Amharic Basic Course/Volume 1/Unit 3
Unit 3
Basic Sentences
| John /jon/ | |
| name | sım |
| my name | sıme |
| you (polite) | ırsıwo / ıssıwo |
| yours (polite) | yərsıwo / yəssıwo |
| how about yours | yərsıwoss |
| Hello, my name's John, what's yours ('how about yours')? | TenáyısTıllıñ sıme jón nəw, yərsıwóss ↑ |
kəbbədə (a proper name) | |
| Ethiopia | ityoPıya |
| Ethiopian | ityoPıyawi |
| you are (polite) | nəwo |
| Kebbede. Are you an Ethiopian? | kəbbədə́ nəw. ityoPıyawi̇́ nəwo ↑ |
John | |
| American | amerikawi |
| I am | nəñ |
| but | nəgərgın |
| Mr. | ato |
| (a proper name) | təsə́mma |
| (a proper name) | lə́mma |
| Ethiopians | ityoPıyawiyan |
| they are | naccəw |
| I'm an American, but Mr. Tesemma and Mr. Lemma are Ethiopians. | amerikawi̇́ nəñ, nəgərgín ato təsəmmanna ato ləmma, ityoPıyawiyán naccəw. |
kəbbədə | |
| when | məce / məc |
| you came | məTTu |
| When did you come? | məcé məTTu. |
John | |
| yesterday | tınantınna / tınant |
| I came | məTTahu |
| I came yesterday. | tınantınná məTTahu. |
kəbbədə | |
| how much, how many | sınt |
| hour, o'clock, watch, clock | səat |
| What time is it, please. | ıbákkıwo, sínt səat nəw. |
John | |
| It's three o'clock. | sóst səat nəw. |
kəbbədə | |
| Thank you ('May God give [it] for me)! | ıgziyabhér yısTıllıñ. |
John | |
| both | abro |
| let him give us | yısTən |
| You're welcome ('let him give it to both of us.') | abró yısTən. |
Classroom Expressions
| book | məSıhaf / məShaf |
| books | məShafoc |
| your books | məShafoccaccıhu |
| your books (as direct object of a verb) | məShafoccaccıhun |
| open! | kıfətu |
| [Please] open your books. | məSıhafoccaccıhun kıfətu. |
| together (you pl.) | abráccıhu |
| say! | bəlu |
| Altogether! (say together') | abraccíhu bəlu. |
| now | ahun |
| close! | zıgu |
| Now close your books! | ahun məSıhafoccaccıhún zıgu. |
Structure Sentences
Personal endings of the verb 'be'.
| I | ıne |
| I'm an American. | ıne amerikawi̇́ nəñ. |
| Are you an Ethiopian? | ityoPıyawi nəh ↑ |
| you (fem. sing.) | anci |
| pretty | Konjo |
| You (f) are pretty. | anci Konjó nəš. |
| intelligent, sensible | astəway |
| You (polite) are intelligent. | astəwáy nəwo / astəwáy nəwot. |
| this | yıh |
| person, man | səw |
| who | man |
| Who is this man? | yıh səw mán nəw. |
| woman, female | set |
| She's a good woman. | Tıru set nəc / Tıru set nat. |
| student | təmari |
| students | təmariwoc |
| We are students. | təmariwóc nen. |
| teacher | astəmari |
| teachers | astəmariwoc |
| Are you teachers? | astəmariwoc naccıhu ↑ |
| bad | məTfo |
| They are bad | məTfó naccəw. |
| he or she (polite) | ırsaccəw |
| big | tıllıK |
| He or she (polite) is big. | ırsaccəw tıllíK naccəw. |
Grammatical Notes
Note 3.1 Pronoun: Independent Pronouns.
| ıne amerikawi nəñ. | I am an American |
| anci Konjó nəš. | You (fem.sing.) are pretty. |
| ırsıwo. | you (polite) |
| ırsaccəw tıllíK naccəw. | He or she (polite) is big. |
These are examples of Independent Pronouns that have occured in the Basic or Structure Sentences. As one can see from the above sentences, there are two genders, masculine and feminine. Gender is distinguished only in the second and third person singular pronouns (familiar forms). All other pronouns are indeterminate of gender.
As the personal ending (or other affix) of the verb indicates the person involved, the Independent Pronouns are much less used in Amharic than they are in English. When used, they are slightly emphatic. Attention is drawn to the fact that this particular person is, or these persons are doing so-and-so.
The complete set of such pronouns is:
| ıne | I | |
| antə | you (masc. fam.) | |
| anci | you (fem. fam.) | |
| ırsıwo / ıssıwo | you (polite) | |
| ırsu / ıssu | he | |
| ırswa / ısswa | she | |
| ırsáccəw / ıssáccəw | he or she (polite) | |
| ıñña | we | |
| ınnantə | you (pl.) | |
| ınnəssu / ınnərsu | they |
As illustrated by the above list of the Independent Pronouns, Amharic has different terms of reference with regard to people spoken to (second person) and people spoken of (third person). Thus /antə/ (addressing a man) and /anci/ (addressing a woman) show a certain degree of familiarity. /ırsıwo/ is used as a polite or deferential form of 'you' (addressing both men and women), and /ınnantə/ addressing many persons without distinction of sex. /ırsaccəw/ is a polite or deferential form of 'he’ or ‘she’. Note that verb forms used with the 'polite' pronouns have the third person plural personal endings.
Note 3.2 Pronoun: Suffix Pronouns.
| 1. | yısTıllıñ | let him give for me. |
| 2. | yısTon | let him give us. |
| 3. | sıme jón nəw. | My name is John. |
There are two kinds of suffixed pronouns:
1) Verb Suffix (or Object) Pronouns, (Sertences 1 and 2) i.e. pronominal suffixes attached to verb stems or other forms of the verb. The translation of a Verb Suffix Pronoun depends upon the structure of English. For example the suffix /-əñ/ after consonants (/-ñ/ after vowels), can mean 'me' (direct object) or 'to me' (indirect object); /-accəw/ 'them' (direct object) or 'to them' (indirect object), etc.
2) Noun Suffix Pronouns (Sentence 3) i.e. pronominal suffixes attached to nouns, corresponding to English ‘possessive pronouns': ‘my', 'your', etc. These are discussed in Note 4.1.
Note 3.2.1 The Verb Suffix Pronouns are:
| After Consonants |
After Vowels |
Meaning | |
| Singular | -əñ | -ñ | me, to me |
| -ıh | -h | you, to you (masc.) | |
| -ıš | -š | you, to you (fem.) | |
| -ıwo/-ıwot | -wo/-wot | you, to you (polite) | |
| -əw |
-w -t (after /u/ and /o/) |
him, to him/it, to it | |
| -at | -at | her, to her | |
| Plural | -ən(n) | -n(n) | us, to us |
| -accıhu | -accıhu[1] | you, to you | |
| -accəw | -accəw[1] | them, to them |
Examples:
| ato ləmmanna ato kəbbədə mín aluh. | What did Lemma and Kebbede say to you? |
| mín aluñ | What did they say to me? |
| ızziyá nəw aluwaccıhu. | It's there they said to you. |
Note 3.3 Loss of Vowels.
As indicated in the chart of the Verb Suffix Pronouns (Note 3.2.1 above) certain vowels are lost before the /-a-/ of the suffix pronouns /-at/, /-accıhu/ and /-accəw/.
This loss of vowels occurs regularly in Amharic according to the following patterns:
| 1) | ə + a = a | e.g. band [bə+and] səat 'at one o'clock' |
| 2) | a + a = a | e.g. aməTTat [aməTTa+at] 'he brought her' |
| 3) | ı + a = a | e.g. bagəñ [bı+agəñ] 'if I find' |
| 4) | ə + ı = ə | e.g. yərsıwo [yə+ırsıwo] 'yours' |
| 5) | ı + ı = ı | e.g. bınəgr [bı+ınəgr] 'if I tell' |
| 6) | a + ı = a | e.g. amsagır [amsa+ıgır] 'centipede' |
Note 3.4 /w/ and /y/ glides before /-a-/ of the affixes.
The Chart of the Verb Suffix Pronouns (Note 3.2.1) indicates that /-u/ is /-uw-/, /-o/ is /-ow-/ and /-i/ is /-iy-/ before the suffix pronouns /-at/, /-accıhu/ and /-accəw/.
These /w/ and /y/ glides occur regularly in Amharic before /-a-/ of the affixes, e.g.
| u + a = uw + a | e.g. fəlləguwaccəw [fəllıgu + accəw] |
| 'they wanted them' | |
| o + a = ow + a | e.g. fəllıgowal [fəllıgo + al] |
| 'he was wanted' | |
| i + a = iy + a | e.g. tıfəllıgiyalləš [tıfəllıgi + alləš] |
| 'you(f) want' |
Note 3.5 Verb: /nə-/ 'be'.
The verb stem /nə-/ plus Verb Suffixed Pronouns (Note 3.2.1) constitute verb forms expressing simple equations: 'I am', 'you are', etc. These forms, illustrated in the Structure Sentences, may be either suffixed or separate words (e.g. /Tırúnəw/ or /Tırú nəw/ 'it's good'). They are themselves unstressed and the stress is regularly on the previous syllable, as in /təmariwóc nən/ 'we are students'.
The complete set of such pronouns is:
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| nəñ | I am | nən | we are | |||
| nəh | you (m.) are | |||||
| nəš | you (f.) are | naccıhu | you are | |||
| nəwo/nəwot | you (pol.) are | |||||
| nəw | he is | naccəw | they are | |||
| nat/nəc | she is | (or: he/she (pol.) is) | ||||
Note 3.6. Formation of the Plural
| təmariwoc nən. | We are students. |
| astəmariwoc naccıhu | You are teachers. |
The general plural suffix in Amharic for both masculine and feminine is /-(w)oc/ (/-oc/ after consonants and /-woc/ after vowels.) With some speakers, words ending in vowels may drop the vowel and the suffix /-oc/ is affixed to the preceding consonant. Thus the Amharic word for 'students' may be either /təmariwoc/ or /təmaroc/. Before vowels the plural suffix is usually /-(w)occ/, as in /məSıhafoccaccıhu/ 'your books.'
| ato təsəmmánna ato ləmma ityoPıyawiyan naccəw. | Mr. Tesemma and Mr. Lemma are Ethiopians. |
The plural suffix /-yan/ is used exclusively with nouns denoting nationality ending in /-awi/ e.g. /ityoPıyawi/ 'Ethiopian' /ityoPıyawiyan/ 'Ethiopians', /amerikawi/ 'American', /amerikawiyan/ 'Americans', /ınglizawi/ 'Englishman', /ınglizawiyan/ 'Englishmen', /fərənsawi/ 'Frenchman', /ferensawiyan/ 'Frenchmen'. The use of the plural will be taken up in later units.
Note 3.7 Transition vowel /ı/
| lıkkı nəw | It's correct. |
| Kırbı hotél yət allə. | Where is the near[est] hotel? |
The transition vowel, indicated above by /ı/ is a weak vowel glide that serves to interrupt a sequence of consonants across word boundaries.
This vowel occurs at the point of word division whenever two words coming together produce a cluster of three consonants, or a cluster of two consonants, the first of which is an affricate: /c/, /j/, /C/.
The transition vowel is not marked in our transcription because its presence is almost completely predictable.
Pronunciation Drills
| /l/ | |||
| ləmma | 'a proper name' | malKəs | 'to weep' |
| lıbs | 'clothing' | alə | 'he said' |
| ləbbəsə | 'he dressed (himself)' | gıməl | 'camel' |
| lıj | 'child' | bulla | 'grey' |
| ləmın | 'why' | lul | 'pearl' |
| aləbbəsə | 'he dressed (someone)' | šul | 'sharp' |
| məlbəs | 'to dress' | Kal | 'word' |
| məlKəm | 'to pick up' | Kil | 'foolish' |
| mələmmən | 'to beg' |
| /r/ | |||
| ras | 'head, chief' | məttərə | 'he cut into pieces' (meat) |
| roma | 'Rome' | ||
| rat | 'dinner' | ırsas | 'pencil' |
| ruK | 'far' | mıkır | 'advice' |
| rəgga | 'it coagulated' | məsmər | 'line' |
| aratt | 'four' | wəmbər | 'chair' |
| məkəra | 'calamity' | məmokkər | 'to try' |
| ırsu | 'he' | mənor | 'to live' |
| bırr | 'dollar' | arrərə | 'burned' |
| sərra | 'he made' |
Substitution Drills
Substitute the words listed to the right of each sentence for the underlined word of the following sentences.
| ıne dəhná nəñ. | tınnıš | lıkk | Tıru |
| Konjo | ruK | Kırb | |
| antə sə́w nəh. | ityoPıyawi | amerikawi | astəway |
| dəhna | təmari | astəmari | |
| anci Tırú nəš. | Konjo | tınnıš | ızzih |
| set | məTfo | astəmari | |
| ırsıwo astəmari̇́ nəwo. | təmari | ityoPıyawi | amerikawi |
| astəway | ızziya | səw | |
| ıssu təmari̇́ nəw. | man | ızziya | astəmari |
| astəway | səw | ruK | |
| ısswa məTfó nat/ırswa məTfó nəc. | dəhna | set | astəmari |
| ızzih | tıllıK | Kırb | |
| ıñña amerikawiyan nən. | ityoPıyawiyan | səwoc | ızzih |
| ızziya | təmariwoc | astəway | |
| ınnantə astəmariwoc naccıhu. | tınnıš | Kırb | ruK |
| tıllıK | təmariwoc | setoc | |
| ınnəssu ityoPıyawiyan naccəw. | amerikawiyan | səwoc | setoc |
| təmariwoc | astəmariwoc | ızziya | |
| ırsaccəw astəway naccəw. | tıllıK | tınnıš | man |
| ruK | Kırb | bəTam Tıru | |
Substitution - Correlation Drill
Replace the underlined pronoun with those listed to the right of each sentence.
Change the form of the verb 'to be' as necessary to agree with the pronoun used.
| ıne təmari nəñ. | antə | anci | ıssu |
| ısswa | ırsaccəw | ıñña | |
| antə astəway nəh. | ınnəssu | ınnantə | ırsıwo |
| ıne | anci | ısswa | |
| anci Tıru nəš. | ıne | antə | ırsaccəw |
| ıñña | ınnantə | ısswa | |
| | |||
| ınnəssu təmariwoc naccəw. | ıñña | ınnantə | |
| ırsıwo ızziya nəwo. | antə | anci | ırswa |
| ıssu | ınnantə | ||
Questions and Answers
Question |
Answer |
| sıme təsəmmá nəw, yərsıwoss ↑ | jón nəw. |
| ırsıwo amerikawi nəwo ↑ | ıne ityoPıyawi̇́ nəñ. |
| ızzih məcé məTTu. | tınant məTTahu/tınantınna məTTahu. |
| ato ləmmanna ato kəbbədə mə́c məTTu. | alawKım. |
| ırsıwo təmari nəwo ↑ | áwo, təmari̇́ nəñ. |
| amarıñña yawKallu ↑ | tınnıš awKálləhu. |
| ısswa Konjo set nat ↑ | áwo, bəTam Konjó nat. |
| ato təsəmma mín yawKallu. | bəTam Tıru amarıñña yawKallu. |
| ato ləmma məTfo səw nəw ↑ | yəlləm. ıssu bəTam Tıru səw nəw. |
| astəway nəw ↑ | áwo, astəwáy nəw. |
| huləttınna hulətt, sínt nəw. | huləttınna hulə́tt, arátt nəw. |
| sostınna aratt sínt nəw. | səbátt nəw. |
| ato təsəmma Tena nəw ↑ | áwo, dəhná nəw. |
| ınnessu ızzih naccəw ↑ | áwo, ızzi̇́h naccəw. |
| astəmariwoc ızzih məce məTTu. | ıne alawKım. |
| ızzih sínt səwoc məTTu. | hulətt səwoc məTTu. |
| ato kəbbədə məTfo nəw ↑ | yəlləm, məTfo aydəlləm. |
| ato kəbbədənna ato ləmma təmariwoc naccəw ↑ | áwo, ınnəssu təmariwóc naccəw. |
| ato kəbbədə ızzíh nəw ↑ | ızzi̇́h aydəlləm. |
| ırsıwo ityoPıyawi nəwo ↑ | áwo, ityoPıyawi̇́ nəñ |
| ırsıwoss ↑ | ıne amerikawi̇́ nəñ. |
| astəmari nəwo ↑ | yəlləm. təmari̇́ nəñ. |
| ato təsəmma yə́t nəw. | ızzi̇́h nəw. |
| məSıhafu yə́t allə. | ızzi̇́h nəw. |
| ısswa astəmari nəc ↑ | áwo, astəmari̇́ nəc. |
| ıssu tıllıK nəw ↑ | yəlləm, tınnıš nəw. |
| sint səat nəw. | assır səat nəw. |
| ato ləmma dəhna nəw ↑ | áwo, bəTam dəhná nəw. |
| ızzih dəhna astəmari allə ↑ | áwo, and dəhna astəmari̇́ allə. |
| dəhna amarıññá yawKallu ↑ | bəTam Tıru aydəlləm. |
| ato kəbbədənna ato jon, ızzih mə́c məTTu. | tınantınna məTTu. |