-oobaa
Becoming a State
Wasakh ‘dirt’ → wasakhoobaa ‘becomes dirty’; biyo ‘water’ → biyoobaa ‘melts’.
How It Works
The reference presents -oobaa as an inchoative pattern added to certain nouns. Its supported pairs include wasakh → wasakhoobaa, ‘dirt → becomes dirty’, and biyo → biyoobaa, ‘water → becomes water, melts’. The subject is the thing changing.
Learn the stem alternation with each verb. Compare wasakhoobaa for I/he with wasakhowdaa for you singular/she. Past forms are wasakhoobay and wasakhowday. Likewise, biyoobaa contrasts with biyowdaa. Preserve the long vowels and the oob/ow alternation.
Contrast Shaatigu wuu wasakhoobay, ‘The shirt became dirty’, with someone making the shirt dirty using wasakheeyaa. The latter is transitive and introduces a causer. The noun-based inchoative pattern is documented for particular words; it is not presented as an unrestricted suffix for every noun.
Examples (3)
- Shaatigii wuu wasakhoobay.
The shirt became dirty.
The masculine subject undergoes the change.
- Daaqaddii way wasakhowday.
The window became dirty.
The feminine past form uses the ow stem.
- Barafkii wuu biyoobay.
The ice melted.
The established verb describes becoming water.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Recognize inflectional classes before distinguishing lexical change-of-state derivation in -oobaa.
Related Patterns
- -aadaaChanges Described by Derived Verbs
Compares adjective-derived inchoatives.
Level 5 - -eeyaaBuilding a Causative with -eeyaa
Contrasts becoming dirty with making something dirty.
Level 5 - Sound Changes in Class One Verbs
Provides a related pattern of stem alternation before consonant endings.
Level 3 - Short and Long Vowels
Helps preserve the long vowels in these forms.
Level 1
Practice -oobaa in Bubblegum
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