Chapter 3: Basic Sentences & Negation
In Oromo, the typical sentence structure is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). This is different from English, which is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO).
Subject-Object-Verb (SOV)
English: I (Subject) love (Verb) you (Object).
Oromo: Ani (Subject) si (Object) jaaladha (Verb).
Let's break down another simple sentence:
Intalli kitaaba dubbifti.- Intalli - The girl (Subject)
- kitaaba - a book (Object)
- dubbifti - she reads (Verb)
The verb comes at the end of the sentence and changes (is conjugated) based on the subject.
Learn more about sentence structureNegation in Oromo
Below is a list of negative expressions in Oromo. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Oromo vocabulary. The negative particle hin typically precedes the verb.
| English Negation | Oromo Negation |
|---|---|
| I don't speak | hindubbadhu |
| I don't write | hinbarreessu |
| I don't drive | hin-oofu |
| I don't love | hinjaalladhu |
| I don't give | hinkennu |
| I don't smile | hinseequ |
| I don't take | hinfudhu |
| he doesn't speak | hindubbatu |
| he doesn't write | inni hinbarreessu |
| he doesn't drive | inni hin-oofu |
| he doesn't love | hinjaallatu |
| he doesn't give | inni hinkennu |
| he doesn't smile | inni hinseequ |
| he doesn't take | hinfudhatu |
| we don't speak | hindubbannu |
| we don't write | hinbarreessinu |
| we don't drive | hin-oofnu |
| we don't love | hinjaallannu |
| we don't give | hinkenninu |
| we don't smile | hinseeqnu |
| we don't take | hinfuunu |