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 and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Oromo and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Oromo.
| Prepositions | Oromo |
|---|---|
| and | fi |
| above | gubbaa / gararraa |
| under | jala / gajjallaa |
| before | dura |
| after | booddee / booda |
| in front of | fullee isaa |
| behind | dudduuba / dugda duuba |
| far from | irraa siqee / iraa fagaatee |
| near | bira |
| in | keessa |
| inside | keessa |
| outside | ala |
| with | wajjin |
| without | malee |
| about | waa'ee |
| between | gidduu |
| but | garuu |
| for | f |
| from | irraa, ittii |
| to | itti |
Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules | Oromo |
|---|---|
| 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 no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules | Oromo |
|---|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] | dubbiin ke naa gala |
| I 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 Sentences | Oromo |
|---|---|
| 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: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English | Oromo |
|---|---|
| how? | attamitti? |
| what? | maal? |
| who? | eenyu? |
| why? | maaliif? |
| where? | eessa? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules | Oromo |
|---|---|
| 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:
| Adverbs | Oromo |
|---|---|
| now | amma |
| yesterday | kaleessa |
| today | harr'a |
| tonight | edana |
| tomorrow | bor |
| soon | dhiyootti |
| quickly | dafee |
| slowly | suuta |
| together | walii wajjin |
| very | baayyee |
| almost | xinnoo hanqata |
| always | yeroo hunda |
| usually | yeroo baayyee |
| sometimes | gaaffii gaaf |
| rarely | darbee darbee |
| never | matuma |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules | Oromo |
|---|---|
| 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 Pronouns | Oromo |
|---|---|
| I | ani |
| you | ati |
| he | inni |
| she | isheen |
| we | nuhi |
| they | isaan |
| Object Pronouns | Oromo |
|---|---|
| me | ana / na |
| you | si |
| him | isa |
| her | ishee |
| us | nuu |
| them | isaan |
| Possessive Pronouns | Oromo |
|---|---|
| my | ko / kiyya / tiyya |
| your | ke / te |
| his | isaa |
| her | ishee |
| our | keenya / teenya |
| their | isaanii |
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 Pronouns | Oromo |
|---|---|
| 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 Pronouns | Oromo |
|---|---|
| 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 Pronouns | Oromo |
|---|---|
| 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 Pronouns | Oromo |
|---|---|
| this is my house | kun mana kooti |
| that restaurant is far | manni nyaataa sun fagoodha |
| these apples are delicious | apilooti kun nimi'aa'u |
| those stars are shiny | urjooti sun baayye ifu |
I hope you learned a lot about the Oromo grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Oromo Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |