The expression of imperative mood in Igbo

Abstract

This paper examines the expression of imperative mood in Igbo syntax and the morphological structures of the verb forms used in expressing it, their tonal behaviours and how they occur in the syntactic structures. The data were obtained through observation of naturally occurring speech of Igbo native speakers. The paper adopts a descriptive method in the analysis of the data. The work reveals that the verbs used in expressing imperative mood in Igbo are morphologically marked. Not all the verbs are used to express it. The verbs involved are mainly action verbs and some stative verbs. Sometimes, the verbs with only the CV – root can be used to express it. The occurrence of the verb root with the suffixes is determined by the semantic content of the utterance. The syllabic nasal prefix “n-” is identified to occur as the prefix of the three verbs of movement such as “-je” (go), “ga” (go), “-la” (go) while “m: occurs as the prefix of “fu” (go/leave). Tone plays vital role in expressing imperative mood in Igbo. The rule of vowel harmony is observed. The verb forms used in expressing imperative mood in Igbo take mainly suffixes and minimally prefixes.