingularPluralproofeseerjo onproofeseerɓe ɓenthe school teacherthe school teachersministirjo onministirɓe ɓenthe cabinet ministerthe cabinet ministerssofeerjo onsofeerɓe ɓenthe driverthe driversmekanisienjo onmekanisienɓe ɓenthe mechanicthe mechanicsdokteerjo ondokteerɓe ɓenthe doctorthe doctorslimiyeer onlimiyeerji ɗinthe lightthe lightsordinateer onordinateerji ɗinthe computerthe computersfrigoo onfrigooji ɗinthe refrigeratorthe refirigeratorskayee onkayeeji ɗinthe notebookthe notebooksbik onbikji ɗinthe penthe pens vantilateer onvantilateerji ɗinthe fanthe fans telee on teleeji ɗinthe TVthe TV's lampu on lampuuji ɗinthe lampthe lamps torso on torsooji ɗinthe flashlightthe flashlights taasi on taasiiji ɗinthe coffee cupthe coffee cups guverneman on guvernemanji ɗinthe governmentthe governments lekkol on lekkolji ɗinthe schoolthe schools seelfown on seelfownji ɗinthe cell phonethe cell phones
Singular and plural 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 created by adding -re to the root, and nden is usually the definite article. By contrast, the plural form is obtained by adding -je to the root, and ɗen is the definite article for the plural form. The table below provides examples to demonstrate this pattern.
PularEnglishRootSingularPluralSingularPluralputeeputeere ndenputeeje ɗenthe sweet potatothe sweet potatoesjaaberejaabereere ndenjaabereeje ɗenthe taro/arrowrootthe taros/arrowrootspiyapiyaare ndenpiyaaje ɗenthe avocadothe avocadosleemunneleemunneere ndenleemunneeje ɗenthe orangethe orangescaccucaccuure ndencaccuuje ɗenthe lime/lemonthe lime/lemonskobokobokobokoboore ndenkobokobooje ɗenthe egg plantthe egg plantspompiteeripompiteeriire ndenpompiteeriije ɗenthe potatothe potatoesmangomangoore ndenmangooje ɗenthe mangothe mangoesɲamakuɲamakuure ndenɲamakuuje ɗenthe pepperthe peppersɓoheɓoheere ndenɓoheeje ɗenthe fruit of the baobabthe fruits of the baobabbootobootoore ndenbootooje ɗen"A guinean fruit""A guinean fruit"neteneteere ndenneteeje ɗenthe fruit (pod) of the African locust-bean the fruits (pods) of the African locust-beanpoorepooreere ndenpooreeje ɗen"A guinean fruit""A guinean fruit"cappecappeere ndencappeeje ɗen"A vegetable similar to cassava roots""A vegetable similar to cassava roots"
Singular and plural forms of other nouns PularEnglishSingularPluralSingularPluralkoyngal ngalkoyɗe ɗen the foot the feetleggal ngalleɗɗe ɗenthe stick (or branch)the sticksbaafal ngalbaafe ɗenthe doorthe doorsdammugal ngaldammuɗe ɗenthe gatethe gatesbusal ngalbuse ɗenthe thighthe thighsavionwal ngalavionje ɗenthe airplanethe airplanespaɗal ngalpaɗe ɗenthe shoethe shoesotowal ngalotooje ɗenthe vehiclethe vehiclesyiitere ndengite ɗenthe eyethe eyesjullere ndenjulle ɗenthe carved piece of wood for sittingthe carved pieces of wood for sittingjungo ngonjuuɗe ɗenthe hand (or arm)the handsgorko onworɓe ɓenthe manthe mendebbo onrewɓe ɓenthe womanthe womenaadenjo onaadenɓe ɓenthe human beingthe human beingskaramokoojo onkaramokooɓe ɓenthe teacherthe teachersjangoowo onjangooɓe ɓenthe reader (or student)the readers (or students)hoore ndenkoe ɗenthe headthe headstuuba nbantuube ɗenthe trouserthe trouserspantalon onpantalonji ɗinxxxthe pantstelefon ontelefonji ɗinthe phonethe phonesroobu onroobuuji ɗinthe dressthe dressesbareeru ndunbareeji ɗinthe dogthe dogsɲaariiru ndunɲaariiji ɗinthe catthe catskerooru ndunkerooji ɗinthe monkeythe monkeysmotooru ndunmotooji ɗinthe motorcyclethe motorcycles
Possessive adjectives Term Pular Example English Meaning an jungo am my hand maa jungo maa your hand makko jungo makko his/her hand amen juuɗe amen our hands (excluding you) men juuɗe men our hands (inclusive) mon juuɗe mon your hands maɓɓe juuɗe maɓɓe their hands Note that "jungo" can be used for all when it means "responsibility". Example: No e jungo amen = "it is in our responsibility," or "we are in change." Men acci e jungo mon = "We leave it to you." Also, unlike in English, the possessive adjective comes after the noun in Pular. In the table above, "jungo" is a noun that means hand. Similar to English, the possessive adjective does not vary with the gender or number of what is possessed. It varies only with the noun that possesses. For example: ɓeyngu an (my wife) --> moodi an (my husband). Note here that the gender of the noun changed, but the possessive adjective stayed the same (an). jungo an (my hand) --> juuɗe an (my hands). Note here that the noun changed from singular to plural, but the possessive adjective stayed the same (an).
The singular possessive in Pular – an – corresponds exactly with the am used in other varieties of Fula. Again, the pronunciation is more nasalized in Pular.
Object pronouns lan, ma, te, mo, men, en, on, ɓe. n rank Pular English 1 1st sing. Ɓe wallay lan. They will help me. 2 2nd sing. (future) Ɓe walle te. They will help you. 3 2nd sing. (past) Ɓe wallii ma. They have helped you. 4 3rd sing. Ɓe wallay mo. They will help him/her. 5 1st plu. excl. Ɓe wallay men. They will help us (excluding you). 6 1st plu. incl. Ɓe wallay en. They will help us (including you). 7 2nd plu. Ɓe wallay on. They will help you (plural). 8 3rd plu. O wallay ɓe. He/she will help them.
Interrogative keywords ko hombo, ko honɗun, ko homɓe, ko honno, ko honto, ko ... honɗi, ko ... njelo, ko ... jelu n Pular English 1 Ko hombo nii? Who is this? 2 Ko homɓe nii? Who are these people? 3 Ko honɗun nii? What (object) is this? 4 Ko dolokaaji honɗi jeyuɗaa? Which shirts belong to you? 5 Ko honno inneteɗaa? What is your name? 6 Ko honno o innetee? What is his/her name? 7 Ko honto yahataa? Where are you going? 8 Ko cuuɗi honɗi jeyuɗaa? Which houses do you own? 9 Ko yimɓe 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, ɓe, ɗe, ɗi
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 Ɓe faamii. They understand (people). 8 Ɗi tuunii. They have gotten dirty (objects or animals). 9 Ɗe 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, ɓee (plural = these people), ɗii(plural), ɗee(plural), [ngal, ngol, ngii, ngoo, nguu, nduu, ndee, ndii, ɗan, 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. goɗɗo, goɗɗun, hay e gooto, hay e fus
See the table below for some expressions using indefinite pronouns. n Pular English 1 Goɗɗo no ka hurgo. Someone is in the bathroom. 2 Goɗɗun luuɓay. Something will smell. 3 Woɓɓe no arude. Some people are coming. 4 Goɗɗun muncoto. 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 ɗoo, gaa, ɗaa, too, gaɗa, gaanin n Pular English 1 Aru ɗoo. Come here (where I am standing). 2 Aru gaa. Come over here (In the area where I am). 3 Yahu ɗaa. Go over there (not too far from me). 4 Yahu too. Go way over there (far away from me). 5 Himo darii ka ɠaɗa caangol. He is standing across the river (the river is between the speaker and the person his is standing). 6 Himo darii ka gaanin caangol. 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 – like those in other varieties of Fula (with the exception of Adamawa) – fall into one of three "voices": active, middle, and passive. Infinitives in Pular are formed with -gol rather than -de as in other varieties of Fula. The endings are: Active: -ugol Middle: -agol Passive: -egol
Verbal extensions (sometimes dubbed "infixes") can be added between the root and the (active) verb ending to change meaning. Examples of verb endings with this adfixes include: angol, ingol, orgol and others. Please see the table below for examples. Verb ending Pular verb English ugol defugol to cook ugol ɲaamugol to eat ugol yarugol to drink ugol windugol to write ugol ronkugol to get tired ugol wallugol to help agol jooɗagol to sit down agol immagol to get up agol sulmagol to wash one's face agol fubbagol to swim agol luɓagol 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 (or to lock) 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 "circumcise" someone ingol yaggingol to make someone regret ingol aaningol to make someone worried orgol addorgol to bring along orgol naɓorgol 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