Language/Sinhala/Grammar/Passive-Voice
In this lesson, we will learn how to use the passive voice in Sinhala. The passive voice is used to talk about actions or events without mentioning who does or did them. It is a useful tool in both spoken and written Sinhala, and can help you communicate more effectively.
What is the Passive Voice?
The passive voice is a way of constructing a sentence where the subject receives the action of the verb, rather than performing the action itself. In active voice, the subject is the one performing the action of the verb, while in passive voice, the subject is the one receiving the action of the verb. For example:
Active voice: The boy kicked the ball. Passive voice: The ball was kicked by the boy.
In the passive sentence, the ball is the subject and it receives the action of the verb "kicked." Notice how the subject and object switch places in the passive sentence.
How to Form the Passive Voice
To form the passive voice in Sinhala, you need to follow a particular structure. First, use the word "දැන්" (den) meaning "by" or "through," followed by the agent (the person or thing that performs the action). Then, use the verb in the past participle form and add the correct form of the verb "අලුත් කරනවා" (aluth karanava) meaning "to be done." Here's an example:
මම ගෙදර ඇත්තා. (mama gedara eththa) "I am at home."
Now, let's change this sentence to passive voice:
ගෙදරට දැන් මම එකතු වූයේ. (gedarat den mama ekathu wuee) "I was brought home by me."
Notice how the subject and object of the sentence have switched places in the passive sentence, and the word "දැන්" (den) has been added to indicate the agent who performed the action.
Here's a table with some more examples:
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| කාර්යාලයේ ස්ථානය තුළ පොත් දැකීම සහ ප්‍රතිශතයක් දෙන ලදී. (karayalaye sthanaya thula poth dakimi saha prathishthayak den ladhi)
"The exhibition displayed books and sculptures." |
පොත් සහ ප්‍රතිශතයන් දැකීම කාර්යාලයේ ස්ථානයේ මම් පෙර දැක්වෙන ඇයවැති විට පවස් හිට ඇත්තේ. (poth saha prathishthayak dakimi karayalaye sthanayata mama pera dakwena ayawithi watin pawas hita etha)
"Books and sculptures were displayed in the exhibition by me." |
| මම කොන්ඩයේ ඇතිවුණා. (mama kondaye ethiwanawa)
"I came to the corner." |
කොන්ඩයට දැන් මම එකතු වුනේ. (kondat den mama ekathu wunee)
"I was brought to the corner by me." |
| මේ පොත කියවන්නේ කුමක්ද? (me potha kiyawanna kumakda?)
"What is this book about?" |
මේ පොත කියවන්නේ කුමක්වත් දැයි අපි කියා. (me potha kiyawanna kumak wath ayapai kiya)
"This book is said to be about something by us." |
When to Use the Passive Voice
There are several situations where the passive voice is commonly used in Sinhala:
- To put emphasis on the object being acted upon rather than the subject of the sentence. Example: රෝහල විසින් ප්‍රවාහන යන්න මුල දීර්ඝ කරන ලදී. (rohala visin perevanin muladirajak karan ladyee) "The hospital was destroyed by an earthquake."
- To avoid mentioning the subject, where the subject is obvious or irrelevant. Example: මේ විදේශයේ වම් පොළොව මිලවිය යුත්තේ. (me widekhayen van polowa milawiyatti yuththayi) "The left lane of this road must be kept clear."
- In formal or academic writing, to sound more objective. Example: අස්වැනි ප්‍රමාණයේ දුම්රියතම මගට දැනුම් දීවන්නේ මුල් සියයකි. (asweni pramanayen dumaritama magat denum divenna muul siyakki) "What I have learned about the dwarf planet is just a beginning."
Exercises
- Change the following sentences into passive voice:
- මම ඒ කොටසට නැති උපරිම පෙරේරාව ලිව්වා.
- අස්වැනි කොටස් ඉදිරි කර ඇතිවුණා.
- ඔවුන් මම කාන්තාවකට යන්නෙ නැතිවූ කාර්යයක් කරන ලදී.
- චිත්‍රපටයක් දක්වන්නේ අදත් දවස දිනයේ.
- මගේ ගෙදර පිහිටුවේ නියෝජ්‍ය තියෙනවා.
- Translate the following sentences into Sinhala:
- The cats are being fed by the old lady.
- The trees have been planted by the children.
- The birthday cake was baked by my sister.
- The letter will be posted by me tomorrow.
- The movie has been watched by everyone in the theater.
Congratulations, you've learned how to use the passive voice in Sinhala! Keep practicing and incorporating this grammar structure into your conversations and writing to express yourself more clearly and effectively.