Language/Tigrinya/Grammar/Negation

Tigrinya Grammar - Negation

Hi Tigrinya learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on negation in Tigrinya, a crucial element of the language!

Negation in Tigrinya

Negation in Tigrinya is expressed mainly by adding the negating particle "nay" before the verb. For example, "ኣነስተወልድ" (anesteweld) means "he is eating" while "ኣነስውን ነይ" (anestewennen nay) means "he is not eating". As simple as that!

Each tense has its own particle. For instance, in the present continuous tense, the negation is expressed through the particle "nna". The examples below illustrate it:

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
ዕድል ኣብ ልቡኡ ኣይተሓሰበን	edil ab labuu aythasiben	The baby is not crawling on the floor.
መሪሕና ዋላታ ኣቢለካ ኣየሰርሕ	merhina walata abelka ayserh	Merhina does not live in Walata.

There are some exceptions to the rule. In some cases, the particle "nay" can be replaced by other particles. Let's take a look at some examples:

Negation with Wa

The particle "wa" can replace the particle "nay" in some cases. For instance, instead of saying "ኣነስውን ነይ" (anestewennen nay), we can say "ኣነስውን ዋ" (anestewennen wa). Here are a few examples:

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
እንዴት ኣልገልፍም? ኣይደለም።	endet algelufum? aydelem.	How are you feeling? Not good. (Literally: "How are you feeling? Not feeling well")
ስብስብ ዳግምም ኣይከኣልም	sbisbi dagmam aykaalm	Drinking alcohol is not healthy.

Negation with E-sharp

In the past tense, the particle "nay" can be replaced by the consonant "t" with an e-sharp. Let's illustrate this with the following examples:

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
ዕድል ተሓማርኩም	edil tahamarkum	I didn't eat (Lit. I did not it-eat).
ሰብ መምለኻን ዝብለኒ ባዕሉ	seb mamelekhank zibleni ba'alu	I didn't ask my mother for money. (Lit. I did not mother-ask for money)

Dialogue

• Person 1: ንምትዓንጥ ድረስ ኣይብላሉ (Nitae'nti deres ayblahlu) - You don't speak Arabic very well.
• Person 2: ኣልተብሎ (Alatebelo) - I didn't study it well.

Practice

Let's practice with some exercises which will help you use negation in Tigrinya correctly.

1. Translate the following sentences to Tigrinya:

• I am not tired.
• We don't like to eat meat.

2. Translate the following sentences to English:

• ኣምላኽ ኣይንዳንም (Amelak ayndanum).
• ካብ ድመት ኣነ መስኪዕ (Kab dmeth ane mesk'i).

Tips

Negation in Tigrinya might be simple, but there are many nuances that you'll only master through practice! Don't hesitate to work on your grammar skills and use Tigrinya resources such as Polyglot Club. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• L2 French learning by Eritrean refugee speakers of Tigrinya ...
• WALS Online - Language Tigrinya
• Tigrinya verbs - Wikipedia

Related Lessons

• Questions
• Conditional Mood
• Adjectives
• How to Use Be
• How to Use Have
• Future Tense
• Plurals
• Pronouns