Nouns Gender Similar to most other
Afroasiatic 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, however, end in '
(m.) and ' (f.), as do adjectives when they are used as nouns: 'brother', 'sister', 'the rich one (m.)', 'the poor one (f.)'. Grammatical gender normally agrees with natural gender for people and animals; thus nouns such as 'father', 'son' and 'ox' are masculine, while nouns such as 'mother' and 'girl, daughter' are feminine. However, most names for animals do not specify biological gender. Names of astronomical bodies are feminine: 'sun', 'star'. The gender of other inanimate nouns varies somewhat among dialects.
Number Oromo displays singular and plural
number, but nouns that refer to multiple entities are not obligatorily plural: 'man' 'people', 'five men', 'five people'. 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 '
; a final vowel is dropped before the suffix, and in the western dialects, the suffix becomes ' following a
syllable with a long vowel: 'house', 'houses', 'friend', 'friends', 'teacher', 'teachers'. Among the other common plural suffixes are '
, ' and ''''; the latter two may cause a preceding consonant to be doubled: 'year', 'years', 'river', 'rivers', 'son', '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: ''
for masculine nouns (the ch
is geminated though this is not normally indicated in writing) and '' for feminine nouns. Vowel endings of nouns are dropped before these suffixes: 'road', 'the road', 'man', / 'the man', 'lake', 'the lake'. For animate nouns that can take either gender, the definite suffix may indicate the intended gender: 'priest', 'the priest (m.)', '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 Oromo nouns appear in seven
grammatical cases, each indicated by a suffix, the lengthening of the noun's final vowel, or both. 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. ;
Absolutive :The absolutive case is the
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. :* 'house', 'we bought a house' :* 'until', 'end', 'until (the) end' :* , 'inside (a/the) house' :* 'he', 'teacher' :* 'he is a teacher' ;
Nominative : The nominative is used for nouns that are the
subjects of clauses. :* (a name), 'Ibsaa (nom.)', '(a) car', 'he has': :* 'Ibsaa has a car'. : Most nouns ending in short vowels with a preceding single consonant drop the final vowel and add '
to form the nominative. Following certain consonants, assimilation changes either the ' or that consonant (the details depend on the dialect). :* 'man', 'man (nom.)' :* 'men'; , 'men (nom.)' ('
+ ' may assimilate to '''') : If a final short vowel is preceded by two consonants or a geminated consonant, '''' is suffixed. :* 'statement', 'statement (nom.)' :* 'the man', 'the man (nom.)' (the '
in the definite suffix ' is actually geminated, though not normally written as such) : If the noun ends in a long vowel, '
is suffixed to this. This pattern applies to infinitives, which end in '. :* 'name', 'name (nom.)' :* 'to eat, eating', 'to eat, eating (nom.)' : If the noun ends in '''', the nominative is identical to the base form. :* 'mouth, language (base form or nom.)' : Some feminine nouns ending in a short vowel add ''''. Again assimilation occurs in some cases. :* 'mother', ('
+ ' assimilates to '''') :* 'earth', ;
Genitive : The genitive is used for possession or "belonging"; it corresponds roughly to English
of or '
. The genitive is usually formed by lengthening a final short vowel, by adding ' 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. :* 'sister', 'the man', 'the man's sister' :* 'job', , woman's name, , 'Caaltuu's job' :* 'field of study', 'mouth, language', 'linguistics' : In place of the genitive it is also possible to use the relative marker '
(m.) / ' (f.) preceding the possessor. :* '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) ::* 'the man', 'to the man, of the man' :*'
following a long vowel or a lengthened short vowel; ' following a consonant ::* 'girl, daughter', 'to a girl, daughter' ::* 'dog', 'to a dog' ::* 'to learn', 'in order to learn' ::* 'water', 'for water' :*'
or ' following a long vowel ::* 'dog'; 'to a dog' :*'''' (with no change to a preceding vowel), especially with verbs of speaking ::* woman's name, 'tell, say (imperative)', '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: :*'
following a long vowel or a lengthened short vowel; ' following a consonant ::* 'hand', 'by hand, with a hand' ::* 'night', 'at night' :* following a long vowel or a lengthened short vowel ::* 'Oromo (language)', 'in Oromo' :*'''' following a long vowel ::* 'time', 'on time' ::* 'to come out, coming out', '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 ''''. :* 'in Arsii' :* 'hand', 'in hand' :* 'day', 'per day' :* 'under' ;
Ablative : The ablative is used to represent the source of an event; it corresponds closely to English
from. The ablative, applied to postpositions and locative adverbs as well as nouns proper, is formed in the following ways: :* When the word ends in a short vowel, this vowel is lengthened (as for the genitive). ::* 'country', 'from country' ::* 'inside, in', 'from inside' :* When the word ends in a long vowel, '''' is added (as for one alternative for the dative). ::* 'from Finfinne' ::* 'market', 'from market' :* When the word ends in a consonant, '''' is added (as for the genitive). ::* 'from Harar' :* Following a noun in the genitive, '''' is added. ::* 'house', 'coffee', 'cafe', 'from cafe' : An alternative to the ablative is the postposition '''' 'from' whose initial vowel may be dropped in the process: :* 'market', 'from market'
Pronouns Personal pronouns 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 ; English
they, Oromo
and the set of possessive adjectives and pronouns, for example, English my
, Oromo ; English mine'', Oromo . 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: '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 ('we came') by the suffix ''
. When the subject in such sentences needs to be given prominence for some reason, an independent pronoun can be used: '
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 '''') are used in all cases. Possessive adjectives may take the case endings for the nouns they modify: 'to my village' ('''': locative case). 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 'of': 'mine', 'yours', etc.
Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns Oromo has two ways of expressing
reflexive pronouns ('myself', 'yourself', etc.). One is to use the noun meaning 'self': or . This noun is inflected for case but, unless it is being emphasized, not for person, number, or gender: 'she looks at herself' (base form of ), 'she bought herself a car' (dative of ). The other possibility is to use the noun meaning 'head', , with possessive suffixes: 'myself', 'yourself (s.)', etc. Oromo has a
reciprocal pronoun (English 'each other') that is used like . That is, it is inflected for case but not person, number, or gender: 'they like each other' (base form of ), 'they bought each other gifts' (dative of ).
Demonstrative pronouns 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 '''') 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, 'at/on/in that' (locative case).
Verbs An Oromo verb consists minimally of a
stem, representing the
lexical meaning of the verb, and a
suffix, representing
tense or
aspect and
subject agreement. For example, in 'we came', '''' is the stem ('come') and '''' indicates that the tense is past and that the subject of the verb is first person plural. As in many other
Afroasiatic languages, Oromo makes a basic two-way distinction in its verb system between the two tensed forms, past (or "perfect") and present (or "imperfect" or "non-past"). Each of these has its own set of tense/agreement suffixes. There is a third conjugation based on the present which has three functions: it is used in place of the present in
subordinate clauses, for the
jussive ('let me/us/him, etc. V', together with the particle ), and for the
negative of the present (together with the particle ). For example, 'we went', 'we go', 'that we go', 'let's go', 'we don't go'. There is also a separate
imperative form: 'go (sg.)!'.
Conjugation The table below shows the conjugation in the affirmative and negative of the verb '''' 'know'. The first person singular present and past affirmative forms require the suffix '
to appear on the word preceding the verb or the word ' before the verb. The negative particle '''', shown as a separate word in the table, is sometimes written as a prefix on the verb. For verbs with stems ending in certain consonants and suffixes beginning with consonants (that is, '
or '), there are predictable changes to one or the other of the consonants. The dialects vary a lot in the details, but the following changes are common. Verbs whose stems end in two consonants and whose suffix begins with a consonant must insert a vowel to break up the consonants since the language does not permit sequences of three consonants. There are two ways this can happen: either the vowel
i is inserted between the stem and the suffix, or the final stem consonants are switched (an example of
metathesis) and the vowel
a is inserted between them. For example, 'see', 'he sees', or (from ) 'we see'; 'laugh', 'he laughed', or 'you (sg.) laughed'. Verbs whose stems end in the consonant ' (which may appear as
h,
w, or
y in some words, depending on the dialect) belong to three different conjugation classes; the class is not predictable from the verb stem. It is the forms that precede suffixes beginning with consonants (
t and
n) that differ from the usual pattern. The third person masculine singular, second person singular, and first person plural present forms are shown for an example verb in each class. • '- 'die': ' 'he dies', 'you (sg.) die', 'we die' • '-, 'be hungry': ' 'he is hungry', 'you (sg.) are hungry', 'we are hungry' • '- 'hear': ' 'he hears', 'you (sg.) hear', 'we hear' (the suffix consonants change) The common verbs 'want' and 'do' deviate from the basic conjugation pattern in that long vowels replace the geminated consonants that would result when suffixes beginning with
t or
n are added: 'he wants', 'you (sg.) want', 'we want', 'you (pl.) want', 'didn't want', etc. The verb 'come' has the irregular imperatives , . The verb 'go' has, alongside regular imperative forms, the irregular imperatives , .
Derivation An Oromo verb root can be the basis for three derived voices, passive, causative, and autobenefactive, each formed with addition of a suffix to the root, yielding the stem that the inflectional suffixes are added to. ;
Passive voice : The Oromo passive corresponds closely to the English passive in function. It is formed by adding
-am to the verb root. The resulting stem is conjugated regularly. Examples: 'know', 'be known', 'they were known'; 'say', 'be said', 'it is said' ;
Causative voice : The Oromo causative of a verb V corresponds to English expressions such as 'cause V', 'make V', 'let V'. With intransitive verbs, it has a transitivizing function. It is formed by adding
-s,
-sis, or
-siis to the verb root, except that roots ending in
-l add
-ch. Verbs whose roots end in ' drop this consonant and may lengthen the preceding vowel before adding
-s. Examples: 'know', 'cause to know, inform', 'we informed'; '- 'go up, get up', 'pick up', 'pick up (sing.)!'; 'enter', 'put in', 'she puts in'; 'learn', 'teach', 'I teach'. ; Autobenefactive voice : The Oromo
autobenefactive (or "middle" or "reflexive-middle") voice of a verb V corresponds roughly to English expressions such as 'V for oneself' or 'V on one's own', though the precise meaning may be somewhat unpredictable for many verbs. It is formed by adding
-adh to the verb root. The conjugation of a middle verb is irregular in the third person singular masculine of the present and past (
-dh in the stem changes to
-t) and in the singular imperative (the suffix is
-u rather than
-i). Examples: 'buy', 'buy for oneself', 'he bought (something) for himself', 'buy for yourself (sing.)!'; 'have', 'seize, hold (for oneself)', 'we hold'. Some autobenefactives are derived from nouns rather than verbs, for example, 'work' from the noun 'work'. The voice suffixes can be combined in various ways. Two causative suffixes are possible: '- 'go up', 'pick up', 'cause to pick up'. The causative may be followed by the passive or the autobenefactive; in this case the
s of the causative is replaced by
f: '- 'return (intransitive)', 'return (transitive), answer', 'be returned, be answered', 'get back for oneself'. Another derived verbal
aspect is the
frequentative or "intensive," formed by copying the first consonant and vowel of the verb root and geminating the second occurrence of the initial consonant. The resulting stem indicates the repetition or intensive performance of the action of the verb. Examples: 'spend the night', 'spend several nights', 'break', 'break to pieces, break completely'; 'push, apply pressure', 'massage'. The infinitive is formed from a verb stem with the addition of the suffix
-uu. Verbs whose stems end in
-dh (in particular all autobenefactive verbs) change this to
ch before the suffix. Examples: 'drink', 'to drink'; '- 'reach', ' 'to reach'; 'say', 'to say'. The verb is exceptional; its infinitive is rather than the expected . The infinitive behaves like a noun; that is, it can take any of the case suffixes. Examples: ' 'to reach', ' 'in order to reach' (dative case); 'drink', 'be drunk', to be drunk', 'by being drunk' (instrumental case). == References==