Afaan Oromo/Chapter 10

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Chapter 10: Prepositions and Conjunctions
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Giving Directions (Karaa Agarsiisuu) edit

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[Adapted from Geetaachoo (2011), pg. 52-53]   Play all
Meetii: Akkami Kadir?   play
Kadir: Fayyaa dha. Akkam jirta?   play
Meetii: Homaa hin jedhu. Bor waaree booda hojii qabda?   play
Kadir: Lakki, maaliif?   play
Meetii: Gaarii dha. Laaqana mana kootti si affeeruun barbaade.   play
Kadir: Dhufuuf baay'een gammada, garuu iddoo mana kee isa haaraa hin beeku.   play
Meetii: Buufata konkolaataa kan cinaa mana bilbilaatti beekta?   play
Kadir: Eeyyee, nan beeka.   play
Meetii: Taaksii Lagahaaritti qabadhu fi bakka buufata konkolaalaatti bu'i.   play
Kadir: Tole.   play
Meetii: Sana booda, gara mirga gori hanga qaxxaamura karaa geessutti karumarra deemi.   play
Kadir: Naaf gale.   play
Meetii: Gara fuuldura qaxxaamura karaatti hanga daqiiqaa shaniif deemi. Messalemiyaan karaa mirgaa jira.   play
Kadir: Gara mirgaa jette?   play
Meetii: Eeyyee. Sirrii dha. Achitti sa'aatii kudha tokko fi walakkaatti wal agarra.   play
Kadir: Tole. Kun gaarii dha. Wal agarra. Nagaatti.   play
Meetii: Nagaatti.   play


[For translation see here]

Prepositions and Postpositions edit

A preposition links a noun to an action (e.g., “go from there”) or to another noun (“the pen on the table”). For the purpose of clarity, this chapter will divide Oromo prepositions into two categories: true prepositions and postpositions, with true prepositions coming before the noun and postpositions coming after the noun they relate to.
Some Common Prepositions and Postpositions:

Postpositions Prepositions
ala — out, outside gara — towards
bira — beside, with, around eega, erga — since, from, after
booda — after haga, hanga — until
cinaa — beside, near, next to     hamma — up to, as much as
dur, dura — before akka — like, as
duuba — behind, back of waa'ee — about, in regard to
irra — on
irraa — from
itti — to, at, in
jala — under, beneath
jidduu — middle, between
keessa — in, inside
malee — without, except
wajjin — with, together
gubbaa — on, above
fuuldura — in front of
gad(i) — down, below
ol(i) — up, above


Examples:
boqonnaarra [boqonnaa irra] – “on vacation”
mana keessa – “in the house”
waaree booda – “afternoon”
irra deebi'i – “repeat” [lit. “return on it”]
Yuunivarsitii Haroomayaatti barsiissaa – “teacher at Haromaya University”
mana nyaataa kanatti – “at this restaurant”
waa'ee fiilmii sun natti himi” – “tell me about that film”
Chaaltuun akka Hawwiituu baratuu dha.” – “Chaltu is a student like Hawitu.”
hanga torban dhufu – “until next week”
gammachuu wajjin – “with pleasure”
shaayee annan malee – “tea without milk”
Ani meetirii lama gadi.” – “I am below [shorter than] 2 meters.”
Keeniyaan Itoophiyaarraa (gara) kibbatti argamti” – “Kenya is located (to the) south of Ethiopia”


From the examples above, you may notice that the postpositions itti, irra, and irraa most often occur as suffixes, -tti, -rra, and -rraa, on the nouns they relate to.

Often with place names, no preposition or postposition is used to be mean “in”. Therefore, one can say “Finfinnee jiratta” for “you live in Finfinnee [Addis Ababa]”, or “hospitaalan ture” for “I was in the hospital”, using no preposition.

Personal pronouns are not used with prepositions. Instead, possessive pronouns are used as personal pronouns.

Examples:
“toward me” — gara koo(tti) [not gara na]
“like us” — akka keenya
“according to him” — akka isaatti
“about you” — waa'ee kee

Postpositions, on the other hand, take the accusative form of personal pronouns.

Examples:
“at you” — sitti
“from me” — narraa
“under him” — isa jala

When an adjective modifies a noun, the postposition follows the adjective, as in “nama guddarraa” (“from the big man”).

Conjunctions edit

Whereas prepositions link nouns to other parts of the sentence, conjunctions usually link more complete thoughts together.

Some Common Conjunctions:

and fi [also -f suffix]
but garuu, immoo
or yookin (for declaratives), moo (for questions)
however haa ta'u malee
though ta'us
so, therefore kanaaf, kanaafu
because sababiin isaa, sababiinsa [lit. “its reason”]
so that, in order to     akka

Conjunctions come between the two clauses they connect, though garuu and immoo (“but”) can also come after the first noun or nounal phrase in the second clause.

Examples:
Inni shee jaalata ta'us amanamaa miti.” – “Though he loves her, he is unfaithful.”
Daadhii moo biiraa dhuguu barbaadda?” – “Do you want tej [alcoholic honey drink] or beer?”
Ani kochee nyaadhe kanaafu gara kasan qaba.” – “I ate kitfo [raw meat] so I got diarrhea.”
Nyaatan barbaada sababiinsa nan beela'e.” – “I want food because I am hungry.”
Ani nan deema akka inni dhufuuf.” – “I will go so that he will come.”
Ittoo shiroon jaaladha garuu ittoo misira caalaa jaaladha.” or “Ittoo shiroon jaaladha ittoo misira garuu caalaa jaaladha.” – “I like shiro watt, but I like lentil watt more.”
Innis gara biyya isaa dhufe, sabni isaa garuu isa hin simanne.” – “And he came to his country, but his people did not accept him [John 1:11].”

Vocabulary: Directions edit

kaaba

north

kibba

south

baha

east

lixa

west

mirga

right

bitaa

left

goruu

to turn

gara bitaatti/mirgatti gori

turn left/right

karaa kami?

which way

bitaa/mirgaa jira

it's on the left/right

argachuu

to find

argamuu

to be found

eessatti argama?

where is it found?

kuunnoo

there it is

ce'uu

to cross

riqqicha ce'i

cross the bridge

laga

river

bira, cinaa, dhiyoo

near

fagoo

far

aanuu

to be next to

naannoo

surroundings

as(i)

here

achi

there

karaa

road, path, way

karaa muummee

main road

addababa'ii

round-about

walakkaa magaalaatti

town center, downtown

ammas

again

ibsaa tiraafikii

traffic light

qabachuu

to take (a bus or taxi)

seenuu

to get on (a vehicle)

bu'uu

to get off (a vehicle)

Iddon jira?

“Is there a seat?”

ka'uu

to depart

ga'uu [-eess- verb]

to arrive

affeeruu

to invite

buufata konkolaataa

bus station

mana bilbilaa

telephone office

bakka

place, area, site

qaxxaamura karaa

cross-roads, intersection

geessutti karumarra

along the road

gara fuuldura

straight


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