Language/Tigrinya/Grammar/Personal-Pronouns

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Tigrinya → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Personal Pronouns

Welcome to today's lesson on Personal Pronouns in Tigrinya! Understanding personal pronouns is crucial for building sentences and expressing ideas clearly. Whether you want to talk about yourself, someone else, or a group of people, personal pronouns are the backbone of your communication.

In this lesson, we will cover:

• The different personal pronouns in Tigrinya.

• How to use them in sentences.

• Common mistakes to avoid.

• A variety of examples to help you grasp their usage.

• Exercises to practice what you've learned.

By the end of this lesson, you will feel more confident in using personal pronouns in Tigrinya. So, let's dive in!

Understanding Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are words that replace nouns and refer to specific people or things. In Tigrinya, just like in English, they help us avoid repetition and make our conversations flow more naturally. Below, we will explore the personal pronouns used in Tigrinya, their forms, and how they fit within sentences.

Tigrinya Personal Pronouns

In Tigrinya, personal pronouns can be categorized into singular and plural forms. Here’s a breakdown:

Singular Personal Pronouns

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
እወ	ʔəwe	I
ንስኻ	nɨsɨkʰa	You (singular, masculine)
ንስኹ	nɨsɨkʰu	You (singular, feminine)
ንዑ	nɨʕu	He
ንሳ	nɨsa	She

Plural Personal Pronouns

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
ንሕና	nɨhɨna	We
ንስኻ	nɨsɨkʰa	You (plural)
ንሕዝ	nɨhɨz	They (masculine)
ንሕየ	nɨhɨya	They (feminine)

Using Personal Pronouns in Sentences

Now that we have the forms of personal pronouns, let's see how to use them in sentences. In Tigrinya, the basic structure of a sentence typically follows the order of Subject-Verb-Object. Here are examples of how personal pronouns fit into sentences:

Examples with Singular Pronouns

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
እወ ንዓይ ኢና	ʔəwe nɨʕay ʔina	I am happy.
ንስኻ ደዊ ኢና	nɨsɨkʰa dɛwi ʔina	You (masculine) are my friend.
ንስኹ ግብረ ኢና	nɨsɨkʰu gɨbɨrə ʔina	You (feminine) are beautiful.
ንዑ መላእት ኢና	nɨʕu mɨlʔat ʔina	He is a teacher.
ንሳ ኣመሪካ ኢና	nɨsa ʔamɛrika ʔina	She is from America.

Examples with Plural Pronouns

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
ንሕና ንዓይ ኢና	nɨhɨna nɨʕay ʔina	We are happy.
ንስኻ ደዊ ኢና	nɨsɨkʰa dɛwi ʔina	You (plural) are great.
ንሕዝ መላእት ኢና	nɨhɨz mɨlʔat ʔina	They (masculine) are teachers.
ንሕየ ግብረ ኢና	nɨhɨya gɨbɨrə ʔina	They (feminine) are beautiful.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

As with any language, learners often make common mistakes when using personal pronouns. Here are some tips to avoid these pitfalls:

• Gender agreement: Make sure to use the correct pronoun based on gender when addressing someone.

• Plural forms: Remember that the plural form of "you" in Tigrinya is the same for both masculine and feminine.

• Context: Always consider the context in which you are speaking. The use of personal pronouns can change based on familiarity and respect.

Practice Makes Perfect

Now that you have a solid understanding of personal pronouns in Tigrinya, it’s time to put your knowledge to the test! Here are some exercises designed to reinforce what you’ve learned.

Exercises

1. Translate the following sentences into Tigrinya:

• I am a student.

• You (feminine) are my friend.

• He is my brother.

2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate personal pronoun:

• _____ ንዓይ ኢና (I)

• _____ ደዊ ኢና (You, plural)

• _____ መላእት ኢና (They, masculine)

3. Identify the errors in the following sentences and correct them:

• ንስኻ መላእት ኢና (You, masculine are a teacher)

• እወ ግብረ ኢና (I am beautiful)

4. Create 5 sentences using different personal pronouns.

5. Match the Tigrinya personal pronouns with their English counterparts:

• ንሕዝ

• ንሳ

• እወ

• ንሕና

• ንስኻ

6. Write a short paragraph introducing yourself in Tigrinya using personal pronouns.

7. Choose the correct personal pronoun:

• _____ ኢና ደዊ (I/You, masculine)

• _____ ኢና ግብረ (You, plural/They, feminine)

8. Circle the personal pronouns in the following sentences:

• ንሕና እንዳይ እወ ደዊ ኢና

• ንሕዝ ወይን ንስኻ ተንእሰምት ኢና

9. Translate the following sentences into English:

• ንሕና ኣመሪካ ኢና

• እወ ደዊ ምትካ ኢና

10. Construct sentences using the personal pronouns as subjects.

Solutions and Explanations

1.

• እወ ተማሃሪ ኢና (I am a student.)

• ንስኹ ደዊ ኢና (You (feminine) are my friend.)

• ንዑ ንምሕር ኢና (He is my brother.)

2.

• እወ ንዓይ ኢና (I)

• ንስኻ ደዊ ኢና (You, plural)

• ንሕዝ መላእት ኢና (They, masculine)

3.

• Corrected: ንስኹ መላእት ኢና (You, feminine are a teacher.)

• Corrected: እወ ግብረ ኢና (I am beautiful.)

4.

• Example sentences:

• እወ ኣይ ኢና (I am.)

• ንስኻ ንዓይ ኢና (You are happy.)

• ንሕና እንዳይ ኢና (We are here.)

• ንዑ ደዊ ኢና (He is my friend.)

• ንሳ ከም እወ ኢና (She is like me.)

5.

• ንሕዝ - They (masculine)

• ንሳ - She

• እወ - I

• ንሕና - We

• ንስኻ - You (singular, masculine)

6.

• Example: እወ ንስኻ ደዊ ኢና. እወ ዝንቀ ኢና ወይን እወ ከም አወት ኢና.

7.

• እወ ኢና ደዊ (I)

• ንሕዝ ኢና ግብረ (They, feminine)

8.

• Personal pronouns identified would be: ንሕና (We), እወ (I).

9.

• ንሕና ኣመሪካ ኢና (We are from America.)

• እወ ደዊ ምትካ ኢና (I am happy.)

10.

• Example sentences could include sentences from the above examples or new constructions.

Congratulations on completing the lesson on personal pronouns! Remember, practice is key to mastering Tigrinya. Keep using these pronouns in your daily conversations, and you'll soon find yourself speaking more fluently.

Table of Contents - Tigrinya Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• Tigrinya Alphabet
• Pronunciation Rules

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-10
• Telling Time

  ---

Basic Sentence Structure

• Subject-Verb-Object
• Negation

  ---

Common Verbs and Actions

• Basic Verbs
• Everyday Actions

  ---

Asking Questions

• Question Words
• Yes/No Questions

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods
• Dining Phrases

  ---

Tigrinya Culture and Traditions

• Important Holidays
• Traditional Clothing

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Noun Gender and Plurality
• Personal Pronouns

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationship Terms

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Adverbs of Time, Place, and Manner

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Geography and History

• Geography of Eritrea and Ethiopia
• Historical Overview

Sources

• Tigrinya grammar - Wikipedia
• Tigrinya Grammar - Pronouns
• Tigrinya Grammar - Pronouns - Personal Pronouns

Other Lessons

• Tigrinya Alphabet
• Adjectives
• How to Use Be
• Conditional Mood
• Subject Verb Object
• Descriptive Adjectives
• Future Tense
• Pronouns
• Noun Gender and Plurality

◀️ Noun Gender and Plurality — Previous Lesson

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