Language/Amharic/Grammar/Using-the-Subjunctive

Amharic → Grammar → Using the Subjunctive

As an experienced Amharic language teacher, I am excited to introduce you to the subjunctive mood in Amharic. This is an advanced topic, but I will make it simple and fun for you to learn. The subjunctive mood is used to express hypothetical situations, wishes, suggestions, and desires. It is an essential tool to expand your Amharic language skills and make your sentences more expressive and refined.

With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: The Possessive Adjectives & Simple Past Tense Forms of Other Verbs (Negative).

Understanding the Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive is a grammatical mood used to express various states of unreality such as wish, doubt, supposition, necessity, possibility, or action that has not yet happened. It is used to show that an action is uncertain, subjective, or hypothetical, rather than indicative of a real situation. In Amharic, the subjunctive mood is formed by adding the suffix "-ችሎት" (-chilot) to the verb stem. Here are some examples of the subjunctive mood in Amharic:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
እኔ ምንም አይደል መስላት	əne mənm aydel masilat	If only I could solve the problem
ስለዚህ ትክክለኛ የማይስማማት ይሆናል	sälihizhe tinkokilejja yämayisimamat yihonale	I suggest that you don't rely on it.
ምን እደል እንደሚያወልድ?	mən endeil ənde-miawalid?	What would you do if you won the lottery?

Keep in mind that when you use the subjunctive mood, the subject of the sentence will always be in the third person form.

When to Use the Subjunctive Mood

In Amharic, the subjunctive mood is used in various situations, such as:

• Making a wish or expressing a desire.
• Expressing doubt or uncertainty about something.
• Giving suggestions or creating hypothetical situations.
• Expressing preference or necessity.

Below are some common examples:

• When wishing a happy birthday, you can say "ከዚህ በኋላ፣ በዚህም ቀን ልዩ የሆነ የልደት በዓል ይመልከቱ!" (kezeiwe bekhelal, beziem ken lyu yähonä yäledit bä'ala yimelkekut!), meaning "on this day, and on every other day, may you have a wonderful birthday!"

• When expressing doubt, you can say "ምን እውቀት እንደሚችል ነው?" (mən ewek'et ändemiçil new?), meaning "Are you sure about what you are saying?"

• When giving suggestions, you can say "ምንም አትስማማኝ፣ ይህ ቀልዶች በአንድ ጊዜ የሚውል ይሆናል" (mənəm atsamamagn, yih keledoch bä'andze yemilwäl yihonale), meaning "don't trust anyone, these days anything can happen."

• When expressing necessity, you can say "አይታህል፣ አይከናወንም" (ayithal, ayikenanewem), meaning "if we don't hurry, we will be late."

Tips for Learning the Subjunctive Mood

Learning the subjunctive mood can be challenging, but not impossible. Here are some tips that can help you master this topic:

• Practice, practice, practice: the more you practice using the subjunctive mood, the easier it will become. Try to create your own sentences or scenarios and use the subjunctive mood to express them.

• Memorize common phrases: memorize common phrases that use the subjunctive mood so you can use them in everyday conversations.

• Listen and watch media: listen to and watch Amharic media such as TV shows, movies, or songs that use the subjunctive mood. This will help you get accustomed to hearing the subjunctive mood in context.

• Take notes: take notes of the grammar rules and examples given in this lesson. Review them frequently until they become second nature.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have reached the end of this lesson on the subjunctive mood in Amharic! I hope you found it useful and engaging. Keep in mind that learning a new language can be challenging, but with dedication and practice, you can achieve your goals. If you have any questions or feedback, do not hesitate to contact me. Happy learning!

Congratulations on finishing this lesson! Explore these related pages to keep learning: Direct and Indirect Object Affixes & Simple Gerundive.

Other Lessons

• Personal pronouns
• Comparing and Contrasting
• Simple Sentence
• Question Words
• “to be” and “to have”
• The Past Perfect Tense
• 2 sequential actions in the present
• Time Adverbs
• Amharic Alphabets
• Compound sentence

Sources

• Grammatical aspect and agreement in Amharic: a brief overview
• Verbal Nouns in Amharic