Oúnjẹ, Àlejòrí, àti Ìbéèrè
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Recall and apply motion serial verbs with lọ, wá, mú, gbé, Chapter 3's direction phrases, Chapter 4's quantities, and all Volume I systems.
- Use fẹ́ ("want, would like") and lè ("can, may") to make and respond to polite requests and offers around a meal.
- Soften requests and offers using jọ̀wọ́, questions with ǹjẹ́, and other controlled polite frames.
- Accept and decline an invitation or offer courteously.
- Give a simple courteous warning or caution using má in a hospitality context.
- Perform a short hospitality dialogue as both host and guest.
- Write a short thank-you note using controlled request, offer, and courtesy language.
- Maintain full tone marks and dot-under letters throughout all spoken and written practice.
Communication Scenario
Adé and Yẹmi carry their bread, bananas, milk, and other food back home. Yẹmi's aunt, Ìyá Bísí, is waiting to host them for a shared meal before they part ways for the day. Around the table, family and guests constantly request, offer, accept, decline, and gently warn one another — "would you like more?", "please pass the water," "be careful, it is still hot." This chapter gives Adé and Yẹmi, and you, the controlled language to do all of this politely.
- Every task in this chapter reuses Chapter 5's motion serial verbs, Chapter 4's àwọn, numerals, and élòó, Chapter 3's direction phrases, Chapter 2's object pronouns and request frame, and all systems consolidated in Volume I.
- Two systems move from formulaic recognition into controlled productive use for the first time: request/offer frames built on fẹ́ and lè with polite softening, and prohibitions/warnings with má applied to a hospitality context.
- Only short, familiar-register hospitality exchanges are required here. Formal institutional requests, negative focus, and advanced modal meanings are reserved for later chapters and are not required now.
Vocabulary Recall
Before Adé and Yẹmi sit down to eat, confirm you can still produce these items from Chapter 5, Chapter 4, and earlier without looking them up.
| Domain | Recall these |
|---|---|
| Errands, movement, Ch. 5 | lọ, wá, mú, gbé, ilé-ìtajà, ọkọ̀, ẹsẹ̀, padà |
| Market, quantities, Ch. 4 | àwọn, ọ̀kan, méjì, mẹ́ta, mẹ́rin, márùn-ún, élòó, díẹ̀, púpọ̀, ó wọ́n, kò wọ́n |
| Directions, Ch. 3 | níbo, ọ̀nà, tẹ̀síwájú, yà sí ọ̀tún, yà sí òsì, tòsí, jìnnà |
| Pronouns | mi, ẹ, wọn, mí, ọ, é (Ch. 2); ẹ̀yin, àwa (Ch. 1); mo, o, ó, a, ẹ, wọ́n (Volume I) |
| Market, Volume I | ọjà, owó, oúnjẹ |
All items above must already be fully tone-marked and dot-underlined in your own recall; this chapter does not re-teach them.
Grammar Recall
If this pattern feels unfamiliar, review Chapter 5, Chapter 4, and Chapter 3 before continuing.
Core Vocabulary
This chapter's new vocabulary supports meals, hospitality, and courteous exchange.
| Yorùbá | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| oúnjẹ àlẹ́ | dinner, evening meal | new |
| ìpẹjẹ | plate | new |
| síbí | spoon | new |
| ago | cup, glass | new |
| omi | water | new |
| gbóná | be hot (to the touch) | new; stative verb |
| ẹ̀jẹ́ | let ... (permission/invitation frame) | new; recycled use from Ch. 5's ẹ jẹ́ kí a padà |
| ṣé o fẹ́ ...? | would you like ...? | new; offer frame |
All new vocabulary above is fully tone-marked and must be written with complete diacritics from first use.
Pronunciation Focus
Polite requests and offers in Yorùbá keep their tone marks fully intact; politeness is signaled by word choice and softeners such as jọ̀wọ́, not by flattening tone. Learners sometimes lower or "swallow" the tone of fẹ́ and lè when trying to sound gentle. Keep both words clearly high tone, and let the overall sentence melody, not the individual word tones, carry the polite effect.
- fẹ́ — high tone
- lè — low tone
- jọ̀wọ́ — low-high tone, recycled from Chapter 2
- ǹjẹ́ — a question-opening word; keep its rising, question-inviting intonation across the whole clause it introduces
This is a review application of the Volume I skill "tone in connected speech," applied here to short courteous exchanges.
Grammar Focus
This chapter opens two systems for controlled productive use: request and offer frames built on fẹ́ ("want, would like") and lè ("can, may"), softened with jọ̀wọ́ or ǹjẹ́; and prohibitions or warnings with má, applied here to a hospitality context. Only short, familiar-register hospitality exchanges are required; formal institutional requests and advanced modal meanings are reserved for later chapters.
A direct "no" can sound abrupt in a hospitality setting. To accept, Yorùbá speakers commonly say ó dára, ẹ ṣé ("good, thank you") or simply restate the item with mo fẹ́. To decline, a softened response such as ó dára, ṣùgbọ́n mo ti yó ("it's fine, but I am already full") is more natural than an unsoftened rárá ("no"). This softened declining pattern is introduced here only as a formulaic exchange; its full range of connector and reason-clause structures is developed in later chapters.
- Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, mo fẹ́ ago omi kan. Please, I would like a glass of water. jọ̀wọ́ + mo fẹ́ + Object — softened request frame
- Ǹjẹ́ mo lè mú síbí wá fún ẹ? May I bring you a spoon? ǹjẹ́ + mo lè + Verb₁ + Object + wá — question-softened offer, recycling Ch. 5's mú...wá pattern
Model Dialogue
Ipò: Adé àti Yẹmi ti dé ilé; Ìyá Bísí ti pèsè oúnjẹ àlẹ́ sílẹ̀ fún gbogbo wọn.
Setting: Adé and Yẹmi have arrived home; Ìyá Bísí has prepared dinner for everyone.
Guided Practice
- Complete the frame Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, mo fẹ́ ___ to request one item from this chapter's vocabulary.
- Complete the frame Ṣé o/ẹ fẹ́ ___? to offer one item from this chapter's or Chapter 4's vocabulary.
- Write one sentence using lè to offer help, recycling a mú/gbé...wá pattern from Chapter 5.
- Write one courteous warning using ẹ má plus a reason, such as something being hot.
- Write two original sentences: one accepting an offer, and one politely declining an offer.
Listening Practice
Ask an instructor, study partner, or qualified Yorùbá speaker to read the following three short exchanges at a natural pace. For each, note whether the speaker is requesting, offering, or warning.
If no speaker is available, this is a Listening Script for Independent Use. Read each statement aloud, cover it, then complete the task. Machine text-to-speech must be checked by a qualified Yorùbá speaker before use as a pronunciation model.
1. "Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, mo fẹ́ ago omi kan."
2. "Ṣé ẹ fẹ́ oúnjẹ díẹ̀ sí i?"
3. "Ẹ má fọwọ́ kan ìkòkò náà; ó ṣì gbóná."
| Gbólóhùn | Ìbéèrè, Ìfúnni, tàbí Ìkìlọ̀? |
|---|---|
| 1 | ______ |
| 2 | ______ |
| 3 | ______ |
Speaking Practice
Pẹ̀lú alábàáṣepọ̀ — With a partner
Take turns as host and guest at a shared meal. The host offers food, water, and utensils with ṣé o/ẹ fẹ́...?; the guest requests, accepts, or politely declines, and the host gives at least one courteous warning with ẹ má.
Fún àwọn tí ń kọ́ nìkọ̀ọ̀kan — Solo alternative
Record yourself playing both host and guest, making at least one request, one offer, one acceptance, one polite decline, and one warning.
Reading Practice
Àpẹẹrẹ — A shared meal
Nígbà tí Adé àti Yẹmi dé ilé, Ìyá Bísí ti pèsè oúnjẹ àlẹ́ sílẹ̀ fún gbogbo wọn. Ó béèrè ṣé wọ́n fẹ́ oúnjẹ àti omi; Yẹmi wí pé òun fẹ́ oúnjẹ díẹ̀ àti omi. Adé béèrè ǹjẹ́ òun lè mú ìpẹjẹ àti síbí wá; Ìyá Bísí gbà, ṣùgbọ́n ó kìlọ̀ pé kí wọ́n má fọwọ́ kan ìkòkò náà nítorí pé ó ṣì gbóná. Lẹ́yìn tí gbogbo wọn jẹun, Ìyá Bísí béèrè bóyá wọ́n fẹ́ oúnjẹ díẹ̀ sí i; Yẹmi ṣeun fún un, ṣùgbọ́n ó wí pé òun ti yó.
Gloss: When Adé and Yẹmi got home, Ìyá Bísí had prepared dinner for everyone. She asked if they wanted food and water; Yẹmi said she wanted a little food and water. Adé asked if he could bring plates and spoons; Ìyá Bísí agreed, but she warned them not to touch the pot because it was still hot. After everyone ate, Ìyá Bísí asked whether they wanted a little more food; Yẹmi thanked her but said she was already full.
1. What did Ìyá Bísí warn Adé and Yẹmi about, and why?
2. How did Yẹmi respond when offered more food?
Writing Workshop
Iṣẹ́ rẹ — Your task: Write the short thank-you note described above.
- Every ẹ, ọ, and ṣ is correctly dot-underlined.
- Every required high and low tone is marked.
- At least one request or offer with fẹ́ and one sentence with lè appear.
- At least one motion verb from Chapter 5 and one courtesy expression from Volume I or Chapter 1 also appear.
Culture and Communication
In many Yorùbá households, a host will often offer food or drink more than once, as Ìyá Bísí does, and a guest's first polite refusal is sometimes only a formality before accepting. At the same time, a guest who is truly full, as Yẹmi is, can decline a second or third offer respectfully by giving a brief reason, such as mo ti yó ("I am already full"), rather than a bare "no."
Common Mistakes
Error: *Mo fẹ́ omi used alone as an unsoftened demand in a formal or unfamiliar hospitality setting.
Correction: Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, mo fẹ́ omi díẹ̀, or ǹjẹ́ mo lè ní omi díẹ̀? Adding jọ̀wọ́ or opening with ǹjẹ́ keeps the request courteous without changing what is being asked for.
Error: *Má fọwọ́ kan ìkòkò! spoken bluntly with no softening, as if issuing a sharp order to a guest.
Correction: Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, ẹ má fọwọ́ kan ìkòkò náà; ó ṣì gbóná. Adding ẹ jọ̀wọ́ and a reason turns a bare prohibition into a courteous warning appropriate for hospitality contexts.
Chapter Review
Apá A — Àwọn Ọ̀rọ̀ (Vocabulary)
1. Give the Yorùbá for: dinner, plate, spoon, cup/glass, water, to be hot.
Apá B — Gírámà (Grammar)
1. Write one polite request sentence using fẹ́.
2. Write one offer question using ṣé o/ẹ fẹ́...?
3. Write one courteous warning sentence using ẹ má plus a reason.
Ìfojúsí ẹkọ̀ tẹ́lẹ̀ — Cumulative review check
Before moving to Chapter 7, confirm you can still do the following using only Volume I, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, and Chapter 5 systems, now combined with this chapter's additions:
- Greet, introduce yourself, and introduce a small group with full diacritics.
- Make and respond to a polite household request using an object pronoun.
- Ask where something is using níbo and give short, formulaic directions.
- Narrate a short two- or three-step errand using motion serial verbs.
- Request, offer, accept, decline, and warn courteously around a shared meal.
Practical Performance Task
Iṣẹ́ aṣeyọrí — Abala 6
Oúnjẹ pẹ̀lú ìdílé — A meal with family
Perform (live or recorded) a short hospitality dialogue with a partner or listener, taking turns as host and guest. Afterward, write a short thank-you note (40–60 words) to your host.
- Use at least one request and one offer built on fẹ́.
- Use at least one sentence with lè.
- Include one courteous warning with ẹ má and a reason.
- Include one accepted offer and one politely declined offer.
- Reuse at least one motion verb from Chapter 5 and one courtesy expression from earlier chapters.
- Keep all writing fully tone-marked and dot-underlined.
Assessment note: This task is evaluated on accurate and appropriately softened request, offer, and warning language, and continued accuracy in tone, orthography, particles, negation, and Chapter 1–5's pronoun, direction, quantity, and serial-verb systems.
Answer Key
Part 6 — Listening Task
- 1: Request — asking politely for a glass of water.
- 2: Offer — asking whether more food is wanted.
- 3: Warning — telling someone not to touch a hot pot.
Reading — Comprehension Questions
- Not to touch the pot (ìkòkò), because it was still hot (ó ṣì gbóná).
- She thanked Ìyá Bísí but said she was already full (mo ti yó), politely declining.
Chapter Review — Apá B
- Accept any accurate request with fẹ́, e.g.: Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, mo fẹ́ omi.
- Accept any accurate offer question, e.g.: Ṣé o fẹ́ oúnjẹ díẹ̀?
- Accept any accurate warning sentence, e.g.: Ẹ má fọwọ́ kan ago náà; ó gbóná.
Looking Ahead
Ohun tí o lè ṣe báyìí — What you can do now
You can now make and respond to polite requests and offers with fẹ́ and lè, soften them with jọ̀wọ́ and ǹjẹ́, accept and decline courteously, and give a gentle warning with má — all while maintaining the tone and orthography accuracy built across Volume I and Chapters 1–5, and continuing to use motion serial verbs, directions, quantities, and pronouns in natural context.