Difference between revisions of "Language/Amharic/Grammar/Gender"

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<span link>With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: [[Language/Amharic/Grammar/Pronouns-and-Greetings|Pronouns and Greetings]] & [[Language/Amharic/Grammar/Simple-Gerundive|Simple Gerundive]].</span>  
<span link>With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: [[Language/Amharic/Grammar/Pronouns-and-Greetings|Pronouns and Greetings]] & [[Language/Amharic/Grammar/Simple-Gerundive|Simple Gerundive]].</span>  
== Introduction to Gender ==
== Introduction to Gender ==


In Amharic, nouns belong to one of two genders: masculine or feminine. Unlike many languages that assign gender based on the biological sex of an object, Amharic gender assignment is mostly arbitrary. There are some general themes like feminine endings often being -it or -et and masculine nouns being a syllabic version of it or et, but it is important to remember that there are many exceptions.
In Amharic, nouns are classified as either masculine or feminine. This classification often doesn't correlate with the biological sex of the object. While there are tendencies, such as feminine nouns often ending in -it or -et and masculine nouns sometimes being a variation of these endings, there are numerous exceptions.


The gender of a noun has many implications. For example, the pronouns that a noun can take are dependent on the gender. Additionally, the form and conjugation of verbs change depending on the gender of the subject. Pronouns, adjectives, and articles also change based on gender.  
The gender of a noun affects several aspects of grammar, including pronouns, verb conjugations, adjectives, and articles. These elements change to match the gender of the nouns they refer to.
 
Let's go deeper into the two genders:


=== Masculine ===
=== Masculine ===


Masculine nouns make use of the prefix የ- (ye-) before the noun. For example, the word for "boy" in Amharic is "ወንድ" (wänd), so "a boy" would be "የወንድ" (yewänd). Here are some more examples:
For masculine nouns, there isn't a specific prefix that is consistently used like "የ-" (ye-). The gender is inherent in the noun itself. For example, "ወንድ" (wänd), meaning "man" or "boy," is inherently masculine. Here are some more examples:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Amharic !! Pronunciation !! English
! Amharic !! Pronunciation !! English
|-
|-
| የጉድጓድ || yegudugud || a mountain
| ተራራ || terara || mountain
|-
|-
| የአልማዝ || yalamaz || a pencil
| ቅርፅ || qərəṣə || pencil
|-
|-
| የሚካኤል || yemikael || a name
| ሚካኤል || mikael || a name (Michael)
|}
|}


=== Feminine ===
=== Feminine ===


Feminine nouns, on the other hand, use the suffix -ች (-chə) at the end of the noun. For example, the word for "girl" in Amharic is "ልጅ" (lij), so "a girl" would be "ልጅች" (lijchə). Here are some more examples:
Feminine nouns don't typically use a suffix like -ች (-chə). Instead, their gender is also inherent. For instance, "ልጅ" (lij), meaning "child," can be feminine based on context, but it's not gender-specific in its base form. Example:


You may have noticed that some of these nouns break the pattern we discussed earlier. For instance, Beteseb ends with -eb but is feminine, while Lij ends with a consonant but is feminine. This is where learning nouns' gender can become tricky, but don't worry too much about getting it perfect right now.
{| class="wikitable"
! Amharic !! Pronunciation !! English
|-
| ቤት || bet || house
|-
| ማኅበረሰብ || maḥbäresäb || community
|}


== Use of Gender in Grammar ==
== Use of Gender in Grammar ==
Now that we've covered the basics of gender, let's talk about how it is implemented in Amharic grammar.


=== Pronouns ===
=== Pronouns ===


Just like in English, Amharic has gender-specific pronouns. Here are the basic subject pronouns in Amharic:
Amharic has gender-specific pronouns similar to English. Here are the basic subject pronouns:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Subject Pronoun !! Masculine Gender !! Feminine Gender
! Subject Pronoun !! Masculine Gender !! Feminine Gender
|-
|-
| I(sigular) || እኔ (enə) || እኔ (enə)
| I (singular) || እኔ (əne) || እኔ (əne)
|-
|-
| You (singular) || አንቺ (antchi) || አንቺ (antchi)
| You (singular) || አንተ (antä) || አንቺ (anchi)
|-
|-
| He/She/It || እሱ/እሷ || እሱ/እሷ
| He/She || እሱ (əsu) || እሷ (əşwa)
|-
|-
| We || እኛ (eña) || እኛ (eña)
| We || እኛ (əñña) || እኛ (əñña)
|-
|-
| You (plural) || እናንተ || እናንተ (enantə)
| You (plural) || እናንተ (ənäntä) || እናንተ (ənäntä)
|-
|-
| They || እነሱ (enǝsu) || እነሱ (enəsu)
| They || እነሱ (ənäsu) || እነሱ (ənäsu)
|}
|}
As you can see, the pronouns for he/she/it, we, and they are dependent on the gender of the noun in question.


=== Adjectives ===
=== Adjectives ===


Adjectives in Amharic are  gender-specific: they change depending on the gender of the noun they are describing. Here's an example:
Adjectives in Amharic change form based on the gender of the noun they describe. For example:


* ትንሽ (tenṧ) - "small(masculine)"
* ትንሽ (tinəš) - "small" for masculine nouns
* ትንሿ (tenṧwa) - " the small '(feminne)
* ትንሻ (tinəša) - "small" for feminine nouns


=== Verbs ===
=== Verbs ===


Verbs in Amharic are also gender-sensitive. Depending on the gender of the subject, a verb may have a slightly different conjugation.  
Verb conjugations in Amharic are influenced by the gender of the subject. For example:
 
Let's take the verb "to dance" in its present perfect form as an example:
 
* መዝነው የሚያሳያችሁ (meznew yemiyasayachihu) - "They (feminine) have been dancing"
* መዘነቱ የሚያሳያችሁ (mezinetu yemiyasayachihu) - "They (masculine) have been dancing"


Notice how the only difference between the two sentences is the gender-specific pronoun? Yet, the verb "yemiyasayachihu" changes slightly to reflect the gender of the subject.
* እንደሚያዝኑ (əndämiyazənu) - "they (masculine) dance"
* እንደሚያዝና (əndämiyazəna) - "they (feminine) dance"


=== Articles ===
=== Articles ===


Amharic uses gender-specific articles as well. Here they are:
Amharic doesn't use articles in the same way as English. The concept of definite and indefinite articles doesn't directly translate. However, there are demonstrative pronouns that act similarly to articles, and these can change based on gender. For example:
 
{| class="wikitable"
! Article !! Masculine Gender !! Feminine Gender
|-
| A || አምስት (amist) || አራት (arat)
|-
| The || የ (ye) || ተመርጠሪ (temertəri)
|}
 
For example, "the boy" would be "yewänd" and "the girl" would be "lijchə."
 
== Examples in Dialogue ==
 
Person 1: ኢትዮጵያ በዓለም አቀፍ የሆነ ወንድ ነው. (Itiopia ba'aläm ak'if yehone wänd new.) ("Ethiopia is a country with a large population of boys.")
 
Person 2: የባቢሎን ማስታወሻ ድርሻለሁ. (Yäbälon mastaweshadaräshalähun.) ("I'm sending a postcard from Barcelona.")


Person 1: ቀይ ጊዜ ነው. ልክ ተባረክላቸው. (Keye gize new. Lek təbaräklalachu.) ("It's a beautiful time of year. Enjoy it.")
* ያለው (yaläw) - "the" for masculine nouns
* ያለችው (yaläčč̣w) - "the" for feminine nouns


Person 2: ቤተሰብዎ ድረ ገፅ እንዲህ ይላሉ። (Betesebwo dər gasəndihǝ yilaluh.) ("Your church has an interesting history.")
For instance, "the boy" would simply be "ወንድ" (wänd) with context providing definiteness, and "the girl" could be "ልጅ" (lij), again based on  context.


Person 1: ከመስመር ትንሽ ነው ያለው ልጅ. (Kämesmer tənəš new yaləwu lij.) ("The child is shy to strangers.")


Person 2: የጀርመን ቤተመንገድ ብርሃን ነው. (YeJirmen Betämeneged birhan new.) ("Girmen's church is expensive.")


== Practice Makes Perfect ==
== Practice Makes Perfect ==

Revision as of 23:38, 23 January 2024

Amharic-Language-PolyglotClub.png
Amharic Grammar - Gender

Hi Amharic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be discussing one of the fundamental aspects of Amharic grammar - gender. As you may already know, gender is present in many languages, including English, where we have masculine and feminine pronouns. In Amharic, the idea of gender goes beyond just pronouns and permeates all aspects of the language. But don't worry, we'll break it down and make it easy to understand!


With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Pronouns and Greetings & Simple Gerundive.

Introduction to Gender

In Amharic, nouns are classified as either masculine or feminine. This classification often doesn't correlate with the biological sex of the object. While there are tendencies, such as feminine nouns often ending in -it or -et and masculine nouns sometimes being a variation of these endings, there are numerous exceptions.

The gender of a noun affects several aspects of grammar, including pronouns, verb conjugations, adjectives, and articles. These elements change to match the gender of the nouns they refer to.

Masculine

For masculine nouns, there isn't a specific prefix that is consistently used like "የ-" (ye-). The gender is inherent in the noun itself. For example, "ወንድ" (wänd), meaning "man" or "boy," is inherently masculine. Here are some more examples:

Amharic Pronunciation English
ተራራ terara mountain
ቅርፅ qərəṣə pencil
ሚካኤል mikael a name (Michael)

Feminine

Feminine nouns don't typically use a suffix like -ች (-chə). Instead, their gender is also inherent. For instance, "ልጅ" (lij), meaning "child," can be feminine based on context, but it's not gender-specific in its base form. Example:

Amharic Pronunciation English
ቤት bet house
ማኅበረሰብ maḥbäresäb community

Use of Gender in Grammar

Pronouns

Amharic has gender-specific pronouns similar to English. Here are the basic subject pronouns:

Subject Pronoun Masculine Gender Feminine Gender
I (singular) እኔ (əne) እኔ (əne)
You (singular) አንተ (antä) አንቺ (anchi)
He/She እሱ (əsu) እሷ (əşwa)
We እኛ (əñña) እኛ (əñña)
You (plural) እናንተ (ənäntä) እናንተ (ənäntä)
They እነሱ (ənäsu) እነሱ (ənäsu)

Adjectives

Adjectives in Amharic change form based on the gender of the noun they describe. For example:

  • ትንሽ (tinəš) - "small" for masculine nouns
  • ትንሻ (tinəša) - "small" for feminine nouns

Verbs

Verb conjugations in Amharic are influenced by the gender of the subject. For example:

  • እንደሚያዝኑ (əndämiyazənu) - "they (masculine) dance"
  • እንደሚያዝና (əndämiyazəna) - "they (feminine) dance"

Articles

Amharic doesn't use articles in the same way as English. The concept of definite and indefinite articles doesn't directly translate. However, there are demonstrative pronouns that act similarly to articles, and these can change based on gender. For example:

  • ያለው (yaläw) - "the" for masculine nouns
  • ያለችው (yaläčč̣w) - "the" for feminine nouns

For instance, "the boy" would simply be "ወንድ" (wänd) with context providing definiteness, and "the girl" could be "ልጅ" (lij), again based on context.


Practice Makes Perfect

To reinforce what we've learned, practice categorizing different nouns by gender. When you come across a new noun, think about what gender it might be based on its ending or its characteristics.

To improve your Amharic grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Videos

Gender in Amharic Grammar፡ ፆታ በአማርኛ ሰዋሰው - YouTube

Other Lessons


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