nga² as, like / when, whenever; every time / if, in case

Part of Speech	subordinator
Phonetic Form	ŋa
Tanema Equivalent	ka-po
Lovono Equivalent	ki-pu

1. • as, like

   Syntactic Restriction

   + Realis clause

   • • Example 292:
       

       Ewe, nga awa eo i-viane.

       Alright, if you want.

2. • when, whenever; every time
   • • Gram

   Syntactic Restriction

   habitual, + Realis or Irrealis

   • • Example 200:
       

       Nga aña ene tae, ni-le ni-wene, awoiu ni-lengi wako.

       Whenever I feel tired, I take a nap, then I feel better.

     • Example 621:
       

       Nga mwaliko i-bu, le-iu ebele ini i-wene ne kie ini.

       When somebody dies, their body is buried in a grave.

     • Example 1921:
       

       Nga ne tomoro nga le-romo ngiro wako, le-vesu i-katau.

       If they found the wind to be fine, they would sail along.

3. • if, in case

   Syntactic Restriction

   conditional, + Irrealis

   • • Example 1051:
       

       Nga i-abu mata, kape bwara mata ini kilo ñei.

       If he had hit her eyes, she could have turned blind.

       Example Comment

       counterfactual

     • Example 1143:
       

       Nga u-romo leka, kape u-kila.

       Should you have any eye contact with your cross-cousin, you will have to marry her.

     • Example 1922:
       

       Da viñevi kula nga awa dapa li-ko li-anu kava, mijaka, me le-lengi.

       Some women, if they want to drink kava, [they can] do so, a little, to get a taste of it.

Related entries

• Heterosemes:
  • nga¹ as, like / discourse technique allowing to compare elements of fiction (age of characters, physical distances) with actual elements of the discourse situation
  • nga³ expresses regret or blame: if only…, you should have…