Language/Sinhala/Grammar/Verbs-and-Tenses

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Sinhala → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Verbs and Tenses

Welcome to this exciting lesson on Verbs and Tenses in Sinhala! Understanding verbs and tenses is crucial for expressing actions and events clearly in any language, including Sinhala. As you embark on this journey, you’ll discover how to convey what happened in the past, what is happening now, and what will happen in the future.

In this lesson, we will cover the following sections:

Importance of Verbs and Tenses in Sinhala

Verbs are the heart of any sentence, acting as the action or state of being. Tenses help us place those actions in time. In Sinhala, just like in English, using the correct tense is essential for clear communication. Whether you’re telling a friend about your day, describing an event, or planning for the future, knowing how to use verbs and their respective tenses will empower you to express yourself more fluently.

Structure of the Lesson

1. Introduction to Sinhala Verbs

2. Tenses Explained

• Present Tense

• Past Tense

• Future Tense

3. Examples of Verbs in Different Tenses

4. Practice Exercises

5. Solutions to Exercises

Introduction to Sinhala Verbs

Verbs in Sinhala are words that describe actions, conditions, or occurrences. They can indicate what someone is doing or what is happening around them. For beginners, it’s essential to learn some common verbs that you’ll use frequently in conversation.

Common Sinhala Verbs

Here’s a list of some common Sinhala verbs:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
කථා කළා	kathā kaḷā	spoke
යන්න	yanna	to go
ආවේ	āvē	came
බලන්න	balanna	to see
හොයාගන්න	hoyāganna	to find
සෙල්ලම් කරන්න	sellam karanna	to play
කන්න	kanna	to eat
පියවර	piyavara	to step
ඉන්න	inna	to be
හිතන්න	hitanna	to think

Tenses Explained

Tenses in Sinhala indicate the time of an action. There are three primary tenses we will focus on: Present, Past, and Future. Each tense has its own unique form and usage.

Present Tense

The present tense is used to describe actions happening now or general truths. In Sinhala, the present tense is often marked by specific verb endings.

Present Tense Structure

For most verbs, the present tense is formed by adding the suffix -යි (-yi) or -නවා (-navā) to the root verb.

Examples:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මම කතා කළා	mama kathā kaḷā	I speak
ඔහු යන්නේ	ohu yannē	He is going
අපි ආවේ	api āvē	We come
ඔබ බලනවා	oba balanavā	You see
ඔයා හොයාගන්නවා	oyā hoyāgannavā	You find

Past Tense

The past tense describes actions that have already happened. In Sinhala, the past tense can be formed by changing the verb ending.

Past Tense Structure

Past tense is typically formed by adding the suffix -ලා (-lā) or -නවා (-navā) to the root verb.

Examples:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මම කථා කළා	mama kathā kaḷā	I spoke
ඔහු ගියා	ohu giyā	He went
අපි ආවා	api āvā	We came
ඔබ බලලා	oba balalā	You saw
ඔයා හොයාගත්තා	oyā hoyāgatthā	You found

Future Tense

The future tense is used to express actions that will happen. It is formed by adding the suffix -න්නේ (-nnē) or -නවා (-navā) to the root verb.

Future Tense Structure

Examples:

Sinhala	Pronunciation	English
මම කථා කරන්නම්	mama kathā karannam	I will speak
ඔහු යනවා	ohu yānawā	He will go
අපි ආවන්නම්	api āvannam	We will come
ඔබ බලන්න	oba balanna	You will see
ඔයා හොයාගන්නවා	oyā hoyāgannavā	You will find

Examples of Verbs in Different Tenses

Let’s delve deeper into how verbs change according to the tense, using more examples:

Present Tense Examples

• I eat rice. (මම බත් කනවා || mama bath kanavā)

• She reads a book. (ඇය පොත කියනවා || æya potha kiyanavā)

• They play cricket. (ඔවුන් ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩා කරනවා || ovun krikaṭ krīḍā karanavā)

• We dance at the party. (අපි පක්ෂයේ නටනවා || api pakṣayē naṭanavā)

• You write a letter. (ඔබ ලිපිය ලියනවා || oba lipiya liyānawā)

Past Tense Examples

• I ate rice. (මම බත් කාලා || mama bath kālā)

• She read a book. (ඇය පොත කියලා || æya potha kiyalā)

• They played cricket. (ඔවුන් ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩා කළා || ovun krikaṭ krīḍā kaḷā)

• We danced at the party. (අපි පක්ෂයේ නටලා || api pakṣayē naṭalā)

• You wrote a letter. (ඔබ ලිපිය ලියා || oba lipiya liyā)

Future Tense Examples

• I will eat rice. (මම බත් කනවා || mama bath kanavā)

• She will read a book. (ඇය පොත කියනවා || æya potha kiyanavā)

• They will play cricket. (ඔවුන් ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩා කරනවා || ovun krikaṭ krīḍā karanavā)

• We will dance at the party. (අපි පක්ෂයේ නටනවා || api pakṣayē naṭanavā)

• You will write a letter. (ඔබ ලිපිය ලියනවා || oba lipiya liyānawā)

Practice Exercises

Now that we have explored the verbs and tenses thoroughly, it's your turn to practice! Here are some exercises to reinforce your learning:

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in parentheses.

1. මම (යන්න) ______.

2. ඇය (කියන්න) ______.

3. ඔවුන් (ඉන්න) ______.

4. අපි (ඉස්සර) ______.

5. ඔබ (කන්න) ______.

Exercise 2: Translate the Sentences

Translate the following sentences into Sinhala.

1. I will find a book.

2. They saw the movie.

3. She eats rice.

4. We went to the beach.

5. You will play cricket.

Exercise 3: Verb Tense Identification

Identify the tense of the following sentences.

1. මම පාසලට යනවා.

2. ඔහු කථා කළා.

3. අපි ගියා.

4. ඇය පොත කියනවා.

5. ඔවුන් ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩා කරනවා.

Exercise 4: Create Your Own Sentences

Using the verbs below, create sentences in different tenses.

1. (කන්න)

2. (යන්න)

3. (කථා කළා)

4. (ඉන්න)

5. (හිතන්න)

Exercise 5: Matching Exercise

Match the Sinhala sentences with their English translations.

1. මම කථා කරනවා.

2. ඔහු ගියා.

3. ඔබ බලනවා.

4. අපි ආවා.

5. ඔවුන් කෑවා.

A. You see.

B. They ate.

C. I am speaking.

D. He went.

E. We came.

Exercise 6: Verb Conjugation

Conjugate the verb "කන්න" (to eat) in all three tenses:

1. Present

2. Past

3. Future

Exercise 7: Change the Tense

Rewrite the following sentences in the past tense.

1. මම යනවා.

2. ඔබ බලනවා.

3. ඔහු හිතනවා.

4. අපි කතා කරනවා.

5. ඔවුන් සෙල්ලම් කරනවා.

Exercise 8: Sentence Correction

Correct the following sentences if they contain any mistakes.

1. ඔහු කථා කළා.

2. මම බලනවා.

3. අපි කන්න.

4. ඔබ යනවා.

5. ඔවුන් ආවා.

Exercise 9: Describe Your Day

Write a short paragraph about your day using at least five verbs in different tenses.

Exercise 10: Role Play

Pair up with a partner and create a dialogue using verbs in different tenses. One person describes their day, while the other asks questions.

Solutions to Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

1. මම (යන්න) යනවා.

2. ඇය (කියන්න) කියනවා.

3. ඔවුන් (ඉන්න) ඉන්නවා.

4. අපි (ඉස්සර) ගියෙමු.

5. ඔබ (කන්න) කනවා.

Exercise 2: Translate the Sentences

1. මම පොත හොයාගන්නවා.

2. ඔවුන් චිත්‍රපටය දැකලා.

3. ඇය බත් කනවා.

4. අපි මුහුදට ගියා.

5. ඔබ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩා කරන්නෙමු.

Exercise 3: Verb Tense Identification

1. Present

2. Past

3. Past

4. Present

5. Present

Exercise 4: Create Your Own Sentences

(Answers will vary. Here are examples.)

1. මම කන්න යනවා. (I will go to eat.)

2. ඇය යන්න යනවා. (She is going.)

3. ඔහු කථා කළා. (He spoke.)

4. අපි ඉන්නෙමු. (We are being.)

5. ඔවුන් හිතනවා. (They think.)

Exercise 5: Matching Exercise

1 - C

2 - D

3 - A

4 - E

5 - B

Exercise 6: Verb Conjugation

1. Present: කනවා (kanavā)

2. Past: කාලා (kālā)

3. Future: කන්නම් (kannam)

Exercise 7: Change the Tense

1. මම ගියෙමි.

2. ඔබ බලලා.

3. ඔහු හිතාගිය.

4. අපි කථා කළා.

5. ඔවුන් සෙල්ලම් කළා.

Exercise 8: Sentence Correction

(Answers will vary depending on the original sentences provided.)

Exercise 9: Describe Your Day

(Answers will vary. Student should construct a paragraph using verbs in different tenses.)

Exercise 10: Role Play

(Answers will vary. Student should engage in a dialogue using verbs from different tenses.)

Congratulations on completing the lesson on Verbs and Tenses in Sinhala! Remember, practice is key to mastering these concepts, so keep using verbs in different tenses as you continue your journey in learning Sinhala.

Table of Contents - Sinhala Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Unit 1: Introduction

• Greetings and Introductions
• Numbers and Counting

  ---

Unit 2: Basic Grammar

• Sinhala Alphabet
• Nouns and Pronouns
• Verbs and Tenses

  ---

Unit 3: Sinhala Culture

• Festivals and Celebrations
• Sinhala Cuisine

  ---

Unit 4: Daily Life

• Family and Relationships
• Transportation and Directions

  ---

Unit 5: Advanced Grammar

• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Conditional and Subjunctive
• Passive Voice

  ---

Unit 6: Sinhala Society

• Sinhala Folklore and Legends
• Traditional Arts and Crafts

  ---

Unit 7: Holidays and Travel

• Booking and Checking In
• Tourist Attractions and Activities

  ---

Unit 8: Conversational Sinhala

• Expressions and Idioms
• Sinhala Slang and Colloquialisms

  ---

Unit 9: Sinhala History

• Ancient Civilization of Sri Lanka
• European Colonization and Independence

  ---

Unit 10: Proficiency Test Preparation

• Listening and Reading Comprehension
• Speaking and Writing Production

Sources

• Sinhala Lessons - present and past tense verbs
• (PDF) English Grammar In Sinhala

Other Lessons

• How to Use Be
• Sinhala Slang and Colloquialisms
• Pronouns
• Give your Opinion
• Future Tense
• Sinhala Alphabet
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• How to Use Have
• Adjectives
• 0 to A1 Course

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