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Somali Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Somali 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 Somali and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Somali and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Somali.

Prepositions - Somali
and iyo
above kor
under hoos
before hor
after dib
in front of ka hor
behind ka gadaal
far from ka fog
near dhow
in dhex
inside gudaha
outside dibadda
with ku jira
without la'aan
about ku saabsan
between u dhexeeya
but laakiin
for u ah
from ka
to ku

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Somali
I eat without a knife
[preposition + noun] waxaan cunaa middi la'aan
she lives near the church
[verb + preposition] waxay ku nooshahay meel kaniisadda u dhow
he is taller than her
[adjective + preposition] wuu ka dheeryahay iyada
he came with his small dog
[preposition + pronoun] wuxuu la yimid eygiisii yaraa
can you come with me?
[preposition + pronoun] ma i soo raaci kartaa?

Negation in Somali

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 - Somali
I understand you
[affirmative form] waan ku fahmay
I don't understand you
[negation + verb] kuma fahmin
this is not the correct word
[negation + adjective] kani ma ahay erayga saxda ah
don't leave me
[imperative negation] ha iga tagin
no problem
[negation + noun] dhib ma leh

Negative Sentences - Somali
I don't speak French
[negation + present tense] kuma hadlo faransiis
she didn't visit Germany
[negation + past tense] maysan booqan jarmal
he cannot see us
[negative modal verb] nama arki karo
can't she play chess?
[interrogative negation] miyaanay ciyaari karin shax
we will not come late
[negation + future tense] ma soo daahi doonno

Questions in Somali

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Somali
how? see
what? maxay
who? kee
why? sababtee
where? halkee

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Somali
where do you live?
[interrogative + verb] halkee ku nooshahay
does she speak Chinese?
[interrogative verb] miyay ku hadashaa af shiineys
how much is this?
[interrogative preposition] waa imisa kani
can I help you?
[interrogative modal verb] ma ku caawiyaa
what is your name?
[interrogative preposition] magacaa

Adverbs in Somali

It's time to learn the adverbs in Somali. 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 - Somali
now hadda
yesterday shalay
today maanta
tonight caawa
tomorrow berri
soon durba
quickly dhaqso
slowly tartiib
together wada jir
very aad
almost ku dhowaad
always abid
usually inta badan
sometimes mararka qaar
rarely dhif
never marna

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Somali
do you understand me now?
[pronoun + adverb] hadda ma i fahamtay
I need help immediately
[noun + adverb] waxaan u baahnahay caawin degdeg ah
she is very intelligent
[adverb + adjective] aad bay u caqli badan tahay
I will always love you
[verb + adverb] waan ku jeclaan doonaa abid
can we learn German together?
[adverb in a question] ma isla baran karnaa jarmal

Pronouns in Somali

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Somali. 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 - Somali
I aniga
you adiga
he asaga
she iyada
we annaga
they iyaga

Object Pronouns - Somali
me ani
you adi
him asaga
her iyada
us annaga
them iyaga

Possessive Pronouns - Somali
my kayga
your kaaga
his kiisa
her keeda
our keena
their kooda

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 - Somali
I am your friend
[1st pronoun + verb] anigu waxaan ahay saaxiibkaa
you speak very fast
[2nd pronoun + adverb] adigu boobsiis aad ah baad u hadashaa
he has three dogs
[3rd pronoun + verb] wuxuu leeyahay saddex ey
she can speak German
[3rd pronoun + verb] iyadu way ku hadashaa jarmalka
we will not come late
[1st plural pronoun] innagu ma soo daahayno
they bought milk and bread
[3rd plural pronoun] iyagaa soo gatay caano iyo rooti

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 - Somali
can you tell me your name?
[1st object pronoun] ma ii sheegi kartaa magacaaga
I will give you money
[2nd object pronoun] lacag baan ku siin doonaa
she wrote him a letter
[3rd object pronoun] warqad bay u qortay isaga
they visited her yesterday
[3rd object pronoun] shalay bay booqdeen iyada
can she help us?
[1st pl. object pronoun] miyay iyadu na caawin kartaa
he gave them food
[3rd pl. object pronoun] cunto ayuu iyaga siiyey

Possessive Pronouns - Somali
my name is Maya
[1st possessive pronoun] magacaygu waa maya
your brother lives here
[2nd possessive pronoun] walaalkay ayaa halkan ku nool
her mother cooks for us
[3rd possessive pronoun] hooyadeed ayaa cuntada noo karisa
his hobby is reading books
[3rd possessive pronoun] balwaddiisu waa in uu aqriyo buugta
our dream is to visit Paris
[1st pl. possessive pronoun] riyadeenu waa in aan booqano paris
their house is not far
[3rd pl. possessive pronoun] gurigoodu ma foga

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Somali
this is my house kani waa gurigeyga
that restaurant is far makhaayaddaasi way fog tahay
these apples are delicious tufaaxyadaani way macaan yihiin
those stars are shiny xiddigahaasi way dhalaalayaan

I hope you learned a lot about the Somali grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!


Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus


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