Irregular Verb: To Become

Irregular Verb: to become

In English, the word become describes a change that has happened or is in the process of happening or is developing into something. In Afan Oromo, phrases that describe become in past or present are derived from an irregular version ofinfinitive ta'uu combined with a conjugation of jirachuu (meaning to be present). For a negative sentence, the ta'uu portion stays the same, and hin + negative conjugation of jirachuu is added.

Past Tense ('Became')

Pronoun	Positive (ta'ee jira)	Negative (ta'ee hinjiru)
I became...	Ani ta'ee jira	Ani... ta'ee hinjiru
You became (m/f)	Ati taatee jirta	Ati... taatee hinjirtu
He became...	Inni ta'ee jira	Inni... ta'ee hinjiru
She became...	Isheen taatee jirti	Isheen...taatee hinjirtu
We became...	Nuti taanee jirra	Nuti... taanee hinjirru
They became...	Isaan ta'anii jiru	Issan... ta'anii hinjiran

To make the sentence present continuous (becoming), simply change the variable ta'uu conjugation to ta'aa. The aa suffix is associated with present continuous tense, which will be explained in subsequent sections.

Present Continuous Tense ('Becoming')

Pronoun	Positive (ta'aa jira)	Negative (ta'aa hinjiru)
I am becoming...	Ani...ta'aan jira.	Ani...ta'aa hinjiru.
You are becoming (m/f)	Ati ta'aa jirta.	Ati...ta'aa hinjirtu.
He is becoming...	Inni...ta'aa jira.	Inni...ta'aa hinjiru.
She is becoming...	Isheen... ta'aa jirti.	Ishee ta'aa hinjirtu.
We are becoming...	Nuti ta'aa jirra.	Nuti...ta'aa hinjirru.
They are becoming...	Isaan...ta'aa jiru.	Isaan...ta'aa hinjiran.

Examples

• I became a runner. - Ani fiigaa ta'ee jira.
• You became a teacher. - Ati barsiisaa taatee jirta.
• They became rich. - Isaan sooressa ta'anii jiru.
• You are becoming smart. - Ati kormeeta'aa jirta.
• He is becoming lazy. - Inni badhabaa ta'aa jira.
• She is becoming beautiful. - Isheen bareeduu ta'aa jirti.
• What happened? - Maal ta'e?
• What happened to you? - Maal taate?