Now I would like to talk a little about focus markers. This also touches on the subject of different dialects of afaan Oromoo. I would like to look at focus markers that are used with the predicate, specifically nan, hin, in, and ni.
Although, some dialects may differ, these markers are used usually directly before the verb. Nan is used with the first person singular and the others are dialect differences used with all other verb conjugations. I often found that for first person singular this is used when otherwise the verb would appear on its own. In other words, a sentence like nan deema would be grammatically correct rather than ani deema or deema to mean “I go.” You would be understood if you said ani deema, but deema by itself would most likely have been understood to mean that “He goes.”
For the other focus markers there is more dialect difference. I learned afaan Oromoo in western Oromia and used in for positive sentences with other verb conjugations. For example, I would say in deemtaa? to ask “Are you going?” In written Oromo there is less dialect difference and ni which previously was mostly used in Eastern Oromo dialects has become the most common. These focus markers are not required in all situations and sentences without them are perfectly correct, frequently said, and understandable. As I said for nan, I often found these most commonly used when the verb would otherwise appear by itself, but not as frequently as for the first person singular conjugation.
Marqaa by Addunyaa Barkeessaa
In Marqaa, we see this in the statement, Nidhufte, to mean “she came.” As you can see Addunyaa chose the ni form of the focus markers as is common in written Oromo. He also made the choice to attach the focus marker to the verb. This is not a universal choice that writers choose. I personally keep the focus marker and the verb separate under the idea that the verb could be found on its own anyway. Additionally, as I often write in the western dialect, I would write something like in dhufte to portray the same information.
Using focus markers like this in spoken and written afaan Oromoo is one way that you could try to modify your speech to sound more similar to a native speaker. It takes time to get the correct rhythm of when they are used, and I assume I still use them incorrectly, but I have gotten better at this over the last couple years.