Regular Verb Present Tense Conjugation

Regular Verb Present Tense Conjugation

Previous verbs introduced were irregular. Most verbs are regular, so there are some basic rules of conjugation that apply. Afan Oromo verbs (as in most languages) have an infinitive form, the basic form of each verb. In English, the infinitive is preceded by to. For example, to eat, to go, etc. In Afan Oromo, the infinitive is indicated by the suffix uu, as the following examples demonstrate. Note, that in some dialects the uu might be substituted with aa.

• to eat: nyaachuu
• to go: deemuu
• to speak: dubachuu

Regular verb prefix 'Ni'

There is a prefix/modifier associated with Afan Oromo verbs. This prefix can vary by region and dialect, but generally it is ni or nin for you, he/she, we, they, etc. For the first person (I), it can be nan, ni, or nin depending on the regional dialect. This prefix is considered optional, and you are likely to be understood without it, but usually used when there is no object in the phrase. For example:

• He drinks coffee. - Inni buna dhuga.
• He drinks. - Inni ni dhuga.
• Do you want a bajaj? - Bajajii ni barbaaddaa? / Bajajii barbaaddaa? (in this case ni is optional.)
• We run. - Nuti ni fiigna.
• We drive to Holeta.* - Nuti gara Hoolataa deemna.
• They teach here.* - Isaan asitti barsiisu.
• He feels happy. - Inni ni gammada.
• He goes today. - Inni har'a ni deema.
• They learn. - Isaan ni baratu.

*Does not use ni because there is no object in the sentence.

Regular verb suffix

The verbs (to be, to have, to be present, etc.) are irregular and thus have their own unique conjugations. Most verbs however follow a basic pattern with certain suffixes that relate to the subject or subject pronoun of the sentence. When conjugating a verb, one must convert the infinitive form (deemuu, dubachuu, etc.) into a stem which is the remaining letters in the verb after the uu has been removed. Once you have the stem figured out, you can add the suffix. Remember, the prefix ni/nin typically precedes the stem.

Typical Present Tense Suffixes

Pronoun	Suffix
Ani (I)	(dh)a
Ati (You)	ta
Isin (You pl.)	tu
Inni (He)	a
Isheen (She)	ti
Isaan (They)	u
Nuti (We)	na

There are four main groups of regular verbs which are defined by their slight variations in verb morphology.

GROUP 1: Regular verbs

This is the most common verb group, comprising a large majority of common verbs. What differentiates these verbs is that the stems do not end in a double consonant, a 'ch', a vowel, 'y', or 'w'.

Example Conjugation: deemuu (to go)

Pronoun	Conjugation
I go...	(Ani)... ni deema
You go (m/f)...	(Ati)... ni deemta
You go (pl)...	(Isin)...ni deemtu
He goes...	(Inni)...ni deema
She goes...	(Isheen)... ni deemti
They go...	(Isaan)... ni deemu
We go...	(Nuti)...ni deemna

Other examples of Group 1 regular verbs include baruu (to know), ganuu (to deny), and rafuu (to sleep).

GROUP 2: chuu-ending stems (ta → dha) (tna → na)

Verbs that end in chuu have a stems that end with t. For example, the stem for bitachuu (to shop) is bitat. The typical vowels will be added to this stem, according to the pronoun. Convention would suggest that the first person would be 'ni bitata', but like all chuu-ending verbs, the end is dha; ni bitadha. Likewise, ni bitatna would be changed to ni bitanna. Chuu-ending verbs are only different for Ati (I) / Nuti (We).

Example Conjugation: nyaachuu (to eat)

Pronoun	Conjugation
I eat...	Ani...ni nyaadha**
You eat (m/f)...	Ati...ni nyaatta
You eat (pl)...	Isin...ni nyaattu
He eats...	Inni ...ni nyaata
She eats...	Isheen...ni nyaati
We eat...	Nuti...ni nyaana**
They eat (m/f.pl)...	Isaan ...ni nyaatu