Language/Tigrinya/Grammar/Pronouns

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Tigrinya Grammar - Pronouns

Hi Tigrinya learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on pronouns. Pronouns are a crucial part of any language, as they are used to refer to people or things without repeating the same word over and over again. Tigrinya has several types of pronouns, such as personal, possessive, and demonstrative pronouns.


Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Conditional Mood, Plurals & Future Tense.

Personal Pronouns[edit | edit source]

A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing. In Tigrinya, personal pronouns are often used as the subject or object of a sentence. Here is a table with Tigrinya personal pronouns:

Tigrinya Pronunciation English
እኔ ənɨ I
ንስሓ nəsˁħa you (singular)
እስሃት əsˁħatə he/she/it
እኛ ənˁa we
ንስሓት nəsaħət you (plural)
ስምህ səmħə they

Let's look at some examples to see how personal pronouns are used in sentences:

  • Person 1: እኔ ብድሕር ምን ዓይነት ኣብዚ ኣይትሓፍትን? (ənɨ bədħər mən ʕaenət ʔabzi ʔaityḥaftən?) (What type of food do you like?)
  • Person 2: ንስሓ ክረምተይ ነብሲ ትሓፍትን ኣሎ። (nəsˁħa krəmtəy nəbsi təḥaftən ʔalo.) (I like injera with tsebhi.)

In this example, we see the pronouns "እኔ" (I) and "ንስሓ" (you) used as subjects of the sentence, and "አይትሓፍትን" (do you like) and "ኣሎ" (yes) as the verbs.

Possessive Pronouns[edit | edit source]

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership or possession of an object. In Tigrinya, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun they describe. Here is a table with some common Tigrinya possessive pronouns:

Tigrinya Pronunciation English
እንተደ ɨntədə my
ንስሓደ nəsˁaħadə your (singular)
እስሃተይ əsˁħatyə his/her/its
እንተዝሓበ ɨntəzḥəba our
ንስሓዘሓበ nəsˁaħazḥəba your (plural)
ስምህደ səmħadə their

Let's look at some examples:

  • Person 1: እንተደ መወዳእታ ምዝራኾ ናብ መንጋደእታት ትበዓል? (ɨntədə məwədaʔatə məzraχi nəb mənɡadəyatat təbaal?) (Did you plant your vegetables in the garden?)
  • Person 2: ንስሓደ ምስ ነቲ ኣድላዕ ናብ ቦታ ተደራቢ? (nəsˁaħadə məs nəti ʔadˁlaʔ nəb botə tedrabəy?) (Did you forget your keys somewhere?)

We can see that the possessive pronouns "እንተደ" (my) and "ንስሓደ" (your) are used to show ownership of the object in the sentence.

Demonstrative Pronouns[edit | edit source]

Demonstrative pronouns are used to indicate a specific person or thing, and they can be either close or far from the speaker. In Tigrinya, demonstrative pronouns are placed before the noun they modify. Here is a table with some common Tigrinya demonstrative pronouns:

Tigrinya Pronunciation English
ዝሓለፈ zḥalefa this (close)
ሓደ hadə that (far)
ዝደረበ zḥadaerəba these (close)
ሓደይ hadəy those (far)

Let's look at some examples:

  • Person 1: ዝሓለፈ በዝተን ምንቅስቓስ ኣሎ? (zḥalefa bəzeten mənqisəsas ʔalo?) (Do you like this type of music?)
  • Person 2: ሓደ ኣስታወሰድ ከምብል ዝግበረሉ ክልተ ልዕሊ ወይ? (hadə ʔəstatwəsdə kambəl zəɡəbərlu kəlati lenəli way?) (Do you remember that restaurant we went to last week?)

In these examples, the demonstrative pronouns "ዝሓለፈ" (this) and "ሓደ" (that) are used to indicate a specific object or concept.

Reflexive Pronouns[edit | edit source]

Reflexive pronouns are used when a subject acts on itself. In Tigrinya, reflexive pronouns are formed by adding the suffix "-ብል" ("-blə") to the personal pronoun. Here is a table with some examples:

Tigrinya Pronunciation English
እኔብል ənɨblə myself
ንስሓብል nəsaħəblə yourself
እስሃትብል əsˁħatəblə himself/herself/itself
እኛብል ənˁablə ourselves
ንስሓይብል nəsˁaħayblə yourselves
ስምህይብል səmħayblə themselves

Let's look at some examples:

  • Person 1: ትምህርት ብል ምትሕግዝ? (təmhərtə blə məthɡəz?) (Did you teach yourself math?)
  • Person 2: ንስሓብል ከመይ ኣለኹም እንተመስገን ነገር ትኾነ? (nəsaħəblə kambəy ʔallekhum ɨntəmasɡen neɡer tekʷəna?) (Did you remind yourself to do that thing?)

In these examples, the reflexive pronouns "እኔብል" (myself) and "ንስሓብል" (yourself) are used to show that the subject is acting on themselves.

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

Sources[edit | edit source]


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