Language/Amharic/Grammar/Verbs-and-Tenses
Introduction
In this lesson, we will cover the basic structure of Amharic sentences and focus specifically on verbs and tenses. Verbs are an integral part of Amharic grammar as they are used to express actions, states, and events in a sentence. Understanding basic sentence structure and verb conjugation is essential to communicate effectively in Amharic.
Verbs
In Amharic, a verb is a word that signifies an action, occurrence, or state of being. Verbs are conjugated according to different tenses, persons, and numbers to agree with the subject of the sentence.
Conjugation of Verbs
Amharic verbs are conjugated in three tenses: present, past, and future, along with imperative and participle forms.
To form the present tense, you use the root of the verb and add different suffixes for each person or number. Here are the present tense suffixes for each person and number:
| Person/Number | Suffix |
|---|---|
| I | -ነ (-nä) |
| You (singular) (M) | -ህ (-h) |
| You (singular) (F) | -ህልዋን (-hälwan) |
| He/She/It | -ን (-än) |
| We | -ኒህ (-nih) |
| You (plural) (M) | -ዎች (-woch) |
| You (plural) (F) | -ኔት (-nät) |
| They | -ውህ (-wäh) |
For example, here's how you conjugate the verb "to write" in the present tense:
- I write - ግዕዝነት ነትህለኛለሁ (g'eezenä näthelägälluh)
- You write (M) - ግዕዝነት አህለ (g'eezenä ahlä)
- You write (F) - ግዕዝነት አህልዋን (g'eezenä ahlwan)
- He/She/It writes - ግዕዝነት ነትህል (g'eezenä näthel)
- We write - ግዕዝነት ነትህን (g'eezenä näthennih)
- You write (plural, M) - ግዕዝነት አይደሉም (g'eezenä ayyedelum)
- You write (plural, F) - ግዕዝነት አይደላሉም (g'eezenä ayyedelalum)
- They write - ግዕዝነት እሳትያለሁ(g'eezenä isattyälähu)
To form the past tense, you add different suffixes to the root of the verb. Here are the past tense suffixes for each person and number:
| Person/Number | Suffix |
|---|---|
| I | -።፥ (-'əš) |
| You (singular) (M) | -ልህ (-läh) |
| You (singular) (F) | -ልዋን (-lwan) |
| He/She/It | -፥ (-'u) or -፥ም (-'um) |
| We | -ን (-än) |
| You (plural) (M) | -ችህ (-chih) |
| You(plural) (F) | -ድህስ (-dihis) |
| They | -፥ህ (-'äh) or -፥ሉ (-'alu) |
For example, here's how you conjugate the verb "to write" in the past tense:
- I wrote - ግዕዝነት ነገረህ (g'eezenä nägärehä)
- You wrote (M) - ግዕዝነት አልተወደልህ (g'eezenä altewededaläh)
- You wrote (F) - ግዕዝነት አልተወደልዋን (g'eezenä altewededälwan)
- He/She/It wrote - ግዕዝነት ነገረ (g'eezenä nägärä)
- We wrote - ግዕዝነት ነግስትህያን (g'eezenä nägästehyan)
- You wrote (plural, M) - ግዕዝነት አይተሉም (g'eezenä ayyetelum)
- You wrote (plural, F) - ግዕዝነት አይተላሉም (g'eezenä ayyetalalum)
- They wrote - ግዕዝነት ከለዳውስ (g'eezenä kelladawas)
The future tense is formed by adding the prefix -አ before the root of the verb. Here's how the future tense of "to write" is formed:
- I will write - ነገረህ ግዕዝነት እንዳለው (nägärehä g'eezenä endälläwu)
- You will write (M) - አልተወደልህ ግዕዝነት እንዳልሰራልህ (altewededaläh g'eezenä endälläseraläh)
- You will write (F) - አልተወደልዋን ግዕዝነት እንዳልሰራልህ (altewededälwan g'eezenä endälläseraläh)
- He/She/It will write - ነገራችን ግዕዝነት እንዳሉህ (nägärachin g'eezenä endälläluh)
- We will write - እኛም ግዕዝነት እንዳለው (enämm g'eezenä endälläwu)
- You will write (plural, M) - አይተሉም ግዕዝነት እንዳሉህ (ayyetalum g'eezenä endälläluh)
- You will write (plural, F) - አይተላሉም ግዕዝነት እንዳሉህ (ayyetalalum g'eezenä endälläluh)
- They will write - ከለዳውስ ግዕዝነት እንዳሉህ (kelladawas g'eezenä endälläluh)
The imperative form is used to give commands or make requests. To form the imperative form, you simply use the second-person singular or plural without any suffixes. For example, "Write!" translates to ግዕዝነት (g'eezenä) in the imperative form.
The participle form is used to express ongoing or completed actions. In Amharic, the participle is formed by adding the suffix -ት (-et) to the root of the verb. Here's an example of using the participle form in a sentence:
- የግዕዝነት አባላት ድምጾት ተደርገዋል (yeg'eezenä abalat dimijot tedergäräwal) - "The writing children are practicing handwriting"
Strong and Weak Verbs
Amharic verbs are classified into two categories: strong and weak verbs. Strong verbs are those that undergo a change in the root when conjugated or formed into participle or imperative forms. Weak verbs, on the other hand, do not undergo any changes and follow a regular conjugation pattern.
Here are a few examples of strong and weak verbs in Amharic:
Strong Verbs
| Amharic | Pronunciation | English | | ------ | ------------ | ------- | |ጠር
Videos
Learn Amharic: Grammar - Present Continuous Verbs - YouTube