Pluralizing Adjectives
Learn how adjectives change with plural nouns.
Pluralizing Adjectives
We can divide the Oromo adjectives into four groups with respect to gender marking on adjectives:
Group I
In the first group the masculine form terminates in -aa, and the feminine form in -oo.
- guddaa (m) -> guddoo (f) - big
- xinnaa (m) -> xinnoo (f) - small
nama guddaa - a big man
nitii guddoo - a big woman
Group II
In the second group the masculine form terminates in -aa, the feminine form in -tuu (with different assimilations).
- dheeraa (m) -> dheertuu (f) - tall
- jabaa (m) -> jabduu (f) - strong
nama dheeraa - a tall man
intala dheertuu - a tall girl
Present participles belong to this group.
- affeelamaa (m) -> affeelamtuu (f) - cooked
nyaata affeelamaa - cooked food
fudiraa affeelamtuu - cooked vegetables
Group III
Adjectives that terminate in -eessa or -(a)acha have a feminine form in -eettii or -aattii.
- dureessa (m) -> dureettii (f) - rich
- gurraacha (m) -> gurraattii (f) - black
nama dureessa - a rich man
niitii dureettii - rich woman
Abbaya gurraacha - the Black (Blue) Nile
sa’a gurraattii - a black cow
Group IV
Adjectives whose masculine form terminates in a long vowel other than -aa as in i) or ii) or in short -a (but not of the suffix -eessa/ -aacha) are not differentiated with respect to their gender.
- adii - white
- collee - active
- magaala - brown
sangaa adii - a white ox
hoolaa adii - a white sheep
farda collee - an active horse
gaangee collee - an active mule
Number
Most of the adjectives form the plural by reduplication of the first syllable. Masculine and feminine adjectives differ in plural as they do in singular:
- guddaa/guddoo -> gurguddaa/gurguddoo - big
- xinnaa/xinnoo -> xixinnaa/xixinnoo - small
lageewwan gurguddoo - big rivers
qubeewwan gurguddaa fi xixiqqaa - big and small letters
There is a further plural form which is gender neutral for adjectives of the second group beside a special masculine and feminine plural. This plural form terminates in -oo, and is sometimes used with reduplication and sometimes without. This last type of plural seems to be favoured in my sources:
- dheeraa/dheertuu -> dhedheeraa/dhedheertuu (m/f pl), dhedheeroo (neutral pl) - long
- jabaa/jabduu -> jajjabaa/jajjabduu (m/f pl), jajjaboo (neutral pl) - strong
himoota dhedheeroo/gaggabaaboo - long/short sentences
sagaloota gabaaboo fi dheeroo - short and long words
himoota gabaaboo - short sentences
dargaggeessi jajjaboon - strong youngsters