Language/Amharic/Grammar/Nouns-and-Pronouns

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Amharic → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Basic Sentence Structure → Nouns and Pronouns

Introduction

In Amharic, nouns and pronouns play a fundamental role in sentences. They are essential for communicating ideas and conveying messages properly. In this lesson, you will learn about nouns and pronouns, their functions in sentences, and how to use them correctly.

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Comparatives and Superlatives & Question Words.

Nouns

Definition and Function

Nouns are words that represent people, places, things, or ideas. They are used to name or identify objects or concepts, and they can be either concrete or abstract.

In Amharic, nouns can have three forms, depending on their relationship with the verb. They can be:

• the subject of the sentence (the doer of the action),
• the direct object of the sentence (the receiver of the action), or
• the indirect object of the sentence (the recipient of the direct object).

Noun Gender

In Amharic, nouns are either masculine or feminine. They can be easily recognized by the gender markers that are attached to them. The masculine gender marker is "ን" (n) and the feminine gender marker is "ች" (ch). However, there are some gender-neutral nouns that have no gender markers.

For example:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
እንደዛሬ	əndəzarə	like a day
እንዲሁም	əndihum	also, too
ምን	min	what

Noun Number

In Amharic, nouns can be singular or plural. The plural form is usually created by adding the suffix "እም" (em) to the singular form.

For example:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
ጉድ	gud	cow (singular)
ጉድእም	gudem	cows (plural)
አልባሳን	albasan	horses (plural)

Noun Cases

Amharic has a unique case marking system. Nouns can have one of five different cases, depending on their syntactic function in the sentence. These are:

• Nominative case (subject of the sentence)
• Accusative case (direct object of the sentence)
• Dative case (indirect object of the sentence)
• Genitive case (possessive case)
• Locative case (locative or directional meaning)

The table below shows the declension of Amharic nouns:

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-	-ኦት (-ot)
Accusative	-ን (-n)	-ንት (-nət)
Dative	-ን (-n)	-ንም (-nəm)
Genitive	-ደ (-de)	-የ (-ye)
Locative	-ህ (-h)	-ው (-wu)

Noun Examples

Let's take a look at some examples of Amharic nouns:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
ልጆች	lijoch	children
ቤት	bet	house
በጣም	betam	in the morning
ስምሽ	simsh	your name

Pronouns

Definition and Function

Pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence. They are used to avoid repetition and make the sentence less cumbersome. In Amharic, there are two types of pronouns: personal pronouns and demonstrative pronouns.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are used to refer to people or things. They can be either subject pronouns or object pronouns.

Here are the subject pronouns in Amharic:

Person	Amharic	English
First person singular	እኔ	I
Second person singular (informal)	አንቺ	you (singular, female)
Second person singular (formal)	እህት	you (singular, male/female)
Third person singular (masculine)	የኔ	he
Third person singular (feminine)	የኔፍ	she
First person plural	እኛ	we
Second person plural (informal)	እስከ	you (plural)
Second person plural (formal)	እላማ	you (plural)
Third person plural	በሪ	they

Here are the object pronouns in Amharic:

Person	Amharic	English
First person singular	እንዴት	me
Second person singular (informal)	አንቺን	you (singular, female)
Second person singular (formal)	እህትን	you (singular, male/female)
Third person singular (masculine)	የኔን	him
Third person singular (feminine)	የኔፍን	her
First person plural	እኛን	us
Second person plural (informal)	እስከን	you (plural)
Second person plural (formal)	እላማን	you (plural)
Third person plural	በሪዎችን	them

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out specific people or things, and they can be either proximal or distal. Proximal demonstrative pronouns refer to things that are close, while distal demonstrative pronouns refer to things that are far away.

Here are the demonstrative pronouns in Amharic:

Proximity	Amharic	English
Proximal	ይህ	this, these
Distal	ያለህ	that, those

Pronoun Examples

Here are some examples of personal and demonstrative pronouns in Amharic:

• እኔ በአንድ ስም ይበልጥ፣ እህት በምንም ስም ይበልጥ - I can call with one name, you (female) can call with any name.
• የሚያምር እኔ ልትማርክ ይገባል - I must ask first.
• የሚያምር አንቺን ይገባል - I must ask you (female) first.
• የሚያምር እህትን ይገባል - I must ask you (male/female) first.
• ልቤ ለውጥ የማይሆን፣ የእህቴም ሞገስ የማይሆን - My heart is strong, and my mind too.

Conclusion

In this lesson, you have learned about nouns and pronouns in Amharic. You now have a better understanding of their functions in sentences and how to use them correctly. Make sure to practice using them in your own sentences to improve your language skills.

Finished this lesson? Check out these related lessons: The Simple Past & Simple Past Tense Forms of Other Verbs (Negative).

Table of Contents - Amharic Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Amharic Alphabet

• Fidel and Syllables
• Pronunciation and Phonetics

  ---

Basic Vocabulary

• Greetings and Introductions
• Numbers and Counting
• Days of the Week and Months
• Colors and Shapes
• Family and Relationships

  ---

Basic Sentence Structure

• Nouns and Pronouns
• Verbs and Tenses
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Prepositions and Conjunctions

  ---

Everyday Vocabulary

• Food and Drinks
• Clothing and Accessories
• Weather and Seasons
• Travel and Transportation
• Hobbies and Leisure

  ---

Intermediate Sentence Structure

• Negation and Questions
• Imperatives and Requests
• Expressing Possession
• Comparatives and Superlatives

  ---

Advanced Vocabulary

• Professions and Work
• Health and Body
• Education and Learning
• Nature and Environment
• Technology and Communication

  ---

Ethiopian Culture and Traditions

• Ethiopian Holidays and Festivals
• Ethiopian Cuisine
• Ethiopian Music and Dance
• Ethiopian History and Heritage

Other Lessons

• Amharic Slang and Colloquialisms
• Using Prepositional Phrases
• Compound sentence
• Prepositions and Conjunctions
• Using the Future Tense
• Comparatives and Superlatives
• Word Order in Complex Sentences
• Imperatives and Requests
• Verbs and Tenses
• Direct and Indirect Object Affixes

Sources

• Amharic - Wikipedia
• Learn amharic

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