Afaan Oromo/Chapter 09

Chapter 9: Jussive

Better Health Begins with You!(Fayyaan gaariin si irraa jalqaba!)
[Adapted from the Nutrition Education for New Americans Project of the Department of Anthropology and Geography at Georgia State University. Funded by the USDA Food and Consumer Service.]   Guyyuma guyyaatti daabboo waan dhadhaa hedddu hin qabne; akayi, ruzza yookin paasta dhiheessaa jaha hanga kudha tokko nyaadhu. Fakkeenyaaf, ganama matajaboo, guyya sandwich galgala immoo ruzza duwwa nyaadhu.  Ija mukkatti fi kuduraa dhiheessaa shan nyaadhu. Fakkenyaaf, cuunfaa birtukaanii dhugi, salaaxaa nyaadhu, galgala immoo dinnichaa affeelama fi ija wayinii nyaadhu.  Guyyaatti yoo xinnaate bishaan burcuqqo saddeet dhuuggi.  Foon diimaa kan baay'ee cooma hin qabne isaa akaa hanqaaqoo yookiin qurxummii nyaadhu.  Waan sa'a kan dhadhaa yartuu qabu kan akka aanaan raafamaa fi itittuu filadhu.  Nyaata waan mi'aawaa fi dhugaatii alkoolii hin baay'isiin.  Guyyaa hunda sosocho'a godhi. Dirree keessa adeemi, yookiin sirba bu'i, taphadhu. <li> Nyaata kolestrol hin qabne fi, zayitii waan sa'a fi kan cooma horii irra hojjatamu mana zayitii kuduraa filadhu.</li></ol>

[For translation see here]

The Imperative
The 2nd person jussive, better known as the imperative, is used for issuing commands. In Oromo, there are two forms for the imperative, the singular (ati) and the plural/polite (isin). For all verbs except -chuu verbs, the pattern for forming imperatives is as follows:

For -chuu verbs, where the verb stem is the infinitive minus the -chuu ending, the imperatives are formed as follows:

Exceptions
The main exception is “come” (“to come” – dhufuu) which is koottu, kootta (not dhufi, dhufa) in the affirmative. The negative imperative (“don't come”) follows the standard pattern, hin dhufin, hin dhufina. The imperative “go” can also be beenu, beena in addition to the regular forms deemi, deema.

“Please”
The standard word for “please” is maaloo, though in conversation this is used mostly for making requests and as a response, as in “yes, please”. Adaraa (“in the name of”) is also sometimes used as “please” in this context. For imperatives and other jussive forms, mee is most commonly used.

Examples: “Koottu mee” &mdash; “come here, please” “Mee waa'ee obbolaawwan kee natti himi” &mdash; “Please tell me about your brothers” “Mee nama sun gaafadhu” &mdash; “Please ask that person” “Mee suuta dubbadhu” &mdash; “Please speak slowly/slower” “Mee irra naa deebi'i” &mdash; “Please repeat for me” “Mee guddisii dubbadhu” &mdash; “Please speak loudly/louder”

More Indirect Objects: The Dative
The dative case is used to indicated recipients and benefactors, where in English we would use “to” or “for”. The dative may be formed by one of the following methods: <ol> <li>For nouns that end in a short vowel (in their dictionary form), the vowel will be lengthened and, optionally, an -f suffix added. “Give it to the boy” can thus be expressed as “isa ilmaa kenni” or “isa ilmaaf kenni”.</li> <li>For nouns ending in a long vowel, either -f or -dhaa(f) suffixes may be attached. “It's good for eating” can be expressed as “nyaachuuf gaarii dha”, “nyaachuudhaa gaarii dha”, or “nyaachuudhaaf gaarii dha”</li> <li>For nouns ending in a consonant, the suffix -iif will be attached. For example, “give it to Jim” would be “isa Jimiif kenni”.</li></ol>

The dative forms for the personal pronouns are given below.

The locative -tti suffix can sometimes be used in a dative-like manner. For instance, “tell him” would be “isatti jedhi” [lit. “say at him”] rather than “isaaf jedhi” [lit. “say for him”].

Double Imperatives
Where English would use an adverb to modify an imperative, Oromo most often uses two imperatives in a row, with the first modifying the second. The first imperative is given a long final vowel.

Examples: “Speak loadly/loader” &mdash; “Guddisii dubbadhu” (sg.) or “Guddisaa dubbadha” (plu./pol.) “Run faster” &mdash; “Baay'isii fiigi” (sg.) or “Baay'isaa fiiga” (plu./pol.) “Work harder” &mdash; “Cimsii hojjadhu” (sg.) or “Cimsaa hojjadha” (plu./pol.)

The adverbal imperatives are almost always causatives (discussed in Chapter 16). Guddisuu is “to make big”, baay'isuu is “to make many/much”, and cimsuu is “to make strong”.

To express a sequence of commands, imperatives are simply put together. For example, “go (and) eat” is deemi nyaadhu (no elongation of the final vowel on the first imperative).

The Jussive Forms
The 1st and 3rd person jussive forms express suggestions, translated roughly as the English “let”. The jussive forms would thus be “let me”, “let us”, “let him”, etc. The jussive forms use the preverb haa and attach a suffix to the verb stem.

Examples: haa ta'u &mdash; okay [lit. “let it be”] haa nyaannu &mdash; “let's eat” inni haa deemu &mdash; “let him go” si haa gargaaru &mdash; “Let me help you”

For irregular verbs, the verb stem changes just as it does in the present and past tenses. The example of taa'uu (“to sit”) is given below.

Note that only the regular stem is used in imperatives, even for irregular verbs (e.g., the imperative “sit” is taa'i/taa'a, not teessi/teessa which mean “she sits”/“you sit” as declaratives).

The 1st person jussive, while understood, is not common, especially in the singular. It is more common to use the present-future tense, as in “ofi koon of barsiisa” (“I will introduce myself”) rather than “ofi koon haa of barsiisu” (“let me introduce myself”), or “achitti wal agarra” (“we will meet there”) rather than “achitti wal haa agarru” (“let's meet there”).

In a question, the jussive works like the English “shall”, as in “haa deemnu?” for “shall we go?”.

Other Forms of Requests
Other than using imperative or jussive forms, it is often polite to use the infinitive with danda'uu (“to be able, possible”). Forms using the subordinate tense and if-then clauses (“could you…”, “would you…”, “I would appreciate it if…”) are discussed in Chapter 17.

Examples: “Can you lend it to me, please” &mdash; “Isa naa ergisuu dandeessa, maaloo?” “Can you (pl.) please help me?” &mdash; “Maaloo, naa gargaaruu dandeessu?” “Can I open a window?” &mdash; “Foddaa banuu danda'a?”

Responding to Commands and Suggestions
The receiver of a command or suggestion has a variety of ways to accept or refuse.

Expressing Needs
The last three examples above show excuses by expressing needs. There are a number of ways of doing this. The four main ways are:

Method 1 : &lt;infinitive&gt; + &lt;present tense qabuu&gt;, as in “xumuruu qabti” for “she has to finish”. Method 2 : &lt;infinative&gt; + &lt;present tense barbaaduu&gt;, as in “nyaachuu barbaanna” for “we need to eat” (also means “we want to eat”) Method 3 : &lt;acc. pers. pronoun&gt; + barbaachisa, as in “birciqqoo isa barbaachisa”, which literally means “a glass is necessary for him”. For plural needs, barbaachisu is used to mean “are needed/necessary”, as in “birciqqooleen isaani barbaachisu” (“glasses are necessary for them”). Method 4 : &lt;infinative&gt;+tu + &lt;acc. pers. pronoun&gt;+rra + jira. This construction works like the English “must” or “should”, as is “barachuutu sirra jira” for “you should/must learn” [lit. “it's on you to learn”].