Pronouns are words or grammatical forms that refer to people, things, or groups without repeating a noun.

English has a relatively familiar system:

I, me, my, mine
you, your, yours
he, him, his
she, her, hers
we, us, our, ours
they, them, their, theirs

Wolof also distinguishes person and number, but its pronoun system works quite differently from English.

The most important difference is that Wolof does not have just one set of pronouns that can be moved around a sentence depending on whether someone is the subject, object, or possessor. Instead, Wolof has several related sets of pronominal forms, each associated with particular grammatical constructions.

This is closely connected to the Wolof verbal system and its use of focus and verbal particles. (⁠Wolof Resources)

Person and number

Like English, Wolof distinguishes three persons:

• first person — the speaker or a group including the speaker
• second person — the person or people being addressed
• third person — someone or something being talked about

Wolof also distinguishes:

• singular
• plural

The basic independent pronouns are:

	Singular	Plural
First person	man — I/me	ñun — we/us
Second person	yow — you	yeen — you
Third person	moom — he/she/it	ñoom — they/them

One important difference from English is that Wolof does not distinguish gender in its third-person singular pronoun.

Thus:

moom

can refer to:

he
she
it

depending on context.

Likewise, the plural ñoom can refer to people or things without an English-style gender distinction. (⁠Wolof Resources)

Independent pronouns

The forms above are known as independent pronouns because they can stand independently as noun-like expressions.

They are particularly useful when a speaker wants to identify, contrast, or emphasize the person being referred to.

For example:

Man — I / me

Yow — you

Moom — he / she / it

Ñun — we / us

Yeen — you all

Ñoom — they / them

They can also be used for emphasis:

Man, maa ko def.
Me, I am the one who did it.

Here man provides an independent, explicitly stated reference to the speaker, while maa is part of the verbal/focus construction. (⁠Wolof Resources)

This is an important pattern in Wolof: an independent pronoun and a verbal pronoun can appear together because they are doing different grammatical jobs.

Wolof does not have a separate “he” and “she”

English requires the speaker to distinguish:

he

from:

she

Wolof does not.

The third-person singular independent pronoun is:

moom

So:

Moom dem na.

could mean:

He left.

or:

She left.

or, depending on context:

It left.

The surrounding context normally makes the intended reference clear.

This is one of the places where Wolof differs significantly from languages such as English and French.

Pronouns and noun classes

Wolof does have a noun-class system, and some pronominal and demonstrative forms can reflect noun-class distinctions. However, the personal pronouns referring to people are not organized around masculine and feminine gender as they are in languages such as French.

The distinction between:

moom — he/she/it

and noun-class-dependent forms used elsewhere in the grammar is therefore important.

When a pronoun replaces a noun in certain constructions, noun-class information can be expressed through the relevant grammatical form. This is especially noticeable in demonstratives, relative forms, and other agreement-related constructions. (⁠Janga Wolof)

For learners, the safest principle is:

Personal pronouns primarily express person and number, while other parts of the Wolof pronominal system interact with noun class and grammatical construction.

Subject pronouns

Wolof also has pronoun forms that function as subjects within particular verbal constructions.

A particularly important basic set is:

	Singular	Plural
First person	ma	nu
Second person	nga	ngeen
Third person	mu	ñu

These forms occur in many constructions where English would simply use:

I
you
he/she/it
we
you
they

For example:

Ma dem.
I went / I left.

Mu dem.
He/she went / left.

Ñu dem.
They went / left.

The precise interpretation of the verb’s tense, aspect, and discourse context depends on the construction.

These short forms are particularly common in subordinate clauses and narrative sequences. (⁠Janga Wolof)

Why “I” can be ma or man

This is one of the first things that can confuse an English-speaking learner.

You may see:

man

and:

ma

both translated as:

I / me

But they are not simply interchangeable.

Man is an independent pronoun.

Ma is a grammatical subject/object-related form that occurs within particular verbal constructions.

Compare:

Man
I / me

with:

Ma dem.
I went.

And:

Man, maa dem.
Me, I am the one who went.

The third example contains both forms because they perform different functions.

Subject-focus pronouns

One of the most important parts of the Wolof pronoun system is the set traditionally called subject-emphasis or subject-focus pronouns.

The basic forms are:

	Singular	Plural
First person	maa	noo / ñoo
Second person	yaa	yeen
Third person	moo	ñoo

These forms are not simply emphatic versions of the independent pronouns. They are part of a focus construction used to identify or emphasize the subject of a clause.

For example:

Maa ko def.
It is I who did it.

Yaa ko def.
It is you who did it.

Moo ko def.
It is he/she who did it.

The construction can therefore answer a question such as:

Ku ko def?
Who did it?

with:

Moo ko def.
He/she is the one who did it.

This subject-focus system is one of the most distinctive features learners encounter when studying Wolof. (⁠Wolof Resources)

Focus is more than emphasis

The English translation:

It is I who did it.

can make the construction sound unusually emphatic.

In Wolof, however, subject-focus constructions are not restricted to dramatic emphasis.

They are an ordinary grammatical way of identifying the subject in certain contexts.

For example:

Ku dem?
Who left?

Sama xarit a dem.
My friend is the one who left.

The focus construction is therefore part of the normal architecture of Wolof sentences rather than simply a stylistic way of shouting:

I did it!

(⁠Wolof Resources)

Subject focus with nouns

The same focus structure can be used when the subject is a noun rather than a personal pronoun.

For example:

Njaay a ko def.
It was Njaay who did it.

Here a represents the subject-focus element associated with the noun.

With third-person subjects, moo/ñoo can be reduced or contracted to forms involving a, especially depending on the form of the preceding noun.

This is why learners may encounter:

Moo ko def.

and:

X a ko def.

as related focus structures.

The exact surface form depends on the subject and the phonological environment. (⁠Wolof Resources)

Object pronouns

Wolof also has a set of short forms used for objects.

A basic set is:

	Singular	Plural
First person	ma — me	nu — us
Second person	la — you	leen — you
Third person	ko — him/her/it	ñu — them

For example:

Defal ma.
Do it for me.

Gis na ko.
He/she saw him/her/it.

Gis na leen.
He/she saw them.

These forms are generally closely tied to the verb and to the grammatical construction in which they occur. (⁠Janga Wolof)

Object pronoun placement

Object pronouns often occur immediately after the verb or verbal element:

Defal ma.
Do it for me.

However, their position can change in subordinate or relative constructions.

For example:

Xale bi ma indi…
The child whom I brought…

Here ma appears before the verb because the clause has a different grammatical structure.

This is another reason that Wolof pronouns should not be learned solely as equivalents of English me, you, him, her, and so on.

Their position is determined by the construction in which they occur. (⁠Janga Wolof)

Pronouns and focus

Wolof has more than one type of focus construction, and pronouns participate in those systems.

Subject focus uses the moo series:

maa, yaa, moo, noo/ñoo, yeen, ñoo

Other focus constructions use forms associated with la.

For example:

Laa
it is I…

Nga
it is you…

La
it is he/she/it…

These forms are associated with focusing a complement or object rather than simply identifying the subject.

This distinction is important because two sentences that translate similarly into English may have very different information structures in Wolof.

The la series

The la series is associated with what is traditionally called the complement predicator or object/complement focusconstruction.

Basic forms include:

	Singular	Plural
First person	laa	lanu
Second person	nga	ngeen
Third person	la	lañu

For example:

Ameriken laa.
I am American.

The construction can also focus an object or complement:

Cin laa bëgg.
It is a cooking pot that I want.

Here cin is being placed in the focused position, while laa marks the grammatical relationship of the clause. (⁠Janga Wolof)

This system is one reason Wolof pronouns cannot be reduced to a single chart of “subject pronouns” and “object pronouns.”

Explaining rather than simply identifying

Another important pronominal construction uses forms such as:

dama
danga
dafa
danu
dangeen
dañu

These are often associated with an explanatory or presentational construction.

For example:

Dafa tang.
It is hot.

Damaa sonn.
I am tired.

Danga bëgg ceeb.
You like rice.

The da- element is part of the construction; these are not simply independent pronouns attached to an ordinary verb.

This construction is particularly common with stative verbs, which are the verbs Wolof uses for many meanings that English expresses with adjectives. (⁠Janga Wolof)

Verbal pronouns and Wolof verbs

This is where the pronoun system connects directly with the broader Wolof verbal system.

Wolof verbs generally do not change their form to show:

I
you
he/she
we
they

in the way English verbs can change:

am / is / are

or French verbs can change extensively according to person.

Instead, Wolof uses pronoun-like forms and particles around an essentially stable verb stem.

For example, the verb:

dem — go

can appear in different constructions:

Ma dem.
I went / I left.

Mu dem.
He/she went / left.

Dina dem.
He/she will go.

Maa ngi dem.
I am going.

The verb dem itself remains recognizable while the surrounding grammatical structure changes. (⁠Janga Wolof)

This is why some descriptions of Wolof refer to these forms as verbal pronouns, temporal pronouns, or focus forms.

Possessive pronouns

Wolof also has possessive forms corresponding to:

• my
• your
• his/her/its
• our
• your plural
• their

A basic set includes:

Person	Possessive
1st singular	sama — my
2nd singular	sa — your
3rd singular	am / context-dependent possessive construction
1st plural	sunu — our
2nd plural	seen — your
3rd plural	seen — their

Possessive constructions deserve special attention because they interact with noun number and noun-class agreement.

For example:

sama xarit
my friend

samay xarit
my friends

The plural form involves more than simply changing the possessive word; the noun phrase itself reflects the grammatical relationship involved. (⁠Janga Wolof)

Possession is not exactly “my/mine”

English distinguishes:

my book

from:

mine

Wolof commonly expresses possession through constructions involving the possessed noun and the possessive form rather than requiring a separate set corresponding exactly to English possessive pronouns.

Thus, rather than expecting:

my = one word
mine = another word

it is better to learn how Wolof marks possession in a noun phrase.

This connects closely with the Wolof noun-class and number systems.

Pronouns and noun class

Possessive and other dependent forms can participate in the agreement system of the noun phrase.

This means that pronouns are not completely separate from the noun-class system discussed elsewhere on this site.

The same general principle applies:

The form of a dependent element can be determined partly by the noun with which it is associated.

This is especially important for:

• possessives
• demonstratives
• relative forms
• some third-person reference forms

The personal pronouns themselves still distinguish person and number rather than masculine and feminine gender. (⁠Wolof Resources)

Negative pronoun forms

Wolof also has special negative constructions that incorporate person and number.

For example, a completed or general negative can be expressed with forms such as:

-uma — I do not/did not

-uloo — you do not/did not

-ul — he/she/it does not/did not

-unu — we do not/did not

-uleen — you do not/did not

-uñu — they do not/did not

For example:

Waxuma.
I did not speak / I don’t speak.

The person information is therefore incorporated into the negative construction rather than being expressed only by a separate English-style pronoun. (⁠Janga Wolof)

The du negative

Another major negative construction uses du and related forms.

The basic forms include:

duma — I will not / I do not in the relevant construction

doo — you will not / do not

du — he/she/it will not / does not

dunu — we will not / do not

dungeen — you all will not / do not

duñu — they will not / do not

For example:

Duma dem.
I will not go.

This is another example of a Wolof grammatical system in which what looks like a pronoun is closely integrated with tense, aspect, mood, or negation.

Pronouns in subordinate clauses

Short pronoun forms are especially important in subordinate clauses.

For example:

Xale bi nga indi…
The child whom you brought…

Here nga identifies the subject of the subordinate clause.

Likewise:

Bu ma dem…
If I go…

Here ma is the subject form used in the conditional construction.

This is one reason learners should not assume that the independent pronoun man must always be used whenever the English translation says I.

The correct Wolof form depends on the grammatical construction.

Pronouns and relative clauses

Pronoun forms are also important in relative clauses.

For example:

xale bi ma gis
the child whom I saw

xale bi nga indi
the child whom you brought

The pronoun forms:

ma

and:

nga

identify the subjects of the embedded clauses.

Wolof therefore frequently uses short verbal pronoun forms in places where English uses a relative pronoun such as:

who
whom
that
which

This is another example of Wolof organizing grammatical relationships differently from English.

Pronouns can identify focus

One of the most useful things to understand about Wolof pronouns is that they are deeply connected with information structure.

English can emphasize a subject largely through:

I did it.

or:

It was I who did it.

Wolof has grammatical constructions specifically associated with this type of focus.

For example:

Maa ko def.
It is I who did it.

Yaa ko def.
It is you who did it.

Moo ko def.
It is he/she who did it.

These are not merely different ways of saying the same thing. They tell the listener something about what part of the sentence is being identified or highlighted. (⁠Wolof Resources)

Pronouns in questions

Pronouns are particularly important in Wolof questions because the language has different ways of asking about different grammatical roles.

For example:

Ku dem?
Who left?

is related to:

Kan moo dem?
Who is it who left?

The second construction explicitly uses the subject-focus system.

By contrast:

Kan ngay seeti?
Whom are you looking for?

asks about the object.

This distinction between subject and object questions is closely related to the broader focus system. (⁠Wolof Resources)

Contractions

Wolof pronoun and focus forms frequently undergo contraction in ordinary speech and writing.

For example:

Kan moo dem?

can contract to:

Ku dem?

Similarly:

Ñan ñoo dem?

can contract to:

Ñu dem?

And:

Lan moo…

can contract to:

Lu…

These contractions are especially common in question words and focus constructions. (⁠Wolof Resources)

Learners should therefore expect to encounter both fuller and contracted forms.

Spoken Wolof and pronouns

Because pronouns and verbal particles are often short and closely connected to surrounding words, spoken Wolof can make them sound very different from how they appear when written separately.

Contractions, rapid speech, and the interaction of adjacent vowels can make a sequence difficult to recognize at first.

This is another reason that listening practice is particularly valuable when learning the Wolof pronoun system.

There is no single “pronoun chart” that tells the whole story

A beginner’s chart such as:

English	Wolof
I	man
you	yow
he/she	moom
we	ñun
you all	yeen
they	ñoom

is useful—but it is only the beginning.

Those are the independent pronouns.

A learner will also encounter:

ma, nga, mu, nu, ngeen, ñu

in verbal constructions;

maa, yaa, moo, noo/ñoo, yeen, ñoo

in subject-focus constructions;

laa, nga, la, lanu, ngeen, lañu

in complement/object-focus constructions;

and:

dama, danga, dafa, danu, dangeen, dañu

in explanatory/presentational constructions.

There are also object forms and negative forms.

These are not random collections of alternative words for the same pronouns. They are pieces of a larger grammatical system. (⁠Janga Wolof)

How to learn Wolof pronouns

The best approach is to learn the independent pronouns first:

man — I/me
yow — you
moom — he/she/it
ñun — we/us
yeen — you all
ñoom — they/them

Then learn the major verbal sets according to their function rather than trying to memorize them as synonyms.

Subject forms

ma, nga, mu, nu, ngeen, ñu

Subject-focus forms

maa, yaa, moo, noo/ñoo, yeen, ñoo

Object forms

ma, la, ko, nu, leen, ñu

Complement/object-focus forms

laa, nga, la, lanu, ngeen, lañu

Explanatory/presentational forms

dama, danga, dafa, danu, dangeen, dañu

Possessive forms

sama, sa, sunu, seen, and related constructions

The exact forms and their uses are best learned through examples because several forms overlap in shape while functioning differently.

The most important idea

The most important thing to understand about Wolof pronouns is:

A Wolof pronoun is not always simply a replacement for an English pronoun.

Its form can tell you something about:

• who is involved
• whether the person is singular or plural
• whether they are the subject or object
• whether the subject is being focused
• whether an object or complement is being focused
• whether the clause is negative
• what type of verbal construction is being used
• whether the pronoun is independent or attached to another grammatical structure

This is why a Wolof learner may encounter several different forms corresponding to English I, you, he/she, we, or they.

Rather than asking:

“Which Wolof word means I?”

it is often more useful to ask:

“Which Wolof pronoun form does this grammatical construction require?”

Once that distinction becomes familiar, the apparent complexity of the Wolof pronoun system becomes much more systematic.

Key points to remember

• Wolof distinguishes first, second, and third person and singular and plural.
• The basic independent pronouns are:
  • man — I/me
  • yow — you
  • moom — he/she/it
  • ñun — we/us
  • yeen — you all
  • ñoom — they/them
• Wolof does not distinguish he/she in the third-person singular pronoun.
• Wolof has several additional sets of pronoun-like forms that function within specific grammatical constructions.
• ma, nga, mu, nu, ngeen, ñu occur as subject forms in various verbal constructions.
• maa, yaa, moo, noo/ñoo, yeen, ñoo are associated with subject focus.
• Object pronouns include forms such as ma, la, ko, nu, leen, ñu.
• laa, nga, la, lanu, ngeen, lañu occur in complement/object-focus constructions.
• Forms such as dama, danga, dafa, danu, dangeen, dañu occur in explanatory or presentational constructions.
• Possessive forms such as sama, sa, sunu, and seen are used within possessive constructions.
• Negative constructions have their own person-marked forms, including -uma and the du series.
• Pronoun forms are closely connected to Wolof’s verbal, focus, tense/aspect, and clause structure.
• Short pronoun forms are particularly common in subordinate and relative clauses.
• Contractions are common, particularly in focus constructions and questions.
• The independent pronoun chart is therefore useful, but it does not represent the entire Wolof pronoun system.

Related topics

This page connects especially closely with:

• Wolof Verbs
• Wolof Verbal Pronouns and Focus
• Wolof Tense and Aspect
• Wolof Nouns and Noun Classes
• Wolof Possession
• Wolof Questions
• Wolof Negation
• Wolof Relative Clauses
• Wolof Sentence Structure
• Wolof Demonstratives