Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Amharic Verbs

Welcome to the 10th lesson about verbs in Amharic. We will first learn about the present tense, followed by the past tense, and future tense. We will also analyze some grammar rules, and finally practice how to ask for direction in Amharic.
Verbs are used to express an action (I swim) or a state of being (I am). The present tense in Amharic conveys a situation or event in the present time. Here are some examples:

Present TenseAmharicPronunciation
I speak Englishእንግሊዘኛ እናገራለሁ[ʾənəgəlizäña ʾənagäralähu] Audio
you speak Frenchፈረሳይኛ ትናገራለህ[färäsayəña tənagäralähə] Audio
he speaks Germanጀርመንኛ ይናገራለህ[ǧärəmänəña yənagäralähə] Audio
she speaks Italianጣሊያንኛ ትናገራለች[t'aliyanəña tənagäraläčə] Audio
we speak Arabicአረብኛ እንናገራለህ[ʾäräbəña ʾənənagäralähə] Audio
they speak Chineseቻይንኛ ይናገራሉ[čayənəña yənagäralu] Audio

The past tense in Amharic conveys a situation or event in the past time. Here are some examples:

Past TenseAmharicPronunciation
I visited Franceፈረንሳይን ጐበኘሁ[färänəsayənə guebäñähu] Audio
you visited Italyጣሊያንን ጐበኘህ[t'aliyanənə guebäñähə] Audio
he visited Moroccoሞሮኮን ጐበኘ[morokonə guebäñä] Audio
she visited Chinaቻይናን ጐበኘች[čayənanə guebäñäčə] Audio
we visited Mexicoሜክሲኮን ጐበኘን[mekəsikonə guebäñänə] Audio
they visited Kenyaኬንያን ጐበኙ[kenəyanə guebäñu] Audio

The future tense in Amharic conveys a situation or event which is anticipated to happen in the future. Here are some examples:
Future TenseAmharicPronunciation
I will drink milkእኔ ወተት እጠጣለሁ[ʾəne wätätə ʾət'ät'alähu] Audio
you will drink coffeeአንተ ቡና ትጠጣለህ[ʾänətä buna tət'ät'alähə] Audio
he will drink teaእሱ ሻይ ይጠጣል[ʾəsu šayə yət'ät'alə] Audio
she will drink waterእሷ ውሃ ትጠጣለች[ʾəሷ wəha tət'ät'aläčə] Audio
we will drink apple juiceእኛ የፖም ጭማቂ እንጠጣለን[ʾəña yäpomə č'əmaqi ʾənət'ät'alänə] Audio
they will drink teaእነሱ ሻይ ይጠጣሉ[ʾənäsu šayə yət'ät'alu] Audio

Now let's take a break and refresh our vocabulary by learning the body parts.
ear
ear Audio
ጆሮ [ǧoro]
eye
eye Audio
ዓይን [ʾayənə]
mouth
mouth Audio
አፍ [ʾäfə]
nose
nose Audio
አፍንጫ [ʾäfənəč'a]
hair
hair Audio
ፀጉር [s'ägurə ]
face
face Audio
ፊት [fitə ]
head
head Audio
ራስ [rasə ]
heart
heart Audio
ልብ [ləbə ]
hand
hand Audio
እጅ [ʾəǧə ]
fingers
fingers Audio
ጣቶች [t'atočə]
leg
leg Audio
ቅልጥም [qələt'əmə]
feet
feet Audio
እግሮች [ʾəgəročə ]

Travel Phrases in Amharic

Imagine yourself in some Amharic speaking country. The following travel phrases are highly important and can help you avoid misunderstanding. Try to memorize them and practice!

EnglishAmharicPronunciation
Can you help me?ልትረዳኝ ትችላለህ?[lətərädañə təčəlalähə?] Audio
Can I help you?ምን ልርዳህ?[mənə lərədahə?] Audio
Where is the airport?አየር ማረፊያው የት ነው?[ʾäyärə maräfiyawə yätə näwə?] Audio
Go straightቀጥታ ሂድ[qät'əta hidə] Audio
Thenከዚያ[käziya] Audio
Turn leftወደ ግራ ዙር[wädä gəra zurə] Audio
Turn rightወደ ቀኝ ዙር[wädä qäñə zurə] Audio
Source: Learn 101

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