Chapter 13: Grammar Fundamentals

Grammar Fundamentals

A guide to Oromo prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns.

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

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

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

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

Personal Pronouns	Oromo
I	ani
you	ati
he	inni
she	isheen
we	nuhi
they	isaan

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 pl. pronoun]	yeroo dabarsinee hindhufnu
"they bought milk and bread" [3rd pl. pronoun]	daabboo fi annan bitatan

Object Pronouns

Object Pronouns	Oromo
me	ana / na
you	si
him	isa
her	ishee
us	nuu
them	isaan

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

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.

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

Demonstrative Pronouns

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