Afaan Oromo - Chapter 10: Prepositions and Conjunctions

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

Prepositions and Postpositions
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:
PostpositionsPrepositions
ala — out, outsidegara — towards
bira — beside, with, aroundeega, erga — since, from, after
booda — afterhaga, hanga — until
cinaa — beside, near, next to    hamma — up to, as much as
dur, dura — beforeakka — like, as
duuba — behind, back ofwaa'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 ittiirra, 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
Whereas prepositions link nouns to other parts of the sentence, conjunctions usually link more complete thoughts together.
Some Common Conjunctions:
andfi [also -f suffix]
butgaruu, immoo
oryookin (for declaratives), moo (for questions)
howeverhaa ta'u malee
thoughta'us
so, thereforekanaaf, kanaafu
becausesababiin 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
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

Source: Wikibooks 

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