I know that when we want to say something like “this was a few days ago” we say: ni y’a tile damadama ye
I also know that two ye words are used to describe something, but what does the ni or nin with an a after the ye mean in this context? Thank you
The first word is nin and it means ‘this’.
The second word is à (or a if you aren’t marking tone at all) and it means ‘he/she/it’. It refers to the specific event under discussion.
As an expression then, the whole thing means literally close to “This is its …” with the dot-dot-dot being a quantity of time. For example:
– N taara Bamakɔ.
– I went to Bamako.– Tuma jumɛn?
– When?– Nin ye à tile saba ye
– It was three days ago. (lit. “This is its’ third day”)
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It can also be said:
– Tuma jumɛn?
– “Nin ye n tile (kile) saba ye” / “Bi ye n tile saba ye.”
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