Subject Pronouns
Learn about subject pronouns in Afan Oromo.
Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns are words that take the place of a subject in a sentence. For example, He replaces 'Samuel' in Samuel (He) is the best football player. The following table shows Afan Oromo subject pronouns. Similar to English, these are used to describe the subject of the sentence (i.e. He went to the park). When speaking Afan Oromo, it is not always necessary to say the pronoun since the conjugated verb has prefixes and suffixes that indicate the subject verb agreement. However, as you will notice some verb conjugations are the same regardless of pronoun, so in that case you would want to say the pronoun unless it is obvious who you are talking about.
When translating it (or this) one uses the pronoun kuni (m) or tuni (f). The verb conjugation for it will be in the form similar to 3rd person him or her. The gender of specific objects is customarily determined by what fits the situation. There is no known rule why an object is considered feminine or masculine.
In Afan Oromo, there are two ways to say you; ati for singular male/female (you) - and isin for plural (like you all or y'all). Also, there are respect forms that you would use for speaking politely to elders or persons of stature. When speaking Afan Oromo, a beginner might not use the correct form between the informal/polite form but attempts to use the correct pronoun form are always appreciated. Note the following abbreviations:
(m/f)= both male and female
(m,pl)= male, plural
(f. pl) = female, plural
| Pronoun | Afan Oromo |
|---|---|
| I | ani |
| you (m/f) | ati |
| you (m/f. pl /respect) | isin |
| he | inni |
| she | isheen |
| we /us | nuti/nu'i/nuyi* |
| they (respect, and m/f. pl) | isaan |
| It / this | kuni(m)/tuni(f) |
*variation by region
Demonstrative Pronouns
The following demonstrative pronouns occurred in the examined sources:
| Singular (m) | Singular (f) | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| kun(i) | tun(i) | kunniin/kanneen | this/these |
| sun(i)/san(a) | (sanneen) | that/those |
- jaarsi kun - this old man
- uummatni kun - this people
- hattichi kun - this thief
- sagaleen tun - this voice
- jaartiin tun - this old woman
- intalti tun - this girl
- lukkuun tun - this hen
- sagalee tana - this voice
- seera kana - this law
- karaa kana - this way
- gaaffii kana - this question
- re’eettii kana - this goat
- hattuun sun - that thief
- niitii sana - that woman
- himichi sun - that sentence
- afaan sun - that language
- afaan sunii - from that language
- lafa sana - that land
Re’een kun mana dukkana keessatti hidhamti. (This goat will be tied in a dark house.)
Amma re’eettii kana eegee ishee yoon harkaan qabe ... (Now, if I catch this goat's tail with hands ...)
Namtichi inni hatuun [sic!] sun dukkana mana sanaa keessa galee ... (That thief man entered that darkness of the house and...)
The plural forms kunniin, kanneen and sanneen do not seem to be in common use. The original singular forms may be used for plural nouns as well.
- qabxiiwwan kunis - also these points
- jarreen kun - these people
- namoonni kun - these people
- namoota kana - these people
- mammaaksoota kana - these proverbs
- qoosaawwan kana - these jokes
Mee qabxiiwwan kanneen tokko tokkoon haa ilaallu. (Let us see these points one by one.)
Namoonni kunniin yoo taphataan tokko kubbaa gara “goolii” rukutu, ... (When these people play one kicks the ball towards the goal, ....)
Possessive Pronouns
There are many differences in the use of possessive pronouns in the different Oromo dialects. The Macha-dialect uses only one form for both masculine and feminine nouns. In most of the examined sources the masculine forms were used for both masculine and feminine nouns, too. Only in some special lessons of the textbooks the special possessive pronouns for feminine nouns were given as variants for multiple choice.
| Person | Masculine Noun | Feminine Noun | Noun in Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st p. | koo/kiyya | koo | koo |
| 2nd p. | kee | kee | kee |
| 3rd p.m. | isaa | isaa | isaa |
| 3rd p.f. | ishee/ishii | ishee/ishii | ishee/ishii |
| 1st p.pl. | keenya | keenya | keenya |
| 2nd p.pl. | keessan | keessan | keessan |
| 3rd p.pl. | (i)saanii | (i)saanii | isaanii |
Examples:
- abbaa koo / abbaa kiyya - my father
- obboleessa koo - my brother
- haadha koo - my mother
- obboleettii koo - my sister
- obboleewwan koo - my sister and brother
- abbaan kee - your father
- hiriyaa kee - your friend
- haati kee - your mother
- obboleettii kee - your sister
- hiriyoota kee - your friends