Language/Sinhala/Grammar/Pronouns

Sinhala Grammar - Pronouns

Hi Sinhala learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about pronouns in Sinhala. Pronouns are essential in every language as they take the place of a noun and avoid repetition.

What are pronouns

Pronouns are words that replace a noun in a sentence. For example, instead of saying "Fernando went to Fernando's house and Fernando ate Fernando's lunch," we say "Fernando went to his house and he ate his lunch." In this example, "his" and "he" are pronouns that replaced the noun "Fernando."

Sinhala language has different types of pronouns. Let's take a look at them.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns indicate the person speaking, the person spoken to, and the person or thing being spoken about. In English, personal pronouns are "I," "you," "he," "she," "it," "we," and "they." In Sinhala, personal pronouns are as follows:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මම	"mama"	"I/me"
ඔයා	"oya"	"you"
ඇය	"aeya"	"she/her"
ඔහු	"ohu"	"he/him"
එය	"eya"	"it"
අපි	"api"	"we/us"
ඔබ	"oba"	"you (formal)"
ඔව්	"ov"	"they/them"

Here are some examples showing the use of personal pronouns:

• Person 1: මම ඉන්නේ කෙල්ලොන්ගේ නාස්තියකට ගමන්කරයි. (Mama inna kelloṇage nasthiyakata gamanakarayi.) (I'm going to a party at Kello's)
• Person 2: ඔයා කොහොමද? (Oya kohomada?) (How are you?)
• Person 1: ඇය ඉතින් යම් කාරයක් කරන්නේ කොහොමද? (Aeya ithin yam karaṇnā kohomada?) (What is she doing there?)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out specific people or things. In English, "this," "that," "these," and "those" are demonstrative pronouns. In Sinhala, the demonstrative pronouns are:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මෙය	"meeya"	"this"
මේ	"meya"	"this"
එය	"eya"	"that"
එක	"ek"	"that"
මෙතන	"maethana"	"these"
මොන	"mona"	"those"

Here are some examples showing how to use demonstrative pronouns:

• Person 1: මේ කොහොමද කියලා? (Meya kohomada kiyala?) (What's this?)
• Person 2: එය පැමිණියි. (Eya peminiyi.) (That is a pen.)
• Person 1: මෙතන එක්කම අරන් ආතල් ගත්තා. (Maethana ekṁkama aran athal gaththa.) (These are the shoes I bought yesterday.)

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. English interrogative pronouns are "who," "whom," "what," "which," and "whose." In Sinhala, the interrogative pronouns are:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
කවුරු	"kawuru"	"who"
කොහොමද	"kohomada"	"what"
කොහොම	"kohoma"	"which"
අපේ	"ape"	"whose"

Here are some examples showing the use of interrogative pronouns:

• Person 1: කවුරු ඔබට මේ පොත් කියලා? (Kawuru obata me pota kiyala?) (Who told you about this book?)
• Person 2: මම මකාදැමීමට කරන කොටසට කොහොමද යි? (Mama makadāmimata karana kotasata kohomada yi?) (What do I need to do to cancel?)
• Person 1: කොහොම රාත්‍රී කරනවා ඔහු? (Kohoma rathri karanaawa ohu?) (What does he do at night?)

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun. In English, relative pronouns are "who," "whom," "that," and "which." In Sinhala, the relative pronouns are:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මොහොතක්	"mohothak"	"that/which"
මොහොත	"mohotha"	"that/which"

Here are some examples showing the use of relative pronouns:

• Person 1: කොහොම පොඩ්ඩක් හදන්නෙ මොහොතක් මම අතරින් මිනිසුන් දෙනෙක්ද? (Kohoma poddak hadannෙ mohothak mama atharin minisun denekdo?) (Which dress should I buy from the ones the salesman is showing me?)
• Person 2: මොහොතක් මේ පානය ඔවුන් බිහි දෙයක් වෙන්නේ බිහිද? (Mohothak me panaya ovun bihi denek wennessa ovun bihi?) (Which part of this field are they cultivating?)

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns show possession or ownership of a person or thing. In English, possessive pronouns are "mine," "yours," "his," "hers," "its," "ours," and "theirs." In Sinhala, there are different ways to show possession, including using the possessive adjective "ගිණුම් වාචිකය" or adding the possessive ending "-ගෙන්."

Here are some examples showing the different ways to indicate possession:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මගේ	"mage"	"mine"
ඔබගේ	"obage"	"yours"
ඇයගේ	"aeyage"	"hers"
ඔහුගේ	"ohugae"	"his"
එයගේ	"eyagae"	"its"
අපේ	"ape"	"ours"
ඔව්ගේ	"ovgae"	"theirs"
ගිණුම් වාචිකය	"ginum vachikaya"	"possession adjective"
-ගෙන්	"-gen"	"possessive ending"

Here are some examples showing the different ways to indicate possession:

• Person 1: මගේ ප්‍රමාණය 23 ප්‍රමාණය ප්‍රමාණය 24 සමගියා. (Mage paramanaya 23 paramanaya 24 samagiya.) (My score is combined with 23 and 24.)
• Person 2: ඔබගේ පැතිකඩ මේ සඳහා ගෙන්නාවිට එය ගනී. (Obage patikada me sadahata genawit eya ganee.) (You can have it for this price since it's yours.)
• Person 1: ඇයගේ පුදුමවින් දැවැන්නේ කොහොමද? (Aeyage pudaumavina dawawanna kohomada?) (What does she do during her vacation?)

Final Thoughts

Congratulations! Now you know everything about the different types of pronouns in Sinhala. Practice using them in your daily conversations with native speakers. You can find them on Polyglot Club and ask them any questions. Also, visit the Sinhala Grammar page to learn more about Sinhala grammar in general. 🤓

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Sources

• Sinhala language
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