Chapter 8: Nouns and Pronouns

Nouns and Pronouns / Boqonnaa 8: Maqaalee fi Maqaa Bakka Bu'oota

Singular and Plural Nouns / Maqaalee Kallattamaa fi Danuummee

Nouns can be singular (one) or plural (more than one). Most plural nouns are formed by adding -s. / Maqaaleen kallattama (tokko) ykn danuummee (tokkoo ol) ta'uu danda'u. Maqaaleen danuummee baay'een -s dabaluun uumamu.

Singular: one book, one car, one house

Plural: two books, many cars, three houses

Some nouns have irregular plural forms (e.g., man → men, child → children, person → people). / Maqaaleen tokko tokko boca danuummee idilee hin taane qabu (fkn, man → men, child → children, person → people).

Possessive Nouns / Maqaalee Abbummaa Agarsiisan

To show possession (that something belongs to someone), we usually add an apostrophe (') + s. / Abbummaa agarsiisuuf (wanti tokko kan eenyuu akka ta'e ibsuuf), yeroo baayyee apostrophe (') + s daballa.

(a) This is Hana's book. (The book belongs to Hana.)

(b) The student's desk is new. (The desk of the student.)

For plural nouns ending in -s, just add an apostrophe after the s. / Maqaalee danuummee -s irratti xumuramanuuf, s booda apostrophe qofa dabali. e.g., The students' books.

Pronouns (Bamaqaa)

A pronoun replaces a noun. In Oromo, pronouns are classified into several types including personal, possessive, demonstrative, interrogative, and reflexive pronouns.

Personal Pronouns

Like English, Oromo personal pronouns refer to a specific person and change form to indicate person, number, and gender. They can also be identified as subjective (acting as the subject) and objective (acting as an object).

English	Oromo (Independent)	Oromo (Possessive Adjective)	Oromo (Possessive Pronoun)
I	ana	koo, kiyya (m), too/tiyya (f)	kankoo, kankooti (mine)
you (s)	ati, sihi, sii	kee (m), tee (f)	kankee (yours)
he	isa	isaa	kan isaa, kansaa (his)
she	ishee, isii, ishii	isii, ishee, ishii	kan isii, kan ishee, tan isii (hers)
we	nuti, nuhi, nu’, nuy	keenya (m), teenya (f)	kan keenya, keenya (ours)
you (pl)	isin	keessan (m), teessan (f)	kan keessan (yours)
they	isaanii	isaanii	kan isaanii, kansaanii (theirs)

Examples of Personal Pronouns

Afaan Oromo	English
Inni horii narraa liqeeyfate.	He borrowed the money from me.
Inni horii sirraa fudhate.	He took the money from you.
Nuti mana isaarraa dhufne.	We came from his house.
Isiin hojii isiirraa amma dhufte.	She came from her work right now.
Isaan nurraa horii liqeeyfatan.	They borrowed the money from us.
Isiin horii isinirraa fudhatte.	She took the money from you.
Nuti oduu isaanirraa dhageenye.	We heard the news from them.
Isaan mana nurraa bitan.	They bought the house from us.
Nuti mana keenya isinirraa binne.	We bought our house from you.
Isiin horii sirraa hatte.	She stole the money from him.
Isiin dhaamsa isarraa arkatte.	She got the message from him.
Inni dhaamsa anarraa arkate.	He got the message from me.
Isiin mana isiirraa dhufte.	She came from her house.
Inni mana isaarraa dhufe.	He came from his house.
Inni mana kiyyarraa dhufe.	He came from my house.
Isiin dhaamsa isarraa eeggati.	She is expecting a message from him.
Nuti mana keenyarraa dhufne.	We came from our house.
Isaan horii anarraa eeggatan.	They expect money from me
Inni mana isaarraa amma dhufe.	He came from his house right now.

Subjective Personal Pronouns

A subjective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of the sentence. Oromo subjective personal pronouns are: I (ana), you (ati), she (isii, ishii, ishee), he (isa), we (nuti), you all (isin), they (isaan).

Examples of Subjective Personal Pronouns

Afaan Oromo	English
Ani deemuu kiyya.	I am going away.
Ati amma dhufuu ni dandeeysa.	You can come now.
Inni isin afeere yookiin inni si afeere.	He invites you.
Isiin dhufutti jirti.	She is coming.
Nuti ni deemnaa?	Are we going?
Isaan yoom deeman?	When are they going?
Ati isiin dubbachuu ni dandeeysa.	You can talk to her.
Inni kaleessa mana dhufe.	He came home yesterday.
Isaan faxara nyaachutti jiran.	They are eating breakfast.
Nuti sirbutti jirra.	We are dancing.
Isiin yoom dhufte?	When did she come?
Nuti yoom deemna?	When do we go?

Objective Personal Pronouns

An objective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as an object of a verb. The Oromo equivalents are: me (na), you (si), her (isii), him (isa), us (nu), you (isin) and them (isaan).

Examples of Objective Personal Pronouns

Afaan Oromo	English
Magaan isii eenyu?	What is her name?
Isaan dubbadhu, naa miti.	Talk to him, not to me.
Ali qalama naa kenne.	Ali gave me a pen.
Suuraa isa kaasi, nutii/nuu miti.	Take a picture of him, not us.
Naafi si malee, namuu gara manaa kute.	Besides you and me, everyone has gone home.
Si /sihi kan kitaaba hin deebisin.	It is you who have not returned the book.
Akka horii isaaniif hin kennine, itti walii galle.	We agreed not to give them the money.
Si/sihi/ ka dura dhufuu qabu.	You should come first.
Rakkoo tana ka jalqabe sihi/si.	You started this problem.
Isiidhalisii ka dura kitaaba dubbisuu qabdu.	It is her who should read the book first.

Possessive Personal Pronouns

A possessive personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as a marker of possession and defines who owns a particular object.

Examples of Possessive Personal Pronouns

Afaan Oromo	English
Kun keeti/kan keeti.	This is yours.
Manni guddaan kooti/kan kooti.	The biggest house is mine.
Shamiizni diimaan kan isiiti/kan isheeti.	The red shirt is hers.
Gurbaan dheeraan keenya/kan keenya.	The tallest child is ours.
kansaa/kan isaa miizarra/minjalarra jira.	His is on the table.
Kansaanii/kan isaanii guddaadha.	Theirs is big.
Keessan/kan keessan eessa jira?	where is yours?
Keenya/kan keenya magarriisa suni.	Ours is the green one.
Kan isaanii /kansaanii boru fidan.	Theirs will be delivered tomorrow.
San kan isiiti.	That is hers.
Mucaan kun keessanii /kan keessanii?	Is this child yours?
Intalti tee galtee?/Intalti teessan galtee? tiyya galte.	Has your daughter come home? Mine is at home.
Qalamni gurraachi miizarra/minjalarra jiru kiyya/kan kooti.	The black pen on the table is mine.