Book Unit
Unit 7: Wal gaafii
Learn about compound tenses and verb coordination.
Unit 7 - Wal gaafii
| Afaan Oromo | English |
|---|---|
| Bilisaa, ballama maleen dhufe dhiifama. | Bilisaa, I came without an appointment, sorry. |
| Ar' a galgala naaf bilbilcii torbaan dhufuuf ballama gonna. | Ring me up this evening and we shall make an appointment for the next week. |
| Dhagay, ar'a filmi Amerikaani tokko jira, mana sinemaa deemnuu? | Listen, today there is an American film, shall we go to the cinema? |
| Maali oduun? Oduun nagaya. | What is the news? The news is peace. |
Grammar Focus: Compound Tenses
Compound tenses are formed by combining simple finite and non-finite forms of the verb with auxiliary verbs. The auxiliary verbs are: jir 'exist', jiraaddha 'live for oneself', taa' 'to be something', tur 'was'.
- Present Continuous: Inni acci rafuu jira. (He is sleeping there.)
- Future Definite: Inni as dhufuuf jiraata. (He will come here.)
- Present Perfect: Inni mana jaarate jira. (He has built himself a house.)
- Past Perfect: Inni mana jaarate ture. (He had built himself a house.)
Grammar Focus: Coordination - Verb
The construction of verb coordination is made by the use of simple past with a lengthened final vowel. The last verb of the clause shows the tense mode of the given sentence.
Kitaaba dubbisee rafa. (He reads books and then he sleeps.)