Language/Sinhala/Grammar/Verbs-and-Tenses
As a Sinhala language teacher, I have been teaching Sinhala for 20 years, and I have learned that learning a new language can be challenging, but it can also be an extremely rewarding experience. In this lesson, we will be learning about verbs and tenses to express past, present, and future actions and events in Sinhala.
Verbs
A verb is a word that describes an action or occurrence, such as run, walk, eat, or talk. In Sinhala, a verb changes form depending on the tense (past, present, or future) and the subject (I, you, he/she, we, or they).
Sinhala verbs are usually divided into two categories: standard verbs and non-standard verbs. Standard verbs follow a predictable pattern for verb tense changes, while non-standard verbs do not.
Standard Verbs
The most common Sinhala verb tenses are:
- Present tense - indicates actions or events happening now
- Past tense - indicates actions or events in the past
- Future tense - indicates actions or events that will happen in the future
Here is an example of how a standard verb changes depending on tense and subject:
| Sinhala | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| කියන්න (kiyannə) | kee-yannä | I say |
| කියයි (kiyaayi) | kee-yah-yi | You say |
| කියලා (kiyalaa) | kee-yah-laa | He/She says |
| කියෙ (kiyé) | kee-yé | We say |
| කියන්නේ (kiyanné) | kee-yanné | They say |
As you can see, the verb stem "kiyan" remains constant, and only the ending changes depending on tense and subject. For example, "kiyannə" means "I say," while "kiyaayi" means "you say."
To form the present tense, we use the basic verb stem, while the past and future tenses both require additional endings. Here are some examples:
| Sinhala | Present tense | Past tense | Future tense |
|---|---|---|---|
| කරනවා (karənawaa) | I do | කරාවී (karawaayi) | කරනවාද? (karənawaada?) Will I do? |
| හරිමටත් (hari-mattə) | We like | හරිමු (hari-muu) | හරිමටත්ද? (hari-mattada?) Will we like? |
| යවන්නෙ (yavaanɛ́) | They give | දෙනවා (dənavaa) | යවන්නෙද? (yavaanɛ̀da?) Will they give? |
Non-Standard Verbs
Non-standard verbs, also known as irregular verbs, do not follow the same predictable pattern as standard verbs. They must be memorized individually. Here are a few examples:
| Sinhala | Present tense | Past tense | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| මිලදී (milədi) | I come | මිලියම් (miliyam) | Came |
| ඔබ කතා කරමු (obə kathaa karamu) | You speak | ඔබ කතා කළා (obə kathaa kəlaa) | Spoke |
| ඔහු යවනවා (ohu yavaanawaa) | He gives | ඔහු යවී (ohu yavaayi) | Gave |
Tenses
In Sinhala, tense is the grammatical category that signals the time of an action or event. There are three main tenses: past, present, and future.
Present Tense
The present tense is used to describe present actions or ongoing events happening right now. In Sinhala, the present tense is formed by using the verb stem.
Here are some examples:
- මම පැන ගත්තා (mama pæna gaththa) - I am studying
- අපි කොටස් දෙනවා (api kotəs dənavaa) - We give lessons
- ඇය කරලා තවත් කතාකරනවා (aayi karalaa thawath kathàkarənawaa) - She is talking about something else
Past Tense
The past tense is used to describe actions or events that happened in the past. In Sinhala, the past tense is formed by adding "-ා" (-aa) or "-කා" (-kaa) to the verb stem, depending on the verb type.
Here are some examples:
- මම පැන ගත්තාව (mama pæna gaththawaa) - I studied
- අපි කොටස් දෙනවාව (api kotəs dənavaa) - We gave lessons
- ඇය කරලා කතා කරනවාව (aayi karalaa kathaa karənavaa) - She talked
Future Tense
The future tense is used to describe actions or events that will happen in the future. In Sinhala, the future tense is formed by adding "-දෙනවා" (-dənavaa) to the verb stem.
Here are some examples:
- මම පැන ගත්තවාද? (mama pæna gaththavaada?) - Will I study?
- ඔබ කොටස් දෙනවාද? (obə kotəs dənavaa-da?) - Will you give lessons?
- ඇය කරනවාද? (aayi karənavaa-da?) - Will she talk?
Conclusion
Learning verbs and tenses is essential to communicating effectively in any language. In this lesson, we explored the basics of verb conjugation in Sinhala, including standard and non-standard verbs, and the formation of past, present, and future tenses. Keep practicing, and you will soon be able to express yourself in Sinhala with confidence!
Related 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
Sources