You already know how to put a subject pronoun at the front of an Igbo sentence. This topic covers the other half: what happens to a pronoun when it is on the receiving end of the verb, and the question words you need to ask about it.
There is one feature of Igbo here that English speakers usually find a relief — and one that catches them out.
Igbo Object Pronouns: Quick Guide
- gị — you (singular)
- ya — him; her; it; his; hers; its
- ànyị — we; us; our
- unù — you, your (plural)
- ha — they; them; their
For “me”, the form is m. It is a single letter that attaches closely to the verb, which is why you will often see it written tight against the word before it.
Where Does the Object Pronoun Go?
After the verb. Igbo builds a sentence as subject, then verb, then object — and a pronoun standing in for the object sits exactly where the noun would have been.
- Edeere m ya akwụkwọ. — I wrote to him.
- Ọ bụ nke gị na ya. — It is for you and him.
Notice that ya has not changed shape to show that it is now an object. Igbo object pronouns are the same words you already learned as possessives — you are not learning a second set, only a second position.
The Part English Speakers Find Easy
Ya covers him, her and it. Igbo pronouns do not mark gender, so there is no choice to make and no way to get it wrong.
One pronoun, three English words. You never have to know someone’s gender before you can refer to them in Igbo.
The same is true of ha, which covers they, them and their without changing form, and anyị, which covers we, us and our.
The Part That Catches People Out
Igbo distinguishes singular you from plural you, and English does not. Gị is one person. Unù is more than one.
- Achọrọ m ka unu bịa. — I want you people to come.
Use gị to a room full of people and you have addressed one of them. This is the mistake that marks a learner fastest, because English gives you no habit of checking.
Igbo Question Words
Once you can put a pronoun in the object slot, the natural next step is asking about it. These are the question words you will use most:
- gịnị — what?
- ònye — who?
- èbeē — where?
- m̀gbè — when; at what time
- kèdụ — how? which? where? (general interrogative)
The question word comes first
In each of these, the question word opens the sentence and the rest follows in its usual order:
- Gịnị bụ aha gị? — What is your name?
- Onye kpọrọ gị? — Who called you?
- Ebee ka ọ nọ? — Where is she?
- Ebee ka ị na-eje? — Where are you going?
- Kedụ ihe ị chọ? — What do you want?
- Ọ bịara mgbe mmiri na-ezo. — He came when it was raining.
Look at Onye kpọrọ gị? again — who called you? The question word is the subject, and gị is sitting in the object slot after the verb, exactly where this topic says it should.
That last example also shows mgbe doing a second job. As a question word it asks when?, but inside a statement it works as the joining word when, as it does in English.
Kedụ Is the One to Learn First
Kedụ is the most useful word in the list because it is the least specific. The dictionary glosses it as how? which? where? — a general interrogative. If you are not yet sure which question word a sentence needs, kedụ will usually carry you, and it is the word behind the greeting Kedụ? that you already know.
Practise Putting Pronouns After the Verb
Take a sentence you can already build — something with a real object, like I saw Ada — and replace the object with a pronoun. Then ask a question about it. Who saw her? Where did you see her? When?
If you can swap any object for ya and then turn the sentence into a question without rearranging anything else, this topic is done.
Keep Building Your Igbo Sentences
This is the fourth topic in the sentence-building lesson. It sits between the subject pronouns that come before it and simple and negative sentences, which come next and use everything you have just learned about word order.
👉 Continue How to Build Igbo Sentences – Part 1 for free
💬 Practise asking and answering in Igbo chat
Related reading: Nnọchiaha: Igbo personal pronouns in everyday use is the full set these objects are drawn from, and the gị against unu trap leads 3 Igbo pronoun mistakes learners keep making. On the question words, Igbo question words takes each one in turn, how to ask questions in Igbo puts them to work, and how are you in Igbo is where Kedụ earns its keep. What comes next in the lesson is simple and negative sentences in Igbo.
After the verb. Igbo builds a sentence as subject, then verb, then object, and a pronoun standing in for the object sits exactly where the noun would have been.
Gị is you to one person; unù is you to more than one. English has no such split, so using gị to a room full of people addresses just one of them — the mistake that marks a learner fastest.
No. Ya covers him, her and it — Igbo pronouns do not mark gender, so there is no choice to make. The same holds for ha (they, them, their) and anyị (we, us, our).