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Grammar

Nouns

Gender

Like other Afro-Asiatic languages, Oromo has two grammatical genders, masculine and feminine, and all nouns belong to either one or the other. Grammatical gender in Oromo enters into the grammar in the following ways:

• Verbs (except for the copula be) agree with their subjects in gender when the subject is third person singular (he or she).
• Third person singular personal pronouns (he, she, it, etc. in English) have the gender of the noun they refer to.
• Adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in gender.
• Some possessive adjectives ("my", "your") agree with the nouns they modify in some dialects.

Except in some southern dialects, there is nothing in the form of most nouns that indicates their gender. A small number of nouns pairs for people, however, end in -eessa (m.) and -eettii (f.), as do adjectives when they are used as nouns: obboleessa 'brother', obboleettii 'sister', dureessa 'the rich one (m.)', hiyyeettii 'the poor one (f.)'. Grammatical gender normally agrees with biological gender for people and animals; thus nouns such as abbaa 'father', ilma 'son', and sangaa 'ox' are masculine, while nouns such as haadha 'mother' and intala 'girl, daughter' are feminine. However, most names for animals do not specify biological gender.

Names of astronomical bodies are feminine: aduu 'sun', urjii 'star'. The gender of other inanimate nouns varies somewhat among dialects.

Number

Oromo has singular and plural number, but nouns that refer to multiple entities are not obligatorily plural. That is, if the context is clear, a formally singular noun may refer to multiple entities: nama 'man', nama shan, 'five men'. Another way of looking at this is to treat the "singular" form as unspecified for number.

When it is important to make the plurality of a referent clear, the plural form of a noun is used. Noun plurals are formed through the addition of suffixes. The most common plural suffix is -oota; a final vowel is dropped before the suffix, and in the western dialects, the suffix becomes -ota following a syllable with a long vowel: mana 'house', manoota 'houses', hiriyaa 'friend', hiriyoota 'friends', barsiisaa 'teacher', barsiiso(o)ta 'teachers'. Among the other common plural suffixes are -(w)wan, -een, and -(a)an; the latter two may cause a preceding consonant to be doubled: waggaa 'year', waggaawwan 'years', laga 'river', laggeen 'rivers', ilma 'son', ilmaan 'sons'.

Definiteness

Oromo has no indefinite articles (corresponding to English a, some), but (except in the southern dialects) it indicates definiteness (English the) with suffixes on the noun: -(t)icha for masculine nouns (the ch is geminated though this is not normally indicated in writing) and -(t)ittii for feminine nouns. Vowel endings of nouns are dropped before these suffixes: karaa 'road', karicha 'the road', nama 'man', namicha/namticha 'the man', haroo 'lake', harittii 'the lake'. Note that for animate nouns that can take either gender, the definite suffix may indicate the intended gender: qaalluu 'priest', qaallicha 'the priest (m.)', qallittii 'the priest (f.)'. The definite suffixes appear to be used less often than the in English, and they seem not to co-occur with the plural suffixes.

Case

An Oromo noun has a citation form or base form that is used when the noun is the object of a verb, the object of a preposition or postposition, or a nominal predicative.

• mana 'house', mana binne 'we bought a house'
• hamma 'until', dhuma 'end', hamma dhuma 'until (the) end'
• mana keessa, 'inside (a/the) house'
• inni 'he', barsiisaa 'teacher', inni barsiisaa (dha) 'he is a teacher'

A noun may also appear in one of six other grammatical cases, each indicated by a suffix or the lengthening of the noun's final vowel. The case endings follow plural or definite suffixes if these appear. For some of the cases, there is a range of forms possible, some covering more than one case, and the differences in meaning among these alternatives may be quite subtle.

Nominative

The nominative is used for nouns that are the subjects of clauses.

* Ibsaa man's name, Ibsaan 'Ibsaa (nom.)', makiinaa, qaba 'he has', Ibsaan makiinaa qaba 'Ibsaa has a car'

Most nouns ending in short vowels with a preceding single consonant drop the final vowel and add -ni to form the nominative. Following certain consonants, assimilation changes either the n or that consonant (the details depend on the dialect).

* nama 'man', namni 'man (nom.)'

* namoota 'men'; namootni, namoonni 'men (nom.)' (t + n may assimilate to nn)

If a final short vowel is preceded by two consonants or a geminated consonant, -i is suffixed.

* ibsa 'statement', ibsi 'statement (nom.)'

* namicha 'the man', namichi 'the man (nom.)' (the ch in the definite suffix -icha is actually geminated, though not normally written as such)

If the noun ends in a long vowel, -n is suffixed to this. This pattern applies to infinitives, which end in -uu.

* maqaa 'name', maqaan 'name (nom.)'

* nyachuu 'to eat, eating', nyachuun 'to eat, eating (nom.)'

If the noun ends in n, the nominative is identical to the base form.

* afaan 'mouth, language (base form or nom.)'

Some feminine nouns ending in a short vowel add -ti. Again assimilation occurs in some cases.

* haadha 'mother', haati (dh + t assimilates to t)

* lafa 'earth', lafti

Genitive

The genitive is used for possession or "belonging"; it corresponds roughly to English of or -'s. The genitive is usually formed by lengthening a final short vowel, by adding -ii to a final consonant, and by leaving a final long vowel unchanged. The possessor noun follows the possessed noun in a genitive phrase. Many such phrases with specific technical meanings have been added to the Oromo lexicon in recent years.

* obboleetti 'sister', namicha 'the man', obboleetti namichaa 'the man's sister'

* hojii 'job', Caaltuu, woman's name, hojii Caaltuu, 'Caaltuu's job'

* barumsa 'field of study', afaan 'mouth, language', barumsa afaanii 'linguistics'

In place of the genitive it is also possible to use the relative marker kan (m.) / tan (f.) preceding the possessor.

* obboleetti kan namicha 'the man's sister'

Dative

The dative is used for nouns that represent the recipient (to) or the benefactor (for) of an event. The dative form of a verb infinitive (which acts like a noun in Oromo) indicates purpose. The dative takes one of the following forms:

* Lengthening of a final short vowel (ambiguously also signifying the genitive)

:* namicha 'the man', namichaa 'to the man, of the man'

* "-f" following a long vowel or a lengthened short vowel; -iif following a consonant

:* intala 'girl, daughter', intalaaf 'to a girl, daughter'

:* saree 'dog', sareef 'to a dog'

:* baruu 'to learn', baruuf 'in order to learn'

:* bishaan 'water', bishaaniif 'for water'

* "-dhaa" or "-dhaaf" following a long vowel

:* saree 'dog'; sareedhaa, sareedhaaf 'to a dog'

* "-tti" (with no change to a preceding vowel), especially with verbs of speaking

:* Caaltuu woman's name, himi 'tell, say (imperative)', Caaltuutti himi 'tell Caaltuu'

Instrumental

The instrumental is used for nouns that represent the instrument ("with"), the means ("by"), the agent ("by"), the reason, or the time of an event. The formation of the instrumental parallels that of the dative to some extent:

* -n following a long vowel or a lengthened short vowel; -iin following a consonant

:* harka 'hand', harkaan 'by hand, with a hand'

:* halkan 'night', halkaniin 'at night'

* -tiin following a long vowel or a lengthened short vowel

:* Afaan Oromoo 'Oromo (language)', Afaan Oromootiin 'in Oromo'

* -dhaan following a long vowel

:* yeroo 'time', yeroodhaan 'on time'

:* bawuu 'to come out, coming out', bawuudhaan 'by coming out'

Locative

The locative is used for nouns that represent general locations of events or states, roughly at. For more specific locations, Oromo uses prepositions or postpositions. Postpositions may also take the locative suffix. The locative also seems to overlap somewhat with the instrumental, sometimes having a temporal function. The locative is formed with the suffix -tti.

* Arsiitti 'in Arsii'

* harka 'hand', harkatti 'in hand'

* guyyaa 'day', guyyaatti 'per day'

* jala, jalatti 'under'

Ablative

The ablative is to represent the source of an event; it corresponds closely to English from. The ablative, applied to postpositions and locative adverbs as well a nouns proper, is formed in the following ways:

* When the word ends in a short vowel, this vowel is lengthened (as for the genitive).

:* biyya 'country', biyyaa 'from country'

:* keessa 'inside, in', keessaa 'from inside'

* When the word ends in a long vowel, -dhaa is added (as for one alternative for the dative).

:* Finfinneedhaa 'from Finfinnee (Addis Ababa)'

:* gabaa 'market', gabaadhaa 'from market'

* When the word ends in a consonant, -ii is added (as for the genitive).

:* Hararii 'from Harar'

* Following a noun in the genitive, -tii is added.

:* mana 'house', buna 'coffee', mana bunaa 'cafe', mana bunaatii 'from cafe'

An alternative to the ablative is the postposition irraa 'from' whose initial vowel may be dropped in the process:

* gabaa 'market', gabaa irraa, gabaarraa 'from market'

In most languages, there is a small number of basic distinctions of person, number, and often gender that play a role within the grammar of the language. Oromo and English are such languages. We see these distinctions within the basic set of independent personal pronouns, for example, English I, Oromo ani; English they, Oromo isaani and the set of possessive adjectives and pronouns, for example, English my, Oromo koo; English mine, Oromo kan koo. In Oromo, the same distinctions are also reflected in subject-verb agreement: Oromo verbs (with a few exceptions) agree with their subjects; that is, the person, number, and (singular third person) gender of the subject of the verb are marked by suffixes on the verb. Because these suffixes vary greatly with the particular verb tense/aspect/mood, they are normally not considered to be pronouns and are discussed elsewhere in this article under verb conjugation.

In all of these areas of the grammar — independent pronouns, possessive adjectives, possessive pronouns, and subject-verb agreement — Oromo distinguishes seven combinations of person, number, and gender. For first and second persons, there is a two-way distinction between singular ('I', 'you sg.') and plural ('we', 'you pl.'), whereas for third person, there is a two-way distinction in the singular ('he', 'she') and a single form for the plural ('they'). Because Oromo has only two genders, there is no pronoun corresponding to English it; the masculine or feminine pronoun is used according to the gender of the noun referred to.

Oromo is a subject pro-drop language. That is, neutral sentences in which the subject is not emphasized do not require independent subject pronouns: kaleessa dhufne 'we came yesterday'. The Oromo word that translates 'we' does not appear in this sentence, though the person and number are marked on the verb dhufne ('we came') by the suffix -ne. When the subject in such sentences needs to be given prominence for some reason, an independent pronoun can be used: nuti kaleessa dhufne 'we came yesterday'.

The table below gives forms of the personal pronouns in the different cases, as well as the possessive adjectives. For the first person plural and third person singular feminine categories, there is considerable variation across dialects; only some of the possibilities are shown.

The possessive adjectives, treated as separate words here, are sometimes written as noun suffixes. In most dialects there is a distinction between masculine and feminine possessive adjectives for first and second person (the form agreeing with the gender of the modified noun). However, in the western dialects, the masculine forms (those beginning with k-) are used in all cases. Possessive adjectives may take the case endings for the nouns they modify: ganda kootti 'to my village' (-tti: locative case).

Oromo Personal Pronouns

English	Base	Subject	Dative	Instrumental	Locative	Ablative	Possessive adjectives
I	ana, na	ani, an	naa, naaf, natti	naan	natti	narraa	koo, kiyya [too, tiyya (f.)]
you (sg.)	si	ati	sii, siif, sitti	siin	sitti	sirraa	kee [tee (f.)]
he	isa	inni	isaa, isaa(tii)f, isatti	isaatiin	isatti	isarraa	(i)saa
she	isii, ishii, isee, ishee	isiin, etc.	ishii, ishiif, ishiitti, etc.	ishiin, etc.	ishiitti, etc.	ishiirraa, etc.	(i)sii, (i)shii
we	nu	nuti, nu'i, nuy, nu	nuu, nuuf, nutti	nuun	nutti	nurraa	keenya [teenya (f.)]
you (pl.)	isin	isini	isinii, isiniif, isinitti	isiniin	isinitti	isinirraa	keessan(i) [teessan(i) (f.)]
they	isaan	isaani	isaanii, isaaniif, isaanitti	isaaniitiin	isaanitti	isaanirraa	(i)saani

As in languages such as French, Russian, and Turkish, the Oromo second person plural is also used as a polite singular form, for reference to people that the speaker wishes to show respect towards. This usage is an example of the so-called T-V distinction that is made in many languages. In addition, the third person plural may be used for polite reference to a single third person (either 'he' or 'she').

For possessive pronouns ('mine', 'yours', etc.), Oromo adds the possessive adjectives to kan 'of': kan koo 'mine', kan kee 'yours', etc.

Oromo has two ways of expressing reflexive pronouns ('myself', 'yourself', etc.). One is to use the noun meaning 'self': of(i) or if(i). This noun is inflected for case but, unless it is being emphasized, not for person, number, or gender: isheen of laalti 'she looks at herself' (base form of of), isheen ofiif makiinaa bitte 'she bought herself a car' (dative of of).

The other possibility is to use the noun meaning 'head', mataa, with possessive suffixes: mataa koo 'myself', mataa kee 'yourself (s.)', etc.

Oromo has a reciprocal pronoun wal (English 'each other') that is used like of/if. That is, it is inflected for case but not person, number, or gender: wal jaalatu 'they like each other' (base form of wal), kennaa walii bidan 'they brought each other gifts' (dative of wal).

Like English, Oromo makes a two-way distinction between proximal ('this, these') and distal ('that, those') demonstrative pronouns and adjectives. Some dialects distinguish masculine and feminine for the proximal pronouns; in the western dialects the masculine forms (beginning with k-) are used for both genders. Unlike in English, singular and plural demonstratives are not distinguished, but, as for nouns and personal pronouns in the language, case is distinguished. Only the base and nominative forms are shown in the table below; the other cases are formed from the base form as for nouns, for example, sanatti 'at/on/in that' (locative case).

Oromo Demonstrative Pronouns

Case	Proximal ('this, these')	Distal ('that, those')
Base	kana [tana (f.)]	sana
Nominative	kuni [tuni (f.)]	suni

Notes

External links

• [Ethnologue report for Oromo].
• [Voice of America news broadcast in Afaan Oromoo].
• [Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) website] contains many articles written in Oromo, and an [online radio broadcast].

Bibliography

• [link]
• Gragg, Gene B. et al. (ed., 1982) Oromo Dictionary. Monograph (Michigan State University. Committee on Northeast African Studies) no. 12. East Lansing, Mich. : African Studies Center, Michigan State Univ.
• [link]
• [link]
• [link]

 

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