Language/Amharic/Grammar/Future-Tense

Amharic Grammar - Future Tense

Hi Amharic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be focusing on the future tense in Amharic Grammar. This tense is used to describe events that will occur in the future. We will cover the formation of the future tense, as well as some examples to help you understand how to use it. By the end of the lesson, you will be able to form and use the future tense correctly in your Amharic sentences.

Consider exploring these related pages after completing this lesson: Noun Gender and Articles & Making Suggestions Using “Let”.

Formation of the Future Tense

To form the future tense in Amharic, you need to use a prefix followed by the present tense of the verb. The prefix varies depending on the subject of the sentence. Here is a table to help you understand the prefixes:

Subject	Prefix
I	እኔ (ene-)
You (singular)	አንተ (ante-)
He/She/It	እሳት (esat-)
We	እኛ (en-)
You (plural)	እምነት (emenit-)
They	እነሱ (enisu-)

After you have added the appropriate prefix, you then add the present tense form of the verb. For example:

• እኔ የሞተው ይቆይታል (ene yemotew yikoyetal) - I will study.
• አንተ የሞተው ይቆይታል (ante yemotew yikoyetal) - You will study.
• እሳት የሞተው ይቆይታል (esat yemotew yikoyetal) - He/She/It will study.
• እኛ የሞተው ይቆይታል (en yemotew yikoyetal) - We will study.
• እምነት የሞተው ይቆይታል (emenit yemotew yikoyetal) - You all will study.
• እነሱ የሞተው ይቆይታል (enisu yemotew yikoyetal) - They will study.

As you can see, the prefix changes depending on the subject of the sentence, but the present tense form of the verb remains the same.

Examples

Let's take a look at some examples to help you understand how to use the future tense in Amharic:

• አልተገኘም (alitagenem) - He will win.
• ይህን ጥሩ ነገር ስላላወቀ (yihin t’iru negar salalaweqe) - They will be glad to hear this news.
• መጫን አይችሉም (mechan ayechilum) - We will not be late.
• የተዋህዶ ትርጉሞ እየጠበቀ ነው (yewahado t’rgumo yeyetebekew new) - She seems excited about the interview.
• መልካም ምርጥ አድራሻዎች አሉ (melkam meret ‘adrashawoch alu) - The best restaurants exist.

In the examples above, we can see how the different prefixes are used with the present tense of the verb to form the future tense in Amharic.

Culture and Interesting Facts

Amharic is one of the most widely spoken languages in Ethiopia and is the second most spoken Semitic language in the world after Arabic. The language has its roots in the ancient Ethiopian script, which dates back to about the 3rd century BC.

The future tense in Amharic is not as commonly used as in other languages. Instead, Amharic speakers often use the present tense to talk about future events. For example, instead of saying "I will go to the shop tomorrow," an Amharic speaker might say "I go to the shop tomorrow."

If you want to improve your Amharic Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Dialogue

• Person 1: የትምህርት ቤት ገና ስለበለው ነው (yetimihirte bet gena selbelewe new) - They said that the school will reopen soon.
• Person 2: እኛም ማግኝተዋል ምን እናትህ? (enam megnitetewal mene enatih?) - What about your mother, did we ask her?
• Person 1: አውቄ ስቀለው (aweke skelalwe) - Yes, we did.

In the dialogue above, we can see how the future tense is used to indicate a future event (the school reopening), while the present tense is used to indicate a previous conversation (asking about Person 2's mother).

Conclusion

In this lesson, we have covered the basics of forming and using the future tense in Amharic Grammar. Remember to use the appropriate prefixes, followed by the present tense of the verb to form the future tense correctly. You may want to practice forming sentences using the examples above to get a better grasp of how the future tense is used in Amharic.

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Amharic Grammar - The Present Future Tense
• Amharic Verb Conjugation: Present/Future Tense - avagu press
• Amharic Grammar - Definite direct objects in the present and future ...

Other Lessons

• bästä prefix
• Negation
• The Past and Present Continuous Tenses
• Personal pronouns
• The Present Future Tense
• Questions
• Making Suggestions Using “Let”
• Pronouns
• Definite direct objects in the present and future tense