UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

P.O.B. 200 • SE 405 30 GOTHENBURG

We offer net-based courses in Somali

free of charge for citizens of the EU and EEA

BEGINNER’S
SOMALI GRAMMAR

Morgan Nilsson

Gothenburg
25 August 2023
Preliminary version
Final version expected later this autumn/winter.

This is work in progress. Read it critically!

Feel free to contact me with comments.
[email protected]
Table of contents
§ 5.1 Optional contractions 26
Table of contents 1
Sentence particle + subject pronoun
§ 1. The Somali speaking areas 6 26

§ 1.1 Regional variation within standard Somali § 5.2 Obligatory contractions 27

6 Contracted prepositions 27
Variation in the pronunciation 6 Contractions with la 28
Variation in word forms 7 Contractions with object pronouns
Variation in the vocabulary 8 29
Contractions with the negator má
§ 2. The script 10 30
Longer contractions 30
§ 2.1 The alphabet 10
The negator aan + short subject
§ 2.2 Orthography 11 pronouns 31
Contractions with the particle baa or
§ 2.3 Capital letters 11
ayaa 31
§ 2.4 Double letters 11
<gg> and <dd> in nouns with a suffix § 6. Nouns 32
12
§ 6.1 The gender of nouns 32
<nn> in the 1st and 2nd person
Stress in nouns 33
plural 12
Nouns ending in –e/–o/–a 34
Exceptions 34
§ 3. The sound system 13
§ 6.2 The indefinite form 35
§ 3.1 Vowels 13
Heavy vowels 13 § 6.3 The definite singular form 35
Short and long vowels 14 Generic definite form 36
Diphthongs 14
§ 6.4 The plural of feminine nouns 38
§ 3.2 Consonants 15
§ 6.5 The plural of masculine nouns 39
Intense consonants 18
§ 6.6 Less straight-forward plural forms 41
§ 3.3 Stress or high tone 18
Sound changes 41
Nouns without a context 19
-ó, -áha instead of -yó, -yáda 42
Subject tone 19
-ó, -áha instead of reduplication 42
Continuation high tone 20
-yó, -yáda instead of consonant
Nouns phrases 20
strengthening 42
§ 3.4 Phonotactics 21 Unexpected definite article 43
Limitations on syllable structure 21 Gender alternations 43
Restrictions on /m/, /t/ and /k/ 21 Irregular plural forms 43
Two plural forms 44
§ 4. Morpho-phonology 23
§ 6.7 Arabic plural forms 45
§ 4.1 Alternations of /k/ and /t/ 23
§ 6.8 The counting form of nouns 46
Adjectives like jecel and nool 23
§ 6.9 Countability 47
§ 4.2 Distant vowel assimilation 24
General use of the singular 47
Distant assimilation across /h/ 24
Collective nouns 47
Distant assimilation in the infinitive
Singular, plural and collective form
25
48
§ 4.3 Vowel insertion 25 Only singular and collective form 49
Group nouns 49
§ 5. Contractions 26

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 Plural only nouns 50 kalé other 73

§ 7. Formation of nouns 51 § 10. Adjectives 74

§ 7.1 Persons 51 § 10.1 Formation of adjectives 74

Female persons 51 Adjectives derived from nouns
Collectives 52 74
Ordinal numbers 74
§ 7.2 Things and abstract notions 52
Adjectives derived from verbs 75
§ 7.3 Verbal nouns 53 “Phrasal adjectives” 75
§ 7.4 Compounds 54 § 10.2 The inflection of adjectives 76
The distributive form 76
§ 8. Numerals 56 Sound alternations in the stem
77
§ 9. Pronouns 58
§ 10.3 The comparative degree 78
§ 9.1 Personal pronouns 58
No 3rd person object pronouns 58 § 10.4 The superlative degree 78
Long forms of personal pronouns 59
First person plural: we, us, our 59 § 11. Verbs 79
The indefinite subject pronoun la 60 § 11.1 The present tense 79
Obligatory short object pronouns 60
§ 11.2 The past tense 80
The reflexive object pronoun is 61
§ 11.3 The three conjugations 81
§ 9.2 Demonstrative pronouns 61
Demonstrative forms with –aan, –aa § 11.4 The infinitive 82
63
§ 11.5 Progressive verb forms 83
Demonstrative forms with –ii 63
Present progressive expressing
§ 9.2.2a Adjectives after -ii 65
near future 84
Placeholder pronouns 65
Verbs without progressive forms
§ 9.3 Possessive pronouns 66 84
Short possessive endings 67
§ 11.6 The habitual past tense 86
Implied possessive relations 69
Partitive use of possessive suffixes § 11.7 The future tense 87
69 § 11.8 Survey of tenses and aspects 88
Possessive + demonstrative suffix 69
§ 11.9 Reduced verb forms 89
§ 9.4 Interrogative pronouns 70
Interrogative use of possessive § 11.10 The subjunctive mood 91
forms 70 Negative forms of the present
progressive 93
§ 9.5 Nouns with pronominal functions 71 Reduced subjunctive forms 94
qóf person; cíd people 71 The optative construction 95
wáx thing 71 § 11.10.3a The negative optative 96
sí manner 71 The conditional construction 97
meél, hál place; xág side, direction § 11.10.4a The negative conditional 98
72
már, goór, kól moment; § 11.11 The imperative mood 100
wákhti/wáqti time 72 The prohibitive construction 101
dhammaán all 72 § 11.12 Sound changes 102
láf bone; náf soul, spirit; qúr/qúdh Conjugation 1 102
life 72 Conjugation 2 111
§ 9.6 Adjectives with pronominal functions 73 Conjugation 3 114
dhán all, total 73 § 11.13 Irregular verbs 123

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 yahay is 123 Prepositions 153
Adjectives with copular verb Object pronoun + preposition
suffixes 124 154
§ 11.13.2a The use of yahay ‘is’ 126 The negator má 154
§ 11.13.2b Different equivalents of Viewpoint particles 154
English ‘is’ 126 Distribution particles 155
leeyahay has 128 Position particles 155
§ 11.13.3a Equivalents of English has
§ 12.3 The particle phrase 156
129
Sentence particles 156
yaallaa lies, is 130
Short subject pronouns 158
yaqaannaa knows 131
Obligatory subject pronouns 158
yimaaddaa comes 132
Omission of the short subject
yiraahdaa says 133
pronoun 158
§ 11.14 Formation of verbs 134
Inchoative verbs in ‒oobaa / ‒ § 13. Simple clauses 160
oodaa 134 § 13.1 Sentence constituents 160
Inchoative verbs in ‒aadaa 134 Subjects 160
Causative verbs in ‒eeyaa 134 Predicate agreement 162
Causative verbs in ‒iyaa 135 Focused subjects 164
Causative verbs in ‒siiyaa 137 Objects 164
Anticausative verbs in ‒maa 137 § 13.1.4a Two objects 165
Autobenefactive verbs in ‒(s)taa Adverbials 166
/ –(sa)daa 138 § 13.1.5a The preposition u 167
§ 13.1.5b The preposition ku 169
§ 12. Phrases and word order 140
§ 13.1.5c The preposition ka 172
§ 12.1 The noun phrase 140 § 13.1.5d The preposition la 173
Nouns as modifiers 141 § 13.1.5e Variation in the use of
Adjectives as modifiers 142 prepositions 174
Noun + adjective as a modifier § 13.1.5f Preposition with position
phrase 142 particle 174
Adjectives with headwords in – § 13.1.5g Complex ”prepositional
kii/–tii 142 phrases” 175
Relative clauses as modifiers 143 § 13.1.5h Recipient or indirect object
Noun + ah being as a modifier 176
phrase 143 § 13.1.5i Place adverbials 176
Noun + leh having; with as a § 13.1.5j Time adverbials 177
modifier phrase 144 § 13.1.5k Manner adverbials 177
Agreement in definiteness 144 § 13.1.5l Nouns with possessive
Noun phrases expressing endings 177
quantity 145 Vocatives 178
Counting uncountable nouns 145
§ 13.2 Declarative clauses 179
More than one modifier 146
Clauses with the verb to be 179
More than two nouns in a phrase
To be with focused subjects 180
149
Comparison 181
The phrase ká mid ah of 149
Telling the time 181
Prepositions before verbal nouns
150 § 13.3 Questions 182
Prepositions before other nouns Wh-questions with focus 182
150 Wh-questions without focus 183
The particle ‒ba 150 Yes/no questions 183
Multiple choice questions 185
§ 12.2 The verb phrase 152

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 § 13.4 Commands 186 § 15.4 Adverbial clauses 202
Warnings and prohibitions 186 Temporal clauses 202
Conditional clauses 204
§ 13.5 Negative clauses 187
Final subclauses 205
Negative questions 187
Concessive clauses 205
§ 14. Coordination 188 Causal clauses 206
Circumstantial clauses 206
§ 14.1 The conjunctions ama and mise 189 Comparative clauses 207
§ 14.2 The conjunction ee 190 § 15.5 English indirect questions 208
§ 14.3 The conjunctions laakiín, -se and balse Indirect yes/no questions 208
191 § 15.6 Direct speech as object clause 209
§ 14.4 The conjunction waáyo 191 § 15.7 Negative subordinate clauses 209
§ 14.5 The conjunctional phrase sababta oo ah
192 § 16. Colloquial Somali 210

§ 16.1 The sounds 210

§ 15. Subordinate clauses 193 Contractions 210
§ 15.1 The form of the verb in subclauses 193 Assimilation of /n/ 210
The time relation between Distant vowel assimilation 211
clauses 195 § 16.2 Inflection 211
Future from the perspective of Gender of nouns 211
the past 196 Nouns with gender variation 212
§ 15.2 Ín clauses 197 Determiner endings 212
Object clauses with ín 197 Verb inflection 212
Subject clauses with ín 197 § 16.2.4a Present tense, 2nd person
Predicative complement clauses plural 212
with ín 197 § 16.2.4b 1 p. sing. negative present
The construction waa ín… 198 subjunctive 213
§ 16.2.4c Forms of the verb yahay 213
§ 15.3 Relative clauses 199
Vowel length in the progressive
Relative clauses connected by a
morpheme 213
conjunction 199
Relative clauses in subject noun § 16.3 Syntax 213
phrases 201 No subject case 213
Relative clauses in headings 201 Focus by subject pronoun 214
Relative clauses with a Subjunctive instead of reduced
preposition 202 verb forms 214

4
Abbreviations and signs
[ ] indicates the pronunciation of words
/ / indicates the sound structure of words
< > indicates the spelling of words
C colloquial (common in colloquial Somali)
CMPL completive aspect (expresses a completed action)
FIN.FOC final focus (focus on the last noun phrase)
FOC focus (focus on the preceding noun phrase)
N north (more common in the north)
PR.FOC predicate focus (focus on the predicate verb, adjective or noun)
Q question particle
S south (more common in the south)
sb. somebody
sth. something

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§ 1. The Somali speaking areas
Somali is spoken by more than 25 million people, making it approximately
the 10th largest language in Africa and the 70th largest in the world. Most
Somali speakers live in five countries in the Horn of Africa, but there is
also a large diaspora that can be found practically all around the world.

Country No. of speakers Official language Previous colonial power

Djibouti ca. 0.5 mill. French, Arabic France
Ethiopia ca. 6.5 mill. national: Amharic; regional: Somali
Kenya ca. 2.5 mill. English, Swahili Britain
Somalia ca. 9–11 mill. Somali Italy
Somaliland 1 ca. 4 mill. Somali Britain
elsewhere 1–3 mill.

§ 1.1 Regional variation within standard Somali

There are certain differences in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation
between the individual Somali regions. The differences in grammar and
pronunciation are quite small, but the differences in vocabulary are more
noticeable. To a certain degree one could compare the different varieties
of Somali with English, Spanish or French in various countries around the
world, with German in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxemburg,
or with Swedish in Sweden and Finland.

Variation in the pronunciation

The largest difference in the pronunciation concerns the voiced post-
alveolar retroflex stop /dh/ 2 (see § 3.2). This phoneme is not used to the
same extent in all Somali speaking areas. In the north-west (approximately
Somaliland, Djibouti and the northern part of the Somali Regional State of
Ethiopia), /dh/ may occur in any position in a word. In the remaining areas

1 Somaliland declared itself independent from Somalia in 1991, but no other country has
recognised Somaliland so far. In practice, however, Somaliland functions as an independent
state with its own parliament, currency, army etc.
2 Approximately like Swedish and Norwegian /rd/, similar to /d/, but pronounced with the tip

of the tongue touching a point higher up (farther back) on the roof of the mouth.

6
/dh/ doesn’t normally occur after a vowel, and /r/ is used instead. Both
manners of pronunciation and spelling are considered equally correct in
standard Somali.

After a vowel there is a regional

variation between /dh/ and/r/:
gabádhN or gabárS girl
ádhiN or áriS goats and sheep

At the beginning of words /dh/ is

used in all areas:
dhálo bottle, glass (as material)

Also after a consonant /dh/ is used

in all areas:
gabdhó girls

Variation in word forms

A few nouns may end in either /a/ or
/o/. The form ending in /o/ is
somewhat more common in the
middle and southern parts of the
Somali speaking area, whereas the
form ending in /a/ is more common
in the northern parts. This happens,
e.g., in the numbers lábo / lába two
and toddóbo / toddóba seven; this
variation is especially frequent word
finally in women’s names:

SáhraN / SáhroS, FaadúmaN /

FaadúmoS, CaáshaN / CaáshoS

Personal preferences, in combination with geographic factors, influence

the choice of form. The forms which end in /o/ may be perceived by some
speakers as more typically Somali, maybe because the forms ending in /a/

7
resemble the European and Arabic forms of these names; however, both
forms have an equal status in the standard language.

Variation in the vocabulary

The differences between regions are easiest to notice in the vocabulary.

qáreS or xábxabN watermelon jaálleS or húrdi / huruudN yellow

ukúnS or béedN egg dariishádS or daaqádN window

8
In some instances, one of the words in the pair has developed into the
more neutral one in written standard Somali, e.g.

banoóniS or kubbád ball malláayS or kallúun fish

With respect to loanwords, the middle and southern parts of Somalia were
mainly influenced by Italian for many decades, whereas Somaliland was
instead influenced by English. In Ethiopia there has also been some
influence from Amharic, and in Djibouti from French. The largest
influences in all Somali speaking areas are, however, from Arabic, but
today the influence of English is rapidly growing in all areas, just like in
many other parts of the world.

usbúuc (from Ar. ᾿usbuuc), wíigN (from Eng. week), sitimáanS (from It.
settimana) or toddobáad (purely Somali), all meaning week

shukumáanS (from It. asciugamano) or

tuwáalN (from En. towel) both meaning towel

9
§ 2. The script
Somali was introduced as the official language of Somalia on 1 January
1973 after a decision announced by the government on 21 October 1972. It
was decided that Somali was to be written with the Latin script. Earlier,
Arabic script, as well as a few scripts especially invented for Somali, had
also been used to some extent. The choice of the Latin script was mainly
due to considerations of economy, as most of the typewriters and printing
presses in the country had been used to write the previous colonial
languages, i.e. Italian in the south, middle and east, and English in the
northwest.

§ 2.1 The alphabet

The traditional order of the letters in the Somali alphabet is
B, T, J, X, KH, D, R, S, SH, DH, C, G, F, Q, K, L, M, N, W, H, Y, A, E, I, O, U.

This is the order of the letters in the Arabic alphabet, and it should
probably be regarded as a symbolic remedy for those who, in the 1950s
and 1960s, wanted to establish the Arabic script for Somali.

However, the traditional Somali order isn’t used very much for practical
purposes, e.g., when arranging the words in a dictionary or a list of names
in alphabetical order.

The only situation in which the traditional order is applied reguarly is

when the letters of the alphabet are used for numbering sub-items in a
numbered list.

1. b) Muqdisho
t) Hargeysa
j) Boosaaso
2. b) Jabbuuti
t) Jigjiga
j) Kismaayo
x) Garoowe

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§ 2.2 Orthography
Somali spelling and the use of punctuation marks has never been
thoroughly regulated by any institution or in any reference book. There
are, however, quite a few rules scattered through different schoolbooks,
as well as a fifty year old tradition to take guidance from. The spelling in
printed texts is relatively homogenous, and when it is not, it is most often
possible to find a consensus regarding which spelling of a specific word
should be considered the “best” one.

§ 2.3 Capital letters

In Somali, capital letters are used in almost the same way as in English,
i.e., in names, including the names of the months and the days of the week,
as well as in words denoting nationalities and languages. It is also quite
common to write the names of the seasons and the four cardinal directions
with a capital letter.

Soomáaliya Somalia
Soomaáli a Somali
af Soomaáli Somali (language)
Sábti Saturday
Abríil April
Jiiláal / jiiláal winter/summer (warm dry season, Dec.‒Feb.)
Koonfúr / koonfúr south

§ 2.4 Double letters

Double letters are used in Somali to represent longer vowels (aa, ee, ii, oo
and uu) and more intense consonants, namely the three stops bb, dd and
gg and the four sonorants ll, mm, nn and rr. The rest of the consonants are
never doubled, even though some speakers pronounce them as slightly
longer or more intense in certain words.

The following rules are particularly important.

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 <gg> and <dd> in nouns with a suffix
If a masculine noun ends in <g>, all forms with a determiner suffix will be
written (and pronounced) with a double (intense) <gg> due to the
assimilation of the /k/ in the suffix with the /g/ in the stem.

búug book búugga the book < *búug–ka

búuggayga my book < *búug–kayga
búuggaaga your book < *búug–kaaga

If a feminine noun ends in -d, all forms with a determiner suffix will be
written (and pronounced) with a double (intense) -dd- due to the
assimilation of the /t/ in the suffix with the /d/ in the stem.

bisád cat bisádda the cat < *bisád–ta

bisáddayda my cat < *bisád–tayda
bisáddaada your cat < *bisád–taada

<nn> in the 1st and 2nd person plural

Verb endings in the 1st person plural (‒nay, ‒naa, -na, ‒no) contain a
double –nn– in all instances where the –nn– occurs between two vowels.
The same is also true for possessive endings in the 1st and 2nd person
plural (‒eenna our, ‒iinna your), as well as for long personal pronouns in
the 1st person plural (annaga, innaga we) and the short subject pronoun
(aannu we).

Waa in aynu ilaalinnaa nadaafadda ilaha biyaheenna.

We have to look after the hygiene in our sources of water.

Cuntada kama maaranno. We can’t manage without food.

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§ 3. The sound system
Compared to many other languages, Somali spelling reflects the
pronunciation in a very straightforward way.

§ 3.1 Vowels
Somali has five letters representing vowels: i, e, a, o and u. The most
frequent way of pronouncing each of these vowels is approximately the
same as in many other languages that have five vowels, e.g., Spanish or
Czech. One could also compare them to the pronunciation of the vowels
in the English words swim, bed, car, more and shoe.

Heavy vowels
However, the Somali vowel system is more complex than the spelling
reveals, as each vowel letter may be pronounced in two different ways.
There is a second, less frequent way of pronouncing each letter. Those
sounds are produced with greater tension in the throat, and are
traditionally referred to as heavy vowels. They only occur in certain
words.

In order to represent heavy vowels in dictionaries and grammar books,

different systems have been proposed: a comma, a cedilla or a “tail” under
the letter, i.e. į, ę, ą, o̦, ų, or two dots above the letter, i.e. ï, ë, ä, ö, ü. If
needed, ordinary vowels may be underlined, i.e. a, e, i, o, u.

Ordinary vowels Somali words with ordinary vowels

/i/ approx. like Eng. sit Somali examples
/e/ less
/a/ arm
/o/ hot
/u/ soup

Heavy pronunciation Somali words with heavy vowels

i approx. like Eng. police Somali examples

13
 e convey
a apple
o approx. like French sœur
u approx. like French sur

It is important to stress, however, that the comparisons made with English

and French are only approximations. The European “heavy” vowels are
simply pronounced by putting the tongue closer to the front of the mouth,
whereas the Somali heavy vowels are also accompanied by a tension in
the throat.

Unfortunately, the research into Somali heavy vowels is very limited. It is

therefore not possible to present any exact principles for their use. The
vowel quality is also not noted systematically in any existing dictionary.
It is however very seldom the case that this subtle difference in vowel
quality is the only difference between two different words. Consequently,
the best advice is simply to listen carefully to Somali speakers and imitate
their pronunciation as closely as possible.

Short and long vowels

All the Somali vowels, both the ordinary ones and the heavy ones, occur
both as short and long. The long vowels are written as double.

u to, for versus uu he, it

i me ii to me, for me
ku in, on; you kuu to you, for you

Diphthongs
Somali has three diphthongs. Their spelling and pronunciation may vary
a bit: ey/ay, ow/aw and oy. In standard Somali it has never been regulated
whether one should write <ey> and <ow>, which often seem to be closer
to the pronunciation, or <ay> and <aw>. In the 1970s the spelling with <ey>
and <ow> was somewhat more frequent than it is nowadays. At present,
<ay>, especially, has become obviously more common than <ey>.

14
§ 3.2 Consonants
More than half of the 22 Somali consonants are pronounced in more or
less the same way as in English. This applies to b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, s,
sh, t, w and y. The sounds /t/ and /k/ are accompanied by aspiration, i.e. a
distinct burst of breath, just like in English.

Somali has three digraphs, i.e. combinations of two letters representing

one sound: <dh>, <kh> and <sh>.

The sound /dh/ is very similar to the Swedish and Norwegian sound
written <rd>. It is similar to a /d/, but pronounced with the tip of the
tongue touching a point higher up, above the alveolar ridge. YouTube3
and Wikipedia 4 offer further helpful details.

The sound /j/ may be pronounced in two different ways, mainly

depending on region. It is either more voiced (like <j> in Eng. joke, Jane,
Jeep) or quite voiceless (like <ch> in Eng. choke, chain, cheap). In today’s
standard Somali, it seems to have become common to pronounce /j/ as
fairly voiceless in the north and as quite voiced in the south. Listen
carefully to native speakers.

When a single <b, d, g> occurs between two vowels it is pronounced as

”softer” or ”slacker”, like the sounds [β, ð, ɣ] which are characteristic of,
e.g., Modern Greek and Spanish in words such as adiós, saber, pagar. The
[ð] is of course similar to English <th> in this.

Hibo♀, Liibaan♂, Hodan♀, Idil♀, Ladan♀, Faadumo♀, Magan♂, …

Double <bb, dd, gg> are however pronounced more distinctly and with
more slightly more energy and longer duration.

3 <dh> https://youtu.be/nU7H_aiG-kc
4 <dh> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_retroflex_plosive

15
The Somali /r/ differs from how it is usually pronounced in English. It is
quite similar to the trilled or rolled /r/ sound in Italian or Spanish, but
sometimes becomes voiceless at the beginning or end of a word.

Double <ll, mm, nn, rr> are also pronounced with some extra energy and
duration.

The letters <c, kh, q, x, ’> represent sounds that correspond closely to their
Arabic counterparts: c = ‫ع‬, kh = ‫خ‬, q = ‫ق‬, x = ‫ح‬, ’ = ‫ء‬.

The <c> is rather similar to a very voiced /h/. Pronouncing /h/, the air flow
is given a free passage through the throat, but when pronouncing /c/ the
tongue root is pushed back towards the back of the throat in order to
constrict the air flow into a narrow channel, thereby causing turbulence.
This sound is often perceived by Europeans as a ”creaky” /a/. For Somalis,
however, there is no doubt that this sound is a consonant. YouTube 5 offers
a helpful explanation and sound illustration.

Cali♂, Cumar♂, Cabdi♂, Jaamac♂, Sacdiya♀, Nimco♀

The <kh> is similar to <ch> in German Bach or Scottish Loch Ness. YouTube 6
offers a helpful explanation and sound illustration.

Khadra♀, Sheekh♂, Khaalid♂, Kheyre♂, Khadiijo♀

The sound /kh/ is a bit exotic in Somali. It occurs almost exclusively in

words of Arabic origin. Therefore, some speakers have a tendency to
replace it with /q/.

The <q> is rather similar to /k/ or /g/, but the tongue is pushed back
towards the uvula instead of up towards the hard palate. The voiced
pronunciation (similar to /g/) is more common between vowels, whereas
the voiceless pronunciation (similar to /k/) is more common at the

5 <c> https://youtu.be/3057MbWmH1k
6 <kh> https://youtu.be/y5AizU69VOA

16
beginning and end of words. YouTube 7 offers a helpful explanation and
sound illustration.

Muqdisho, Qarshi♀, Ruqiya♀, Cabdiqani♂, Qaali♀

The <x> is rather similar to a voiceless /h/, but in order to pronounce /x/
the tongue root needs to be pushed backwards against the back of the
throat (the pharynx), in order to constrict the air flow into a narrow
channel, causing friction or turbulence. This sound is often perceived by
European as a “breathy” version of /h/. YouTube 8 offers a helpful
explanation and sound illustration.

Farxiyo♀, Xasan♂, Maxamed♂, Maxamuud♂, Xamdi♀, Xaddiyo♀,

Axmed♂

The letter < ’ > is pronounced as a glottal stop, as in the Cockney

pronunciation bu'er for butter. It is produced by a rapid closure, bringing
the vocal folds together, as when holding one’s breath. When the air flow
is then released again, this sound emerges.

Israa’iil, Sa’iir; Daa’uud♂, Faa’iso♀

The letters <p>, <v> and <z> are not used in Somali since the corresponding
sounds are not phonemes, i.e., they are not used to differentiate between
Somali words. However, the sound [p] is sometimes pronounced as a
voiceless version of /b/ at the beginning or end of a word, as well as before
another voiceless consonant, e.g. kab [khap] shoe, kabta [khaptha] the shoe.
The letter <z> and the sound [z] are sometimes encountered in words of
Arabic origin, such as the woman’s name Zamzam. Some speakers prefer
to pronounce it with a voiced [z], but the purely Somali pronunciation
[samsam] is more frequent, and the purely Somali spelling is of course
Samsam.

7 <q> voiced (mainly between vowels) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQrmm4oLR3Q

<q> voiceless https://youtu.be/N98UVs85qJI
8 <x> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Al1JaAfr88&t=680s

17
 Intense consonants
Some Somali consonants exhibit a more ”intense” version alongside the
simple consonant. These more intense consonants are pronounced more
distinctly, with slightly more energy and with a slightly longer duration.
There may be some variation between regions as well as speakers. Listen
carefully to native speakers.

Only seven intense consonants are spelled as double: <bb, dd, gg, mm, nn,
rr, ll>. Some of the other consonants are also pronounced intensely in
certain words in some regions, but they are never written with a double
consonant in standard Somali.

§ 3.3 Stress or high tone

Lägg till detaljerade regler för betoningens placering.

The realisation of word stress in Somali differs from the way stress is
realised in most European languages, where it is mainly a question of
realising a certain syllable or vowel with more energy. In Somali the main
feature of a stressed vowel is that it is pronounced with a higher pitch or
a higher tone than the rest of the word.

The Somali stress gives the word a ”melody”, and the position of the high
tone in the word can sometimes serve to differentiate between words that
are otherwise identical. In English there are often stress differences
between nouns and verbs, as in We're going to record a record. Also in
Somali, stress often serves to distinguish between grammatical categories.

ínan boy inán girl

áfartan these four afártan forty
hées sing! heés song
mádow darkness madów dark (adj.)
bád wéyn a big sea badwéyn ocean

The pitch tracks below show the pitch level in some of these words. (The
pitch is measured by the speed of the vibrations creating the sound.)

18
 ínan inán bád wéyn badwéyn
boy girl a big sea ocean

Nouns without a context

When a noun ending in –o/–a/–e is used on its own, out of context, not as
part of any phrase or clause, most speakers pronounce a high tone on the
second to last vowel position. In a context they usually pronounce it on
the last vowel position.

magaálo a city
magaaló wéyn a big city
báre a teacher
baré wanaagsan a good teacher

Subject tone
Most bare nouns and adjectives loose their high tone

Nouns ending in -e/-o/-a have their high tone on the second to last vowel
position.

When a short possessive suffix occurs as the final morpheme of a subject

marked noun phrase, the suffixes take over the high tone from the stem of
the noun. The stem remains toneless.

Saaxíibkiis baa kú riíxaya baaskíilka. (not subject marked)

HIS FRIEND pushes the bike.
Saaxiibkiís wáxa uu kú riíxayaa baaskíilka. (subject marked)
His friend pushes THE BIKE.

19
 Continuation high tone
The end of a noun phrase is often marked by a high tone, but this is not
obligatory. There is often only one distinct high tone per noun phrase,
while other ”potential” high tones are not realised distinctly.

bisádda yár or bisádda yar the little cat

subáx wanaagsán! or subáx wanaagsan! good morning!
sheekó gaabán or sheekó gaaban a short story

Nouns phrases
(a) The end of a noun phrase is often marked by a high tone on the final
vowel position of the modifier, but may also be pronounced without any
distinct high tone.

dúgsiga Sahrá or dúgsiga Sahra Sahra’s school

For masculine modifier nouns this generally means that their high tone is
shifted from the second last to the last vowel position, or that they are
pronounced without any distinct high tone at all.

Áxmed Ahmed
gúriga Axméd or gúriga Axmed Ahmed’s house

(b) Women’s names that do not end in –o/–a often have their high tone on
the second last vowel position. Such ”irregular” feminine tone generally
remains unchanged where the name is used as a modfier.

dukáanka Máryan Maryan’s shop

(c) If the modifier is in the definite form, the high tone remains in its
original position, but sometimes an additional high tone may be heard at
the end of the phrase.

baabúurka macállinka ~ baabúurka macállinká the teacher’s car

20
§ 3.4 Phonotactics
Phonotactics describes the general principles that govern the ways sounds
may be combined into words in a certain language.

Limitations on syllable structure

Many European languages allow syllables that begin or end with two,
three or occasionally even more consonants, as in the English plural form
scripts.

The Somali syllable structure is very limited. There may not be more than
one consonant + one vowel + one consonant in a Somali syllable. This
means that Somali words can only begin and end with a single consonant,
and inside words there may not be more than two consonants next to each
other between vowels.

These limitations have a large impact on loanwords, as their syllable

structure often needs to be adjusted, either by the insertion of vowels or
the deletion of consonants.

gram > Somali: garaam

ambulance > Somali: ambalaas

Restrictions on /m/, /t/ and /k/

Another restriction in the Somali sound system is the fact that Somali
syllables do not normally end with an /m/, /k/ or /t/. Instead /n/, /g/ and
/d/ are used as replacements.

Aádan Adam, fílin film, macállin teacher (from Arabic mucallim)

tágsi taxi,
buskud biscuit, cookie

This may lead to sound changes between different grammatical forms.

macállin teacher, but macallimád female teacher

tártan competition, but tartámayaa is competing

21
Exceptions occur in a small number of newer loanwords, e.g., átam atom,
garáam gram, and in certain older, but very common, borrowings from
Arabic, e.g., muhíim something important, nidáam system, plan, Isláam
Islam, ixtiráam respect, affection, as well as in a few proper names, e.g.,
Ibraáhim (m.), Sámsam (f.).

Another exception to this principle is that /m/, and not /n/, is pronounced
before /b/, since that is much easier to say. Today people usually write
–mb–, but in the 1970s it was very common to write –nb–, probably due
to the fact that corresponding words are spelled < ‫( > ـﻧﺑـ‬nb) in Arabic.

cámbe (cánbe) mango

There are, however, a few words where –nb– is the absolutely

predominant spelling, above all balanbaális butterfly and baranbáro
cockroach.

22
§ 4. Morpho-phonology
Morpho-phonology deals with sound changes that occur when endings
are added to words, either to derive (i.e. create) new words, or to inflect
words (i.e. create different grammatical forms of words).

§ 4.1 Alternations of /k/ and /t/

The morphemes /k/ and /t/ frequently serve to mark masculine and
feminine gender. In verb forms /t/ also marks the 2nd person.

Both these consonants are altered in different ways after certain sounds.

After /k/ becomes /t/ becomes

/g/ g
/d/ d
/a/, /u/, /w/ g d
/i/, /y/ g d/si
/e/, /o/ h d
/c/, /h/, /x/, /kh/, /q/, / ’/ Ø ii d
/dh/ Ø ii
/l/ iii sh
i) /s/ in verbs; ii) Ø means that /k/ or /t/ disappears; iii) /l/ disappears;

These alternations are very important for the definite article as well as for
the demonstrative, possessive and interrogative endings, but they also
occur in certain verb endings and in some other morphemes.

Adjectives like jecel and nool

The Somali adjectives jecél fond (of something) and nóol living, alive end in
/l/. When such adjectives are followed by a verb form that begins with /t/,
e.g., tahay is (feminine), the alternation mentioned above occurs: /l/+/t/ >
/sh/.

wáa uu jecél yahay he is fond of it, he likes it

wáa ay jecéshahay she is fond of it, she likes it
< jecél + tahay

23
Since this consonant alternation affects both the adjective and the verb, the
two words have to be written as one in the feminine.

§ 4.2 Distant vowel assimilation

Assimilation means that one sound is influenced by another so that they
become (more) similar. In some cases a vowel in the stem of a word is
affected by a vowel in an ending that is added. This is especially common
when the ending contains an /i/ or a /u/.

Distant assimilation across /h/

The most frequent type of distant assimilation is triggered by endings that
begin with an /h/. If the ending contains the vowel /i/ or /u/ after the /h/,
then an /a/ that precedes the ending is replaced by the same vowel as the
one in the ending, i.e., /i/ or /u/.

aábbe father aabbá-ha the father aabbú-hu the father (subj.)

aabbí-hiis his father
shimbiró birds shimbirá-ha the birds shimbirú-hu the birds (subj.)
shimbirí-hiisa his birds
ilkó teeth ilká-ha the teeth ilkú-hu the teeth (subj.)
ilkí-hiisa his teeth

In the spoken form of words, one can often also hear the influence of a
following /e/ or /o/, but such sound changes are usually not reflected by
the orthography. The most frequent spelling is, e.g., ilká-hooda their teeth,
ilká-heeda her teeth, but some people sometimes reflect this type of
assimilation in writing, especially in certain expressions, e.g.

aabbáha the father aabbá-heed (aabbé-heed) her father

aabbá-hood (aabbó-hood) their father

Sometimes people also apply this type of assimilation to masculine nouns

with a stem ending with /ax/ or /ac/.

24
 mágac name mágac-a the name mágac-iisa
(mágic-iisa) his name

Distant assimilation in the infinitive

The same kind of distant asssimilation also occurs in the infinitive. The
infinitive ending –i affects the vowel /a/ in certain verb roots that end with
one of the back consonants /h/, /x/, /c/, / ’/, e.g.

dhacaa falls; happens, inf. dhíci

baxaa comes out, inf. bíxi

§ 4.3 Vowel insertion

A Somali syllable can only begin and end with a single consonant. If the
root or stem of a word ends with two consonants, an extra supportive
vowel must be inserted into the form of the word that lacks an ending. In
most cases the inserted vowel is a copy of the vowel already present in the
word. 9

plural root singular with vowel insertion

xarfó /xar_f/ xáraf letter (of the alphabet)
gacmó /gac_m/ gacán 10 hand, arm
jilbó /jil_b/ jílib knee
ilkó /il_k/ ílig 11 tooth

In a small number of words an /i/ is inserted instead.

maalmó /maal_m/- maalín day
xubnó /xub_n/- xubín member; body part

9 Simlar principles exist in numerous other languages, such as Swedish, where the inserted
vowel is normally /e/.
fingrar fingers /fing_r/- finger finger
vakna awake (pl.) /vaːk_n/- vaken awake (sg.)
gamla old (pl.) /gam_l/- gammal old (sg.)
10 The sound change /m/ > /n/ also occurs, since /m/ cannot occur word finally. See § 3.4.2.

11 The sound change /k/ > /g/ also occurs since /k/ cannot occur word finally. See § 3.4.2.

25
§ 5. Contractions
In Somali, two or even more words often merge into a single word under
certain circumstances. Sometimes this only means that the words are
written together without being separated by an empty space, but most of
the time it also means that some sound is altered or lost.

Some contractions are obligatory while others are optional.

§ 5.1 Optional contractions

Sentence particle + subject pronoun

In colloquial Somali, sentence particles (i.e. sentence type particles and
focus particles) are practically always contracted with the short subject
pronouns, except la one. These contractions also occur in written Somali in
a more casual style. Some examples:

wáa aan → wáan wáxa aan → wáxaan

wáa aad → wáad wáxa aad → wáxaad
wáa uu → wúu wáxa uu → wúxuu
wáa ay → wáy wáxa ay → wáxay

baa aan → baan ayáa aan → ayáan

baa aad → baad ayáa aad → ayáad
baa uu → buu ayáa uu → ayúu
baa ay → bay ayáa ay → ayáy

maxáa aan → maxáan

maxáa aad → maxáad
maxáa uu → muxúu
maxáa ay → maxáy

26
§ 5.2 Obligatory contractions
Especially in verb phrases, many contractions are obligatory. The
indefinite subject pronoun la one, the object pronouns i me, ku you SG, is
oneself, na us EXCL, ina us INCL, idin you PL, the prepositions ú to/for, kú
in/on/with, ká from/of/about/than, lá with, and the negator má not all belong
to the type of words that merge with each other. These contractions are
written and pronounced as one word. Only the very last part of these
contractions stressed and pronounced with a high tone, if the last part is a
preposition or the negator.

Contracted prepositions
If there is more than one preposition in a single clause, they have to merge
with each other. Between vowels /k/ changes to /g/ and between two
occurrences of ú an extra /g/ is inserted as a ”buffer”.

ú+ú > ugú to … to

ú + kú > ugú to … in/on
ú + ká > ugá to … from
ú + lá > ulá to … with
kú + kú > kagá in/on … in/on
kú + ká > kagá in/on … from
ká + ká > kagá from … from
kú + lá > kulá in/on … with
ká + lá > kalá from … with

Note that the form ugú has three different meanings:

ugú < ú + kú
Maxaa ay dadku Hecoo ugu qosli jireen?
Why did people use to laugh at Hecoo?
maxáa + ú for what?, why?
Hecoo + kú at Hecoo
ugú < ú + ú
Maxáa aynu dábka ugú baahán nahay?

27
 What do we need fire for?
maxáa? + ú for what?, why?
dábka + ú baahán needy of the fire

ugú (superlative marker)

Xámar waa magaaláda ugú dád iyo baabuúr badan.
Mogadishu is the city with the most people and cars.
ugú + badan the most

Also note that all three possible combinations of the two prepositions ku
and ka result in one and the same contraction: kagá.

Wáxaan búugga kagá qoray qálin.

FIN.FOC.I the.book in.with wrote pen
I wrote in the book with a PEN.
kú + búugga in the book
kú + qálin with a pen

Gaari-daméerkiisa waxa uu kagá shaqeeyaa magaaláda.

his.donkey-cart FIN.FOC he with.from works the.town
With his donkey cart he works in the CITY.
kú + gaari-daméerkiisa with his donkey cart
ká + magaaláda in the city (literally: from the city)

There is, however, also a contraction kugú, but this form consists of the
object pronoun ku you and the preposition kú in/on. See § 5.2.3.

Contractions with la
The indefinite subject pronoun la one and the prepositions obligatorily
merge into one word. The subject pronoun la one always comes first,
whereas the preposition lá with always comes last.

la + ú –> loó one … to /a/ + /u/ > /oo/

la + kú –> lagú one … in/on
la + ká –> lagá one … from
la + lá –> lalá one … with
ú + lá –> ulá to … with

28
kú + lá –> kulá in/on … with
ká + lá –> kalá from … with

Meeláhan waxa loó yaqaan iláha biyáha.

these.places FIN.FOC one.as knows the.springs the.water.
These places are known as (~are called) water springs.

Contractions with object pronouns

la one + i me → lay or uncontracted la i
i me + ú to → ií
i me + kú in/on → igú
i me + ká from → igá
i me + lá with → ilá

la one + ku you → lagú

ku you + ú to → kuú
ku you + kú in/on → kugú
ku you + ká from → kaá
ku you + lá with → kulá

la one + is oneself → lays or uncontracted la is

is oneself + ú to → isú
is oneself + kú in/on → iskú
is oneself + ká from → iská
is oneself + lá with → islá

la one + na us → nala (more seldom lana)

na us + ú to/for → noó /a/ + /u/ > /oo/
na us + kú in/on → nagú
na us + ká from → nagá
na us + lá with → nalá

la one + ina us → layna or uncontracted la ina

ina us + ú to/for → inoó /a/ + /u/ > /oo/
ina us + kú in/on → inagú

29
 ina us + ká from → inagá
ina us + lá with → inalá

Cuntádu xóog baa ay inoó yeeshaa.

the.food strength FOC it us.for makes
Food gives us STRENGTH.

la one + idin you → laydin or uncontracted la idin

idin you + ú to/for → idiín /i/ + /u/ > /ii/
idin you + kú in/on → idinkú
idin you + ká from → idinká
idin you + lá with → idinlá

Contractions with the negator má

The negator má not merges with a preceding preposition, object pronoun
and the indefinite subject pronoun la one. The negator always occurs at the
very end of such contractions and it doesn’t cause any additional sound
changes.

Biyáha kamá maaranno.

We don’t manage without water.

Longer contractions
Contractions consisting of more than two constituent parts occur quite
often. Any sound changes that occur in the more simple contractions will
also occur in the longer ones.

iigá < i me + ú in + ká from cf. i + u > ii and u + ka > uga

Sideé baad hurdáda iigá kícin kartaa?

How can you wake me up from sleep?
sideé? + ú in what manner?, how?
hurdáda + ká from sleep

30
 The negator aan + short subject pronouns
The negator aan not is found in all subordinate clauses, all main clauses
with focus and in some past tense clauses. It always merges with the short
subject pronouns. It may precede or follow the pronoun, and the long
vowel of the second constituent part always becomes short.

aan + aan → aanan I not

aan + aad → aanadN / aadanS you not
aan + uu → aanuN / uusanS he not
aan + ay → aanayN / aysanS she not

Haddii carruurtu aysanS/aanayN haysan biyo, maxaa dhici lahaa?

If the children didn’t have water, what would happen?

Contractions with the particle baa or ayaa

The focus particles baa and ayaa obligatorily merge with the two basic
interrogative pronouns.

maxaý what + baa / ayaa → maxáa

ayó who + baa / ayaa → yáa

The particle baa also merges with nouns ending in –e/–o/–a.

Aamíno / Aamína + baa → Aamínaa

31
§ 6. Nouns
Somali nouns are divided into two groups or grammatical genders:
MASCULINE nouns and FEMININE nouns. This is similar to the situation in,
e.g., French or Arabic. The gender of a noun is an important key to its
grammatical behviour, since Somali nouns can take on many different
endings that have differing forms depending on the noun’s gender.

The most important endings are the plural endings, the definite article
endings and the possessive and demonstrative endings. They correspond
to the English definite, possessive and demonstrative determiners, which
in English are independent words. Somali also has subject endings (see §
13.1.1) that mark the subject of a clause.

§ 6.1 The gender of nouns

Every Somali noun belongs to one of the two genders: masculine or
feminine. For most nouns, this is not a biologically motivated division, but
a purely grammatical division. For example, the words xáas wife and sác
cow are grammatically masculine.

In most cases, however:

– nouns that denote female creatures are feminine;
– nouns that denote male creatures are masculine;
– nouns that end in –o, –a or –ad are feminine, e.g.
qaáddo spoon, lába two (items), bisád cat;
– nouns that end in –e are masculine, e.g. fúre key.

For other nouns, the written form unfortunately does not reveal the
gender. The position of the stress (realised as a high tone) does, however,
in most nouns, reflect the gender of the word, hence for most nouns it is
possible to hear the gender.

32
 Stress in nouns
When discussing the position of the high tone (the realisation of Somali
stress), it is important to understand that long vowels consist of two vowel
positions, whereas a short vowel only consists of one vowel position. This
is straightforwardly reflected by the Somali spelling.

The vast majority of masculine nouns have the high tone on the second
last vowel position, while the vast majority of feminine nouns have their
high tone on the last vowel position. The main exceptions are nouns
ending in -e/-o/-a in the singular (see § 6.1.2).

In the case of nouns with a short final vowel, feminine words therefore
have their high tone on the last syllable, whereas masculine nouns have
their high tone on the second last syllable.

MASC. FEM.
ínan boy inán girl
kúrsi chair bisád cat
áqal house gabádh girl

In nouns that have a long vowel in the final syllable, both masculine and
feminine words have their high tone on that final syllable, but in different
ways. The reason for that is that only one of the two vowel positions in the
long vowel is pronounced with a higher tone than the rest of the word.

In masculine nouns, the first part of the long vowel carries the high tone,
then the tone falls through the long vowel until the end of the word.

In feminine nouns only the last part of the long vowel carries the high
tone, resulting in a rising tone through the long vowel until the tone
reaches its peak at the end of the word.

MASC. FEM.
géed tree, plant beér garden, field, farm
dukáan shop khudaár vegetables and fruit
míis table liín citric fruit(s)

33
In words with only one short vowel, it is impossible to hear the gender.
You simply have to memorise it.

MASC. FEM.
nál lamp, electric light káb shoe

Nouns ending in –e/–o/–a

The nouns that end in -o/-a (feminines) or -e (masculines) in the singular
follow different rules. When these words are pronounced in isolation,
without any context, they are most often pronounced with the high tone
on the second last vowel position. However, if the word is part of a phrase
or a sentence, it is most often pronounced with the high tone on the last
vowel position.

magaálo town, city magaaló yar a small town

Exceptions
There are a few exceptions to the principles for the placement of tone
described above: numbers 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 100.

A small number of masculine nouns have the high tone on the final vowel.
Such nouns often end in /aa/, /i/ or /r/.

dilaá murderer, qoraá writer, and other agent nouns ending in –aá,
abtí maternal uncle, maroodí elephant, ratí pack camel, webí river,
adeér paternal uncle, dhakhtár doctor, clinic, reér family,
afhayeén spokesperson, haweén women,
albaáb door, xafiís office

Among feminine nouns, women’s names that do not end in –o or –a

usually have their high tone on the second last vowel position.

Lúul, Máryan

The names of many cities have their high tone on the fourth vowel
position counting from the end.

34
 Áfgooye a city close to Mogadishu, Gároowe the capital of Puntland

The same is true for countries ending in ‒(i)ya.

Itóobiya Ethiopia, Kéenya/Kíinya Kenya, Soomáaliya Somalia,

Tansáaniya Tanzania

§ 6.2 The indefinite form

Somali doesn’t have any indefinite article, just an indefinite form of nouns.
Words like kúrsi or bisád can therefore be translated either as chair, cat or
a chair, a cat, whichever is more suitable in the English context.

§ 6.3 The definite singular form

The Somali definite article is not a word, it is an ending.
–ka for masculine nouns: más (a) snake máska the snake
–ta for feminine nouns: káb (a) shoe kábta the shoe

The initial consonant of the definite article changes its shape according to
the immediately preceding sound (see § 4.1).

After the sounds /g, aa, i, y, w/ the masculine article becomes –ga.

gúri (a) house gúriga the house

After /e, o/ the masculine article becomes –ha. At the same time /e/ is
replaced by /a/. The high tone is alsways on this /a/.

aábbe (a) father aabbáha the father

After /c, h, x, kh, q, ´/ the masculine article becomes just –a.

libáax (a) lion libáaxa the lion

After /d, i, y, w, c, h, x, kh, q, ´/ the feminine article becomes –da.

mindí (a) knife mindída the knife

The feminine article also becomes –da after /o/. At the same time /o/
changes to /a/. The high tone is alsways on this /a/.

35
 magaálo (a) city magaaláda the city

After /dh/ the feminine article becomes just –a in writing, but /dh/ is
pronounced more intensely.

gabádh (a) girl gabádha the girl

After /l/ the feminine article becomes –sha and the /l/ disappears.

bíl (a) month/crescent bísha the month/crescent

The high tone is generally not affected by the addition of the definite
article suffix.

macállin (a) teacher macállinka the teacher

macallimád (a) teacher macallimádda the teacher

Only in words that end in /e, o, a/ is the high tone “shifted” to the stem
final vowel position before the definite article suffix. At the same time,
both /o/ and /e/ also change to /a/.

fúre (a) key furáha the key

sheéko (a) story sheekáda the story

In a handful of nouns, a stem final glottal stop disappears before the

definite article.

gu’ (a) key gúga the key

ri’ (a) goat rída the goat

but

go’ (a) piece of cloth gó’a the piece of cloth, sheet

Generic definite form

The generic use of a noun means that the noun is used in a generalising
way with reference to the whole category of such objects, not with
reference to any specific, existing object(s). In English the definite singular
form is sometimes used in this way, e.g. Why does the spider have eight legs?

36
It is as if we treated one spider as a prototype for all the spiders in the
world. This is very common in Somali.

Díinku waxa uu léeyahay lugó gaagaaban. The turtle has short legs.

For countable nouns in English, the generic use of the definite singular is
synonymous with a generic use of the indefinite plural. You can also say
Why do spiders have eight legs? In Somali, however, the definite form is
preferred in this sense, both in the singular and in the plural.

Shimbirúhu ukún ayéy dhalaan. Birds lay eggs.

For uncountable mass nouns, English doesn’t differentiate between

specific and generic meanings, e.g. I bought milk vs. I love milk, whereas
French does, e.g. J’ai acheté du lait vs. J’aime le lait. Somali, just like French
and Arabic, also prefers the definite form in the generic meaning, i.e. when
not referring to any specific object, but to the whole category.

Wáxa uu jecél yahay liínta. He is fond of citrus fruit.

Waxyaabáha lagá helo gúriga reer-guuraága.
The things that one finds in a nomadic house.

37
§ 6.4 The plural of feminine nouns
The regular plural forms of feminine nouns fall into two types.

(a) Feminine nouns with a singular form ending in –o have a plural form
that ends in –oóyin and the definite article is always ‒ka.

hoóyo hooyáda hooyoóyin hooyoóyinka the mothers

magaálo magaaláda magaaloóyin magaaloóyinka the cities
tíro tiráda tiroóyin tiroóyinka the numbers

(b) All other feminine nouns have a plural form that ends in –ó. The
definite form ends in ‒áha.

sariír sariírta sariiró sariiráha the beds

káb kábta kabó kabáha the shoes
bisád bisádda bisadó bisadáha the cats
meél meésha meeló meeláha the places
úl úsha uló uláha the sticks

If the stem ends in –i then a /y/ is inserted before the plural ending –ó.

mindí mindída mindiyó mindiyáha the knives

38
§ 6.5 The plural of masculine nouns
The regular plural forms of masculine nouns fall into three types.

(a) Masculine nouns with a singular form ending in –e have a plural form
that ends in ‒ayaál. The definite plural form ends in –ayaásha.

aábbe aabbáha aabbayaál aabbayaásha the fathers

fúre furáha furayaál furayaásha the keys

(b) Masculine nouns with only one syllable in the singular usually form
their plural by reduplication. First the vowel –á‒ is added and then the
final consonant of the singular form is repeated. Such nouns have the same
definite article both in the singular and in the plural.

qóys –ka family pl. qoysás qoysáska

áf –ka mouth, language pl. afáf afáfka
sán –ka nose pl. sanán sanánka
bás –ka bus pl. basás basáska

(c) Most other masculine nouns – the majority – have a plural form that
ends in –yó. The definite form ends in –yáda.

dálag –ga crop pl. dalagyó dalagyáda

mágac –a name pl. magacyó magacyáda
libáax –a lion pl. libaaxyó libaaxyáda
webí –ga river pl. webiyó webiyáda

If the stem already ends in /y/, one of the /y/’s disappears.

éray –ga word pl. erayó erayáda

After most stems ending in /b/, /d/, /r/, /l/, /n/, and /m/, the /y/ of the ending
is usually replaced by a strengthening of the stem final consonant,
represented in writing by a double consonant.

saaxíib –ka friend pl. saaxiibbó saaxiibbáda

baabúur –ka car pl. baabuurró baabuurráda

39
xayawáan –ka animal pl. xayawaannó xayawaannáda
tártan –ka competition pl. tartammó tartammáda

40
§ 6.6 Less straight-forward plural forms

Sound changes
A number of nouns exhibit regular plural endings, but he forms are less
straight-forward due to quite regular sound alternations.

(a) If the stem of a noun ends in two consonants, a vowel must be inserted
between these consonants in the singular form. The inserted vowel is
usually a copy of the vowel already present in the stem. That a vowel has
been inserted is of course not evident from the singular form. It only
becomes evident when comparing the singular and the plural form.

/gal_b/ galáb –ta afternoon pl. galbó galbáha

(b) If the stem ends in /m/ or /k/, this fact is not evident from the singular
form. These sounds may only occur if they are followed by a vowel. The
stem of the word is only evident in the plural, since the alternations /m/ >
/n/ and /k/ > /g/ must occur word finally.

/weydiim/ weydiín –ta question pl. weydiimó weydiimáha

/tim/ tín –ta a strand of hair pl. timó hair timáha
/nim/ nín –ka man pl. nimán < /nimam/ nimánka

example with /k/ - /g/

(c) In some words vowel insertion and consonant alternation occur at the
same time.

/gac_m/ gacán –ta arm, hand pl. gacmó gacmáha

(d) In a few words the inserted vowel is not a copy of the vowel already
present in the stem.

/maal_m/ maalín –ta day pl. maalmó maalmáha

/xub_n/ xubín –ta member pl. xubnó xubnáha

41
 -ó, -áha instead of -yó, -yáda
(a) Masculine nouns with vowel insertion in the singular form (due to a
stem ending in two consonants) take the plural endings –ó, –áha.

/il_k/ ílig –ga tooth pl. ilkó ilkáha

/jil_b/ jílib –ka knee pl. jilbó jilbáha
/xar_f/ xáraf –ka letter (of the alphabet)
pl.xarfó xarfáha

(b) A few masculine nouns with a stem ending in a consonant followed

by /y/ have singular forms ending in the vowel /i/ and plural forms ending
in –ó, –áha.

/gur_y/ gúri –ga house pl. guryó guryáha

-ó, -áha instead of reduplication

(b) A small number of masculine nouns with only contain one long vowel
in the singlar form do not form their plural through reduplication, but
with the endings –ó, –áha.

géed –ka tree, plant pl. geedó geedáha

reér –ka family pl. reeró reeráha

-yó, -yáda instead of consonant strengthening

The ending –yo is kept after /b/, /d/, /r/, /l/, /n/, and /m/, in most foreign
borrowings as well as in a few words of Somali origin.

insaym enzyme pl. insaymyó

qurub -ka particle pl. qurubyó qurubyáda

The ending –yo is also kept with compounds that end in /d/.

falkaab-meeléed adverbial of place pl. falkaab-meeleedyó

42
 Unexpected definite article
(a) All masculine nouns that form their plural through reduplication of the
consonant /l/ and whose stems contain a long vowel have a definite plural
form ending in –ásha.

wíil –ka boy pl. wiilál wiilásha

Gender alternations
(a) A few nouns do not form the plural according to the general rules for
their gender. Instead, the plural form is based on the rules for the opposite
gender.

walaál –ka brother

walaál, walaásha sister pl. walaaló siblings walaaláha

sánnad –ka year

(sannád –da) pl. sannadó sannadáha

Alongside sánnad year, there is also an alternative form sáno,

sanáda, pl. sanoóyin –ka, which is perfectly regular.

(súbax –a) morning pl. subaxyó subaxyáda

subáx –da (subxó) (subxáha)

Irregular plural forms

(c) Two words take the uncommon plural endings –yaabó or –yaaló.

sí –da manner pl. siyaabó siyaabáha

or siyaaló siyaaláha
wáx –a thing pl. waxyaabó waxyaabáha
or waxyaaló waxyaaláha

43
 Two plural forms
(a) A small group of nouns have an irregular plural form alongside the
regular form.

abtí –ga maternal uncle pl. abtiyó, abtiyáda

abtiyáal, abtiyaásha
fáras –ka horse pl. fardó, fardáha
(rarely farsó, farsáha)

(b) In a few instances there is a difference in meaning.

íl, ísha eye; spring, source pl. indhó, indháha eyes

iló, iláha springs, sources

44
§ 6.7 Arabic plural forms
In Arabic it is common to form the plural through vowel alternation in the
stem of the word. Some such forms are also used in Somali. The definite
article is then –ta or –da.

saaxíib –ka friend Ar. pl. asxaáb, asxaábta

reg. pl. saaxiibbó, saaxiibbáda

kúrsi –ga chair Ar. pl. kuraás, kuraásta

reg. pl. kursiyó, kursiyáda

This Arabic pattern has sometimes spread to other borrowings.

búug –ga book Ar. pl. buugaág, buugaágta

reg. pl. buugág, buugágga (rarely used)

Also the Arabic plural eding –iín is rather commonly used with Arabic
borrowings in Somali. The definite form ends in –iínta.

macállin –ka teacher Ar. pl. macallimiín, macallimiínta

(no regular plural)

45
§ 6.8 The counting form of nouns
After numbers larger than hál one, Somali nouns are not used in their
plural form, but in a special counting form. Only feminine nouns with the
plural ending –ó have a separate counting form that ends in –ood. For all
other nouns the counting form is the same as the singular form.

MASCULINE FEMININE
búug book bisád cat
buugaág books bisadó cats
hál buug one book hál bisad one cat
labá buug two books labá bisadood two cats

baabúur car hoóyo mother

baabuurró cars hooyoóyin mothers
hál baabuur one car hál hooyo one mother
labá baabuur two cars labá hooyo two mothers

The counting form is also used after certain other words that express
quantity, e.g. ímmisa how many, dhówr a few.

ímmisa qof how many persons ímmisa bilood how many months
dhówr jeer a few times dhówr maalmood a few days

The numeral and the following noun constitute a noun phrase, and the
end of a noun phrase is often marked by a non-obligatory high tone.

labá hooyó or labá hooyo two mothers

labá bisadoód or labá bisadood two cats

No other endings can be added after –ood in the counting form. Other
endings must be added to the numeral, which is the head noun of the
phrase.

labádayda bisadood my two cats

labádaas bisadood those two cats

For more details about noun phrases with numerals, see § 12.1.8 and §
12.1.9.

46
§ 6.9 Countability
Nouns can be divided into countables and uncountables depending on
whether they have a singular as well as a plural form or not.

Many English nouns, mainly proper nouns (i.e. names), mass nouns and
many abstract nouns, are never or very rarely used in the plural, e.g.
Julietta, London; milk, dust; childhood, love. The same also applies to these
kinds of words in Somali.

General use of the singular

Some objects, such as garlic, are easily countable, but they are hardly used
in the plural anyway. The singular form doesn’t really say anything about
the amount in question. This principle is applied to many more nouns in
Somali than in English, especially in the category of fruit and vegetables,
e.g. móosS/múusN banana(s), tufáax apple, liín citrus fruit(s), but also, e.g.,
kallúun/malláayS fish. It is extremely unusual to put such words in the
plural.

Collective nouns
For collective nouns it is characteristic that a grammatically singular word
form, i.e. a word form without any plural ending, refers to several persons
or objects. Examples of English collective nouns are police, staff and public.
There is often variation between the singular and plural forms of verbs
used with such nouns, e.g. The staff is/are very efficient.

Somali has a much large number of collective nouns than does English.

carruúr –ta children dúmar –ka women

rág –ga men lo’ –da dairy cattle
ádhiN / áriS –ga goats and sheep digáag –ga chicken

Collective nouns cannot be used when referring to only one single person,
animal or object.

47
 Singular, plural and collective form
A number of Somali masculine nouns have a feminine collective form
alongside the regular plural form.

M.SING. baabúur –ka car M.PLUR. baabuurró –da cars

F.COLL. baabuúr –ta cars

MASC. búug –ga book M.PLUR. (buugág –ga) books

F.COLL. buúg –ta books AR.PLUR. buugaág –ta books

There are also a few cases where a singular form is derived from the
collective form with a suffix.

M.COLL. digáag –ga chicken, hens

F.SING. digaagád –da hen F.PLUR. digaagadó –ha hens

There are also other, more complex patterns. For the noun dhágax stone
the singular has both a singulative and a mass reading, and the collective
form ends in –aán.

M.MASS/SING. dhágax –a stone M.PLUR. dhagaxyó –da stones

F.COLL. dhagxaán –ta stones

48
 Only singular and collective form
Some nouns don’t have any plural form, only a masculine singular form
and a feminine collective form.

M.SING. Soomaáli –ga Somali NO PLURAL FORM

F.COLL. Soomaalí –da Somalis

M.SING. árday –ga pupil NO PLURAL FORM

F.COLL. ardaý –da (or ardó –da) pupils

M.SING. askári –ga soldier NO PLURAL FORM

F.COLL. askár –ta soldiers

There are also a few cases where a singular form is derived from the
collective form with a suffix.

M.COLL. haweén –ka women

F.SING. haweéney –da woman NO PLURAL FORM

Group nouns
There are also collective nouns that denote a group of objects, e.g. family.
These groups are countable, however, and can be put in the plural in the
ordinary way.

SG.COLL. qóys –ka family

PL.COLL. qoysás –ka families

SG.COLL. géel, géela herd of camels

PL.COLL. geelál, geelásha herds of camels

49
 Plural only nouns
(a) Two Somali nouns denoting substances only have a plural form.
English nouns of this type are leftovers and feces.

biyó water biyáha the water

caanó milk caanáha the milk

These nouns are plural (not feminine singular) since

‒ the high tone is on the plural ending –ó,
‒ the definite form ends in –áha,
‒ the verb is in the plural when these nouns serve as the subject.

(b) The plural forms habló –ha girls, idó –ha sheep and xooló –ha cattle also
lack a corresponding singular form, but as expected they do denote
several living beings. The exceptional thing about them is that if you want
to say something about a single individual, you have to choose another,
synonymous word, e.g. gabádh / gabár / inán girl, sác cow, díbi bull, ox,
etc.

50
§ 7. Formation of nouns
Somali nouns are formed in similar ways to English nouns. There are both
compounds and words which are formed by adding different endings.

wada together + jír body > wadajír (m.) unity, solidarity

beeró fields + –le, –ley > beeraále (m.) farmer
beeraléy (f. coll.) farmers

§ 7.1 Persons
The ending –e is used to form many words that denote a person who
carries out a certain task.

baraa teaches báre (m.) teacher

beér field, falaa cultivates beerfále (m.) farmer

Other, less common endings with the same meaning are –aá and –áal.

qoraa writes qóre / qoraá (m.) writer, author

reér family, guuraa moves reer-guuraá (m. coll.) nomads
tumaa beats, pounds tumáal (m.) blacksmith

The ending –le denotes an owner or somebody who has a job related to an
object. A vowel immediately before the suffix -le usually becomes long.

dukáan shop dukaánle (m.) shopkeeper, shop assistant

tágsi taxi tagsiíle (m.) taxi driver

The same ending sometimes denotes a person with some kind of problem.

indhó eyes indhoóle a blind person

Female persons
The ending –ád is commonly used to form feminine nouns denoting a
person.

51
 MASCULINE FEMININE
macállin macallimád teacher
árday ardayád student, pupil

The feminine –ley corresponds to the masculine –le.

dawaárle tailor dawaárley seamstress < dawaar sewing machine

Sometimes –to corresponds to the masculine –e, whereas –so corresponds

to ‒ye.

MASCULINE FEMININE
adeége adeégto servant < adéeg service
kalkaalíye kalkaalíso nurse
karíye karíso cook < kariyaa cooks

Collectives
The two feminine endings –ley and –to/–so are also used to form collective
nouns.

MASC. SG. FEM. COLL.

beeraále farmer beeraléy farmers
kalluumaýste fisherman kalluumaysáto fishermen

§ 7.2 Things and abstract notions

The suffix –e is used to form certain words denoting tools.

furaa opens fúre –ha key

The suffix –o is used to form various kinds of nouns.

sheegaa says, tells sheéko –da story

The suffix –áal is used to form nouns denoting the result of an action.

qoraa writes qoráal –ka text, writing

The suffix –i is sometimes used to form abstract nouns.

52
 baahán needing baahí –da need
kalsoón trusting kalsooní –da trust, confidence

Reduplication occurs in a few common nouns.

dhéer long, tall, high dhérer –ka length

nóol living, alive nolól –sha life

Just as the English word smile may be both a verb and a noun, Somali also
has many noun-verb pairs where it is not clear which word is derived
from the other. Both consist of only a root and the relevant grammatical
endings.

béer! plant!, cultivate! beér a field, a plantation

beer-aa plants, cultivates beér-ta the field, the plantation

§ 7.3 Verbal nouns

In English, nouns are most commonly formed from verbs with the ending
–ing, but some other less frequent endings also occur, e.g. –ment: move,
movement.

The most common endings serving to derive nouns from verbs are:
–íd (or sometimes –ís) if the imperative (see § 11.9) ends in a consonant:
qoraa writes, qór! write!, qoríd -da (f.), qorís -ta (f.) (the) writing
–n (or sometimes –s) if the imperative ends in –i:
akhriyaa reads, ákhri! read!, akhrín -ta (f.), ákhris -ka (m.) (the) reading
–n if the imperative ends in –ee (which changes into ‒ay‒ / ‒ey‒):
sameeyaa makes, samée! make!, samaýn/sameýn -ta (f.) (the) making
–sho if the imperative ends in –o (which changes into ‒a‒).
booqdaa visits, booqó! visit!, booqásho -da (f.) (the) visit(ing)
bartaa learns, baró! learn!, barásho -da (f.) (the) learning

Some other, less frequent endings are, e.g.

–itaan
furaa opens, furitáan -ka opening (ceremony)

53
 besides furíd -da opening (in general)
baaraa investigates, baaritáan -ka, baarís -ta, baaríd -da investigation

Somali verbal nouns are often used like English to + infinitive.

Sáhra waa ay jecéshahay ákhriska. Sahra likes reading/to read.

Some verbal nouns have developed special meanings and usages.

horreeyaa is up front, comes first ugú horreýntii first of all

weydiiyaa asks weydiin -ta question

§ 7.4 Compounds
There are several different types of compound nouns. The common trait
is that a compound noun only has one high tone (one stress) and only one
definite article at the end of the whole compound.

bád wéyn a big sea badwéyn an ocean

bádda wéyn the big sea badwéynta the ocean

Many are formed just by joning two roots, as in the example above. Others
are formed with the addition of a suffix, often –éed or –e.

éray word, su’aál question eraysu’aaléed question word

mádax head, chief, wéyn big madaxweýne president

Some are formed in more complex ways.

mágac noun, ú for, yaal stands magacuyáal pronoun

Notice that verbal nouns are often compounds consisting of e.g. a verb
and its object, and that such compounds only have one high tone (stress).

sigáar cigarette + cabbíd drinking sigaarcabbíd smoking

If prepositions or other preverbal particles precede a verbal noun, they

become prefixes (i.e. part of the noun), and lose the high tone (stress) that
they have before a verb form.

54
In today’s written Somali, compounds exhibit a lot of spelling variation.
Traditionally, writing them as a single word has been recommended, but
today writing the constituent parts separately has become very common.
Sometimes a hyphen is also used.

eraysu’aaleed / eray su’aaleed / eray-su’aaleed question word

magacuyáal / magac u yaal / magac-u-yaal / magac uyaal pronoun

55
§ 8. Numerals
(a) In Somali, numerals are not a separate word class. They are simply
nouns, just like pair, trio or dozen are nouns in English. When an ending is
added to a phrase beginning with a numeral, the ending is added to the
numeral, not to the following noun (see also § 12.1.8). The noun after the
numeral is in the counting form (see § 6.8). The counting form does not
permit the addition of any further endings.

labá wiil two boys sáddex bilood three months

labáda wiil the two boys sáddexdaas bilood those three months

(b) The Somali numbers 2–8 are feminine nouns, whereas all higher
numbers are masculine. Ków (1) is feminine, whereas hál (1) and éber (0)
are masculine. The feminine numbers sáddex (3), áfar (4), siddéed (8) and
the masculine sagaál (9), tobán (10) and boqól (100) have a high tone that
is atypical for their gender.

0 éber (m.)
1 ków (f.) / hál (m.) 10 tobán (m.)
2 lábo / lába (f.) 20 labaátan (m.) (–tan < toban)
3 sáddex (f.) 30 sóddon (m.)
4 áfar (f.) 40 afártan (m.)
5 shán (f.) 50 kónton (m.)
6 líx (f.) 60 líxdan (m.)
7 toddóbo / toddóba (f.) 70 toddobaátan (m.)
8 siddéed (f.) 80 siddeétan (m.)
9 sagaál (m.) 90 sagaáshan (m.) /l+t/ > /sh/
100 boqól (m.)
200 labá boqol
300 sáddex boqol …
1000 kún
4000 áfar kun
1000000 milyan (or malyuun)

56
(c) In complex numbers, ków is always used. It is also used when simply
counting one, two, three, four…

kow iyo toban eleven

toban iyo kow buug eleven books
ków, lábo, sáddex, áfar… one, two, three, four…

Hál is used when reading a sequence of figures, such as a phone number,

and also preceding a noun in order to say that there is one item of some
kind. It can also be used independently, not mentioning the intended
object.

sáddex, hál, áfar, siddéed three, one, four, eight (e.g. a PIN code)
hál buug one book
hál i síi give me one

57
§ 9. Pronouns
Somali has fewer genuine pronouns than English. Nouns dominate in
Somali and they are also used as the equivalents of many English
pronouns or pronominal adverbs, e.g., qóf person, somebody, wáx thing,
something, meél place, somewhere etc.

§ 9.1 Personal pronouns

SHORT SUBJECT FORMS SHORT OBJECT FORMS

1sg. aan I i me
2 sg. aad you ku you
3 sg. m. uu he, it – him, it
3 sg. f. ay she, it – her, it

1 pl. excl. aan / aannu we na us

1 pl. incl. aynu / aan we ina us
2 pl. aad / aydin you idin you
3 pl. ay they – them

LONG FORMS

1 sg. aníga I, me
2 sg. adíga you
3 sg. m. isága he, him (it)
3 sg. f. iyáda she, her (it)

1 pl. excl. annága we, us (excluding you)

1 pl. incl. innága we, us (including you)
2 pl. idínka you
3 pl. iyága they, them

No 3rd person object pronouns

In Somali there are no object pronouns in the 3rd person corresponding to
him, her, it, them. If a verb normally takes an object and there isn’t any word

58
in the clause expressing such an object, then the object has to be inferred
from the preceding context and an object pronoun has to be added when
translating into English.

Waan síraynaa. We will deceive them/her/him.

Aabbihiís wúxuu siiyey shán shilin. His father gave him five shillings.

This also applies if there is a preposition in the clause, but no noun for that
preposition to refer to.

Waxay ku tiri, “Ma kartid.”

She said to him, “You can’t do it.”
Immisa shilin baa u soo hartay?
How many shillings remained for her/him/them?
Lo’du waa xayawaan waxtar leh. Maxaa aynu ka helnaa?
Cows are useful animals. What do we get from them?

Long forms of personal pronouns

Alongside the short personal pronouns there are also longer forms which
function as nouns. They contain the definite article and they are used for
additional clarity or emphasis. Since these forms behave like any other
noun they also take the subject ending -u when they denote the subject of
the clause.

Example

The long personal pronouns are mostly used to refer to people. The third
person long pronouns may also be used to refer to animals, but quite
seldom to inanimate objects or abstract nouns. In those instances
demonstrative pronouns are preferred instead of personal pronouns.

Example

First person plural: we, us, our

In Somali it is possible to make a distinction between two different
meanings of the pronouns we, us, our. Especially in a higher stylistic

59
register, standard Somali has inclusive and exclusive forms of these
pronouns, depending on whether one wants to include or exclude the
person(s) spoken to.

In colloquial Somali, however, most speakers don’t make this distinction,

and one form has been generalised in both functions.

An example of the distinction might be when some parents tell their

children We are going to a party on Saturday. This might mean that the
children have to stay at home (excluding them from the we) or that they
can also come (including them in the we). In standard Somali it is possible
to express this distinction through the choice of pronoun.

INCLUDING EXCLUDING
Long personal pronoun innága annága
Short subject pronoun aynu aannu
Short object pronoun ina na
Short object pronoun + ú inoó noó
Possessive pronoun kéenna, téenna kaayága, taayáda

The indefinite subject pronoun la

Like many other languages Somali has an indefinite subject pronoun: la.
It is equivalent to French on and German man, and it often corresponds to
one or you or they in English. It is used more frequently in Somali than in
the other languages since Somali doesn’t have a passive construction.

Albaábka waxa lagú sameeyay lóox.

They have made the door with wood.
The door has been made of wood. or The door is made of wood.

Obligatory short object pronouns

The short object pronouns in the 1st and 2nd person must always be used,
even if a long pronoun is also used for clarity or emphasis.

60
 Adíga yáa ku ilaaliya?
you who.FOC you.OBJ watches.out
WHO takes care of you? (contrastive emphasis on you)

The reflexive object pronoun is

The pronoun is corresponds to both oneself and each other, i.e. it has both a
reflexive and a reciprocal meaning.

Xáaskii Díinku wáy is qarisay.

The Turtle’s wife hid herself.
Sahró iyo Áxmed wáa ay is eegeen.
Sahra and Ahmed looked at each other.
Way islá hádlayaan.
They are talking to each other.

It is used in the 1st and 2nd person as well as in the 3rd person.

Wáa aan is qariyay. I hid myself.

Wáa aad is qarisay. You hid yourself.
Wáa uu is qariyay. He hid himself.
Wáa ay is qarisay. She hid herself.
Wáa aan is qarinnay. We hid ourselves.
Wáa aad is qariseen. You hid yourselves.
Wáa ay is qariyeen. They hid themselves.

§ 9.2 Demonstrative pronouns

The independent demonstrative pronouns have two different gender
forms in the singular and one common form in the plural.

MASC.SING. FEM.SING PLURAL

this kán tán kúwan these
that kaás taás kúwaas those
that one, you know kií tií kúwii those, you know

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The singular forms of these pronouns are also added as endings to nouns,
both in the singular and in the plural. The initial consonant of the
demonstrative ending is always identical to the consonant of the definite
article. See § 4.1 and § 6.3.

káb mindí (a) shoe, knife

kábta mindída the shoe, knife
kábtan mindídan this shoe, knife
kábtaas mindídaas that shoe, knife
kábtii mindídii that shoe, knife, you know

kabó mindiyó shoes, knives

kabáha mindiyáha the shoes, knives
kabáhan mindiyáhan these shoes, knives
kabáhaas mindiyáhaas those shoes, knives
kabíhii 12 mindiyíhii those shoes, knives, you know

bás gúri (a) bus, house

báska gúriga the bus, house
báskan gúrigan this bus, house
báskaas gúrigaas that bus, house
báskii gúrigii that bus, house, you know

basás guryó buses, houses

basáska guryáha the buses, houses
basáskan guryáhan these buses, houses
basáskaas guryáhaas those buses, houses
basáskii guryíhii those buses, houses, you know

12 /i/ in the suffix spreads across /h/ so that a preceding /a/ becomes assimilated. See § 4.2.1.

62
 Demonstrative forms with –aan, –aa
When referring to objects close by, there is variation between the more
neutral forms ending in –an and the marked southern forms ending in –
aan.

kábtan / kábtaanS mindídan / mindídaanS this shoe, knife

kabáhan / kabáhaanS mindiyáhan / mindiyáhaanS these shoes, knives

básan / báskaanS gúrigan / gúrigaanS this bus, house

basáskan / basáskaanS guryáhan / guryáhaanS these buses, houses

When referring to objects further away, there is variation between more

netural forms with –aas and more casual, everyday forms with –aa.

kábtaas (kábtaa) mindídaas (mindídaa) that shoe, knife

kabáhaas (kabáhaa) mindiyáhaas (mindiyáhaa) those shoes, knives

báskaas (báskaa) gúrigaas (gúrigaa) that bus, house

basáskaas (basáskaa) guryáhaas (guryáhaa) those buses, houses

Demonstrative forms with –ii

The demonstrative suffix –ii has a referential function. It is used in several
different contexts.

(a) The basic, referential function of –ii is to refer to objects that are not
present, but are considered to be known from before to both the speaker
and the listener.

Cábdi wáxa uu ahaa dúq beeraléy ah. Maalín ayaa wáxa uu beeray
geedó moxóg ah oo waawéyn. Maalín waliba waa uu waraabín jirey
moxóggii. Dhírtii wáa kortay.
Abdi was an OLD FARMER MAN. ONE DAY he planted SOME BIG CASSAVA
PLANTS. Every day he USED TO WATER the cassava. The plants GREW.

(b) Sometimes the speaker or writer only pretends that the object is known
to the listener, or implies that it ought to be known to most people. This is

63
often the case with main characters in stories or prominent characters in
real life.

In the story that this passage originates from, the son has not been
previously mentioned.

Cabdi géedkii waa uu soó jiidey dhówr jeer, laakiin dhúlka ayaa
uu ká soo bixín waayey. Cabdi waxa uu ú yeeray wíilkiisii weynaa.
Abdi PULLED the plant a couple of times, but he was unable to get it out of
THE GROUND. Abdi called upon HIS BIG SON.

This usage is also very common in headings and title, implying that the
text is about somebody or something prominent, that the reader might be
expected to have heard about before.

Sheekoóyinkii Cigaal Shidaad The stories about Igal Shidad

Cali Baaba iyo afártankii tuug Ali Baba and the forty thieves

(c) It is used in expressions of time when referring to the past.

toddobaadkii hore last week, the preceding week

toddobaadka dambe (the) next week (referring to the future)
toddobaadkii dambe the next week (referring to the past)

(d) It is also frequently used when telling the present time.

Waa immisadii? What time is it?

Waa shantii. It’s five o’clock.
Waa saddexdii iyo badhkii. It’s half past three.

(e) It is used in expressions of time with general reference, i.e. not referring
to any actual point in time, but to a potential situation.

Maalintii ilayska waxa aynu ka helnaa qorraxda.

During the day we get light from the SUN.

(f) Futhermore, it is used in expressions of repetition and frequency. In

this function the demonstrative suffix is usually followed by the particle –
ba.

64
 Golahani wuxuu shiraa caadi ahaan sannadkiiba laba jeer.
This assembly normally convenes TWO TIMES each year.
Maxaa lagu qabtaa midkiiba dhismayaasha beesha degaanka?
WHAT do they do in each one of the buildings of the local community?

One important use of this suffix is with expressions of percentage.

boqolkiiba afartan fyrtio procent, fyrtio av (varje) hundra

(g) It is also used in certain fixed expressions.

ugu horraýntii first of all

ugu dambaýntii last of all

§ 9.2.2a Adjectives after -ii

Adjectives following this form need to be followed by the past tense
ending of the verb yahay is. See § 12.1.13.

wíilkiisii weynaa his big son, that boy of his you know that was big
digaagaddii yarayd ee casayd the little red hen

Placeholder pronouns
MASC.SING. FEM.SING PLURAL
the ka ta kúwa
a ku tu kúwo

These pronouns are used as placeholders or as the dummy head of a noun

phrase when a modifier word is used “on its own”.

ku kale another kuwo kale others, other ones

ka kale the other (one) kuwa kale the other ones
ka cusub the new one ka labaad the second one

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§ 9.3 Possessive pronouns
The independent possessive pronouns have two different gender forms in
the singular and one common form in the plural.

The owner The owned object is:

is: MASC.SING. FEM.SING. PLURAL

1 SG. káyga táyda kúwayga mine

2 SG. káaga táada kúwaaga yours
3 SG. M. kíisa tíisa kúwiisa his, its
3 SG. F. kéeda téeda kúweeda hers, its

1 PL. EXCL. kaayága taayáda kúwayāga ours

1 PL. INCL. kéenna téenna kúweenna ours
2 PL. kíinna tíinna kúwiinna yours
3 PL. kóoda tóoda kúwooda theirs

When functioning as the subject of a clause, these possessive pronouns

take the subject ending -u. See § 13.1.1.

The singular forms of these pronouns are also added as endings to both
singular and plural nouns. The initial consonant of the possessive ending
is always identical to the consonant of the definite article. See § 4.1 and
§ 6.3.

kábta the shoe mindída the knife

kábtayda my shoe mindídayda my knife
kábtaada your shoe mindídaada your knife
kábteeda her shoe mindídeeda her knife
kábtooda their shoe mindídooda their knife

kabáha the shoes mindiyáha the knives

kabáhayga my shoes mindiyáhayga my knives
kabáhaaga your shoes mindiyáhaaga your knives
kabáheeda her shoes mindiyáheeda her knives
kabáhooda their shoes mindiyáhooda their knives

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 báska the bus gúriga the house
báskayga my bus gúrigayga my house
báskaaga your bus gúrigaaga your house
báskiisa his bus gúrigiisa his house
báskooda their bus gúrigooda their house

basáska the buses guryáha the houses

basáskayga my buses guryáhayga my houses
basáskaaga your buses guryáhaaga your houses
basáskiisa his buses guryíhiisa 13 his houses
basáskooda their buses guryáhooda their houses

Notice that at the end of the possessive pronouns and endings, there is
actually a definite article, e.g., gúrigayga my house. As in many other
languages, the possessive pronouns are used together with the definite
article, e.g. Italian la mia casa = gúrigayga my house.

Short possessive endings

After a small number of nouns denoting family members and friends,
special shorter forms of the possessive endings are used. These endings
lack the final definite article.

FULL FORMS SHORT FORMS

-kayga -tayda my -kay -tay
-kaaga -taada your -kaa -taa
-kiisa -tiisa his, its -kiis -tiis (-kii -tii)
-keeda -teeda her, its -keed -teed
-kayaga -tayada our (excl.) -kayo -tayo
-keenna -teenna our (incl.) -keen -teen
-kiinna -tiinna your -kiin -tiin
-kooda -tooda their -kood -tood

13 /i/ in the suffix spreads across /h/ so that a preceding /a/ becomes assimilated. See § 4.2.1.

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Words that are used with the short possessive endings are, above all,
hoóyo mother, aábbe father, waálid parents, walaál sibling, habaryár
maternal aunt, abtí maternal uncle, eéddo paternal aunt, adeér paternal uncle,
ayeéyo grandmother, awoówe grandfather, saaxíib friend and saaxiibád
female friend. 14

hooyáday my mother aabbáhay m father

hooyádaa your mther aabbáhaa your father
hooyádiis his mother aabbáheed her father
hooyádood their mother aabbáhood their father

The full possessive endings are used, however, with nouns that do not
exclusively denote a relationship between two persons, such as nín man,
husband, wíil boy, son, gabádh/gabár girl, daughter, as well as with the
collective noun carruúr children.

Also, if a modifier is added, e.g. an adjective, the full possessive endings

are used.

saaxiibádday my (girl)friend
saaxiibáddayda cusub my new (girl)friend
walaálkay my brother
walaálkayga weyn my older brother

As the final morpheme of a subject marked noun phrase, the short

possessive suffixes take over the high tone from the stem of the noun.

Saaxíibkiis baa kú riíxaya baaskíilka. (not subject marked)

HIS FRIEND pushes the bike.
Saaxiibkiís wáxa uu kú riíxayaa baaskíilka. (subject marked)
His friend pushes THE BIKE.

14 There is also a similar distinction in Italian between, e.g., la mia casa ‘my house’, with the
article, and mia sorella ‘my sister’, without it.

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 Implied possessive relations
In possessive constructions where a person is associated with something
whose sole “possessor” this person is not, it is common to use a plural
possessive ending.

Aaminá aabbáhood
Amina’s father (lit. Amina their father, i.e. her and and her siblings’ father)
Rooblé fásalkooda
Roble’s class (lit. Roble their class, i.e. his and his classmates’ class)

adíga dériskiinna
your neighbours (lit. you (SG) your (PL) neighbours, i.e. your and your
family’s neighbours)

Partitive use of possessive suffixes

The possessive endings are commonly used in so called partitive con-
structions, i.e. after words that express some kind of measure.

With numbers the full possessive suffixes are used.

labadooda both of them, the two of them

With certain other nouns the short possessive suffixes are preferred.

qaarkood part of them, some of them

badankood many of them
dhammaántood all of them
kúlligeen, kulligood all of us, all of them

Possessive + demonstrative suffix

The demonstrative endings can be added after the possessive endings
instead of the definite article that is part of the full possessive forms.

Cumar wuxuu dhammeeyay mundulkiisii.

Omar has completed that hut of his, you know.

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 gurigaygan
this house of mine

§ 9.4 Interrogative pronouns

Almost all interrogatives in Somali contain one of the two interrogative
morphemes /ee/ and /ma/.

MASC.SG FEM.SG. PLURAL

who? ayó
who?, which? kúma túma kúwama what persons?
what? maxaý
which one? keé teé kúwee which ones?

The singular forms keé and teé may also be added as endings to nouns,
both in the singular and in the plural. The high tone then disappears from
the stem of the noun. The initial consonant of the possessive ending is
always identical to the consonant of the definite article. See § 4.1 and §
6.3.

INDEF. FORM DEF. FORM INTERROGATIVE FORM

xág side, direction xágga xaggeé? which direction?, where?
hál place hálka halkeé? which place?, where?
éray word érayga eraygeé? which word?
erayó word erayáda erayadeé? which words?

Dhárka Xasan waa midabkeé? What colour are Hassan’s clothes?

With certain nouns the interrogative ending –ma is often preferred.

INDEF. FORM INTERROGATIVE FORM

goór moment goormá? / goorteé? which moment? when?

Interrogative use of possessive forms

When asking for someone’s name, short possessive endings are used with
an interrogative effect. In order to signal this interrogative function, the

70
high tone is lost on the noun itself and only realised on the ending, in a
similar manner to the interrogative ending –eé.

Magacáa? (What’s) your name?

Magacéed? (What’s) her name?
Magacíis? (What’s) his name?

§ 9.5 Nouns with pronominal functions

Somali nouns function as the equivalents of many English pronouns or
pronominal adverbs. They are then often used with the demonstrative
endings –kan / –tan this, –kaa(s) / –taa(s) that, the interrogative endings –
keé / –teé? / –má? which?, and the negative particles –ná / –bá.

qóf person; cíd people

qóf somebody, someone, cíd somebody, some people
qofná nobody, cidná nobody
qofkeé? who?

wáx thing
wáx something

wáx XX ah any XX (in negative clauses)

Má (uu) haysan wax lacág ah.

He didn’t have any money.

waxná, waxbá nothing

sí manner
sídan like this, (in) this way, (in) this manner
sídaa(s) like that, (in) that way, (in) that manner
sideé? how?, (in) what way, (in) what manner

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 meél, hál place; xág side, direction
meél somewhere
meelná nowhere
hálkan, meéshan here, (in, to) this place
hálkaa(s), meéshaa(s) there, (in, to) that place
halkeé?, meesheé?, xaggeé? where?, (in, to) which place?

már, goór, kól moment; wákhti/wáqti time

márkaa(s), kólkaa(s) then, (in) that moment
goormá?, wakhtigeé?/ waqtigeé? when?, (at) what time?

dhammaán all
dhammaán all + noun

Goobó géli dhammaán erayáda kú bilaabma J.

Put a circle around all the words that begin with J.

noun + dhammaántood all of them

Dadka dhammaantood waa ay u siman yihiin sharciga.

All people are equal before the law.

láf bone; náf soul, spirit; qúr/qúdh life

láftayda (I) myself, láftaada (you) yourself etc.

Waxa uu u sheegay in isaga laftiisu uusan haysan wax lacag ah.

He told him/her/them that he himself didn’t have any money.
Imminka aniga laftayda ayaa ku heesa gabayadayda.
Now I myself sing my poems.

naftayda (I) myself etc.

Aniga ayaa nafteyda u samaystay. I have made it for myself.

qurtayda / qudhayda (I) myself etc.

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 Cuntada ay iniintu u baahan tahay waxa ku kaydsan tahay iniinta
qudheeda. The nutrition that the seed needs is stored in the seed itself.
Adiga qudhaada ayaan ku leeyahay. I have only you.

§ 9.6 Adjectives with pronominal functions

dhán all, total

Ma dhán nahay? Are we all (here)?

After a definite noun, this adjective is preceded by the conjunction oo.

Saaxiibbáday oo dhan waa ay tágayaan.

All my friends are going.

Other modifiers often occur between the noun and the adjective dhan.

Ka samee liis cudurrada la sheegay oo dhan.

Make a list of all the diseases that were mentioned.

In certain expressions with an indefinite noun, this adjective is used

without the conjunction oo.

Geela sidkoodu waa muddo dhan 390 maalmood.

The gestation of camels equals a total period of 390 days.

kalé other
baabúur kale another car

oo kale such, similar, like (this, that)

baabúurkaas oo kale a car like that

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§ 10. Adjectives
Somali has fewer basic, non-derived adjectives than English. Some of the
most frequent basic adjectives are:

adág hard, difficult cád white, light culús heavy

cusúb new dhéer long, tall, high, deep dhów close
fóg distant fudúd light, easy jecél fond (of)
madów black, dark nóol living, alive wéyn big
xún bad yár little, small

§ 10.1 Formation of adjectives

Adjectives derived from nouns

Quite a lot of adjectives are derived from nouns through different suffixes
that often end in –n, such as –án, –sán and –óon.

wanáag –ga sth. good wanaagsán good

fárax –a happiness faraxsán happy
gáab –ka shortness, sth. short gaabán short
qurúx –da beauty qurxoón beautiful

Many adjectives are also derived from nouns with the suffix –eéd.

Soomaáli –ga a Somali Soomaaliyeéd Somali

A few are derived through the use of –oód or –aád.

kiimíko –da chemicals kiimikaád chemical

Ordinal numbers
Ordinal numbers are adjectives. They are all formed in a regular way by
adding the adjectival suffix –aád to the cardinal noun.

1 = ków one 1aad = koowaád / kowaád first

2 = lába / lábo two 2aad = labaád second

74
 3 = sáddex three 3aad = saddexaád third
4 = áfar four 4aad = afraád / afaraád fourth
5 = shán five 5aad = shanaád fifth

Adjectives derived from verbs

Adjectives derived from verbs may be referred to as participles or deverbal
adjectives. They are formed through the addition of the ending –án or –
sán.

sawiraa, sawirtaa draws sawirán drawn

qoraa, qortaa writes qorán written
sameeyaa, samaysaa does, makes samaysán done, made

“Phrasal adjectives”
Often phrases consisting of a noun + an adjective correspond to English
adjectives. They most often contain one of the adjectives badan much,
weyn big, or yar small, e.g. qurúx badan (beauty much) beautiful, dá’ weyn (age
big) old. The main high tone is on the noun, and the adjective usually has a
less prominent high tone or no tone at all.

Waxa ay kú nóol yihiin meeláha dhágaxa badan.

They live in stony places.

Notice that the modifier noun – dhágaxa in the example above – has to be
in the definite form when the head noun – meeláha above – is in the
definite form, or if it has a demonstrative or possessive ending.

nin da’ weyn an old man

ninka da’da weyn the old man

baaskiil qurux badan a beautiful bike

baaskiilka quruxda badan the beautiful bike

Also notice that as a predicate, these “phrasal adjectives” behave like

adjectives. They are accompanied by the copular verb. An ordinary noun

75
+ an adjective, on the other hand, do not need the copular verb in the
present tense.

Baaskiilku waa uu qurux badan yahay.

The bike is beautiful.

Maryan waa macallimad wanaagsan.

Maryan is a good teacher.

§ 10.2 The inflection of adjectives

Somali adjectives fall into two groups, inflected and uninflected.

Most derived adjectives ending in –d or –e belong to the uninflected ones,

e.g. Soomaaliyeéd Somali, dhexé middle, and all ordinal numbers. These
adjectives cannot take any prefixes or suffixes.

Most basic adjectives (adjectival roots) as well as derived adjectives

ending in –n belong to the inflected ones, e.g. wéyn big, qurxoón beautiful,
and all deverbal adjectives (participles).

Somali adjectives have very few inflectional forms. The gender and
definiteness of a noun has no effect on an accompaying adjective.

gabár yar a small girl wíil yar a small boy

gabárta yar the small girl wíilka yar the small boy

The distributive form

Adjectives inflect for something rather similar to a plural form through
the reduplication of the beginning of the word. In most adjectives the
initial syllable is repeated, but some irregularities exist.

BASE FORM DISTRIBUTIVE FORM

yár little yaryár
wanaagsán good wanwanaagsán
gaabán short gaagaabán

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 dhéer long dhaadhéer
wéyn big waawéyn

It is not obligatory to use the distributive form, but with common

adjectives it is very frequently used. With less common adjectives,
however, this form is less frequent.

The distributive expresses a repetition or spread (distribution) of the

quality, either to different objects or to different parts of an object.
Therefore this form doesn’t automatically occur together with nouns in
the plural, and it may also occur together with nouns in the singular,
especially collective nouns, as well as mass nouns composed of several
small parts.

dád waawéyn grown-up people, adults

carruúr yaryar small children
cáws dhaadhéer long grass (since each straw is long)

Sound alternations in the stem

Some adjectives exhibit sound alternations in the stem, so that the base
form of the adjective differs from other forms with an ending.

BASE FORM STEM INFLECTED FORM

cad white, light /cadd/ caddaa was white, light
culus heavy /cul_s/, /cus_l/ cuslaa was heavy
eg similar /ek/ ekaa was similar
dhan all /dhamm/ dhammi (subject form)

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§ 10.3 The comparative degree
To express the equivalent of the English comparative degree, the
preposition ká from, than is placed before the adjective. In Somali there is
no comparative form of the adjective itself.

Shan waa ay ká yar tahay siddéed.

five PR.FOC it from little is eight
Five is less than eight.

§ 10.4 The superlative degree

The equivalent of the English superlative degree is expressed by the
particle ugú (the) most, the very -st.

ugú culus (the) (very) heaviest, (the) most heavy

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§ 11. Verbs
Almost all Somali verbs are inflected in a completely regular and
predictable way. There are only six irregular verbs (see § 11.13).

Just like in French, German, Finnish, Russian, Arabic and many other
languages, there are different verb forms in Somali for the first person (I,
we), the second person (you) and the third person (he, she, it, they) in both
the singular and the plural. In the third person singular there are also
different forms for the masculine (he) and the feminine (she), as in Arabic.

§ 11.1 The present tense

The morpheme /aa/ expresses the present tense.

The morpheme /t/ expresses the 2nd person (you), both singular and
plural, as well as the feminine 3rd person singular (she).

The morpheme /n/ expresses the plural (we, you, they).

1 sg. I -aa heesaa I sing

2 sg. you -taa heestaa you sing
3 sg.m. he, it -aa heesaa he sings
3 sg.f. she, it -taa heestaa she sings
1 pl. we -naa heesnaa we sing
2 pl. you -taan heestaan you sing
3 pl. they -aan heesaan they sing

The /t/ of the endings will adjust to the final sound in the stem of the verb
in very much the same way as the definite article.

Only if the stem ends in /i/ or /y/, the initial /t/ of the endings change to /s/
intead of /d/ in most verbs, e.g. /sii/-/taa/ → siisaa you / she give(s).

If the stem ends in a vowel and the ending begins with a vowel, the sound
/y/ is inserted in order to avoid a sequence of two vowels, e.g. /akhri/-/aa/
→ akhriyaa I / he read(s).

Sound changes in the verb inflection are discussed in detail in § 11.12.

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§ 11.2 The past tense
There is only one past tense in Somali, corresponding to three tenses in
English: past tense (sang), present perfect (has sung) and past perfect (had
sung), but Somali also has aspects, just like English; see § 11.5 and § 11.6.

The past tense is expressed by the morpheme /ay/ word finally, and by
/ee/ non-finally. The suffixes expressing person and number have exactly
the same structure as in the present tense.

1 sg. I -ay heesay I sang

2 sg. you -tay heestay you sang
3 sg.m. he, it -ay heesay he sang
3 sg.f. she, it -tay heestay she sang
1 pl. we -nay heesnay we sang
2 pl. you -teen heesteen you sang
3 pl. they -een heeseen they sang

The exact same sound changes occur in the past tense as in the present
tense. See § 11.12.

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§ 11.3 The three conjugations
It is convenient to divide the regular verbs into three groups or
conjugations, since small inflectional differences exist between the three
groups.

For most verbs the last sound of the stem reveals to which conjugation the
verb belongs.

The majority of the verbs in the 1st conjugation have a stem that ends in a
consonant, e.g. hees-aa, hees-taa he/she sings.

The majority of the verbs in the 2nd conjugation have a stem that ends in
/i/ or /ee/, e.g. fiiri-yaa, fiiri-saa he/she looks.

The verbs in the 3rd conjugation have two stems, one that ends in /t/ or
/d/, and one that ends in /a/, e.g., booqd-aa, booqa-taa he/she visits.

Furthermore, in all three conjugations a number of regular sound

alternations occur, depending on the last sound of the stem and the first
sound in the ending.

More details about sound changes and the inflection of verbs in the
individual conjugations are presented in § 11.12.

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§ 11.4 The infinitive
The infinitive has two different endings depending on the conjugation,
more precisely whether the stem ends in a consonant or in a vowel.

Verbs in conjugation 1 take the ending –i, used after a consonant.

Verbs in conjugations 2 and 3 take the ending –n, used after a vowel.

In the infinitive, there is always a high tone on the last vowel position of
the stem, before the ending.

PRESENT (F.) INFINITIV

CONJUGATION 1 –i qor-taa qór-i write
CONJUGATION 2 –n fiiri-saa fiirí-n look
samay-saa samaý-n do, make
CONJUGATION 3 –n haysa-taa haysá-n have, hold
soco-taa socó-n walk

The Somali infinitive form is far less frequently used than the English
infinitive. It only occurs together with a few auxiliary verbs, mainly
doonaa, doontaa will, jiray, jirtay used to, karaa, kartaa can, lahaa, lahayd
would (have), rabaa, rabtaa intends to, waayaa, waydaa is unable to.

The auxiliary verb always follows after the infinitive.

Cali wuu bogsán doonaa. Ali will get well.

Sáhra wáxa ay samaýn kartaa waxyaabó badan.
Sahra can do many things.

Corresponding to most other usages of the English inifinitive, Somali

applies the verbal noun (see § 7.3) or a full subclause (see § 15.2.1).

Wáxa ay jecél yihiin ákhriska.

FIN.FOC they fond are the.reading
They like to read.
Wáxa aan rabaa ín aan tago.
FIN.FOC I want that I leave
I want to leave.

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§ 11.5 Progressive verb forms
Somali, just like English, has simple and progressive verb forms, but only
in the present and the past tense. The progressive forms contain the
progressive suffix –ay–, which precedes the person, number and tense
endings.

The morpheme /t/ always changes to /s/ after the progressive suffix –ay–.

There is always a high tone on the last vowel position before the
progressive suffix –ay–.

SIMPLE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE PRESENT

1 sg. heesaa I sing heésayaa I am singing
2 sg. heestaa heésaysaa
3 sg.m. heesaa heésayaa
3 sg.f. heestaa heésaysaa
1 pl. heesnaa heésaynaa
2 pl. heestaan heésaysaan
3 pl. heesaan heésayaan

SIMPLE PAST PROGRESSIVE PAST

1 sg. heesay I sang heésayay I was singing
2 sg. heestay heésaysay
3 sg.m. heesay heésayay
3 sg.f. heestay heésaysay
1 pl. heesnay heésaynay
2 pl. heesteen heésayseen
3 pl. heeseen heésayeen

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In conjugations 2 and 3, the progressive suffix is always preceded by an
/n/, since the progressive forms are based on the infinitive.

2. siiyaa, siisaa gives sií-n-ay-aa he is giving

sameeyaa, samaysaa does samaý-n-ay-aa he is doing
akhriyaa, akhrisaa reads akhrí-n-ay-aa he is reading
or 1. akhriyaa, akhridaa reads akhrí-y-ay-aa he is reading

In conjugation 3, the vowel stem is used before the /n/ of the progressive
form.

C-STEM, V-STEM V-STEM

3. booqdaa, booqa-taa takes booqá-n-ay-aa he is visiting
qaataa, qaada-taa visits qaadá-n-ay-aa he is taking
socdaa, soco-taa walks socó-n-ay-aa he is walking

Present progressive expressing near future

Similarly to English, the Somali present progressive may be used to
express actions in an immediate future.

Bérri waxaan ká dul boódayaa Maroodí.

Tomorrow I’m jumping over the Elephant.

Verbs without progressive forms

Some verbs are very rarely used in the progressive form. Above all, verbs
denoting states (not actions) belong to that group. Some common verb of
this type are:

haystaa, haysataa holds, has

léeyahay, léedahay has, owns
rabaa, rabtaa wishes, wants
waayaa, waydaa cannot
yaallaa, taallaa is, lies, is situated
yaqaannaa, taqaannaa knows

Some speakers avoid the use of progressive forms of certain verbs, e.g.

84
 hurdaa, huruddaa sleeps
karaa, kartaa can
socdaa, socotaa walks

The verb stem doon‒ has developed a meaning difference between the
simple and the progressive form. The simple forms doonaa, doontaa are
used as a future tense auxiliary, corresponding to English will, whereas
the progressive forms doónayaa, doónaysaa have the modal meaning
wants (to).

Waxaan noqón doonaa dhakhtár.

I will become a doctor.
Waxaan doónayaa ín aan noqdo dhakhtár.
I want to become a doctor.

85
§ 11.6 The habitual past tense
The habitual past consists of the infinitive of the main verb followed by
the auxiliary jiray, jirtay used to in the simple past.

1 sg. waa aan heési jiray I used to sing

2 sg. waa aad heési jirtay you used to sing
3 sg.m. waa uu heési jiray he used to sing
3 sg.f. waa ay heési jirtay she used to sing
1 pl. waa aan heési jirnay we used to sing
2 pl. waa aad heési jirteen you used to sing
3 pl. waa ay heési jireen they used to sing

The habitual past tense expresses actions that occurred repeatedly in the
past.

Maalín waliba waa uu waraabín jiray moxóggii.

Every day he used to water the cassava. / Every day he watered the cassava.

As shown in the example, the auxiliary used to is not obligatory in English.

In Somali, however, the habitual past is systematically used when describing
actions that were repeated in the past. The simple past basically denotes
actions that only occurred once.

86
§ 11.7 The future tense
The future tense consists of the infinitive of the main verb followed by the
auxiliary doonaa, doontaa will in the simple present tense.

1 sg. waa aan heési doonaa I will sing

2 sg. waa aad heési doontaa you will sing
3 sg.m. waa uu heési doonaa he will sing
3 sg.f. waa ay heési doontaa she will sing
1 pl. waa aan heési doonnaa we will sing
2 pl. waa aad heési doontaan you will sing
3 pl. waa ay heési doonaan they will sing

The future tense is used to express predicted actions in the future.

Waa uu bogsán doonaa. He will get well.

In order to express actions in an immediate future, less as a prediction and

more as a fact, the present progressive is commonly used instead of the
future tense.

Anigu hadda ayaan tagayaa. I’m leaving now.

87
§ 11.8 Survey of tenses and aspects
ASPECT:
TENSE: SIMPLE PROGRESSIVE HABITUAL
PAST I sang I was singing I used to sing
1 sg. heesay heésayay heési jiray
2 sg. heestay heésaysay heési jirtay

3 sg.m. heesay heésayay heési jiray

3 sg.f. heestay heésaysay heési jirtay
1 pl. heesnay heésaynay heési jirnay
2 pl. heesteen heésayseen heési jirteen
3 pl. heeseen heésayeen heési jireen

PRESENT I sing I am singing

1 sg. heesaa heésayaa
2 sg. heestaa heésaysaa
3 sg.m. heesaa heésayaa
3 sg.f. heestaa heésaysaa
1 pl. heesnaa heésaynaa
2 pl. heestaan heésaysaan
3 pl. heesaan heésayaan

FUTURE I will sing

1 sg . heési doonaa
2 sg. heési doontaa
3 sg.m. heési doonaa
3 sg.f. heési doontaa
1 pl. heési doonnaa
2 pl. heési doontaan
3 pl. heési doonaan

88
§ 11.9 Reduced verb forms
The full inflected paradigm of Somali verbs generally consists of five
distinct forms representing: he=I; she=you(SG); we; you(PL); they.

Alongside the full inflection, there is also a reduced paradigm with only
three distinctive forms representing: he=I=you=they; she; we.

SIMPLE PRESENT FULL FORMS REDUCED FORMS

1 sg. heesaa heesa sings
2 sg. heestaa heesa
3 sg. m. heesaa heesa
3 sg. f. heestaa heesta
1 pl. heesnaa heesna
2 pl. heestaan heesa
3 pl. heesaan heesa

The reduced verb paradigm only has the suffix –t– in the feminine
3rd person singular (she) and the suffix –n– in the 1st person plural (we).
Furthermore, the reduced present tense forms have a short –a instead of
the long –aa that is found in the full forms.

There are reduced forms for all the tenses and aspects.

ASPECT:
TENSE: SIMPLE PROGRESSIVE HABITUAL
PAST heesay heésayay heési jiray
3 sg.f. heestay heésaysay heési jirtay
1 pl. heesnay heésaynay heési jirnay

PRESENT heesa heésaya

3 sg.f. heesta heésaysa
1 pl. heesna heésayna

FUTURE heési doona

3 sg.f. heési doonta
1 pl. heési doonna

89
The reduced forms are used in two contexts:

– in positive main clauses, if the subject of the clause is focused,

Imminka aniga laftayda ayaa ku heesa gabayadayda.

Now I myself sing my poems.

– in positive relative clauses, if the relative clause does not contain any
word expressing the subject, i.e. the subject of the subclause is the head
noun (the antecedent) of the subclause.

Waxa aad ka mid tahay hablaha heesa ee Soomaaliyeed.

You are one of the Somali girls that sing.

Often, the Somali reduced verb forms correspond to participles in other

languages, e.g. English participles with –ing.

bisád húrdaya a cat that is sleeping = a sleeping cat

Sometimes Somali reduced verb forms correspond to adjectives in other

languages.

general soó socd-a the following, next

f. sg. soó soco-ta

In other grammatical descriptions of Somali, the REDUCED verb forms are

also referred to as SHORT, ATTRIBUTIVE or RELATIVE verb forms, or as forms
of the RESTRICTED verb paradigm.

90
§ 11.10 The subjunctive mood
The subjunctive mood forms express actions that do not take place in the
real world. They may be imaginary, wished for, hoped for, or simply not
occurring at all. These forms are therefore mainly used

- in negative main clauses,

- in positive subordinate clauses appearing in the present or future tense
amd containing a subject word, and
- in wishes and indirect commands (optative constructions).

The present subjunctive ends in –o instead of –aa, whereas the forms with
–aan are written in the same way in both the subjunctive and the ordinary
present tense.

However, the subjunctive forms ending in –áan have a high tone on the
second to last vowel position, pronounced as a falling tone over the
duration of the long /aa/.

In the 2nd person singular present subjunctive, there are two alternative
endings: –to and –tid. The latter has a somewhat higher stylistic value.

The present subjunctive endings are also used with the future tense
auxiliary.

In the past subjunctive there are no different forms for the different
persons and numbers, only one common form that generally ends in –
(i)n.

SIMPLE PROGRESSIVE
CONJUGATION 1 –in –aynin / –ayn
CONJUGATIONS 2 & 3 –nin / –n –naynin / –nayn

91
SUBJUNCTIVE ASPECT:

TENSE: SIMPLE PROGRESSIVE HABITUAL

PAST SUBJ.
heesin heésayn(in) heési jirin

PRESENT SUBJ.
1 sg. heeso heésayo
2 sg. heesto heésayso
/ heestid / heésaysid
3 sg.m. heeso heésayo
3 sg.f. heesto heésayso
1 pl. heesno heésayno
2 pl. heestáan heésaysáan
3 pl. heesáan heésayáan

FUTURE SUBJ.
1 sg. heési doono
2 sg. heési doonto
/ heési doontid
3 sg.m. heési doono
3 sg.f. heési doonto
1 pl. heési doonno
2 pl. heési doontáan
3 pl. heési doonáan

92
 Negative forms of the present progressive
The present progressive can be negated in two different ways.

NEGATION + SUBJUNCTIVE INFINITIVE + ”NEGATION VERB”

1 sg. má heésayo heési maayo I’m not singing
2 sg. má heésayso heési mayso / maysid
3 sg. m. má heésayo heési maayo
3 sg. f. má heésayso heési mayso
1 pl. má heésayno heési mayno
2 pl. má heésaysáan heési maysáan
3 pl. má heésayáan heési maayáan

The negative auxiliary maayo is the result of a contraction of the negation

particle má and the historical progressive auxiliary hayo, hayso holds,
which was originally used also in the positive form, but became
contracted with the main verb, giving raise to the modern standard Somali
progressive forms.

cúnayaa < (old) cuna hayaa má cúnayo < (old) ma cuna hayo
cúni maayo < (old) cuni ma hayo

93
 Reduced subjunctive forms
When negation occurs together with subordination or together with focus,
special reduced forms of the verb are used instead of the full subjunctive
forms presented above. The endings of the reduced subjunctive are equal
to the endings of the past subjunctive in the full paradigm presented in §
11.10.

The reduced subjunctive forms do not differentiate between past and

present tense, nor beteween different persons and numbers.

The negation particle is always aan not together with these verb forms.

ASPECT:
TENSE: SIMPLE PROGRESSIVE HABITUAL
PAST SUBJUNCTIVE
heesin heésayn(in) heési jirin

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
heesin heésayn(in)

FUTURE SUBJUNCTIVE
heési doonin

The reduced subjunctive forms are used in all negative subclauses.

Markii ay aragtay in aanay cidi agteeda joogin ayaa ay ku booday

oo ay cuntay.
When she saw that nobody was nearby, she jumped onto it and ate it.
Runtu waxa weeye in aanay qorraxdu dhulka ku wareegaysan.
The truth is that the sun is not revolving around the earth.

The reduced subjunctive forms are also used in negative main clauses that
contain a focus particle alongside the negative particle aan not.

Maxaa aysan u lahayn carruurta qaar saaxiibbo?

Why do some of the children not have friends?

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 The optative construction
The optative construction consists of the subjunctive form of the verb
preceded by the short subject pronoun in the 1st and 2nd person, and by
the sentence particle há in the 3rd person. In the 1st and 2nd person, there
is a high tone on the last vowel position in the stem of the verb. In the 3rd
person, however, there is no high tone on the verb, only on the particle há.

1 sg. aan heéso let me sing

2 sg. aad heésto / aad heéstid you should sing
3 sg.m. há heeso let/make him sing
3 sg.f. há heesto let/make her sing
3 sg.ind. há la heesto have/make sb. sing
1 pl. aan heésno let’s sing
2 pl. aad heéstaan / aad heésteen you should sing
3 pl. há heesaan / há heeseen let/make them sing

In the 3rd person, the particle há can be followed by the indefinite subject
pronoun la one, but it is never followed by the short subject pronouns uu
he and ay she, they.

Há la ií keeno seéf. Have someone bring me a sword.

Instead of the subjunctive forms ending in –aan, the past tense forms
ending in –een are frequently used.

95
§ 11.10.3a The negative optative
These forms express a wish that something would not happen.

1 sg. yaanan heesín don’t make/let me sing

2 sg. yaanad heesín you shouldn’t sing
3 sg.m. yaanu heesín don’t let him sing
3 sg.f. yaanay heesín don’t let her sing
3 sg.ind. yaan la heesín don’t let anybody sing
1 pl. excl. yaanan heesín let’s not sing
1 pl. incl. yaynu heesín let’s not sing
2 pl. yaanad heesín you shouldn’t sing
3 pl. yaanay heesín don’t let them sing

Maalin dambe yaanan meeshan kugu arkin.

Don’t let me see you here the next day.
I hope I won’t see you here the next day.

96
 The conditional construction
The conditional consists of the infinitive of the main verb followed by the
irregular auxiliary lahaa, lahayd would (have) in the simple past tense.

1 sg. waa aan heési lahaa I would have sung

2 sg. waa aad heési lahayd you would have sung
3 sg.m. waa uu heési lahaa he would have sung
3 sg.f. waa ay heési lahayd she would have sung
1 pl. waa aan heési lahayn we would have sung
2 pl. waa aad heési lahaydeen you would have sung
3 pl. waa ay heési lahaayeen they would have sung

The most basic use of the conditional contruction is in sentences with a

conditional subclause. The conditional is then often used in both the main
and the subordinate clause. For further details see § 15.4.2.

Haddii digaagaddan aan siin lahaa cunto iyo biyo badan waxa ay ii
dhali lahayd ukun fara badan. If I would give this hen a lot of food and
water it would lay a lot of eggs for me.

The conditional may also be used in a simple main clause when the
situation is hypothetical.

Maxaa aad soo beddelan lahaydeen? What would you have changed?

The conditional construction is also used in subclauses to express a future,

planned action from the perspective of the past. For further details see §
15.1.2.

Bakaylihii waxa uu ku fekeray sidii uu waraabaha u khiyaameyn

lahaa. The hare thought about how he would fool the hyena.

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§ 11.10.4a The negative conditional
The negative conditional can be formed in two ways, either with the
auxiliary in the past/reduce subjunctive form lahayn or with special
endings. The negation particle is má in main clauses and aan in
subclauses.

MAIN CLAUSE NEGATIVE CONDITIONAL FORMS WITH AUXILIARY

1 sg. ma aan I would not have sung

2 sg. ma aad you would not have sung
3 sg.m. ma uu he would not have sung
3 sg.f. ma ay she would not have sung
heési lahayn
3 sg.ind. lama one would not have sung
1 pl. ma aan we would not have sung
2 pl. ma aad you would not have sung
3 pl. ma ay they would not have sung

SUBCLAUSE NEGATIVE CONDITIONAL FORMS WITH AUXILIARY

1 sg. aanan I would not have sung

2 sg. aanad / aadan you would not have sung
3 sg.m. aanu / uusan he would not have sung
3 sg.f. aanay / aysan she would not have sung
heési lahayn
3 sg.ind. aan la one would not have sung
1 pl. aanan we would not have sung
2 pl. aanad / aadan you would not have sung
3 pl. aanay /aysan they would not have sung

98
INFLECTED NEGATIVE CONDITIONAL FORMS

The tense/mood vowel is /ee/ throughout the paradigm and all forms end
in /n/.

1 sg. heeseen would not have sung

2 sg. heesteen
3 sg.m. heeseen
3 sg.f. ma / aan heesteen
1 pl. heesneen
2 pl. heesteen
3 pl. heeseen

Waxa hubaal ah haddii ay ahaan lahaayeen kalluumeysato in aanay

dhibaatadaasi gaadheen. It’s for sure that if they had been fishermen they
wouldn’t have run into those difficulties.

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§ 11.11 The imperative mood
The imperative singular form has no ending. It is therefore equivalent to
the stem of the verb.

The imperative plural form takes the ending –a.

In most imperative forms, the high tone is on the second to last vowel
position.

Conjugation 1

SIMPLE PRESENT, 3 SG. IMPERATIVE

MASC. FEM. SG. PL.
sawir-aa sawir-t-aa draws sáwir sawír-a draw!

Conjugation 2. The buffer consonant /y/ is inserted between the vowel of

the stem and the vowel of the plural ending.

akhri-y-aa akhri-saa reads ákhri akhrí-y-a read!

shaqee-y-aa shaqey-saa works shaqée shaqeé-y-a work!

Conjugation 3. The vowel stem is used in the singular and the consonant
stem in the plural. The final /a/ of the vowel stem changes to /o/ in the
imperative, since it becomes word final. 15 Contrary to the general rule, the
high tone in the singular form is on the final vowel position.

booqa-taa visits booqó visit!

booqd-aa visits boóqd-a visit!
qaada-taa takes qaadó take!
qaat-aa takes qaát-a take!

The same type of alternation is found in feminine nouns like hoóyo mother, hooyáda the
15

mother, with /o/ in word final position, but /a/ when a suffix is added.

100
Conjugation 1 verbs ending in –aab-aa (m.), –ow-daa (f.), as well as
conjugation 3 verbs ending in –aad-aa (m.), –aa-taa (f.), have a singular
imperative form ending in –ów.

bilaab-aa bilow-daa begins bilów bilaáb-a begin!

ogaad-aa ogaa-taa finds out ogów ogaád-a find out!

The prohibitive construction

In Somali, negative imperative forms are not formed through the addition
of a negation particle to the positive imperative forms. Instead there is a
special prohibitive particle ha don’t, which in the singular is followed by
the reduced subjunctive form ending in –in after a consonant and –n(in)
after a vowel.

In the plural, the suffix –a is added, just like in the imperative. This suffix
is always added to the longer singular form.

Also like in the imperative, the high tone goes on the second to last vowel
position of the full forms. The high tone remains in the same vowel
position in the alternative, shorter forms.

CONJUGATION 1

ha sheégin don't say (addressing one person)

ha sheegína don't say (addressing several persons)

CONJUGATION 2

ha fiirín(in) don't look (addressing one person)

ha fiirinína don't look (addressing several persons)

ha sameýn(in) don't make (addressing one person)

ha sameynína don't make (addressing several persons)

CONJUGATION 3

ha qaadán(in) don't take (addressing one person)

ha qaadanína don't take (addressing several persons)

101
§ 11.12 Sound changes
In the tables below, only the present tense forms are given, but of course,
exactly the same alternations also occur in the past tense.

Conjugation 1
This group mainly contains verbs with stems that end in a consonant. The
infinitive ends in –i. Verbal nouns ends in –íd (–da). Many verbs in the 1st
conjugation also have verbal nouns ending with –ís (–ta).

(a) In the majority of verbs ending with /b, f, g, n, r, s/ preceded by a vowel,

no sound changes occur.

1 sg. hees-aa sings sheeg-aa tells

2 sg. hees-taa sheeg-taa
3 sg.m. hees-aa sheeg-aa
3 sg.f. hees-taa sheeg-taa
1 pl. hees-naa sheeg-naa
2 pl. hees-taan sheeg-taan
3 pl. hees-aan sheeg-aan

progr. heés-ayaa sheég-ayaa

fut. heés-i doonaa sheég-i doonaa

imp. sg. hées shéeg

imp. pl. heés-a sheég-a

v. noun. hees-íd –da sheeg-íd –da

102
(b) If the stem ends in /d, y, w, kh, q, c, x, h, ´/, a following /t/ becomes /d/,
just like in different suffixes added to nouns. See § 4.1.

1 sg. bood-aa jumps

2 sg. bood-daa
3 sg.m. bood-aa
3 sg.f. bood-daa
1 pl. bood-naa
2 pl. bood-daan
3 pl. bood-aan

progr. boód-ayaa
fut. boód-i doonaa

imp. sg. bóod

imp. pl. boód-a

v. noun. bood-íd –da

Other verbs of this type:

aadaa goes, leaves, sets off

aaddaa, aádayaa, aádi, áad!, aáda!, aadíd –da
baqaa is frightened, fears
baqdaa, báqayaa, báqi, báq!, báqa!, baqíd –da
duwaa divert, turn aside
duwdaa, dúwayaa, dúwi, dúw!, dúwa!, duwíd –da
go’aa breaks (off, into two pieces)
go’daa, gó’ayaa, gó’i, gó’!, gó’a!, go’íd –da
qaadaa takes
qaaddaa, qaádayaa, qaádi, qáad!, qaáda!, qaadíd –da
raacaa accompanies
raacdaa, raácayaa, raáci, ráac!, raáca!, raacíd –da

103
(c) In addition to the /t/ > /d/ change, when the stem ends in /c, h, x, ´/ only
preceded by a short /a/ and an initial consonant, the /a/ changes to /i/
before another /i/, i.e., before the endings in the infinitive and the verbal
noun.

1 sg. bax-aa comes out, leaves dhac-aa falls; happens

2 sg. bax-daa dhac-daa
3 sg.m. bax-aa dhac-aa
3 sg.f. bax-daa dhac-daa
1 pl. bax-naa dhac-naa
2 pl. bax-daan dhac-daan
3 pl. bax-aan dhac-aan

progr. báx-ayaa dhác-ayaa

fut. bíx-i doonaa dhíc-i doonaa

imp. sg. báx dhác

imp. pl. báx-a dhác-a

v. noun. bix-íd –da dhic-íd –da

Other verbs of this type:

ba’aa is destroyed,
ba’daa, bá’ayaa, bí’i, bá’!, bá’a!, bi’íd –da
kacaa gets up, rises
kacdaa, kácayaa, kíci, kác!, káca!, kicíd –da
naxaa becomes afraid
naxdaa, náxayaa, níxi, náx!, náxa!, nixíd –da

104
(d) The /t/ of the suffixes merges with a preceding /l/ in the stem. The
result is /sh/. Certain verbs with an /a/ in a monosyllabic stem changes /a/
→ /e/ before an /i/.

1 sg. hel-aa finds, gets gal-aa enters

2 sg. heshaa gashaa
3 sg.m. hel-aa gal-aa
3 sg.f. heshaa gashaa
1 pl. hel-naa gal-naa
2 pl. heshaan gashaan
3 pl. hel-aan gal-aan

progr. hél-ayaa gál-ayaa

fut. hél-i doonaa gél-i doonaa

imp. sg. hél gál

imp. pl. hél-a gál-a

v. noun. hel-íd –da gel-íd –da

Other verbs of this type:

yeelaa makes
yeeshaa, yeelayaa, yeeli, yéel!, yeéla!, yeelíd –da

105
(e) The /t/ of the suffixes merges with a preceding /dh/ in the stem. The
result is a long /dhdh/. This is not reflected in the spelling, however, since
the letter sequence <dh> is never doubled.

Such forms with non-initial /dh/ occur mainly in the north-west. In the
nort-east, the centre and the south, /dh/ has usually been replaced by /r/,
which does not lead to any sound alternations.

1 sg. hadh-aaN remains har-aaS remains

2 sg. hadhaa [hadhdhaa] har-taa
3 sg.m. hadh-aa har-aa
3 sg.f. hadhaa [hadhdhaa] har-taa
1 pl. hadh-naa har-naa
2 pl. hadhaan [hadhdhaan] har-taan
3 pl. hadh-aan har-aan

progr. hádh-ayaa hár-ayaa

fut. hádh-i doonaa hár-i doonaa

imp. sg. hádh hár

imp. pl. hádh-a hár-a

v. noun. hadh-íd –da har-íd –da

Other verbs of this type:

xidhaa / xiraa ties, closes, links, conects

xidhaa, xídhayaa, xídhi doonaa, xídh!, xídha!, xidhíd –da
/ xirtaa, xírayaa, xíri doonaa, xír!, xíra!, xiríd –da

gaadhaa / gaaraa reaches

gaadhaa, gaádhayaa, gaádhi doonaa, gáadh!, gaádha!, gaadhíd –da
/ gaartaa, gaárayaa, gaári doonaa, gáar!, gaára!, gaaríd –da

106
(f) If the stem ends in /k/ or /m/, this consonant alternates with /g/ and /n/
if it is not followed by a vowel. With the exception of a few borrowed
words, the phonemes /k/ and /m/ always need to be followed by a vowel.

1 sg. buk-aa is ill tartam-aa competes

2 sg. bug-taa tartan-taa
3 sg.m. buk-aa tartam-aa
3 sg.f. bug-taa tartan-taa
1 pl. bug-naa tartan-naa
2 pl. bug-taan tartan-taan
3 pl. buk-aan tartam-aan

progr. ––––– tartám-ayaa

fut. búk-i doonaa tartám-i doonaa

imp. sg. búg tártan

imp. pl. búk-a tartám-a

v. noun. buk-íd –da tartam-íd –da

Other verbs of this type:

salaamaa greets
salaantaa, salaamayaa, salaami, saláan!, salaáma!, salaamíd –da

warramaa tells (news), reports

warrantaa, warramayaa, warrami, wárran!, warráma!, warramíd –da

107
(g) If the stem ends in two consonants, they must be separated by an
inserted vowel when they are not immediately followed by a vowel in the
ending. Usually, it is the vowel already present in the stem that is copied.

1 sg. gudb-aa passes dalb-aa requests ord-aa runs

2 sg. gudub-taa dalab-taa orod-daa
3 sg.m. gudb-aa dalb-aa ord-aa
3 sg.f. gudub-taa dalab-taa orod-daa
1 pl. gudub-naa dalab-naa orod-naa
2 pl. gudub-taan dalab-taan orod-daan
3 pl. gudb-aan dalb-aan ord-aan

progr. gúdb-ayaa dálb-ayaa órd-ayaa

fut. gúdb-i doonaa dálb-i doonaa órd-i doonaa

imp. sg. gúdub dálab órod

imp. pl. gúdb-a dálb-a órd-a

v. noun. gudb-íd –da dalb-íd –da ord-íd –da

The reasons for these alternations are that a sequence of two consonants
cannot occur word finally, only inside words between vowels, and a
sequence of three consonants is never possible.

Other verbs of this type:

turqaa pricks, pierces

turuqdaa, turqayaa, turqi, turuq!, turqa!, turqid –da

108
(h) Some verbs exhibit both vowel insertion and consonant alternation.

1 sg. ark-aa sees hadl-aa talks kulm-aa meets

2 sg. arag-taa hadashaa kulan-taa
3 sg.m. ark-aa hadl-aa kulm-aa
3 sg.f. arag-taa hadashaa kulan-taa
1 pl. arag-naa hadal-naa kulan-naa
2 pl. arag-taan hadashaan kulan-taan
3 pl. ark-aan hadl-aan kulm-aan

progr. árk-ayaa hádl-ayaa kúlm-ayaa

fut. árk-i doonaa hádl-i doonaa kúlm-i doonaa

imp. sg. árag hádal kúlan

imp. pl. árk-a hádl-a kúlm-a

v. noun. ark-íd –da hadl-íd –da kulm-íd –da

The inserted vowel in the last verb is unexpected, since it is not a copy of
the vowel in the root.

Other verbs of this type:

fahmaa understands
fahantaa, fáhmayaa, fáhmi, fáhan!, fáhma!, fahmíd –da

goglaa spreads out (a mat), makes the bed

gogoshaa, góglayaa, gógli, gógol!, gógla!, goglíd –da

maqlaa hears
maqashaa, máqlayaa, máqli, máqal!, máqla!, maqlíd –da

This type of sound changes also occur in all anticausative verbs derived
with the suffix /m/. See § 11.14.8.

dhaawacaa hurts, injures, dhaawacdaa, dhaawacayaa…

dhaawacmaa gets hurt, is injured (without anyone causing it)
dhaawacantaa, dhaawácmayaa, dhaawácmi, no imp., dhaawacmíd –da

109
(i) If the stem ends in /aab/, an alternation with /ow/ occurs before endings
beginning with a consonant.

1 sg. bilaab-aa begins magacaab-aa tells the name of

2 sg. bilow-daa magacow-daa
3 sg.m. bilaab-aa magacaab-aa
3 sg.f. bilow-daa magacow-daa
1 pl. bilow-naa magacow-naa
2 pl. bilow-daan magacow-daan
3 pl. bilaab-aan magacaab-aan

progr. bilaáb-ayaa magacaáb-ayaa

fut. bilaáb-i doonaa magacaáb-i doonaa

imp. sg. bilów magaców

imp. pl. bilaáb-a magacaáb-a

v. noun. bilaab-íd –da magacaab-íd –da

One verb exhibits a lot of variation in the stem:

illaabaa / illaawaa / illoobaa forgets

illowdaa, illaábayaa, illaábi doonaa, illów!, illaába!, illaabíd –da
illowdaa, illaáwaayaa, illaáwi doonaa, illów!, illaáwa!, illaawíd –da
illowdaa, illoóbayaa, illoóbi doonaa, illów!, illoóba!, illoobíd –da

The diphthong <ow> may also – but less often – be spelled <aw>.
bilawdaa, bilaw!, magacawdaa, magacaw!, illawdaa, illaw!

Many other verbs that end in /aab/ have a less complex inflectional forms
according to the pattern in (a) above, e.g. jawaabaa, jawaabtaa answers.

110
 Conjugation 2
This conjugation contains mainly verbs with a stem ending in /i/ or /ee/.
When the ending begins with a vowel, the consonant /y/ is inserted as a
buffer between the vowel of the stem and that in the suffix.

(a) A /t/ in the ending changes to /s/ after the vowel /i/. Between vowels
the /n/ in the 1st person plural ending becomes /nn/.

1 sg. siiyaa gives fiiriyaa looks

2 sg. sii-saa fiiri-saa
3 sg.m. siiyaa fiiriyaa
3 sg.f. sii-saa fiiri-saa
1 pl. siinnaa fiirinnaa
2 pl. sii-saan fiiri-saan
3 pl. siiyaan fiiriyaan

progr. sií-nayaa fiirí-nayaa

fut. sií-n doonaa fiirí-n doonaa

imp. sg. síi fiíri

imp. pl. siíya fiiríya

v. noun. sií-n –ta fiirí-n –ta

Other verbs of this type:

kariyaa cooks
karisaa, karínayaa, karín doonaa, kári!, karíya!, karín –ta

111
(b) A final long /ee/ in the stem changes to the diphthong /ey/ when the
ending begins with a consonant. The spelling with <ay> is more common.
A /t/ in the ending changes to /s/ after /y/.

1 sg. sameeyaa does, makes

2 sg. samey-saa or samay-saa
3 sg.m. sameeyaa
3 sg.f. samey-saa or samay-saa
1 pl. samey-naa or samay-naa
2 pl. samey-saan or samay-saan
3 pl. sameeyaan

progr. sameý-nayaa or samaý-nayaa

fut. sameý-n doonaa or samaý-n doonaa

imp. sg. samée

imp. pl. sameéya

v. noun. sameý-n –ta or samaý-n –ta

Other verbs of this type:

geeyaa brings, transports

geysaa, geýnayaa, geýn doonaa, gée!, geéya!, geýn –ta

112
(c) A handful of verbs with stems ending in a vowel exhibit a variation
between conjugation 1 and 2.

According to conjugation 2 we find the alternation /t/ > /s/ after /i/.
According to conjugation 1 we find the alternation /t/ > /d/ after /i/.

2nd conjugation 1rd conjugation

1 sg. akhriyaa reads
2 sg. akhri-saa or akhri-daa
3 sg.m. akhriyaa
3 sg.f. akhri-saa or akhri-daa
1 pl. akhrinnaa or akhri-naa
2 pl. akhri-saan or akhri-daan
3 pl. akhriyaan

progr. akhrí-nayaa or akhríyayaa

fut. akhrí-n doonaa or akhríyi doonaa

imp. sg. ákhri

imp. pl. akhríya

v. noun. akhrí-n –ta or akhriyíd –da

Other verbs of this type:

xxxxxxxx

113
 Conjugation 3
This group contains mainly verbs with stems ending in /t/. As a beginner
it is easy to mistake such masculine 3rd person singular forms for feminine
forms. This /t/ is used to derive new verbs, especially autobenefactive16
verbs, from other verbs or nouns.

Verbs in conjugation 3 have two different inflectional stems, one when the
ending begins with a vowel and another when the ending begins with a
consonant.

Before an ending that begins with a consonant, the stem ends in a vowel
and that stem is therefore called the vowel stem.

Before an ending that begins with a vowel, the stem ends in a consonant
and that stem is therefore called the consonant stem.

Notice that the 1st person plural always ends in –nnaa in conjugation 3.

Autobenefactive verbs express actions that have some positive effect for the person carrying
16

out the action.

114
(a) In the most basic cases, the consonant stem ends in /t/ whereas the
vowel stem ends in /a/.

1 sg. hayst-aa holds, has dhigt-aa studies

2 sg. haysa-taa dhiga-taa
3 sg.m. hayst-aa dhigt-aa
3 sg.f. haysa-taa dhiga-taa
1 pl. haysa-nnaa dhiga-nnaa
2 pl. haysa-taan dhiga-taan
3 pl. hayst-aan dhigt-aan

progr. haysá-nayaa dhigá-nayaa

fut. haysá-n doonaa dhigá-n doonaa

imp. sg. haysó dhigó

imp. pl. haýst-a dhígt-a

v. noun. haysá-sho –da dhigá-sho –da

Other verbs of this type:

bartaa learns
barataa, baránayaa, barán, baró!, bárta!, barásho –da
doortaa chooses, elects
doorataa, dooránayaa, doorán, dooró, doórta, doorásho –da
nastaa rests, relaxes
nasataa, nasánayaa, nasán, nasó!, násta!, nasásho –da
taabtaa touches
taabataa, taabánayaa, taabán, taabó!, taábta!, taabásho –da

115
(b) After the consonants /d, y, w, c, h, x, kh, q, ´/, the stem final /t/ is
replaced by /d/. See § 4.1.

1 sg. booqd-aa visits

2 sg. booqa-taa
3 sg.m. booqd-aa
3 sg.f. booqa-taa
1 pl. booqa-nnaa
2 pl. booqa-taan
3 pl. booqd-aan

progr. booqá-nayaa
fut. booqá-n doonaa

imp. sg. booqó

imp. pl. boóqd-a

v. noun. booqá-sho –da

116
(c) Many verbs in conjugation 3 have a consonant stem ending in /ad/,
whereas the vowel stem just ends in /a/. This always happens after a
cluster of two consonants, as well as after certain single consonants such
as /k/ and /sh/.

1 sg. gashad-aa puts on (clothes)

2 sg. gasha -taa
3 sg.m. gashad-aa
3 sg.f. gasha -taa
1 pl. gasha -nnaa
2 pl. gasha -taan
3 pl. gashad-aan

progr. gahsá-nayaa
fut. gashá-n doonaa

imp. sg. gashó

imp. pl. gashád-a

v. noun. gashá-sho –da

Other verbs of this type:

bogsadaa recovers
bogsataa, bogsánayaa, bogsán, bogsó!, bogsáda!, bogsásho –da
daawadaa watches
daawataa, daawánayaa, daawán, daawó!, daawáda, daawásho –da
dhaansadaa fetches water
dhaansataa, dhaansánayaa, dhaansán, dhaansó!, dhaansáda,
dhaansásho –da
eryadaa chases
eryataa, eryánayaa, eryán, eryó!, eryáda!, eryásho –da
karsadaa cooks for oneself
karsataa, karsánayaa, karsán, karsó!, karsáda, karsásho –da
kaydsadaa keeps, stores
kaydsataa, kaydsánayaa, kaydsán, kaydsó!, kaydsáda, kaydsásho –da

117
 tabcadaa earns money for a certain purpose
tabcataa, tabcánayaa, tabcán, tabcó!, tabcáda!, tabcásho –da
tukadaa prays
tukataa, tukánayaa, tukán, tukó!, tukáda, tukásho –da

(d) A few verbs in conjugation 3 have a consonant stem ending in /sh/

(from /l/+/t/) and a vowel stem ending in /la/.

1 sg. dhash-aa am born

2 sg. dhala-taa
3 sg.m. dhash-aa
3 sg.f. dhala-taa
1 pl. dhala-nnaa
2 pl. dhala-taan
3 pl. dhash-aan

progr. dhalá-nayaa
fut. dhalá-n doonaa

imp. sg. dhaló

imp. pl. dhásh-a

v. noun. dhalá-sho -da

Other verbs of this type:

dabaashaa swims
dhabaalataa, dhabaalánayaa, dabaalán doonaa, dabaaló!, dabaásha!,
dabaalásho –da

yeeshaa earns, acquires, obtains

yeelataa, yeelánayaa, yeelán doonaa, yeeló!, yeésha!, yeelásho –da

118
(e) A few verbs in conjugation 3 have a /t/ preceded by a vowel in the
consonant stem. In such verbs the vowel stem ends in /da/.

1 sg. qaat -aa takes

2 sg. qaada-taa
3 sg.m. qaat -aa
3 sg.f. qaada-taa
1 pl. qaada-nnaa
2 pl. qaada-taan
3 pl. qaat -aan

progr. qaadá-nayaa
fut. qaadá-n doonaa

imp. sg. qaadó

imp. pl. qaat-a

v. noun. qaadá-sho -da

Other verbs of this type:

quutaa eats, lives on sth.

quudataa, quudánayaa, quudán d., quudó, quúta, quudásho –da

wataa drives, leads, carries

wadataa, wadánayaa, wadán doonaa, wadó, wáta, wadá-sho –da

sitaa carries, wears

sidataa, sidánayaa, sidán doonaa, sidó, sita, sidásho –da

119
(f) A few verbs in conjugation 3 have a consonant stem that in the north-
west ends in /dhdh/ [dh:], whereas in the south and east it ends in /rt/ (and
inflects in the most basic way). The intense pronunciation of /dhdh/ [dh:]
is of course not reflected by the spelling. The vowel stem ends in /dha/ in
the north-west and in /ra/ in the south and east.

1 sg. xidh -aaN [xidhdh-aa] xirt-aaS puts on (clothes)

2 sg. xidha-taa [xidha-taa] xira-taa
3 sg.m. xidh -aa [xidhdh-aa] xirt-aa
3 sg.f. xidha-taa [xidha-taa] xira-taa
1 pl. xidha-nnaa [xidha-nnaa] xira-nnaa
2 pl. xidha-taan [xidha-taan] xira-taan
3 pl. xidh -aan [xidhdh-aa] xirt-aan

progr. xidhá-nayaa xirá-nayaa

fut. xidhá-n doonaa xirá-n doonaa

imp. sg. xidhó xiró

imp. pl. xídha [xidhdh-a] xírt-a

v. noun. xidhá-sho –da xirá-sho –da

120
(g) Two verbs have a vowel stem ending with /o/ instead of /a/.

1 sg. socd-aa walks noqd-aa becomes

2 sg. soco-taa noqo-taa
3 sg.m. socd-aa noqd-aa
3 sg.f. soco-taa noqo-taa
1 pl. soco-nnaa noqo-nnaa
2 pl. soco-taan noqo-taan
3 pl. socd-aan noqd-aan

progr. socó-nayaa noqó-nayaa

fut. socó-n doonaa noqó-n doonaa

imp. sg. socó noqó

imp. pl. sócd-a nóqd-a

v. noun. socó-sho –da noqó-sho –da

121
(h) Several verbs in conjugation 3 have a consonant stem ending in /aad/,
whereas the vowel stem just ends in /aa/. This mainly happens in verbs
that are derived from adjectives. The stem in the imperative singular ends
in /ow/. These verbs have two verbal nouns. One ends in –nsho is
masculine, the other ends in –n (like in the 2nd conjugaiton) and is
feminine.

1 sg. dhammaad-aa finishes, ends (intransitive)

2 sg. dhammaa -taa
3 sg.m. dhammaad-aa
3 sg.f. dhammaa -taa
1 pl. dhammaa -nnaa
2 pl. dhammaa -taan
3 pl. dhammaad-aan

progr. dhammaá-nayaa
fut. dhammaá-n doonaa

imp. sg. dhammów

imp. pl. dhammaád-a

v. noun. dhammaá-n –ta or dhammaá-n-sho –ha

This verb is derived from the adjective dhan whole, all, which has the
stem /dhamm/.

Other verbs of this type:

og aware
ogaadaa becomes aware, finds out
ogaataa, ogaánayaa, ogaán, ogów!, ogaáda!, ogaán –ta/ogaánsho –ha

122
§ 11.13 Irregular verbs
Somali has six irregular verbs. They are partly inflected through prefixes
and partly through suffixes. The two most irregular verbs are yahay is and
leeyahay has. The other four are yaallaa lies, yaqaannaa knows, yimaaddaa
comes, and yiraahdaa says.

yahay is
The verb yahay does not have progressive forms. It also does not have
present subjunctive forms in the way other verbs do. Instead, there are
three different forms for different functions.

PRESENT is REDUCED PRESENT

1 sg. ahay 1 pl. nahay ah
2 sg. tahay 2 pl. tihiin (all persons)
3 sg. m. yahay 3 pl. yihiin ahi (ihi)
3 sg. f. tahay (subject marked)

PAST was REDUCED PAST

1 sg. ahaa 1 pl. ahayn default ahaa
2 sg. ahayd 2 pl. ahaydeen 3 sg. f. ahayd
3 sg. m. ahaa 3 pl. ahaayeen 1 pl. ahayn
3 sg. f. ahayd

INFINITIVE be VERBAL NOUN being, to be

ahaán ahaán -ta / ahaánsho -ha

IMPERATIVE be!
2 sg. ahów 2 pl. ahaáda

NEGATIVE PRESENT “SUBJUNCTIVE” IN MAIN CLAUSES

1 sg. má ihi (ahi) 1 pl. má nihin

2 sg. má tihid 2 pl. má tihin
3 sg.m. má aha 3 pl. má aha
3 sg.f. má aha

123
PRESENT “SUBJUNCTIVE” IN SUBCLAUSES WITH A SUBJECT WORD

1 sg. ahay 1 pl. nahay

2 sg. tahay 2 pl. tihiin
3 sg.m. yahay 3 pl. yihiin
3 sg.f. tahay

These forms are identical to the ordinary present tense forms used in
main clauses.

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE IN THE OPTATIVE CONSTRUCTION

1 sg. aan ahaádo 1 pl. aan ahaánno

2 sg. aad ahaáto 2 pl. aad ahaáteen (ahaátaan)
3 sg.m. há ahaado 3 pl. há ahaadeen (ahaadaan)
3 sg.f. há ahaato

The same forms (except those ending in –een) are also commonly
used after waa in must, ought to.

PAST & REDUCED SUBJUNCTIVE

(all persons) ahayn

Adjectives with copular verb suffixes

It is disputed among linguists whether Somali has adjectives or not. Some
consider these “quality words” to be verbs due to the inflectional forms
that they exhibit. Others consider these forms to be contractions of an
adjective and a form of the copular verb yahay.

If we consider the forms below to be contractions, all forms of the copular

verb yahay that have no prefix and therefore begin with the root ah–, as
well as all negative forms, even some with a prefix, are contracted with a
preceding adjective. Since the root ah– disappears, the reduced present
tense form ah leaves no trace whatsoever of the verb, and the adjective is
used in its basic form as a mofidier of a noun.

124
PRESENT am/are/is small REDUCED PRESENT
1 sg. yar ahay 1 pl. yaryar nahay yar
2 sg. yar tahay 2 pl. yaryar tihiin (all persons)
3 sg. m. yar yahay 3 pl. yaryar yihiin yari
3 sg. f. yar tahay (subject marked)

PAST was/were small REDUCED PAST

1 sg. yaraa 1 pl. yaryarayn default yaraa
2 sg. yarayd 2 pl. yaryaraydeen 3 sg. f. yarayd
3 sg. m. yaraa 3 pl. yaryaraayeen 1 pl. yaryarayn
3 sg. f. yarayd

INFINITIVE to be small VERBAL NOUN being small, to be small

yaraán yaraánsho –ha

IMPERATIVE be small!
2 sg. yarów 2 pl. yaraáda

NEGATIVE PRESENT “SUBJUNCTIVE”

1 sg. má yari 1 pl. má yaryarin
2 sg. má yarid 2 pl. má yaryaridin
3 sg. m./f. má yara 3 pl. má yaryara

PRESENT “SUBJUNCTIVE” IN SUBCLAUSES WITH A SUBJECT WORD

1 sg. yar ahay 1 pl. yaryar nahay
2 sg. yar tahay 2 pl. yaryar tihiin
3 sg. m. yar yahay 3 pl. yaryar yihiin
3 sg. f. yar tahay

PAST & REDUCED SUBJUNCTIVE

all persons yarayn

All the forms in the tables above that are written as two separate words
may equally well be written jointly, as a single word. Both ways of writing
are almost equally common. Although, for some special cases involving
sound changes see § 4.1.1.

125
§ 11.13.2a The use of yahay ‘is’
(i) If the predicative complement is a noun, no present tense verb
corresponding to English is/are is necessary. The particle waa indicates
that the clause is a statement.

Aamina waa macallimad. Amina is a TEACHER.

Amina PR.FOC teacher(F)

Gacantu waa wasakh. The hand is DIRTY.

the.hand PR.FOC dirty.thing

(ii) If the predicative complement is an adjective, the verb yahay is is used.

Gacántu waa yár tahay. The hand is SMALL.

the.hand PR.FOC small is

(iii) The reduced verb form ah, used with a focused subject, is omitted
after an adjective. The symbol  is used to represent the omitted verb.

Wáx baa ká maqan . SOMETHING is missing.

thing FOC from missing (is)

Eraygeé baa kú habboon  sáwirka?

which.word FOC for suitable (is) the.picture
WHICH WORD is suitable for the picture?

§ 11.13.2b Different equivalents of English ‘is’

yahay is (mainly describing some kind of quality)

Gabartaasi waa aqli badan tahay. That girl is INTELLIGENT.

Duqsigu wuxuu ka mid yahay cayayaanka yaryar oo duula.

the.fly.SBJ FIN.FOC.he of one is the.insects small and flying
The fly belongs to the SMALL FLYING INSECTS.

jiraa exists, dwells, is present. This verb is mainly used to express the
existence of something, as opposed to its non-existence. A place is often
expressed in clauses with this verb. The place is usually expressed without
any preposition before the verb.

126
 Itoobiya waxa jira hal milyan oo carruur ah oo cudurka HIV uu
agoon ka dhigay. In Ethiopia there are one million children that the HIV
disease has made into orphans.

The preposition ku is often used, however, if the place is some kind of

“container” or delimited space.

Nibirigu badweynta buu ku jiraa, xeebtana uma soo dhawaado.

The whale dwells (lives) in the ocean, and it doesn’t come close to the coast.
Doolligu ma ku dhex jiraa baaldiga? Is the mouse inside the bucket?

joogaa stands, stays, is located, is present. This verb is mainly used when
stating the place where a living being can be found. It is mostly used
without any preposition referring to the place, but la with is used when
referring to company.

Libaaxii wuxuu dawacadii weydiiyey xaggee buu joogaa.

The lion asked the jackal where he is.

Macallinku ma hor joogaa sabuuradda?

Is the teacher standing in front of the blackboard?

Waxa uu la joogaa ari. He is (staying) with the goats and sheep.

yaallaa is positioned, lies, is situated. This verb is mainly used when stating
the place where an object is located. It is mostly used with the preposition
ku to refer to a position inside a room or space, but without a preposition
when referring to a position on a surface.

Baaskiilku wuxuu yaallaa dhulka.

The bike is lying on the ground.

Dugsigani waxa uu ku dhex yaallaa kaynta.

This school is situated in the middle of the forest.

Farmasi ma ku yaallaa tuuladiinna?

Is there a pharmacy in your village?

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 leeyahay has
This verb has developed from a combination of the adjectival root leh
owning, having and the verb yahay is. It doesn’t have progressive forms,
nor does it have present subjunctive forms in the way other verbs do.
Instead, there are three different forms for different functions.

PRESENT has REDUCED PRESENT

1 sg. leeyahay 1 pl. leenahay leh
2 sg. leedahay 2 pl. leedihiin (all persons)
3 sg. m. leeyahay 3 pl. leeyihiin lihi
3 sg. f. leedahay (subject marked)

PAST had REDUCED PAST

1 sg. lahaa 1 pl. lahayn default lahaa
2 sg. lahayd 2 pl. lahaydeen 3 sg. f. lahayd
3 sg. m. lahaa 3 pl. lahaayeen 1 pl. lahayn
3 sg. f. lahayd

INFINITIVE have VERBAL NOUN having, to have

lahaán lahaánsho -ha

IMPERATIVE be!
2 sg. lahów 2 pl. lahaáda

NEGATIVE PRESENT “SUBJUNCTIVE” IN MAIN CLAUSES

1 sg. má lihi 1 pl. má lihin

2 sg. má lihid 2 pl. má lihidin
3 sg. m. má laha 3 pl. má laha
3 sg. f. má laha

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PRESENT “SUBJUNCTIVE” IN SUBCLAUSES WITH A SUBJECT WORD

1 sg. leeyahay 1 pl. leenahay

2 sg. leedahay 2 pl. leedihiin
3 sg.m. leeyahay 3 pl. leeyihiin
3 sg.f. leedahay

These forms are identical to the ordinary present tense forms used in
main clauses.

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE IN THE OPTATIVE CONSTRUCTION

1 sg. aan lahaádo 1 pl. aan lahaánno

2 sg. aad lahaáto 2 pl. aad lahaáteen (lahaátaan)
3 sg.m. há lahaado 3 pl. há lahaadeen (lahaadaan)
3 sg.f. há lahaato

The same forms (except those ending in –een) are also commonly
used after waa in must, ought to.

PAST & REDUCED SUBJUNCTIVE

(all persons) lahayn

§ 11.13.3a Equivalents of English has

leeyahay, leedahay – is used to express that you own something or have
a relationship with something or somebody, but you don’t need to have it
with you.

haystaa, haysataa – is used to express that you have something with you;
you have it, you are holding it or you are using it, but you are not
necessarily the owner of it.

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 yaallaa lies, is
This verb has no progressive forms.

aallaa 1 SG. / aal

taallaa2 SG. / taal
yaallaa3 SG.M. / yaal
taallaa3 SG.F. / taal
1 PL.
naalnaa / naallaa / naal
PRESENT

2 PL.
taallaan (coll. taalliin)
3 PL.
yaallaan (coll. yaalliin)
aallay 1 SG. / iil / iillay
taallay2 SG. / tiil / tiillay
yaallay3 SG.M. / yiil / yiillay
taallay3 SG.F. / tiil / tiillay
1 PL.
naalnay / naallay / niil / niilnay / niillay
2 PL.
taalleen / tiilleen
PAST

3 PL.
yaalleen / yiilleen
INFINITIVE oolli
IMPERATIVE not used
1 SG. aallo / aal
PRES. SUBJUNCTIVE

2 SG. taallo / taal

3 SG.M. yaallo / yaal
3 SG.F. taallo / taal
1 PL. naalno / naallo / naal
2 PL. taalláan
3 PL. yaalláan
PAST & RED. oollin
SUBJUNCTIVE

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 yaqaannaa knows
This verb has no progressive forms.

1 SG.
aqaannaa / aqaan
2 SG.
taqaannaa / taqaan
3 SG.M.
yaqaannaa / yaqaan
3 SG.F.
taqaannaa / taqaan
1 PL.
naqaannaa / naqaan
PRESENT

2 PL.
taqaannaan (coll. taqaanniin)
3 PL.
yaqaannaan (coll. yaqaanniin)
1 SG.
aqaannay / iqiin / iqiinnay
2 SG.
taqaannay / tiqiin / tiqiinnay
3 SG.M.
yaqaannay / yiqiin / yiqiinnay
3 SG.F.
taqaannay / tiqiin / tiqiinnay
1 PL.
naqaannay / niqiin / niqiinnay
2 PL.
taqaanneen / tiqiinneen
PAST

3 PL.
yaqaanneen / yiqiinneen
INFINITIVE aqoon
IMPERATIVE not used, replaced by ogow, ogaáda
1 SG. aqaanno / aqaan
PRES. SUBJUNCTIVE

2 SG. taqaanno / taqaan

3 SG.M. yaqaanno / yaqaan
3 SG.F. taqaanno / taqaan
1 PL. naqaanno / naqaan
2 PL. taqaannáan
3 PL. yaqaannáan
PAST & RED. aqoon(in)
SUBJUNCTIVE

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 yimaaddaa comes
1 SG.
imaaddaa
2 SG.
timaaddaa
3 SG.M.
yimaaddaa
3 SG.F.
timaaddaa
1 PL.
nimaadnaa
PRESENT

2 PL.
timaaddaan
3 PL.
yimaaddaan
imid 1 SG. / imi (imaadday)
timid 2 SG. / timi (timaadday)
yimid 3 SG.M.
/ yimi (yimaadday)
timid 3 SG.F.
/ timi (timaadday)
nimid 1 PL. / nimi (nimaadnay)
2 PL.
timaaddeen
PAST

3 PL.
yimaaddeen
IMPERATIVE kaálay, kaaláyaN / imów, imaádaS
INFINITIVE imánN / imaánS
PROGRESSIVE imánayaaN / imaánayaaS
1 SG. imaaddo
PRES. SUBJUNCTIVE

2 SG. timaaddo
3 SG.M. yimaaddo
3 SG.F. timaaddo
1 PL. nimaadno
2 PL. timaaddáan
3 PL. yimaaddáan
PAST & RED. iman(in)N / imaan(in)S
SUBJUNCTIVE

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 yiraahdaa says
This irregular verb has developed parallel regular forms, thus giving rise
to the completely regular verb dhahaa says.

1 SG. iraahdaaS / idhaahdaaN / dhahaaS

2 SG. tiraahdaa / tidhaahdaa / dhahdaa
3 SG.M. yiraahdaa / yidhaahdaa / dhahaa
PRESENT

3 SG.F. tiraahdaa / tidhaahdaa / dhahdaa

1 PL. niraahnaa / nidhaahnaa / dhahnaa
2 PL. tiraahdaan / tidhaahdaan / dhahdaan
3 PL. yiraahdaan / yidhaahdaan / dhahaan
1 SG. iri / idhi / dhahay
2 SG. tiri / tidhi / dhahday
3 SG.M. yiri / yidhi / dhahay
PAST

3 SG.F. tiri / tidhi / dhahday

1 PL. niri / nidhi / dhahnay
2 PL. tiraahdeen / tidhaahdeen / dhahdeen
3 PL. yiraahdeen / yidhaadheen / dhaheen
IMPERATIVE dhéh, dháha
INFINITIVE orán / odhán / dhíhi
PROGRESSIVE oránayaa / odhánayaa / dháhayaa
1 SG. iraahdo / idhaahdo / dhaho
PRES. SUBJUNCTIVE

2 SG. tiraahdo / tidhaahdo / dhahdo

3 SG.M. yiraahdo / yidhaahdo / dhaho
3 SG.F. tiraahdo / tidhaahdo / dhahdo
1 PL. niraahno / nidhaahno / dhahno
2 PL. tiraahdáan / tidhaahdáan / dhahdáan
3 PL. yiraahdáan / yidhaahdáan / dhaháan
PAST & RED. oran(in) / odhan(in) / dhihin
SUBJUNCTIVE

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§ 11.14 Formation of verbs
A verb and a noun often have exactly the same stem. It is then difficult to
say which is derived from the other.

beér -ta field, plantation beeraa, beertaa plants, grows

ciyaár -ta play, game, dance ciyaaraa, ciyaartaa plays, dances
heés -ta song heesaa, heestaa sings
sháah -a tea shaahaa drinks tea, has tea
tártan -ka competition tartamaa, tartantaa competes
weérar -ka attack weeraraa, weerartaa attacks

Inchoative verbs in ‒oobaa / ‒oodaa

These suffixes are added to nouns. They produce verbs that describe the
result of a change of state of the subject of the verb.

biyó –ha water biyoobaa, biyowdaa becomes water, melts

wasákh –da dirt, filth wasakhoobaa, wasakhowdaa becomes dirty

cároS –da caroodaa, carootaaS

/ cádhoN –da anger / cadhoodaa, cadhootaN becomes angry
geerí –da death, passing away geeriyoodaa, geeriyootaa passes away

Inchoative verbs in ‒aadaa

This suffix can be added any adjective. It corresponds to English become,
expressing that the subject of the clause acquires the quality expressed by
the adjective.

kulúl warm kululaadaa, kululaataa becomes warm

Causative verbs in ‒eeyaa

These verbs are transitive and require an object noun. They are mostly
derived from adjectives, but also from certain nouns denoting qualities.

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They denote an action that causes the object of the verb to gain the quality
in question.

wasákh –da filth wasakheeyaa, wasakhaysaa sb. makes sth. dirty, pollutes
fudúd easy fududeeyaa, fududaysaa sb. makes sth. easy, simplifies
kulúl hot kululeeyaa, kululaysaa sb. heats sth.
yár small yareeyaa, yaraysaa sb. makes sth. small, reduces

Causative verbs in ‒iyaa

These verbs are transitive and require an object noun. They are mostly
derived from other verbs, but also from certain nouns. Typically, they
express that a person acts in order for something to happen or in order to
make somebody else carry out an intended action.

aadaa, aaddaa aaddiyaa, aaddisaa

sb. goes, sb. sets off sb. makes sb./sth. go/move somewhere
= sb. leads/takes sb./sth. somewhere

buuxaa, buuxdaa buuxiyaa, buuxisaa

sth. is full sb. makes sth. become full
= sb. fills sth.

guuraa, guurtaa guuriyaa, guurisaa

sth. moves sb. makes sth. move
= sb. copies sth.

karaa, kartaa kariyaa, karisaa

sth. boils sb. makes sth. boil
= sb. boils/cooks sth.

qalloocaa, qalloocdaa qalloociyaa, qalloocisaa

sth. is bent, curved sb. makes sth. bent
= sb. bends sth.

uraa, urtaa uriyaa, urisaa

sth. smells sb. makes sth. smell
= sb. feels the smell of sth. = sb. smells sth.

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Notice that in some verbs the /i/ of the suffix affects sounds in the root.

If a root with only one syllabe ends in /x/, /c/ or / ’/, a preceding /a/ tends
to change to /i/.

baxaa, baxdaa bixiyaa, bixisaa

sb./sth. comes out sb. makes sth. come out
= sb. takes out sth.

In a few other verb roots with only one syllabe, /a/ changes to /e/.

galaa, gashaa geliyaa, gelisaa

sb. enters sb. makes sb./sth. enter, go in
= sb. inserts sth.

/g/ and/q/ change into /j/ before the causative suffix /i/.

daaqaa, daaqdaa daajiyaa, daajisaa

sth. eats grass, grazes sb. makes sth. eat grass, graze
sb. pastures sth.

joogaa, joogtaa joojiyaa, joojisaa

sb./sth. stands, stops sb. makes sb./sth. stand, stop
= sb. stops sb./sth.

muuqdaa, muuqataa muujiyaa, muujisaa

sth. appears, sb. makes sth. appear, be seen
sth. can be seen = sb. shows sth.

In a few verbs /l/ also changes into /j/ before the causative –i.

qallalaa, qallashaa qallajiyaa, qallajisaa

sth. dries, sb. makes sth. become dry
sth. becomes dry = sb. dries sth.

When this suffix is added to a noun, the verb describes the state into which
the object noun changes as a result of the action that is carried out by the
subject of the verb.

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kuláyl -ka heat kulayliyaa, kulaylisaa heats something
nadíif -ka cleanliness nadiifiyaa, nadiifisaa cleans something
qábow -ga coldness qaboojiyaa, qaboojisaa cools something
qaýb -ta part qaybiyaa, qaybisaa divides something

Causative verbs in ‒siiyaa

These verbs are derived from nouns or verbs. They are formed through
the addition of the simple verb siiyaa gives and they express that a person
carries out some action that has an impact on another person’s or object’s
behviour.

faham –ka fahamsiiyaa, fahamsiisaa

understanding sb. makes sb. understand sth., sb. explains sth. to sb.

dareen –ka dareensiiyaa, dareensiisaa

feeling sb. makes sb. else feel sth.

socod –ka socodsiiyaa, socodsiisaa

motion sb. puts sth. in motion

Anticausative verbs in ‒maa

These verbs are derived from other verbs. They express events that occur
without anyone explicitly causing them.

bilaabaa, bilowdaa sb. starts sth., begins with sth., begins to do sth.
bilaabmaa, bilaabantaa sth. starts, begins

Waqtigee ayey carruurta bilaabaan hadalkooda?

When do children begin to talk?

Jannaayo waa bisha uu sannadku ku bilaabmo.

January is the month that the year begins with.
Weertu waxay ka bilaabantaa xaraf weyn.
The clause begins with a capital letter.

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dhaawacaa sb. hurts sb. else
dhaawacmaa sb. is hurt

Lúg baa uu ká dhaawacmay.

He was hurt in a leg.

Autobenefactive verbs in ‒(s)taa / –(sa)daa

These verbs are derived from other verbs through the addition of /t/. They
usually express an action that is somehow beneficial to the person who is
carrying it out and they are therefore referred to as autobenefactive verbs.
They belong to the 3rd conjugation.

beeraa, beertaa grows, cultivates

beertaa, beerataa grows, cultivates for oneself

dhisaa, dhistaa builds

dhistaa, dhisataa builds for oneself

baraa, bartaa teaches

bartaa, barataa teaches oneself, i.e. learns, studies

Notice that the feminine form of the basic verb and the masculine form of
the autobenefactive verb are often identical.

Some verbs also contain an /s/ before the autobenefactive /t/. This gives
verbs ending in –staa after a vowel, and –sadaa after a consonant.

kariyaa, karisaa boils, cooks (food)

karsadaa, karsataa cooks for oneself

joogaa, joogtaa is situated, stands

joogsadaa, joogsataa stops

fiiriyaa, fiirisaa looks at X

ú fiirsadaa, fiirsataa observes X

An /l/ in the root merges with the /s/ and gives /sh/.

138
kaaliyaa, kaalisaa supports, helps
/kaal/+/s/+/t/+/aa/ > /kaal/+/sadaa/ >
kaashadaa, kaashataa gets support, gets help

139
§ 12. Phrases and word order
A typical Somali clause consists of three kinds of phrases:
– NOUN PHRASES (NP),
– A PARTICLE PHRASE (PP),
– A VERB PHRASE (VP).

The order of these phrases is quite free. It depends mostly on the order in
which the speaker wishes to present the information. There is only one
strict rule for the order of phrases:

The particle phrase must occur somewhere before the verb phrase.

Noun phrases may however occur anywhere in a clause. That gives us the
following phrase order template:

(NP NP) PP (NP NP) VP (NP NP)

There is no requirement for the subject of a clause to occur in any specific

position, even though it more often occurs before the verb phrase than
after it. The object may equally well occur before as after the verb phrase.

The word order within phrases is however extremely fixed.

Phrases are to a large extent kept together through the pronunciation of

the high tones, so that there is often only one distinct high tone per phrase,
namely the first one, and the following potential high tones are
pronounced less distinctly. Additionally, all phrase except the last one in
a sentence may potentially end with a high tone in order to indicate that
the speaker is intending to continue. Such phrase final continuation tones
are sometimes even higher that the main high tone of the phrase.

§ 12.1 The noun phrase

The position of the head noun is at the beginning of the noun phrase.

Determiners are endings that are added directly to the head noun.

140
 qoys, qoyska (a) family, the family
qoyskayga, qoyskaaga my family, your family
qoyskan, qoyskaas this family, that family
qoyskee which family
qoyskaygaas that family of mine
qoyskaagee which family of yours

Nouns, adjectives and relative subordinate clauses may occur as modifiers

of a noun. All such modifiers follow after the head noun with its
determiner endings.

Nouns as modifiers
(a) In Somali, the owner of an object may simply be placed after the owned
object. The owned object is generally in the definite form.

dúgsiga Sahra Sahra’s school

gúriga Axmed Ahmed’s house
dukáanka Máryan Maryan’s shop
baabúurka macállinka the teacher’s car

(b) Other types of phrases where one noun functions as a modifier of

another noun also have the same sturcture and word order. In the vast
majority of such phrases both nouns occur in their definite form.

khatárta jídka the danger of the road

dhakhtárka ilkáha dentist (lit. the.doctor (of) the.teeth)

(c) Possession or belonging may also be expressed through another

construction, where the owner is mentioned first, followed by the
possessed object, which then needs to have a possessive ending added to
it.

Áxmed gúrigiisa or gúriga Axmed

Ahmed his.house the.house (of) Ahmed
Ahmed’s house Ahmed’s house

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(d) When the construction describes a close family relation or friend, only
the construction with the possessive ending is used.

Sahrá hooyádeed Sahra’s mother

Adjectives as modifiers
Adjectives as modifiers follow after the noun that they modify.

bisádda yar the little cat

subáx wanaagsan! good morning!
sheekó gaaban a short story

Noun + adjective as a modifier phrase

Yet another common way of constructing a qualitative modifier phrase is
to use an adjective such as badán much, weyn big or yar small as a
connector.

baaskíil qurúx badan 17 a beautiful bike (a bicycle of great beauty)

bicycle beauty much

daanyéerka xóogga weyn the strong monkey

the.monkey the.strength big

gabdhó dá’ yar young girls

girls age little

Adjectives with headwords in –kii/–tii

When adjectives modify nouns with the demonstrative endings –kii/–tii
(expressing that something is expected to be previously known), such
adjectives must be followed by the reduced past tense form ahaa (m.sg. &
pl.) or ahayd (f.sg.) that was, depending on the gender and number of the
head noun. The modifier adjective is thus turned into a small relative

17 There is an interesting structural similarity between English beauty-full and qurúx badan.

142
subclause. However, the verb forms are obligatorily contracted with the
preceding adjective and they just appear as the suffixes –aa/–ayd. The root
ah‒ systematically disappears after adjectives.

digaagáddii yarayd that hen (you know) that was little

rootigii fiicnaa that bread (you know) that was good
wíilkeedii yaraa her son/boy (you know) that was little
gabádhiisii weynayd his daguhter/girl (you know) that was big

Of course, in most instances it would be more idiomatic to just translate these

phrases as the little hen, the good bread, her little son, his big daughter.

Relative clauses as modifiers

Different types of relative subordinate clauses may serve as modifiers of
nouns, ranging from very long and complex to extremely short
subclauses. The shortest ones only consist of a reduced verb form or a
subject pronoun together with a full verb form.

Bannaannadu waa dhul siman oo hooseeya.

The plains are flat land that is elevated.

Ma jeceshahay jabaqda ay sameeyaan?

Do you like the sound (that) they make?

Relative clauses are discussed in more detail in § 15.3. The verb forms used
in subordinate clauses are discussed in § 15.1.

Two types of relative subclauses are exceptionally common and they are
therefore pointed out in the following two sections.

Noun + ah being as a modifier phrase

Somali doesn’t have as many adjectives as English. Instead, nouns are
often qualitatively modified by other nouns. The two nouns are then
usually connected through the reduced verb form ah being.

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 nín Soomaáli ah a Somali man, a Somali
man Somali being
gabár dhallinyaró ah a teenage girl, a teenager
girl youth being
shaáti bulúug ah a blue shirt
shirt blue.thing being

Noun + leh having; with as a modifier phrase

Another common way of connecting a modifier noun to a head noun is
the reduced verb form leh having, which may often also be successfully
translated as with.

surwáal mídabka dambáska leh grey trousers

trousers the.colour the.ash having
qadó hílib badán leh a lunch with a lot of meat
lunch meat much having

Agreement in definiteness
When a noun is used as a modifier of another noun, including when
connected by verb forms such as ah being, that is, leh having, that has, with,
or adjective such as, e.g., badán much, wéyn big, or yár small, both nouns
in the phrase must be either indefinite or definite. In other words, the two
nouns must agree in definiteness.

maalínta Jimcáha ah
the.day the.Friday being
(on) Friday

nín Soomaáli ah nínka Soomaáliga ah

man Somali being the.man the.Somali being
a Somali man the Somali man

baaskíil qurúx badan baaskíilka qurúxda badan

bike beauty much the.bike the.beauty much
a beautiful bicycle the beautiful bicycle

144
Also when the head noun has a demonstrative or possessive determiner
suffix, the modifier noun has to be definite.

baaskíilkiisa qurúxda badan

his.bike the.beauty much
his beautiful bicycle

In simple noun + noun constructions, both nouns are usually definite, but
other combinations do occur less frequently.

gúriga macállinka gúri macállin

the.house the.teacher house teacher
the teacher’s house a house of a teacher

Noun phrases expressing quantity

Since the Somali cardinal numbers are nouns they constitute the head
nouns of phrases expressing quantities. Therefore, any suffixes are added
to the numeral, not to the following ”counted” noun. The “counted” noun
is in the counting form (see § 6.8)

labádaas reer those two families

sáddexdayda buug my three books

Counting uncountable nouns

(a) Nouns are generally divided into COUNTABLE and UNCOUNTABLE
nouns, depending on whether they may form a plural or not. In most
languages, numerals tend to be used only before countable nouns. That is
basically the situation in Somali too, but since the numerals are nouns in
Somali, their meaning is rather something like lába two items, sáddex three
items… Therefore they can actually also be used with uncountable nouns
that express collections of individually discernible objects, e.g. nácnac
candy, sweets, carruúr children or múus bananas. However, the numeral
must be connected to the following noun with the reduced verb form ah
being, which is added after the noun representing the counted objects.

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 toddobá nácnac ah (seven.items candy being) seven pieces of candy
sáddex carruúr ah (three.items children being) three children

The same is true for the question word ímmisa? how many?, how much?

ímmisa múus ah? (how.many.items banana(s) being) how many bananas?

(b) It is also common to add a noun that is typically used for counting the
kind of objects in question. A very general such word is xábbo seed, which
is used in a similar way to English pieces, units before a great variety of
words.

sáddex xabbo oo múus ah three bananas

three.items units and banana(s) being

áfar kiiloo oo hílib ah four kilos of meat

four.items kilo and meat being

Since the head noun sáddex/áfar now has two modifiers following each
other, the connector oo has to be added between the two modifiers. See
§ 12.1.10.

(c) When some kind of measure precedes a noun denoting a substance, the
substance is again followed by the reduced verb form ah being.

xabbád harúur ah a seed of sorghum

a.seed sorghum being

More than one modifier

If a head noun has more than one modifier, a connector word has to be
inserted between the modifiers. Both oo and ee are used to connect
modifiers to their head nouns.

(a) If the head noun is indefinite, the conjunction oo and is typically used
before the second, third etc. modifier.

úbax wéyn oo qurúx badan a big and beautiful flower

Numerals are nouns and function as the head of their noun phrase.

146
 labá gabdhood oo walaaló ah two sisters (lit. two girl siblings)
two.items girls and siblings being
sáddex wiil oo walaaló ah three brothers (lit. three boy siblings)
three.items boys and siblings being
labá waxtar oo kale two other benefits
two.items benefits and other
sáddex kun oo qof three thousand people
three.items thousand and person

(b) If the head noun is definite, the conjunction ee is typically used before
the second, third etc. modifier.

dúgsiga hoose ee Shéekh Bashiir Sheikh Bashir’s primary school

macállinka af-Soomaáliga ee Xasan Hassan’s teacher of Somali
dhárka dúgsiga ee Xasan Hassan’s clothes for school
magacyada kala duwan ee qaybaha jirkeenna
the different names of the parts of our body

(c) Also the conjunction oo is sometimes used after definite head nouns. It
then introduces a modifier that is only parenthetical. The modifier very
often expresses something that is only valid temporarily, in a specific
situation.

Gabadhii oo faraxsan ayaa u mahadcelisey aabbaheed.

The happy girl thanked her father.

It may also express that something is not crucial in order to identify what
the head noun is referring to. if so, one should be able to add by the way
before the modifier in the English translation.

Hilibluhu waxa uu qaataa neefkii oo qalan.

The butcher takes with him the slaughtered animal.

We already know this animal from the previous context. That it has now
been slaughtered is just mentioned as parenthetical information.

Faadúmo wáxa ay qortay qoráalkan gaaban oo kú saabsan

saaxiibáddeeda cusub.

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 Fadumo has written this short text about/concerning (by the way) her new
friend.

It is important to notice that oo is also used before the first modifier if it

has a parenthetical meaning after a definite noun.

(d) The use of oo mentioned in the preceding section is especially common

after proper nouns (i.e. names) and personal pronouns.

Yusur iyo Maryan oo daallan ayaa aqalkii laga furay.

They opened their home to the tired Yusur and Maryam.
They opened their home to Yusur and Maryam, who were tired.

Aniga oo cadhaysan ayaan dhanka albaabka u jeedsaday.

I turned, angry, towards the door.

The conjunctions oo and ee are also used in exactly the same way to
connect relative clauses to their head nouns.

Shéeg magacyáda labá ciidood oo Isláamku léeyahay.

Say the names of two feasts that Islam has.

Qór labá waxtar oo kale oo uu dábku léeyahay.

Write two other benefits that fire has.

Maxáa uu ahaa dhárka cusub ee Faadumó loó iibiyay?

What were the new clothes that they bought for Faduma?

Sheeg ilaha biyaha ee aad ku aragto sawirrada.

Tell the water sources that you see in the pictures.

Xasan oo madaxa ruxaya ayaa yiri “Maya.”

Hassan, shaking his head, said, “No.”
Shaking his head, Hassan said, “No.”

Adiga oo isticmaalaya erayadan buuxi meelaha bannaan.

(You,) Using these words, fill the empty spaces.

For further details about such relative clauses see § 15.3.1.

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 More than two nouns in a phrase
When, in a sequence of several nouns, each noun modifies the
immediately preceding noun, no conjunction is needed. The result is
sometimes a quite long series of nouns. Such phrases may usually be
translated into English by inserting of between the nouns, but other
solutions are often more elegant.

ilaalínta nadaafádda iláha biyáha

the.protection (of) the.hygiene (of) the.sources (of) the.water
protecting the hygiene of the water sources

However, if two subsequent modifier nouns are referring back to the same
head noun, one of the conjunctions oo and ee must be used before the
second one, as discussed in the preceding section.

Xarunta Dhaqanka ee Hargeysa

the Hargeysa Center of Culture / the Cultural Centre of Hargeysa
Hargeysa is a modifier of Xarunta. Two things are said about the
centre, it’s situated in Hargeysa and it is concerned with cluture.

Xarunta Dhaqanka Hargeysa

the center for the culture of Hargeysa
Hargeysa is a modifier or Dhaqanka. The centre is concerned with
culture, and that culture is restricted to the culture of Hargeysa.

The phrase ká mid ah of

The equivalent of the English preposition of expressing a selection within
a set is commonly rendered by the Somali phrase ká mid ah being one of.
This construction is necessary since Somali prepositions may not connect
two nouns. A verb must always be involved.

Qór sáddex ká mid ah iláha biyáha.

write three.items of one being the.sources the.water
Write three of the sources of water.

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 maalín maalmáha ká mid ah
day the.days of one being
one day of the days = one of those days

Prepositions before verbal nouns

An important exception to the principle that prepositions can’t precede a
noun concerns verbal nouns, mainly those ending in –id, –n and –asho.
Such Somali verbal nouns can often be translated into English as to +
infinitive.

ka ilaalínta wasákhda jírka to protect the body against dirtiness

Such a preposition does not have a high tone since it actually serves as a
prefix in a derived, complex noun. Therefore the prepositon is sometimes
also written together with the verbal noun, but usually it is not.

Prepositions before other nouns

In certain phrases, some expressions involving a preposition also occur
before nouns that are not derived from verbs. Typical such phrases are,
e.g.

isla magaaladan the same town

isla markaas at the same time, simultaneously
isku mid
ka dib after, afterwards, after that, then

The particle ‒ba

The particle –ba has two very different functions, a negative function and
a reinforcing function.

Typical uses of the negative –ba are, e.g.

waxba nothing

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For the reinforcing function, the most idiomatic translations may vary
quite a bit. In affirmative declarative clauses it may correspond to also, all,
every.

“Má rabno,” ayey sáddexduba kú jawaabeen.

“We don’t want to,” all three replied to her

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§ 12.2 The verb phrase
The verb phrase constitutes the predicate part of a clause. In addition to
the finite verb, the following words are also maximally included in the
verb phrase:

1. the indefinite subject pronoun la one/you/they;

2. one of the object pronouns
i me, ku you (SG), na us (EXCL), ina us (INCL), idin you (PL), is oneself;
3. the preposition ú to/for, in (a manner);
4. the preposition kú in/on/at, with (a tool);
5. the preposition ká from/of, about (a topic), than;
6. the preposition lá (together) with;
7a. the negator má not;
7b. a short subject pronoun (in a particle phrase with the negator);
8. a second object pronoun
kay me, kaa you (SG), kayo us (EXCL), keen us (INCL), kiin you (PL);
9. a viewpoint particle soo here (there), sii away;
10. a distribution particle kala apart, wada together;
11. a position particle
ag near, dhex between, dul above, hoos under, hor before, in front,
kor above…;
12. an adjective as a predicative complement;
13. one or two verbs in the infinitive;
14. a verb inflected for person/tense/mood.

The word order within the verb phrase is fixed according to the above list.

The elements 1‒7a are obligatorily contracted into one word. In these
contractions certain sound changes occur. See § 5.2.

The viewpoint and distribution particles have a concrete basic meaning,

but in many instances they are also used with a more abstract meaning.
See § 12.2.4 and § 12.2.5.

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 Prepositions
Somali and English prepositions are not used in the same way, but they
still have very much in common. The difference is that English has a large
number of prepositions, and they are mainly used before nouns, whereas
Somali has only four genuine prepostions, expressing four very basic
meanings, and these four prepositions must be placed in the predicate
phrase, normally before a verb or an adjective. They indicate the kind of
relationship that holds between this verb or adjective and a noun or noun
phrase. This makes perfect sense, since prepositions serve to connect two
other words and express their relationship to each other. To put the
preposition before one of those words (the noun) in English really isn’t
more “natural” than to put it before the other word (the verb) in Somali.

Sometimes something similar happens in other languages, e.g. in Swedish.

Jag pekade redan tidigt på problemet.

I pointed already early at the.problem.
≈ Jag påpekade redan tidigt problemet.
Already early on, I pointed out the problem.

Man tog alla privilegier från generalen.

one took all privileges from the.general
≈ Man fråntog generalen alla privilegier.
All privileges were taken away from the general.

Somali prepositions are always part of the predicate/verb phrase, and

from that position they point to one of the noun phrases in the clause.
However, it is only the context that makes clear which noun (phrase) a
specific preposition is referring to. The grammar gives no clues at all.

Wáxa aan biyáha ká helnaa meeló badan.

We get water from many places. / We find water in many places.

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 Wáxa aynu guryáha kú cunnaa cuntó kala duwan.
In the homes we eat different (kinds of) food.

Object pronoun + preposition

An object pronoun and a following preposition are not always
semantically related, even though they merge into one word. The
preposition may refer to a noun phrase elsewhere in the sentence.

Digaagáddii waxa ay iská dhex aragtay biyíhii.

the.hen.you.know FOC it self.from middle saw the.water.you.know
The hen saw itself down in the water.

Iskú qalláji shukumáan nadíif ah.

self.with dry towel clean.thing being
Dry yourself with a clean towel.

The negator má
The negator má follows directly after possible object pronouns and
prepositions, and they all merge into one word.

Igamá dúl boódi kartid. (< i + ka + ma)

me.from.not surface jump you.can
You cannot jump over me.

Viewpoint particles
The basic function of the particle soó is to express motion towards the place
where the subject of the clause is located.

Examples

The basic function of the particle sií is to express motion away from the place
where the subject of the clause is located.

Examples

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This motion is not always concrete. It may also refer to time and other
phenomena that may be perceived as moving closer or moving away in an
abstract way, e.g. the expression soó socdá coming, following, next.

Ku qor erayada soo socda buuggaaga layliga.

Write the following words in your exercise book.

The particle soó is often also used to express the completion of an action.

Laakiin dhulkii ayaa uu ka soo bixin waayey.

But he failed to make it come out of THE GROUND.

Immisa kalluun ayey soo dabteen?

How many fish did they catch?

In a similar way, the particle sií is used to express continuation.

Ú shéeg fásalka wáxa aad kú sií aragtay waddáda.

Tell the class the things you saw (went on seeing) along the road.

Waxa aan kuu dhaaranayaa in aanan awoodin in aan sii cabbo.

I swear to you that I am not able to drink any more (to continue drinking).

Distribution particles
kala, wada

Examples

Position particles
A dozen or so nouns have developed into particles that can occur in the
verb phrase in order to describe the place or position where the action is
carried out.

dul surface, top dul taallaa lies on top (of something)

Examples

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§ 12.3 The particle phrase
Every simple Somali clause contains a special word that determines what
kind of clause it is, e.g. a statement, question, request, wish or possibility,
and also if the clause is affirmative or negative. These little words are
called SENTENCE PARTICLES. Together with a subject pronoun they
constitute the particle phrase.

The particle phrase can maximally contain

– a particle expressing the TYPE of clause or the FOCUS of the clause
– a short clitic pronoun that expresses the SUBJECT of the clause.

Sentence particles
(a) Sentence particles expressing TYPE OF CLAUSE:

Add examples!

waa/wáa expresses that the clause is affirmative. It may be a

statement or a question with a question word.
This particle has a high tone only if the following word
doesn’t. It is toneless if the following word has a high tone.

má expresses that the clause is negative.

In this type of clause the verb is in the subjunctive form.
This particle always has a high tone.

ma/má expresses that the clause is a question that requires yes/no

as the answer.
This particle has a high tone only if the following word
doesn’t. It is toneless if the following word has a high tone.

 The lack of any particle expresses that the clause is a

command or request. The verb is in the imperative form.

ha expresses warnings and prohibitions.

This particle is always toneless.

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 há expresses wishes and indirect commands in the 3rd person.
This particle always has a high tone.

(b) Sentence particles expressing FOCUS:

Focus is an important function expressed by three different sentence

particles. Focus means that a word or a phrase is foregrounded or
emphasised. In English that is most often achieved by pronouncing
focused words with extra energy or prominence. In Somali, focus is not
expressed with the voice, but through three special function words, called
FOCUS PARTICLES.

ayáa / báa express that the noun phrase immediately preceding the
particle is focused. Ayaa and baa are synonymous and
mutually exchangeable, although ayaa is often perceived as
a bit more formal, and baa as somewhat more colloquial.

wáxa / waxáa express that the noun phrase at the end of the clause is
focused.

Depending on the context, you would you give slightly more emphasis to
different words in English.

Sahra waxa ay salaamaysaa saaxiibkeed / saaxiibteed.

Sahra is greeting her FRIEND.

Sahra baa salaamaysa saaxiibkeed / saaxiibteed.

SAHRA is greeting her friend.

The focus particles báa / ayáa are optional after the interrogative suffix ‒
eé. One could say that the suffix ‒eé itself is able to expresses focus.

Example

The focus particles báa / ayáa are obligatorily contracted with the
interrogative pronouns ayó? who? and maxaý? what?, giving the focused
forms yáa? who? (FOC) and maxáa? what? (FOC).

Example

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 Short subject pronouns
The following subject pronouns occur in the particle phrase. See § 9.1.

aan I / we
aad you
uu he / it
ay she / it / they
aannu we (excluding you)
aynu we (including you)
aydin you (pl.)

NB!
La one occurs at the beginning of the verb phrase.

Example

Obligatory subject pronouns

In positive declarative clauses a short subject pronoun is normally
required.

example + noun subj.

The short subject pronoun has to be used even if there is also a long subject
pronoun in the clause.

Anigu waa aan weyn ahay, adiguna waa aad yar tahay.
I am big and you are little.

Omission of the short subject pronoun

(a) If the subject of the clause is focused, short subject pronouns are never
used.

Warsame geed baa uu beeray. Naasir baa geedkii waraabiyay.

Warsame planted a TREE. NAASIR watered the tree.
Find better example

158
(b) In questions and negative clauses, the short subject pronouns are
optional.

Example

(c) If the predicate contains no verb, i.e. only a noun phrase, short subject
pronouns are never used.

Sáhro waa macallimád. Sahra is a teacher.

(d) In clauses with the particle waa, the 3rd person short subject pronouns
uu he, it and ay she, it, they are often omitted if the predicate consists of an
adjective plus the verb yahay/tahay/yihiin is, are.

Gabádhu waa (ay) wéyn tahay.

The girl is big.
Dukáanku waa (uu) yár yahay.
The shop is small.

(e) In other clauses with the particle waa, the 3rd person short subject
pronouns are also sometimes omitted, thus putting more emphasis on the
verb itself.

Walaalkay waa joogay. Walaalkay waa uu joogay.

my.brother DECL was.present my.brother DECL he was.present
My brother WAS there. My brother was there.

Baskii waa yimid. Baskii waa uu yimid.

The bus has ARRIVED. The bus has arrived.

(f) The short subject pronouns are also optional whenever a subject noun
phrase occurs between the particle phrase and the verb phrase.

Example

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§ 13. Simple clauses
A Somali simple clause or main clause normally contains a particle phrase
and a verb phrase.

The particle phrase always precedes the verb phrase .

Wáa uu yimid. He has arrived.

One or more noun phrases may occur anywhere in the clause, sometimes
also between the particle phrase and the verb phrase.

Besides the fact that the particle phrase always precedes the verb phrase,
there are no simple rules for the order of the phrases in a clause. The order
depends on how one chooses to structure and present the information. It
is common to start with facts that are already familiar and finish with new
information.

§ 13.1 Sentence constituents

Subjects
In clauses where the subject is not focused, it has to be grammatically
marked with a subject ending.

If the subject is not focused there is normally also a short subject pronoun
in the particle phrase.

It is only the last word in the subject noun phrase that is marked. It is
marked by tone and/or the endings –u, –i, –aa in the following ways.

(a) In determiner suffixes added to noun as well as in the long forms of

the personal pronouns, a final –a is replaced by –u.

Wíilku waa macállin. The boy is a teacher.

Mágacaygu waa Sahrá. My name is Sahra.

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 Wíilkaygu waa macállin. My son is a teacher.
Hooyáda reérku waa Cambará. The mother of the family is Ambara.

Notice that nouns with a base form ending in –aha have a subject form
ending in –uhu.

Gabdhuhu waa carruurtayda. The girls are my children.

(b) The high tone is missing on the last (or only) morpheme of the subject.

Axmed wúu hurdaa. Ahmed sleeps.

(c) Adjectives take the ending –i. The high tone on the stem of the adjective
disappears.

Bisádda yari wáxa ay raadínaysaa hooyádeed.

The little cat is looking for its mother.

However, derived adjectives ending in –aad, –eed, -ood or –e do not take

any subject ending. Ordinal numbers belong to this category.

(d) Pronouns and corresponding suffixes not ending in –a take the ending
–i. A high tone on the morpheme preceding ‒i usually disappears.

Tani waa káb. This is a shoe.

Kani waa bás. This is a bus.
Báskani waa wéyn yahay. This bus is big.

Sawirradani waxa ay ina tusayaan meelaha aynu biyaha ka helno

qaarkood.
These pictures show us some of the places where we find water.

(e) Feminine nouns with an indefinite form that ends in a consonant often
take the ending –i, especially in a more formal style.

Maalín maalmáha ká mid ah ayáa bisadi gúrigeedii ká tagtay.

On one of those days a cat set out from home.

With proper nouns this ending is less frequent than with common nouns.

It may also occur with names ending in a vowel.

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(f) Verb forms not inflected for person and ending in a consonant (ah being,
leh having, as well as subjunctive forms ending in –n) take the suffix –i.

Sideé bay dádka tuulo-jóogga ahi ú nadiifiyaan iláha biyáhooda?

How do people who live in the village keep their water sources clean?

(g) Verb forms ending in a short –a/–o take the long vowel ending –aa in
a subject noun phrase.

Wiilka jiifaa wuu bukaa. The boy that is lying down is ill.
Sideé baa ay dádka sawirráda ká muuqdaa ú isticmaalaan biyáha?
How do the people showing in the pictures use the water?

The same noun phrases when not used as the subject:

wiilka jiifa the boy that is lying down
dádka sawirráda ká muuqdá the people showing in the pictures

(h) In the adjective kasta each, every, the final vowel also becomes –aa when
it refers to a subject.

Qol kastaa wuxuu leeyahay dariishado waaweyn. (as subject)

Every room has BIG WINDOWS.
cf. Hawadu waxa ay joogtaa meel kasta. (as adverbial)
The air is EVERYWHERE.

(i) Short possessive endings take over the high tone from the preceding
morpheme, hence these endings are not affected by the rule in (b) above.

Hooyadaý waa macallimád. My mother is a teacher.

cf. non-subject: Tani waa hooyáday. This is my mother.

Predicate agreement
If a clause contains a subject noun phrase, the short subject pronoun and
the predicate verb must agree with it in grammatical number, and in the
singular also in gender. In some cases, however, there is a discrepancy
between the grammatical form of the subject and its meaning. The most
common case is collective nouns which are grammatically singular, but

162
have a ”plural” meaning, e.g. carruur children, dumar women, qoys family,
etc. The verb and the short subject pronoun, which are always in the same
form, may then be either in the singular or in the plural. In the following
example, the subject is a feminine singular collective noun, followed by a
plural subject pronoun and verb in the first clause, and by a feminine
singular subject pronoun and verb in the second clause.

Carruúrtu waxa ay aádayaan gúriga adeérkood.

The children are going to THEIR UNCLE’S HOUSE.

Carruúrtaydu áad baa ay ú fiicán tahay.

My children are VERY good.

There are also instances where a word’s grammatical gender and biolo-
gical sex do not coincide, e.g. xaas (m.) wife, sac (m.) cow. If the noun
denotes a human being, the biological sex generally determines the form
of the short subject pronoun and the verb, whereas if the noun denotes an
animal, the word’s grammatical gender takes precedence.

Xáaskiisu wáxa ay karínaysay cuntó.

His wife was cooking FOOD.
Sácu waxa uu ká mid yahay xayawáanka naásleyda ah.
The cow belongs to THE MAMMALS.

In clauses with the focus particle waxa where the subject comes after the
verb, the verb may agree with either the real subject or with the focus
particle wáxa, which is originally a definite masculine noun meaning the
thing.

Waxa ká muuqda wasákh.

the.thing(M) from can.be.seen(M) dirt(F)
It looks DIRTY.

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 Focused subjects
If the subject noun phrase of a clause is focused,
1) the subject phrase is not marked with a subject ending,
2) there is no short subject pronoun,
3) the predicate verb appears in the reduced form (see § 11.9).

Cáli <> baa <> akhrínaya.

ALI is reading. It’s ALI who is reading.
Cali <> waa uu <> akhrínayaa.
Ali is reading.

Wíilka <> baa <> kú riíxaya <> baaskíilka.

THE BOY pushes the bike.
Wíilku <> wáxa uu <> kú riíxayaa <> baaskíilka.
The boy pushes THE BIKE.

Aníga <> ayáa <> raba.

I want to. (with focus on I)
Anígu <> wáa aan <> rabaa.
I want to (do it).

A focused subject may also occur at the end of the clause. It is then focused
with the particle waxa(a). Such clauses are often translated in the passive.

Baaskíilka <> waxaa <> kú riíxaya <> saaxíibkiis.

The bike is pushed by HIS FRIEND.
It’s HIS FRIEND who pushes the bike.

Daaqadáha <> waxa <> kú jira <> muraayadó.

In the windows there are PANES.

Objects
In Somali there is no formal difference between object noun phrases and
adverbial noun phrases. If one still wishes to make this distinction, it has
to be based on either the meaning of the phrases or on the presence of an
associated preposition in the verb phrase. Noun phrases that are

164
associated with a preposition may then be regarded as adverbial phrases,
whereas noun phrases that are directly associated with the verb, without
a preposition, are considered object noun phrases.

§ 13.1.4a Two objects

A few Somali verbs take two objects without any preposition. Such objects
are traditionally often referred to as direct and indirect objects. The
indirect object is also commonly referred to as a recipient. See § 13.1.5h for
more details.

Hooyádu dériska ayaa ay siínaysaa hílib.

Mother is giving the NEIGHBOURS meat.

165
 Adverbials
Noun phrases that are associated with a preposition are referred to as
adverbials. The preposition is always found in the verb phrase, and from
there it refers to one of the noun phrases in the clause. Which noun phrase
it points to can only be inferred from the context.

Wáxa aan <> biyáha <> ká helnaa <> meeló badan.

We get water from MANY PLACES. / We find water in MANY PLACES.

Wáxa aynu <> guryáha <> kú cunnaa <> cuntó kala duwan.
In the homes we eat DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOOD.

Certain adverbial noun phrases are not accompnied by any preposition.

Wáxa uu <> tágayaa <> masaájidka <> MAALÍNTA JIMCÁHA.

He is going to the mosque ON FRIDAY.

When a preposition is referring to a noun in a previous sentence, it often

corresponds to English pronominal adverbs such as there.

Example

Sometimes the noun phrase governed by the preposition is only implied.

This kind of use resembles English particle verbs.

Kú buúxi sháqalka oo ákhri érayga!

Fill in the vowel and read the word!

In practically all languages that have prepositions, their use is partially

unpredictable. Certain head words simply require a certain preposition,
sometimes without a very logical reason. It is therefore often important to
learn verbs and adjectives together with their required prepositions, e.g.

ú keenaa brings sth. to somebody

but without a preposition keenaa brings sth. to a place

166
 Xaawó ayaa ú keentay kíldhi sháah ah iyo kóob.
HAWO brought him/her a tea kettle and a cup.

Jawáan wéyn ayáa uu keenay gúriga.

He brought home a big sack.

kú qoslaa laughs at sth./sb.

Daanyéerkii wáxa uu kú qoslay digaagáddii iyo bisáddii.

The monkey laughed at THE HEN AND THE CAT.

kú yidhaadhaa says sth. to sb.

ká shaqeeyaa works in a place

§ 13.1.5a The preposition u

The preposition ú is used in the following main functions.

(i) The spatial GOAL of a motion: to.

Xaáwo halkeé bay ú socotaa? Where is Hawo going?

Dugsiga ayaa ay u socotaa. She is going to school.

(ii) RECIPIENT or BENEFICIARY: to, for

Recipients or beneficiaries are usually persons receiving something or

benefitting from some action.

Kallúunka waxa ay ú shiílaysaa qóyskooda.

She is frying/grilling the fish for her family.

Warkii Cali baa aan u sheegay.

I told the news to Ali.

(iii) PURPOSE: to, for, as

Biyáha waxa aynu ú isticmaalnaa cabbitáan.

We use water for drinking / as a drink.

(iv) MANNER: in, like

167
To express manner, the preposition ú is very often used together with the
noun si manner, way, corresponding to English in a … way or in a … manner.

Sidee bay dadka tuulo-joogga ahi u nadiifiyaan ilaha biyahooda?

In what way do the people in the village keep their sources of water clean?

Biyaha waxa aynu u isticmaalnaa siyaabo kala duwan.

We use water in different ways.

Si fiican isugu garaac iskujirkaas.

way good self.in.in hit that. mixture [isku garaacaa = whips together]
Whip that mix together properly.

Sidaas ayaa uu socdaalkii u dhammaystay.

The journey ended in that way / like that.

Sidee baa aad u nadiifisaa gurigaaga?

what.manner FOC you in clean your.house
How do you clean your house?

Sometimes the noun hab manner, method, order is used instead of si.

U dhig weerooyinkan habka ay isugu xigaan.

Place these sentences in the order in which they are interrelated.

In certain types of manner adverbials the preposition ú is used without an

accompanying noun like si(da) or hab(ka).

Laba-labo u shaqeeya.
Work in pairs.

U baxa dibedda, ka dibna u ciyaara kooxo kala duwan.

Go outside, and then play in different groups.

(v) Special uses of the preposition ú:

aad … ú to a high degree, a lot, much, very is used as an adverbial of degree

together with both adjectives and verbs.

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 Carruúrtaydu áad baa ay ú fiicán tahay.
my.children high.degree FOC they to good are
My children are VERY good.

Wíilkiina áad buu ú qoslay.

and.that.boy high.degree FOC.he to laughed
And that boy laughed very much.

ú fiirsadaa, ú fiirsataa looks at

Ú fiirsó nínka.
Look at the man.

ú baahán yahay is needy of, is in need of, has need for, needs

Wáxa aynu ú baahán nahay cuntó.

FOC we for needing are food
We are in need of FOOD. = We need FOOD. / We are hungry.

ú ég yahay is similar to

Kabáhaygu kúwaaga ayaa ay ú ég yihiin.

my.shoes yours FOC they to similar are
My shoes are similar to YOURS.

With some verbs goal is expressed by ku + place, but u+ person.

Or without preposition for place, but u + person, e.g. tagaa

§ 13.1.5b The preposition ku

Remember that Somali also has the object pronoun ku you (SG) (see § 9.1),
as well as the indefinite pronoun ku a, an (see § 9.2.3).

The preposition kú is used in the following main functions.

(i) Place, position: in, on, at.

Téneggan súbag baa kú jira.

In this container there is butter.

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 Xasan wáxa uu kú nóol yahay Boosaasó.
Hassan lives in Bosaso.

Sáhra wáxa ay kallúun kú iibínaysaa súuqa.

Sahra is selling fish at the market.

Wáxa ay biyáha kú rartaan aẃrtooda.

They load water onto their camels.

Ímmisa wiil ayaa fásalka kú jira?

How many boys are there in the class?

(ii) Tool: with.

Erayádan fár fiican kú qór.

Write these words with nice handwriting.

Iskú qalláji shukumáan nadíif ah.

oneself.with dry towel clean.thing being
Dry yourself with a clean towel.

The money used to buy something, as well as the languages a person

speaks, are also expressed as tools in Somali.

Shán shilin wáxa ay kú iibsatay liín.

five.items shilling FOC she with bought CITRIC.FRUIT

For five shillings she bought citrus fruit.

Anigu waxa aan ku hadlaa afka Ingiriiska iyo afka Carabiga.

I FOC I with speak THE.LANGUAGE THE.ENGLISH AND THE.LANGUAGE THE.ARABIC
I speak English and Arabic.

Sometimes it might be difficult to draw a clear line between position and

tool, but the tool interpretation is usually preferred.

Dabka waxa aan ku karsannaa cuntada.

the.fire FOC we with/on cook THE.FOOD

With / On the fire we cook FOOD.

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 Kalluunka waxaa lagu qallajinayaa qorraxda.
the.fish FOC one.in is.drying the.sun
They are drying the fish in the SUN (i.e. using the sun).

(iii) Circumstance

Carruurtu habeen walba gaajo baa ay ku seexdaan.

the.children night every HUNGER FOC they in fall.asleep
The children fall asleep hungry every night.

(iv) Spatial goal (expressing place, with certain verbs): to

Wáxa ay kú órdaysaa gúriga.

FOC she to is.running the.house
She is running home.

(v) Abstract aim or goal: to, for

Eraygee baa ku habboon sawirka?

WHICH.WORD FOC for suitable the.picture
Which word suits the picture?

(vi) The interlocutor as recipient (with verbs of saying): to

Wáxa uu kú yiri xáaskiisa, “Má kartid.”

FOC he to said his.wife NOT YOU.CAN

He said to his wife: ‒ You can’t (do that).

”Má rabo,” ayáa ay kú jawaabtay.

NOT I.WANT FOC she to replied
‒ I don’t want to, she replied to him.

(vii) Special uses

kú saabsán yahay ‒ is about, tells about, discusses

Qoráalkani wáxa uu kú saabsán yahay qóyskayga.

text.this FOC it about regarding is FAMILY-MY

This text is about my family.

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§ 13.1.5c The preposition ka
Somali also has the demonstrative pronoun ka the, this. See § 9.2.3.

The preposition ká is used in the following main functions.

(i) Origin or source: from, of.

Webi Shabeelle meeshee buu ka yimaaddaa?

From what place does the River Shabeelle come?

Guuleed dugsiga waxa uu ka yimaaddaa laba iyo tobanka iyo

barka.
Guled comes (home) from school at half past twelve.

In Somali, just as in many other languages, certain abstract actions (e.g.

buys, finds, is seen) are perceived as originating from a certain place,
whereas in English they are generally perceived as more static, happening
in a certain place.

Waxa aan biyaha ká helnaa meelo badan.

We find water in many places / get water from many places.

Magacow cuntada kala duwan ee sawirka ka muuqata.

Give the names of the different foods shown in the picture.

Badda ayaa uu kalluun ka dabanayaa.

He is catching fish in the sea. (lit. from the sea)

Dugsiga maxaa aad ka barataa?

What do you learn at school? (lit. from the school)

(ii) Material: of

Markaa burkii ayey ka samaysay rooti.

Then she made bread of the flour.

(iii) Topic: about

Ka hadal sawirrada.
Talk about the pictures.

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 Hodan waxa ay wax ka qortay xeebta.
Hodan wrote something about the coast.

(iv) Comparison: than

Soddon waa ay ka yar tahay konton.

Thirty is less than fifty.

Faadumo waa ka dheer tahay Caasho.

Faduma is taller than Asha.

(v) The semantic ”object” of certain intransitive verbs: in, on

Lúg baa uu ká dhaawacmay.

LEG FOC he in was.hurt
He was hurt in a leg.

Axmed walaashiis gacan baa ay ka jabtay.

Ahmed his.sister ARM FOC she in was.broken
Ahmed’s sister got a fracture in an ARM.
Ahmed’s sister has broken AN ARM.

(vi) In certain fixed phrases.

Ká jawáab su'aaláhan.
Answer these questions.

Waxa uu ká shaqeeyaa dukáankiisa yar.

He works in his little shop.

Waa uu ká helaa iyáda.

He likes / fancies her.

§ 13.1.5d The preposition la

Somali also has the indefinite subject pronoun la one, you, they. See § 9.1.4.

The preposition lá has only one main function.

(i) Company: (together) with.

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 Waxa uu la socdaa saaxiibkiis.
He walks together with his friend.

Sahra waxay la ciyaaraysaa Farxiya.

Sahra is playing with Farhiya.

(ii) It is also used in a few fixed phrases.

la tahay, in … ‒ thinks, believes that …

Waxa ay ila tahay in aanu taas samayn karayn.

FOC it me.with is that not.he that do could.
I don’t think that he could do that. (lit. I think that he could not do that.)

§ 13.1.5e Variation in the use of prepositions

In certain constructions, variation occurs in the use of prepositions.

ú dhow / kú dhow close to

Booqó iláha biyáha ee kú / ú dhow dúgsigaaga.
visit the.sources the.water that to close to close your.school
Visit the sources of water that are close to your school.

ká caawiyaa / kú caawiyaa ‒ help (someone) with (something)

Waxa ay kú / ká caawisay Cáli shaqo-gúriga.
FOC she with helped Ali THE.HOMEWORK

She helped Ali with the homework.

Sometimes this variation seems to be geographically conditioned.

§ 13.1.5f Preposition with position particle

A position particle can be used together with a preposition in order to
make the reference more precise.

Digaagaddii iyaduna waxa ay iska dhex aragtay biyihii.

the.hen.you,know she.also FOC she herself.from middle saw the.water.you.know
The hen, she too saw herself down in the water.

The combination ka dul most often corresponds to English over,

expressing a motion of going over an “obstacle”.

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 Waan ka dul boodi karaa. I can jump over it.
Igama dul boodi kartid. You can’t jump over me.

§ 13.1.5g Complex ”prepositional phrases”

The content of the phrase near Mogadishu may also be rendered by the
more complex phrase in the vicinity of Mogadishu. The exact location is
expressed by the noun vicinity, which in turn is preceded by the preposi-
tion in. Further examples are in front of the house, on top of the cupboard. Such
complex constructions are even more frequent in Somali than in English.

The Somali equivalents of most English prepositions are expressions

involving a combination of one of the four basic prepositions and a noun
that expresses the exact relationship or location. Such nouns take a
possessive suffix.

MASC.SING. FEM.SING. PLURAL

agtiisa agteeda agtooda near, close to
hoostiisa hoosteeda hoostooda under
dhexdiisa dhexdeeda dhexdooda inside, between
Add more….

Which of the three forms is chosen depends on the gender and number of
the noun that the ”position noun” refers to.

Ku sawir bisad kursiga hoostiisa.

in draw cat the.chair its.underside
Draw a cat under the chair.

Saýnab qoýskoodu wáxa uu kú nóol yahay bádda ágteeda.

Saynab their.family.SUBJ FOC it in living is the.sea its.vicinity
Saynab’s family lives in THE VICINITY OF THE SEA = NEAR THE SEA.

Waxa aan ku arkaa biyaha dhexdooda digaagad.

FOC I in see the.water its.middle hen
I see a hen in THE MIDDLE OF THE WATER = DOWN IN THE WATER.

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§ 13.1.5h Recipient or indirect object
Most verbs express a recipient or indirect object through the proposition
u to, for, but a few verbs take two objects without any preposition, e.g.
baraa teaches sth. to sb., introduces sb. to sb., siiyaa gives sth. to sb. or gives sb.
sth. tusaa shows sth. to sb. or shows sb. sth., and weydiiyaa asks sb. sth.

Waxa uu Aamina siiyay SIDDEED NEEF OO GEEL AH.

He gave Amina EIGHT CAMELS.

Hoóyo wax má ku weydiisay?

Did mother ask you something?

Maxamed carruúrta waxa uu siínayaa LACÁG.

Mahamed is giving the children MONEY.

§ 13.1.5i Place adverbials

Some Somali motion verbs, such as aadaa goes, tagaa leaves, yimaaddaa
comes, take an adverbial of place without any preposition. If the goal of a
motion is a person, however, it is usually expressed with a preposition.

Carruurtu <> waxa ay <> aadayaan <> guriga adeerkood.

The children are going to their uncle’s house.

Diinkii <> waxa uu <> yimid <> gurigiisa.

The turtle came to its house. = The turtle came home.

Diinka iyo xaaskiisu <> waxay <> tageen <> guriga Maroodiga.
The turtle and his wife went to Elephant’s house.

Kaalay <> bannaanka.

Come to the open space. = Come outside.

Xayawaannadii <> waxa ay <> yimaadeen <> biyihii dushooda.

The animals came to the surface of the water.
= The animals arrived at the water’s edge.

A few verbs that take an object, such as saaraa puts, are also accompanied
by an adverbial of place without any preposition.

176
 Cumar <> cawska <> ayuu <> saarayaa <> saqafka.
Omar puts GRASS on the roof.

§ 13.1.5j Time adverbials

Many Somali phrases expressing time are used without any preposition.

Waxa uu <> tágayaa <> masaájidka <> maalínta Jimcáha.

He is leaving for the mosque on Friday.

Noun phrases that express time and refer to the past most often take the
demonstrative ending ‒kii/‒tii.

Áfartii galabnimó ayaa uu ká soo baxay áqalkii.

At four in the afternoon he came out of the house.

Toddobáadkii hore aábbe wuxuu tagay magaaló kale.

Last week Mother and Father went to another city.

When reference is made to the future or to something that is repeated as a

habit, the ordinary definite article is used. Check?!?

Maalin kasta Faadumo waxa ay kacdaa shanta aroornimo.

Every day Faduma gets up AT FIVE IN THE MORNING.

§ 13.1.5k Manner adverbials

si

gaar ahaan, dhab ahaan, tusaale ahaan, qiyaas ahaan, run ahaan etc.

§ 13.1.5l Nouns with possessive endings

weligaa, laftayda…

177
 Vocatives
Many languages have special grammatical forms expressing that a word
or a phrase is used in order to address a person (or even a thing). In Somali
this function is expressed by a high tone on the initial vowel position.

Mácallin! is used to address a teacher, whereas

macállin is used to talk about a teacher.
Fáadumo!, Máxamed! are used to address these persons, whereas
Faadúmo, Maxámed are used to talk about them.

Vocative phrases can also be formed with suffixes. At the end of a phrase
with a feminine singular head noun, the ending –ey is added after a
consonant and only –y after –o/–a. The vocative ending for phrases with a
masculine head noun is –ow. There is one high tone on these vocative
endings and one also on the head noun itself.

These endings may be written with a long or a short vowel, i.e. –ey/–eey,
–ay/–aay, –oy/–ooy, –ow/-oow. If one is very emotional, even more than
two vowels may sometimes be written.

Máryanéy! Hey, Maryan!

Bisádda yaréey! Dear little cat!
Digaagádéy! Hey, hen!

Maxámedów! Hey, Mahamed!

Daanyéerów! Hey, monkey!

There are also longer endings that are mostly added to common nouns.
The ending –yahow is used for masculine singular nouns as well as all
plural nouns, whereas –yahay is used for feminine singular nouns. These
longer endings do not have any high tone.

shimbiró birds
shimbiráyahow! hey, birds!

Notice that the plural morpheme /o/ changes to /a/ before the long
vocative ending.

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§ 13.2 Declarative clauses
(a) A declarative clause with no focused noun or noun phrase must
contain the particle waa. Normally, there is also a short subject pronoun.
This particle phrase normally goes right before the verb phrase.

Ardaýdu waa ay akhrínayaan. The students are reading.

(b) A declarative clause with focus on one of the noun phrases contains
one of the three focus particles baa, ayaa or waxa(a).

If the focused noun phrase goes before the verb phrase, baa or ayáa is used
and the particle occurs immediately after the focused noun phrase.

ROOTI IYO CAANO baa uu rabaa.

He wants BREAD AND MILK.

Cuntadu XOOG baa ay inoo yeeshaa.

The food generates ENERGY for us.

If the focused noun phrase occurs at the end of the clause, the particle
wáxa/waxáa is used and the particle phrase occurs before the verb phrase.

Nájma wáxa ay léedahay BÚUG.

Najma the.thing she has book
Najma has A BOOK.

Wáxa uu rabaa ROÓTI IYO CAANÓ.

the.thing he wants bread and milk
He wants BREAD AND MILK.

The focus particle wáxaa frequently refers to a whole subordinate clause.

Cali wáxa uu rabaa ÍN UU FUULÓ BAASKÍILKA.

Ali FIN.FOC he wants that he rides the.bike
Ali wants to RIDE THE BIKE.

Clauses with the verb to be

Declarative clauses that contain the verb yahay is differ in some respects
from ordinary declarative clauses.

179
(a) If the predicative complement does not contain a noun, but just an
adjective, the adjective goes in the verb phrase, immediately before the
verb yahay is. The short subject pronoun is often omitted.

Dukáanku <> waa (uu) <> wéyn yahay.

The shop is big.
Gabádhu <> waa (ay) <> wéyn tahay.
The girl is big.

(b) In Somali, as in languages such as Arabic and Russian, no present tense

form of the verb to be is necessary if the predicative complement is a noun
or a noun phrase. The short subject pronoun is also omitted.

Sahro <> waa <> macallimad.

Sahra is a teacher.
Cumar <> waa <> arday wanaagsan.
Omar is a good pupil.

This type of clause lacks a verb phrase and a short subject pronoun.
Instead, the particle waa relates to and has a fixed position relative to the
noun phrase that functions as the predicate part of the clause, also called
the predicative complement.

It is also possible, however, to use a full clause with the verb yahay, tahay
is and a focus particle that focuses the predicative complement.

Sáhro <> MACALLIMÁD <> baa ay <> tahay.

Sahra is a TEACHER.
Cumar <> wáxa uu <> yahay <> ÁRDAY WANAAGSAN.
Omar is a GOOD PUPIL.

To be with focused subjects

(a) If the subject is focused and the predicate complement is a noun phrase,
the reduced verb form must be used, just as with any other verb.

Shimbiraha qaar <> baa <> ah <> xayawaan waxtar leh.

SOME BIRDS are useful animals.

180
(b) If the subject is focused and the predicate complement is an adjective,
the reduced form ah being is omitted in the present tense.

Dád badani <> waxa ay <> kú nóol yihiin <> magaaloóyinka.

Many people live in (the) CITIES.

Dád badan <> baa <> kú nóol  <> magaaloóyinka.

MANY PEOPLE live in (the) cities.

Comparison
When two items are compared, the words like or as are often used in
English. In Somali the noun sida the way, the manner is most often used as
the head of a noun phrase. This noun phrase often becomes a predicative
complement.

Midabkeedu <> waa <> sida qiiqa.

its.colour.SUBJ DECL the.way the.smoke
Its colour is like smoke.

Telling the time

Numbers used to tell the time in the present or past usually take the
demonstrative endings ‒kii/‒tii.

Waa immisadii? – Waa shantii.

What time is it? – It’s five o’clock.
Waa kowdii iyo badhkii.
It’s half past one.

When referring to future or repeated events, the definite article –ka/–ta is

used.

Examples

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§ 13.3 Questions

Wh-questions with focus

Wh-words are usually focused by means of a focus particle.

Qóysku xaggeé baa uu aaday ugu horreýntii?

WHERE did the family go first of all?

Two of the wh-words are obligatorily contracted with the following focus
particle into one word.

maxaý what? + baa / ayaa > maxáa WHAT?

ayó who? + baa / ayaa > yáa WHO?

Yaa ay siisay hooyo hilibkii? WHO did mother give the meat to?

Maxaa ay u samaysay sidaas? WHY did she do it that way?

Maxaa uu ahaa dharka cusub ee Faadumo loo iibiyay?

WHAT were the new clothes that one had bought for Faduma?

As always, the short subject pronoun can of course be contracted with the
focus particle in a more casual style. Notice especially the irregular form
muxúu WHAT … he? < maxaý + baa / ayaa + uu.

Faadumo iyo Xasan adeerkood muxuu siiyay?

Faduma and Hassan’s uncle, WHAT did he give to them?

If the focused wh-word phrase is also the subject of the clause, there will
of course not be any short subject pronoun and the verb will be in its
reduced form. The form ah being is omitted after an adjective.

Ímmisa wiil ayáa fásalka kú jira?

HOW MANY BOYS are there in the class?
Maxáa dhíci doona?
WHAT will happen?
Yáa rabá in uu falo haruurka?
WHO wants to sow the sorghum?

182
 Maxáa ká duwán  ?
WHAT is different (than …)?

After the pronoun kee/tee? which? and nouns with this ending, the focus
particle baa or ayaa is often contracted with the focuse question word. In
clauses where such focused question words are the subject, there is no
short subject pronoun and the verb is used in its reduced form.

Examples

The form ah being is omitted after adjectives.

Kee dhéer  ? Which one is (the) long(est)?

Kee gaabán  ? Which one is (the) short(ast)?

Wh-questions without focus

More seldom, wh-questions without focus do occur. The clause then
contains the sentence particle waa, otherwise typically used in declarative
clauses.

Dhárka Xasan waa midabkeé? What colour are Hassan’s clothes?

Yes/no questions
In a question that requires yes or no for an answer, the sentence type
particle ma 18 is used together with the ordinary forms of the verb. The
short subject pronoun is optional.

Compared to the corresponding statement form of the sentence, ma

replaces waa, but it is added to clauses containing waxa/waxaa or
ayaa/baa.

Waxaan tagayaa Burco. I’m going to Burao.

Ma waxaad tagaysaa Burco? Are you going to Burao?

18A similar particle exists in many other languages, such as Arabic (hal), Finnish (-ko/-kö),
French (est-ce que), Persian (āyā), Polish (czy) and Russian (li), but in most languages it is not
obligatory, whereas it is obligatory in Somali.

183
The question particle ma has a high tone if the following phrase doesn’t
have a high tone. This is particularly the case for the simple aspect of verbs
and the object pronouns.

Má <> i aragtaa?
Do you see me?
Adígu <> má <> tahay <> hooyáday?
Are you my mother?

The question particle ma does not have a high tone if the following phrase
has a high tone. This is particularly the case for the progressive and
habitual aspect of verbs, as well as for prepositions and nouns.

Adígu <> ma <> kú nóoshahay <> gúri magaalo?

Do you live in an urban house?
Ma <> nabád <> baa?
Are you doing okey? How are you doing?

Many yes/no questions also contain a focus particle alongside the question
particle ma. This is especially frequent with the verb to be.

If the predicative complement is a focused noun, the present tense forms

of yahay are omitted in yes/no questions, just as in the corresponding
declarative clauses.

– Kani ma Áxmed baa? – Haa, kani waa Axmed.

– Is this Ahmed? – Yes, this is Ahmed.

– Tani ma Sáhraa 19? – Haa, tani waa Sahrá

– Is this Sahra? – Yes, this is Sahra.

If ayáa is used instead, ma goes after the focused noun or noun phrase
and ma + ayáa is contracted into miyáa.

19 Sahraa is an obligatory contraction of Sahro+baa.

184
 Maxamed ma macállin baa?
= Maxamed macállin miyáa?
Is Mohamed a teacher?

Without focus, the verb yahay is functions just like any other verb.

Gurigiinnu <> ma <> yahay <> sida Rooble gurigooda?

your.house.SUBJ QUEST is the.way Roble their.house
Is your house the way Roble’s house (is)? = …like Rooble’s house?

Multiple choice questions

In questions where one is expected to choose one of the alternatives, mise
or is used between the two phrases.

Ma waxay joogtay xagga bari mise xagga galbeed?

Was it located in the east or in the west?

Ma magaalo baa aad ku dhalatay mise miyi?

Were you born in the city or in the countryside?

If mise is used between clauses, the first clause contains the question
particle ma, whereas the second clause is a declarative clause with the
particle waa.

Ma oggolaatay mise waa aad diidday?

Did you approve or did you say no?

185
§ 13.4 Commands
Commands are mainly expressed by the imperative form of the verb.

Clauses in the imperative have no particle phrase.

Sheeg magacyada laba ciidood.

Tell the names of two holidays.

Qor laba waxtar oo kale oo uu dabku leeyahay.

Write two other benefits that fire has.

Warnings and prohibitions

In Somali grammar, warnings and prohibitions are often presented as
negative imperatives, but they are actually expressed through a special
construction which may be referred to as the PROHIBITIVE. The construction
consists of the sentence particle ha don’t followed by the reduced
subjunctive in the simple aspect form. The tone is on the second to last
vowel position.

Ha tégin hádda, waáyo waa mádow.

Don’t go now, since it’s dark.

When addressing several persons, a final ‒a is added, just like in the

imperative. The tone is on the second to last vowel position.

Ha tegína hádda, waáyo waa mádow.

Don’t go now, since it’s dark.

186
§ 13.5 Negative clauses
In negative declarative clauses the sentence type particle má not is used. It
always has a high tone. The verb is in the subjunctive. See § 11.10. The
short subject pronouns are not obligatory, but are frequently used by
some.

Má (aan) rabo. I don’t want it. / I don’t want to (do it).

cf. Wáa aan rabaa. I want it. / I want to (do it).

Negative questions
Questions usually contain a focused noun phrase. When negation and
noun phrase focus occur in the same clause, the negator aan not must be
used together with the verb in the reduced subjunctive form ending in –
n/–in/–nin.

Maxaa aanad jeclayn in aad cunto?

WHAT don’t you like to eat?

Write about ’negation’ in general

There are two negations, ma and aan. Ma is a sentence particle, and replaces waa.

Waa ay ordaysaa. She is running.

Ma (ay) ordayso. She is not running.

Aan is not a sentence particle, and it can be added in sentences that already contain a sentence
particle, e.g. a focus particle. It is also used in subclauses, since a subclause can never contain
a sentence particle.

Cali baa ordaya. ALI is running.

Cali baa aan ordayn(in). ALI is/was not running. (aan always combines with the reduced
subjunctive)

And finally, both are often used together in main clauses in the past tense, as in the example
above.

Often double negation in the past tense.

Negative progressive (see 11.10.1) either negation + progr. subj. OR inf. + neg. progr. aux.

187
§ 14. Coordination
There are three words in Somali that correspond to English and, namely
iyo, oo and –na.

(a) The conjunction iyo and is used between nouns or noun phrases.

Safiya iyo Cali Safiya and Ali

lix iyo toban sixteen
Rooti iyo caano baa uu rabaa. He wants bread and milk.

Most subclauses begin with a noun. This means that subclauses are noun
phrases and such subclauses are therefore joined by iyo.

Example

Even if ín that is usually considered to be a subjunction, its origin is the

noun ín amount. Therefore also subclauses beginning with ín are joined
through the use of iyo.

Examples

(b) Noun modifiers (adjectives, adjective phrases and relative clauses) are
connected with either oo or ee. In most instances oo is used to connect
modifiers of indefinite nouns, whereas ee is used with defininte nouns.
For more details see §

Waa isbitaal weyn oo wanaagsan.

It is a big and good hospital.
Qor qoraal gaaban oo ku saabsan qoyskaaga.
write text short and to relating your.family
Write a short text about your family.

exempel med ee

(c) The conjunction oo and is used between two verbs or verb phrases.

Akhri oo sawir! Read and draw!

Aniga ayaa shaqeeyay oo cunaya.
I’m the one who has done the work and will eat.

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Oo can also be used between full main clauses or fragments of main
clauses, as long as there is a predicate verb in the fragment that follows.

ariga uu raaco waxay ka kooban yihiin riyo iyo ido oo wuxuu soo
daajiyaa guriga agtiisa. Markaii duhurka la gaaro ayaa waxaa loo
geeyaa cunto iyo biyo. Markay qorraxdu dhacdo ayuu ariga guriga
ku soo celiyaa. Habeenkii geedi waxaa loo lisaa caano oo wuxuu
jecelyahay caanaha lo’da iyo geela,

It may also be used to introduce follow-up questions.

Waxaan ku nool ahay meel fog. ‒ Oo waa xaggee?

I live in a place far away. – And where is that?

The conjunction oo is also used for subordination. See § 15.3.3.

(d) The conjunction –na and is used between main clauses. It is attached
to the first phrase of the second clause.

Maroodigani waa weyn yahay, maroodiganina waa yar yahay.

This elephant is small and this elephant is big.

Fasalku waa weyn yahay, ardayduna waa badan yihiin.

The classroom is big and the pupils are many.

It may also be used to introduce follow-up questions.

Magacaygu waa Xasan. – Adigana magacaa?

My name is Hassan. – And you, what’s your name?

§ 14.1 The conjunctions ama and mise

Somali has two conjunctions corresponding to English or, namely ama
and mise.

The conjunction ama or is used in declarative clauses.

Cali waxaa uu jiraa guriga ama dugsiga.

Ali is at home or at school.

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 Shaqadaydu ma aha in aan dilo ama dhaawaco.
My job is not to kill or injure.

A repetition of ama before both the alternatives corresponds to English

either … or.

Ama isaga ama wasiiraddiisa, khasab ma aha inuu isagu yimaaddo.

Either he or his minister, it is not necessary that he comes himself.

In questions where one is expected to choose one of the alternatives, mise

or is used.

Ma magaalo baa aad ku dhalatay mise miyi?

Were you born in a city or in the countryside?

If mise is used between clauses, the first clause contains the question
particle ma, whereas the second clause is a declarative clause with the
particle waa.

Ma oggolaatay, mise waa aad diidday?

Did you approve or did you say no?

If you are not expected to make a choice, ama is also used in questions.

Ma maqashay sheeko kale oo ku saabsan diiq ama dawaco?

Have you heard any other story about a cock or a fox?

§ 14.2 The conjunction ee

The conjunction ee is used between two main clauses to express that there
is a logical relation between the clauses, often pertaining to cause and
effect. The corresponding English word is often so, then or and.

Digaagad ayaa biyaha ku dhex jirta ee waa in aad noo soo gurmataa.
There is a hen down in the water, so you must come and help us.

Ee is often used to contrast two clauses. Then one clause is usually

negative, and the other one positive. After a negative clause, ee

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corresponds fairly well to English but. Before a negative clause, though,
English usually doesn’t have any conjunction at all.

Maya, ma aha Safiya, ee waa Khadra.

No, it’s not Safia, (but) it’s Khadra.
Anigu dhakhtar baan ahay, ee askari ma ihi!
I’m a doctor, (so) I’m not a soldier!

The conjunction ee is also used to interconnect subclauses. See § 15.3.2.

§ 14.3 The conjunctions laakiín, -se and balse

The three conjunctions laakiín, balsé and –se but are used to connect two
main clauses. There is always a sentence particle in both clauses.

Soomaáli báan ahay, laakiín wáxaan kú dhashay Itóobiya.

I am SOMALI, but I was born in ETHIOPIA.

Cumar waa wiil fiican, balse dhibaataa ka haysata xagga akhriska.

Omar is a GOOD BOY, but he has DIFFICULTIES with regard to reading.

The conjunction –se is added to the first phrase of the second clause. It
puts less emphasis on the contrast than do laakiín and balsé.

Anigaa dugsiga dhigta, Faadumase ma dhigato. I attend school, but

Faduma doesn’t (attend).

–se and can also be used in a contrasting follow-up question.

Nin miyaad leedahay? ‒ Haa. ‒ Wax carruur ahse? ‒ Shan carruur

ah baan leeyahay. Do you have a husband? – Yes. – And any children? –
I have five children.

§ 14.4 The conjunction waáyo

The conjunction waáyo because, since connects two main clauses and
introduces a reason or explanation. There is always a sentence particle in
both clauses.

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 Waxa uu xidhán yahay dhár fudud waáyo waa xílli kulul.
He is dressed in LIGHT CLOTHES since it is a warm season.

§ 14.5 The conjunctional phrase sababta oo ah

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§ 15. Subordinate clauses
A Somali subordinate clause can straightforwardly be identified by its
lack of a sentence particle. Only main clauses contain sentence particles.

Waxa ay tagtay meel ay biyo ku jiraan.

FIN.FOC she went place they water[PL] in exist
She went to a place in which there was water.

Notice that imperative clauses are main clauses even though they don’t
contain any sentence particle.

Fiiri sida ay u samaynayso.

look the.way she in is.doing
Look at the way she is doing it. / Look how she is doing it.

In this chapter subordinate clauses will be underlined.

§ 15.1 The form of the verb in subclauses

Subclauses are divided into three main types depending on the presence
of a subject word or a negator particle in the subclause.

(a) In positive subordinate clauses that contain a noun or a pronoun

representing the subject of the subclause, a present or future tense verb
must appear in the subjunctive mode since the verb describes an imagined
event.

Sawirradani waxa ay ina tusayaan meelaha aynu biyaha ka helno.

these.pictures FOC they us show the.places we the.water from find
These pictures show us the places (which) we get water from.

U sheeg fasalka waxyaabaha aad ku aragto sawirka

to tell the.class the.things you in see the.pucture
Tell the class the things (that) you see in the picture.

Sheeg waxyaabaha laga helo guriga kalluumaystaha

tell the.things one.from finds the.house the.fisherman
Tell the things (that) one finds in a fisherman's home

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Only past tense events are expressed by the ordinary past tense since the
verb describes a real event.

Saaka markii aan dugsiga ku soo socday waxa aan arkay shimbir
aad u qurux badan.
This morning when I walked to school I saw a very beautiful bird.

Notice that the present “subjunctive” forms of yahay is and leeyahay has
used in subclauses with a subject word are identical to the ordinary
present tense forms used in main clauses.

Marka ay xilli kulul tahay waxa aynu xidhannaa dhar fudud.

the.moment it season warm is PART we put on clothes light
When it is a warm season we put on LIGHT CLOTHES.

Qor laba waxtar oo kale oo uu dabku leeyahay.

write two benefit and other and it the.fire has
Write two other uses that fire has. / …that there are for fire.

(b) In positive subclauses that do not contain any subject word the
ordinary reduced verb forms are used. Such subclauses are relative
clauses where the subject of the verb is equal to the head noun of the
relative clause. The head noun is not part of the relative clause itself, but
belongs to the main clause.

Waxa aan ahay arday dhigta fasalka 2aad.

I’m a pupil who studies in the 2nd grade.
I’m a pupil studying in the 2nd grade.
or even: I’m a pupil in the 2nd grade. 20

In this kind of clauses, many languages of the world use a participle or a

gerund, as in the second line of translation above.

20Often, a verb in a relative clause like this may be omitted in English if it does not really
contribute anything to the meaning that is not evident from the context. The reason for this
syntactic difference between the two languages is that a preposition may connect two nouns
in English, whereas in Somali prepositions always connect a verb (or adjective) and a noun.

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(c) Negative subclauses always contain verbs in the reduced subjunctive
form, which leads to a lack of distinction between present and past tense.
The temporal interpretation must depend on the context.

Waan kuu dhaaranayaa in aanan ridaadii cunin.

I swear to you that I haven’t eaten your goat.

Waxa aan kuu dhaaranayaa in aanan awoodin in aan sii cabbo.

I swear to you that I am not able to drink any more.

The use of the reduced subjunctive form is due to the two simultaneous
cues for the subjunctive: subclause and negation.

The time relation between clauses

The time relation between the event in the main clause and the event in
the subclause is expressed in different ways in different languages. In
English it is common to apply the same tense in both clauses if the events
are simultaneous, but in Somali the present tense is used in the subclause
to express simultaneity also when the main clause is in the past tense.

Waxa ay tagtay meel ay biyo ku jiraan.

FIN.FOC she went place they water[PL] in exist
She went to a place where there was water.

Odaygii baa u sheegay in ay toddoba nin yihiin.

The old man told them that they were seven men.

Past tense in a subclause often means that the event of the subclause
preceded the event in the main clause, which will often correspond to the
past perfect tense in English.

Nimánkii maxáa ay ugú maleeyeen ín nin ká dhumay?

Why did the men think that a man had disappeared from them?

In many temporal subclauses, the progressive present tense is used to

express that the events in the subcaluse and the main clause are
simultaneous.

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 Marka ay dugsiga tagayaan iyo marka ay ka imanayaanba way is
raacaan. Both when they are going to school and when they are coming
(back) from (it) they accompany each other.

On the other hand, the simple present tense means that the action in the
subclause has come to an end before the action in the main clause starts.
Often both present and past tense may be used in English.

Waxbarashadaada dadka waaweyn marka aad dhammayso maxaa

aad qaban doontaa? When you finish (have finished) your adult
education, what will you do (then)?

Future from the perspective of the past

Together with a main clause in the past tense, the conditional construction
is used in subclauses to express a future, planned action from the
perspective of the past, without really saying anything about wherther
that action was realised or not.

Khudaartii baa baxday, waxana soo dhawaadey wakhtigii la goyn

lahaa. Markii la gaaray waqtigii la goyn lahaa, ayey ku heshiiyeen
in ay beerta u qaybiyaan saddex meelood. Mid kasta waxaa la siiyey
qaybtii uu ka shaqayn lahaa ee uu goyn lahaa.
The vegetables grew and the time approached when one should harvest.
When the time came when one should harvest, they decided to divide the field
into three parts. Each one was given the part that he should work on and that
he should harvest.

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§ 15.2 Ín clauses
The only frequent subjunction in Somali is ín that.

A subject word is obligatory in an ín clause, and therefore the verb is

always in the present or future subjunctive, or in the ordinary past tense.

Object clauses with ín

Subclauses beginning with ín mostly occur as objects of the main clause
verb.

Ma jeceshahay in aad soo booqato ayeeyadaa?

Q you.like that you CMPL visit your.grandmother
Do you like to pay a visit your grandmother?

Ma u malaynaysaa in haramcadkii la hadlay Maxamed?

Q in you.believe that the.leopard with talked Mahamed
Do you think that the leopard talked with Mahamed?

Some verbs that are followed by an infinitive phrase in English correspond

to Somali verbs that must be followed by an ín clause.

Cali wáxa uu rabaa ín uu fuuló baaskíilka.

Ali FIN.FOC he wants that he rides the.bike
Ali wants TO RIDE THE BIKE.

Subject clauses with ín

Sometimes the ín clause functions as the subject of the main clause verb.

Example

Predicative complement clauses with ín

Explain this topic.

Shaqadayduna waa in aan daweeyo, ma aha in aan dilo ama

dhaawaco!

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 And my job is to heal, it is not to kill or injure (lit. …that I heal, it is not
that I kill or injure).

The construction waa ín…

The phrase waa ín corresponds to English should, has to, must, need to. In
this construction, ín that may be followed by either the present subjunctive
or the ordinary present tense.

Waa in aynu ilaalinnaa nadaafadda ilaha biyaheenna.

Waa in aynu ilaalinno nadaafadda ilaha biyaheenna.
We must protect the hygiene of our water sources.

One possible explanation for this variation could be that this construction
is not straightforwardly felt to be a subclause, since there isn’t much of a
main clause preceding it.

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§ 15.3 Relative clauses
English relative clauses typically begin with a relative word such as that,
who, which, where etc.

The letter that I received had been opened.

Did you watch the film that I recommended?

But quite often the relative word may be omitted.

The letter I received had been opened.

Did you watch the film I recommended?

In Somali, relative clauses are always expressed in the latter manner.

Somali doesn’t have any relative words. Instead, the relative clause often
begins with a short subject pronoun that expresses the subject of the
relative subclause. And, importantly, the short subject pronoun occurs on
its own, without any accompanying sentence particle, since Somali sub-
clauses never contain any sentence particle.

Waa maxay shaqada ay Aamina samaynaysaa?

PR.FOC what the.work she Amina is doing
WHAT’s the work (that) Amina is doing?

The short subject pronoun may also occur before the verb, and it may be
omitted if there is a subject noun phrase in the subclause.

Waa maxay shaqada Aamina ay samaynaysaa?

Waa maxay shaqada Aamina samaynaysaa?

Relative clauses connected by a conjunction

A relative clause is a modifier phrase that says something about the
preceding head noun. If there is more than one modifier, all but the very
first one must be preceded by a conjunction, either ee or oo.

(a) The conjunction ee is typically used before the second (third etc.)
modifier after a definite head noun.

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 Maxáa uu ahaa dhárka cusub ee Faadumó loó iibiyay?
What are the new clothes that one bought for Faduma?
Booqó iláha biyáha ee kú dhów dúgsigaaga.
Visit the water sources that are close to your school.
Magaców cuntáda kala duwán ee sáwirka ká muuqata.
Give the names of the different kinds of food shown in the picture.

(b) The conjunction oo is typically used before the second (third etc.)
modifier after an indefinite head noun.

Add something that is not a numeral

Magacow saddex cunto oo kale oo aad ku cunto guriga.

Give the name of three other kinds of food that you eat at home.

Sheeg magacyada laba ciidood oo Islaamku leeyahay.

Tell the names of two holidays that Islam has.

Qor laba waxtar oo kale oo uu dabku leeyahay.

Write two other uses that fire has.

(c) After proper nouns and personal pronouns, oo must always be used,
also before the first modifier.

Jaamac waxa uu maqlay Xasan oo ku hadlaya telefoonka.

Jama heard Hassan who was talking on the phone.
= Jama heard Hassan talk(ing) on the phone.

This use of oo indicates that the relative clause is parenthetical and not
necessary in order to identify the person or object referred to by the head
noun. This kind of relative clause often gives information that is only
relevant in a specific situation. See also § 15.4.6.

This use of oo sometimes occurs also after nouns with a definite

determiner.

Awoowgay oo wiilka ugu weyn ahaa…

Kani waa Roóble iyo ardaýdii fásalkooda oo soó booqday Saýnab

dúgsigooda oo xeébta kú yaalla.

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 Sáwir gúriga reer-guuraága iyo árigii oo xeraysan.

Gabadhii aabbaheed oo meel u dhow joogey ayaa u soo orday oo

ka fujiyey dhurwaagii. Waa uu cararay dhurwaagii.

Gabadhii oo faraxsan ayaa u mahad celisey aabbaheed.

Relative clauses in subject noun phrases

According to the rules of standard Somali, a final –a/–o in a verb in a
relative clause should be changed into the long vowel –aa if the verb in
the relative clause is the final word in a subject noun phrase.

The subject noun phrase has a grey background.

Add other examples that are not questions.

Waa maxay shaqada ay Aamina samaynaysaa?

PR.FOC what the.work she Amina is.doing
What’s the work (that) Amina is doing?

Waa maxay dharka aad dugsiga u xidhataa?

PR.FOC what the.clothes you the.school for tie
WHAT are the clothes (that) you put on for school?

The use of this subject marker is not very widespread in colloquial Somali,
and it is therefore frequently lacking in writing as well.

Relative clauses in headings

Somali headings, story titles and captions of illustrations generally have
the structure of a noun phrase, containing a head noun and a relative
clause with a verb in its reduced form.

Xayawaanka biyaha ku jira

The animal that is in the water = The animal in the water

English headings, titles and captions may also contain a relative clause
with a verb, but often they just contain a noun phrase followed by a
preposition phrase. That kind of structure is impossible in Somali, since

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prepositions can only be used if followed by a verb. That is why relative
clauses are more frequent in Somali than in English.

Relative clauses with a preposition

Many relative clauses contain a preposition that points back to the head
noun in the main clause. In such cases the preposition may often
correspond to another suitable relative word in English. If the head noun
denotes a place, where is commonly used.

Sawirkani waxa uu ina tusayaa meelaha aynu biyaha ka helno.

This picture shows us the places (that) we get water from.
= This picture shows us the places where we find water.

Ragga dabdemisku waxa ay isticmaalaan biyo ay dabka ku

demiyaan.

§ 15.4 Adverbial clauses

Alternatively nouns with subjunctional functions

Compare the subordinate clauses in the following two sentences.

Sue immediately noticed Mary when she entered the room.

Sue noticed Mary the moment she entered the room.

The noun the moment does the same job as the subjunction when. To use
nouns as connecting words between clauses in this manner is extremely
common in Somali. Actually, subjunctions are quite scarce, with the
exception of the very frequent subjunction ín that and a few others
borrowed from Arabic.

Temporal clauses
The most common subordinator word introducing temporal subclauses is
the noun marka / markii the moment. It corresponds to English when.

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The form marka is mainly used for general reference and with reference
to the present and the future, whereas the form markii is mainly used with
reference to a specific occasion in the past.

Ku bilow xaraf weyn marka aad qorayso magac gaar ah.

Start with a big letter when you write a proper noun.

Qof waliba markii uu hoos u eegay biyihii waxa uu arkay

hummaaggiisa.
Each person, when he looked down into the water, saw his mirror image.

Other common subordinator words and phrases introducing temporal

subclauses are:

ka dib markii after (having)

Dad badan ayaa waqti badan noolaa ka dib markii ay qaadeen

cudurkan. Many people have lived a long time after they got this disease.

inta / intii while, when

Samatar hooyadiis inta ay qososhay ayey madaxa ruxday.

While Samatar’s mother laughed she shook her head.

Dukaanlihii inta uu muraayaddii gashaday ayaa uu si fiican

warqaddii ugu akhriyey. When the shopkeeper put on his eye-glasses he
read the letter very well with them.

inta / intii aan (negator) before (followed by the reduced subjunctive)

Waxaan toosaa qorraxdu inta aanay soo bixin.

I get up before the sun comes up.

Diinkii baa xariijintii gaaray intii aanu bakaylihii soo gaarin.

THE TURTLE reached the line before (he) the hare reached it.

The expression ká hor before is sometimes added for additional clarity.

Quraacda waxa ay ka cuntaa xaafadooda inta aanay dugsiga tegin

ka hor. She eats breakfast in her naighbourhood before she goes to school.

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ilaa until (a subjunction of Arabic origin)

Sidii ayaa warkii ku faafay magaaladii ilaa uu boqorkiina maqlay.

That way the news spread in the city until even the king heard it.

Conditional clauses
The most common subordinator word in conditional subclauses is the
noun haddií the occasion. It corresponds to English if.

If the condition may easily be fulfilled, the present subjunctive is used in

the conditional subclause. The main clause is in the ordinary present or
future tense.

Haddií aad erayó iskú darto waxa aad héli doontaa weér.
If you put words together you will get a clause.

If it is impossible or less realistic that the condition may be fulfilled, the

conditional contruction is used.

This is especially so in sentences referring to a past situation, since the

situation is only hypothetical. In this type of sentences, the conditional
contruction is used in both the main and the subordinate clause. The
English subclause is usually in the past perfect.

Maxáa aad samaýn lahayd haddií aad lá socón lahayd Maxámed iyó
Núur maalíntaas? What would you have done if you had been
accompanying Mahamed and Nur that day?

If the situation is perceived as general but still not very probable, with a
possible reference to the future, only the main clause is in the conditional
whereas the subcluase is in the present subjunctive. The corresponding
English subclause is usually in the past tense.

Haddii uu saaxiibkaa jirran yahay maxaa aad samayn lahayd?

If your friend was/were ill, what would you do?

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 Maxaa ugu habboon ee aad samayn lahayd haddii aad aragto guri
dab qabsaday. What’s the most suitable thing that you would do if you
saw a house that had caught fire?

Final subclauses
The verb in final subclauses is normally in the simple present subjunctive.

Andra tempus, konjunktiv? Bara presens? ej preteritum?

(a) Final subclauses are mostly introduced by the noun si manner, way,
accompanied by the preposition ú in (a way) in the verb phrase of the
subclause. This construction corresponds to the English subjunctional
phrases in order to and so that.

Isticmaal erayadan si aad ugu buuxiso meelaha bannaan.

use these.words way you in.with fill the.places empty.
Use these words so that you fill the empty spaces with them.
Use these words in order to fill the empty spaces.

As shown by the last translation, this kind of subclause in English may be

condensed into an infinitive phrase if the subject of both clauses is identical.
Such a condensed construction does not exist in Somali.

(b) Final subclauses may also be introduced by the subjunction ín that,

which then requires the use of the preposition ú for in the main clause.

Shimbiríhii waxa ay ú yimaadeen ín ay díinka hílibkiisa jilicsan

cunáan.
The birds came (in order) to eat the tender meat of the turtle.

Concessive clauses
Concessive subclauses are introduced by the subordinator phrase in kasta
oo, corresponding to English even though. The contracted form in kastoo
or inkastoo is also very frequent.

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 Axmed waa yimid in kasta oo uu soo daahay.
Ahmed came, even though he was late.

Causal clauses
Causes are usually not expressed by subordinate clauses in Somali.
Instead, the conjunctional phrase sababta oo ah / sababtoo ah the reason
being, corresponding to English since, because, is most often used. It is
followed by a complete main clause containing a sentence particle.

Maryan ayeeyadeed waa ay farxi doontaa sababta oo ah waxa ay

jeceshahay moos.
Maryan’s grandmother will be happy since she likes bananas.

Another possibility is to use the conjunction waáyo since, because followed

by a complete main clause with a sentence particle.

Waxa uu xidhan yahay dhar fudud waayo waa xilli kulul.

He is dressed in light clothes since it’s a warm season.

Yet another possibility is to use the subjunction maadaáma since, because

(of Arabic origin) followed by a subclause.

Maadaama uu bakayluhu baahnaa waxa uu go'aansaday in uu

ukunta karsado.
Since the hare was hungry he decided to cook the eggs for himself.

Circumstantial clauses
A special type of relative clause is used to express different kinds of
circumstances. A long personal pronoun, a name, and sometimes a
common noun with a definite determiner, is followed by the conjunction
oo and a relative clause. This type of construction may express time,
manner, reason etc. and the interpretation depends only on the context.

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TIME:

Wáxaa la guraa miráha móoska oo welí cagáar ah.

One collects the fruits of the banana, still being green.
The banana fruits are collected when they are still green.

Maalin maalmaha ka mid ah isaga oo u socda iskoolka oo moos

gacanta ku sita ayaa daanyeer ka hor yimid.
One day, (when) he (was) walking to school and carrying a banana in his
hand, a monkey came in his way.

MANNER:

Xasan oo madaxa ruxaya ayaa yiri: …

Hassan, shaking his head, said: …

Waxa aan hubinayaa qiyaastaydii aniga oo adeegsanaya miisaan.

I am checking my estimation, (me) using a scale.

A negative circumstantial clause often corresponds to an English cluase

introduced by the preposition without.

Waxa ay noolaan kartaa muddo dheer iyada oo aan biyo cabbin.

It can live for a long period of time, (it) not drinking water.
= It can live for a long period of time without drinking water.

CONDITION:

Adiga oo cunto haysta haddii qof gaajeysan kuu yimaado maxaa

aad fali lahayd?
(You) Having food, what would you do if a hungry person came to you?

Comparative clauses
Subclauses that express a comparison are usually introduced by the noun
sida as.

Sida la yiri qaar ayaa waxa ay noloshoodu gaartaa 150 sano.

As people have told, the life of some of them reaches 150 years. (turtles)

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§ 15.5 English indirect questions
English indirect questions are generally introduced by the same question
word as the corresponding direct question, e.g., when, where, how, what.

Where do you live?

I asked him where he lives.

In Somali, question words are mostly formed through the addition of the
interrogative suffix –ee to various nouns. In “indirect questions” the same
noun is used, but in the plain definite form, without the interrogative
suffix –ee.

xaggee? – xagga

maxay? – waxa

Maxaa ay sidaasi u tahay?

Why is it like that / that way?
Sharax waxa ay sidaasi u tahay.
Explain why it is that way / like that.

It is especially important to notice that wáxa the thing isn’t always a focus
particle. Sometimes it is a definite noun used to introduce an object
subclause in the same way as English what.

U sheeg fasalka waxa aad biyaha u isticmaasho gurigiinna.

to tell the.class the.thing you the.water for use your.house
Tell the class what you use water for at your home.

Indirect yes/no questions

English indirect yes/no questions are usually expressed as subclauses
beginning with if or whether. In Somali they usually begin with ín that.

Waxay weydiisay bisaddii iyo ridii in ay burka ka sameeyaan

canjeero ama rooti.
She asked the cat and the goat whether they should make flat bread or
French bread with the flour.

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§ 15.6 Direct speech as object clause
Direct speech may occur as the object of a verb in a main clause. Both
clauses are then main clauses and will contain sentence particles. It is very
common for the dominant clause to contain a focus particle pointing to the
object clause.

Jiirkii waxa uu yiri “Anigu ma rabo.”

The mouse said: – I DON’T WANT TO.

”Waa qaamuus,” ayaa uu yiri.

‒ IT’S A DICTIONARY, he said.

§ 15.7 Negative subordinate clauses

All negative subordinate clauses contain the negator word aan not and a
verb in the reduced subjunctive form ending in –n/–in/–nin.

The negator word aan not usually accomppanies the short subject
pronoun, either before it (more common in the north), or after it (more
common in the south). A long vowel in the second element, be it the
negator or the pronoun, is shortened. The buffer consonant /s/ is inserted
after the pronouns uu he and ay she; they before the negator. Cf. § 5.2.6.

Haddii aanadN/aadanS sun haysan, dhalo yar oo fur leh ku xidh

cayayaanka. If you don’t have poison, shut the insect into a small glass
container with a lid.

Maxaad dareentaa haddii aadanS/aanadN helin hurdo kugu filan?

What do you feel if you don’t get enough sleep (for yourself)?

Haddii carruurtu aysanS/aanayN haysan biyo, maxaa dhici lahaa?

If the children hadn’t had water, what would have happened?

Dawacadii waxa ay bakaylihii u sheegtay in uusanS/aanuN diinku

shaqadiisa si fiican u qabanayn.
The jackal told the hare that the turtle was doing his job well.

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§ 16. Colloquial Somali
Everyday, casual Somali, both spoken and written, exhibits many smaller
and larger differences compared to the norms that are most commonly
applied in public written communication, i.e., what one may call
standardised written Somali or simply standard Somali.

It is important not to forget that standard Somali also exhibits quite a bit
of variation within the standard, as discussed earlier in this grammar.
There are, however, many other phenomena that fall outside the generally
applied written norm or standard, which are still very common in
everyday, casual Somali. Some of those traits will be presented below.

Word forms that you usually don’t see in writing will be marked with C

for colloquial.

§ 16.1 The sounds

Certain principles are applied much more frequently in colloquial Somali
than in writing, the most important being contractions and assimilations.

Contractions
When there is a variation at hand between uncontracted and contracted
items, the contracted ones are generally preferred in colloquial Somali.

wuxuu or waxuuC rather than waxa uu

ayaan, ayuu rather than ayaa aan, ayaa uu

The focus particles baa/ayaa are left out and the subject pronoun is
attached to the focused noun or noun phrase.

XasanaanC arkay rather than Xasan ayaa aan arkay.

Assimilation of /n/
In verbs, the 1st person plural /n/ is assimilated to a preceding /l/, /r/

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 waan hadallaaC for waa aan hadalnaa we speak
waan furrayC for waa aan furnay we opened

/n/ followed by a consonant is assimilated to that consonant

middiC for mindi knife

Distant vowel assimilation

Besides forms like ilkúhu the teeth and ilkíhii those teeth, with assimilation
of /u/ and /i/ across /h/, the spoken language also shows assimilation with
a following /e/ or /o/; however, the latter sound changes are usually not
reflected by the orthography. The most frequent spelling is, e.g.,
ilkáhooda their teeth, ilkáheeda her teeth, but the pronunciation is usually
ilkóhoodaC and ilkéheedaC. To render this kind of assimilation in writing
is somewhat more common in certain words, e.g.

more literary more casual

aabbáha the father aabbáheed aabbéheedC her father
aabbáhood aabbóhoodC their father

Distant vowel assimilation with /i/ also frequently occurs in a more

colloquial style in the stem of some masculine nouns that end in /x/ or /c/.

mágac name mágac-iisa mágic-iisaC his name

mádax head mádax-iisa mádix-iisaC his head

§ 16.2 Inflection

Gender of nouns
Some nouns exhibit variation in gender in some regions.

STANDARD COLLOQUIAL/REGIONAL
arrín -ta matter árrin -ka
gúddi -ga committee guddí -da
maalín -ta day maálin -ka

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 roóti -gaS bread rootí -da
roodhí -daN bread
Sabtí -da Saturday Sábti -ga

Nouns with gender variation

A small number of nouns are used with different genders by different
persons and/or in different parts of the Somali speaking area. A couple of
common words with noticeable variation are:

roótiga / rootída / roodhída the bread

Sábtiga / Sabtída the Saturday
súbaxa / subáxda the morning

Determiner endings
The short possessive ending –kiis/–tiis is often further shortened to –
kii/–tii or –kiC/–tiC.

Also the referential demonstrative ending –kii/–tii is often shortened to

–kiC/–tiC.

Verb inflection

§ 16.2.4a Present tense, 2nd person plural

Often -tiinC instead of standard Somali -taan.

Ma ku aragtiinC qaybo yaryar? (stand. aragtaan)

Do you see small parts there?

…waxaad la kulmi doontiinC shaqaalaha caafimaadka…

…you will meet with helthcare staff… (stand. doontaan)

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§ 16.2.4b 1 p. sing. negative present subjunctive
1st person singular negative present subjunctive ends in –i in southern
colloquial Somali instead of the standard form that ends in –o.

má cuni I don’t eat instead of standard má cuno

§ 16.2.4c Forms of the verb yahay

The 3 person negative present tense ma ahanC instead of standard Somali
ma aha, especially in the Mogadishu region.

waaye instead of weeye, especially in Benaadir

Vowel length in the progressive morpheme

In some regions, the progressive suffix is realised with a long vowel, i.e.
as /aay/. Again, in other regions it is realised as /oy/ or /ooy/.

Examples

§ 16.3 Syntax
Lack of subclause nagator aan not, typical in Benaadir.

Lee ‘only’ , typical word in Benaadir.

No subject case
In a colloquial style, the grammatical subject marking is often not used,
especially in the south.

Examples

This phenomenon is especially common at the very end of a clause.

Ma nadiif baa ilaha biyaha? (instead of ilaha biyuhu)

Are the water sources CLEAN?

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 Focus by subject pronoun
In colloquial Somali, the focus particle baa/ayaa very commonly
disappears between a preceding noun phrase and a following short
subject pronoun. The subject pronoun is contracted with the preceding
noun phrase. This construction is a very frequent way of expressing focus
in colloquial Somali.

Examples

Subjunctive instead of reduced verb forms

In some regions it is common to use the subjunctive instead of the reduced
verb forms, both in subclauses without a subject word and in main clauses
with a focused subject NP.

Examples

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