Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Oromo Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Oromo grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Oromo andEnglish the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Oromo and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Oromo.

PrepositionsOromo
andfi
abovegubbaa / gararraa
underjala / gajjallaa
beforedura
afterbooddee / booda
in front offullee isaa
behinddudduuba / dugda duuba
far fromirraa siqee / iraa fagaatee
nearbira
inkeessa
insidekeessa
outsideala
withwajjin
withoutmalee
aboutwaa'ee
betweengidduu
butgaruu
forf
fromirraa, ittii
toitti


Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
Prepositions + RulesOromo
I eat without a knife
[preposition + noun]
haaduu malee nyaadha 
she lives near the church
[verb + preposition]
mana kadhata bira jiraatti 
he is taller than her
[adjective + preposition]
ojjaadhan isee caala 
he came with his small dog
[preposition + pronoun]
saree sa xinno wajjin dhufe 
can you come with me?
[preposition + pronoun]
na wajjin dhufitta? 

Negation in Oromo
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying noI can'tI don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
Negation + RulesOromo
I understand you
[affirmative form]
dubbiin ke naa gala 
don't understand you
[negation + verb]
dubbiin ke naan ngalle 
this is not the correct word
[negation + adjective]
jechi kun sirritti hin-ibsu 
don't leave me
[imperative negation]
na gattee hindeemin 
no problem
[negation + noun]
rakinni hinjiru 

Negative SentencesOromo
I don't speak French
[negation + present tense]
afaan faransaayi hinbeeu 
she didn't visit Germany
[negation + past tense]
biyya jarmanii dhaqxee hinbeektu 
he cannot see us
[negative modal verb]
inni nu argu hindanda'u 
can't she play chess?
[interrogative negation]
ishiin cheesi taphachu hinbeektu? 
we will not come late
[negation + future tense]
yeroo dabarsinee hindhufnu 

Questions in Oromo
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: whatwhycan you ...? Here are some common examples:
EnglishOromo
how?attamitti?
what?maal?
who?eenyu?
why?maaliif?
where?eessa?

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
Questions + RulesOromo
where do you live?
[interrogative + verb]
eessa jiraatta? 
does she speak Chinese?
[interrogative verb]
afaan chaayina beeka? 
how much is this?
[interrogative preposition]
kun gatiin meeqa? 
can I help you?
[interrogative modal verb]
maal si gargaaru? 
what is your name?
[interrogative preposition]
maqaan ke eenyu? 

Adverbs in Oromo
It's time to learn the adverbs in Oromo. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
AdverbsOromo
nowamma
yesterdaykaleessa
todayharr'a
tonightedana
tomorrowbor
soondhiyootti
quicklydafee
slowlysuuta
togetherwalii wajjin
verybaayyee
almostxinnoo hanqata
alwaysyeroo hunda
usuallyyeroo baayyee
sometimesgaaffii gaaf
rarelydarbee darbee
nevermatuma

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
Adverbs + RulesOromo
do you understand me now?
[pronoun + adverb]
amma sii galee? 
I need help immediately
[noun + adverb]
gargaarsi hatattamaan na barbaachisa 
she is very intelligent
[adverb + adjective]
iseen gar malee abshaala 
I will always love you
[verb + adverb]
yoomiyyuu siin jaaladha 
can we learn German together?
[adverb in a question]
walii wajjin afaan jarmanii baruu dandeenya? 

Pronouns in Oromo
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Oromo. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
Personal PronounsOromo
Iani
youati
heinni
sheisheen
wenuhi
theyisaan

Object PronounsOromo
meana / na
yousi
himisa
herishee
usnuu
themisaan

Possessive PronounsOromo
myko / kiyya / tiyya
yourke / te
hisisaa
herishee
ourkeenya / teenya
theirisaanii

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
Personal PronounsOromo
I am your friend
[1st pronoun + verb]
ani jaala keeti 
you speak very fast
[2nd pronoun + adverb]
daddaftee dubbatta 
he has three dogs
[3rd pronoun + verb]
inni saree sadii qaba 
she can speak German
[3rd pronoun + verb]
afaan jarmanii beekti 
we will not come late
[1st plural pronoun]
yeroo dabarsinee hindhufnu 
they bought milk and bread
[3rd plural pronoun]
daabboo fi annan bitatan 

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
Object PronounsOromo
can you tell me your name?
[1st object pronoun]
maqaa ke natt himta? 
I will give you money
[2nd object pronoun]
qarshiin sii kenna 
she wrote him a letter
[3rd object pronoun]
xalayaa areesiteef 
they visited her yesterday
[3rd object pronoun]
kaleessa dhaqanii isee dubbisani 
can she help us?
[1st pl. object pronoun]
nu gargaaru dandeessi? 
he gave them food
[3rd pl. object pronoun]
nyaata jaraaf kenne 

Possessive PronounsOromo
my name is Maya
[1st possessive pronoun]
maqaan ko maayaadha 
your brother lives here
[2nd possessive pronoun]
obboleessi ke as jiraata 
her mother cooks for us
[3rd possessive pronoun]
haati ishee nyaata nuu hojjetti 
his hobby is reading books
[3rd possessive pronoun]
kitaaboota dubbisu jaallata 
our dream is to visit Paris
[1st pl. possessive pronoun]
paarisiin daawwachun fedhii keenya 
their house is not far
[3rd pl. possessive pronoun]
manni saani fagoo miti 
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
Demonstrative PronounsOromo
this is my housekun mana kooti
that restaurant is farmanni nyaataa sun fagoodha
these apples are deliciousapilooti kun nimi'aa'u
those stars are shinyurjooti sun baayye ifu

Source: learn101

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