Language/Sinhala/Grammar/Future-Tense

Sinhala Grammar - Future Tense

Hi Sinhala learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be looking at the future tense in Sinhala. The future tense allows us to indicate an action that is yet to happen. It is a vital aspect of the Sinhala language and is present in various contexts. Understanding the future tense is critical to developing fluency in the language.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: Nouns and Pronouns & Questions.

Formation of Future Tense

The formation of the future tense in Sinhala is quite straightforward. We use the particle "මෙයාම" (mehaama) or "වෙනස් කිරීම" (wenasakireema) before the verb stem to indicate that the action is happening in the future. The word "අපේ" (ape) which means 'our' can also be added before the verb stem to make it a first-person singular tense.

Let's take the example verb stem "ගෙදර" (gedara) which means 'home'.

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මෙයාම ගෙදර	"mehaama gedara"	will go home
ගෙදර වෙනස් කිරීම	"gedara wenasakireema"	will go home
අපේ ගෙදර හිමිකරන්න	"ape gedara himikaranna"	I will clean my home

From the table above, we can see that both "මෙයාම" and "වෙනස් කිරීම" are valid future tense indicators. It is also possible to add various particles before the verb stem to indicate time, mode, and other meanings.

Using Future Tense in a Sentence

To better understand the use of the future tense in Sinhala, let's see how it can be used in a dialogue:

• Person 1: ඔබ මහන්සිය මගේ අදහස මත පදනම් කරන්නේ? (Oba mahansaya mage adahas mata padanam karannae?) - (Will you help me with my homework?)
• Person 2: ඔව් කියලා. මා නියමිති. (Owa kiyala. Maa niyamithi.) - (Yes, I will. I am free.)
• Person 1: අස්තුව දිනුක් දෙනෙක් වෙනස් කිරීම බොහෝ වේගයේ කරදරුවක් තිබුණ ද? (Asthuwa dinuk wenaak wenasakireema boho wegayek karadorukuth thibuna da?) - (Have you ever planned something for the future?)
• Person 2: ඔව්, මම දැනගන්නවා අපේ ජංගමදුරකථන දායකත්වය වෙනස් කරගැනීම අපිට එරෙහිව අවශ්‍යයි. (Owa, mama dannaganna awa jangamadurakathwaya wenasak kara genireema apith erahadiwa awashyayi) - (Yes, I have. We need to upgrade our phone technology in the future.)

From the dialogue, we can learn how to use the future tense to convey a message or action that is yet to happen. It is essential to familiarize oneself with the formation, time, and the meaning of particles that can be used with the future tense.

Interesting Facts

Here are some interesting facts about the future tense in Sinhala:

• The future tense can also be used to talk about actions that are unlikely to happen. For example, "මට ඔබව මෙයාම සිදු කලාද?" (Mata obawa mehaama sidu kaladha?) - (Will I ever become like you?). In this case, the person asking the question feels the action is highly unlikely to happen.
• The future tense particles "මෙයාම" and "වෙනස් කිරීම" can be used interchangeably without changing the meaning of the sentence.
• Like in English, the Future Tense can be used to predict future events based on present evidence or observations.

To improve your Sinhala Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Learn Sinhala - present and future tense verbs - YouTube
• Sinhala Lesson 15 - Future Tense and Weather Expressions
• Beginner Level (Grammar) | The Future Tense | IELTS in Sinhala

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Other Lessons

• How to Use Have
• Plurals
• Adjectives
• Negation
• Conditional Mood
• Questions
• How to Use Be
• Give your Opinion
• Pronouns