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 Tense	Amharic	Pronunciation
I speak English	እንግሊዘኛ እናገራለሁ	[ʾənəgəlizäña ʾənagäralähu]
you speak French	ፈረሳይኛ ትናገራለህ	[färäsayəña tənagäralähə]
he speaks German	ጀርመንኛ ይናገራለህ	[ǧärəmänəña yənagäralähə]
she speaks Italian	ጣሊያንኛ ትናገራለች	[t'aliyanəña tənagäraläčə]
we speak Arabic	አረብኛ እንናገራለህ	[ʾäräbəña ʾənənagäralähə]
they speak Chinese	ቻይንኛ ይናገራሉ	[čayənəña yənagäralu]

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

Past Tense	Amharic	Pronunciation
I visited France	ፈረንሳይን ጐበኘሁ	[färänəsayənə guebäñähu]
you visited Italy	ጣሊያንን ጐበኘህ	[t'aliyanənə guebäñähə]
he visited Morocco	ሞሮኮን ጐበኘ	[morokonə guebäñä]
she visited China	ቻይናን ጐበኘች	[čayənanə guebäñäčə]
we visited Mexico	ሜክሲኮን ጐበኘን	[mekəsikonə guebäñänə]
they visited Kenya	ኬንያን ጐበኙ	[kenəyanə guebäñu]

The future tense in Amharic conveys a situation or event which is anticipated to happen in the future. Here are some examples:

Future Tense	Amharic	Pronunciation
I will drink milk	እኔ ወተት እጠጣለሁ	[ʾəne wätätə ʾət'ät'alähu]
you will drink coffee	አንተ ቡና ትጠጣለህ	[ʾänətä buna tət'ät'alähə]
he will drink tea	እሱ ሻይ ይጠጣል	[ʾəsu šayə yət'ät'alə]
she will drink water	እሷ ውሃ ትጠጣለች	[ʾəሷ wəha tət'ät'aläčə]
we will drink apple juice	እኛ የፖም ጭማቂ እንጠጣለን	[ʾəña yäpomə č'əmaqi ʾənət'ät'alänə]
they will drink tea	እነሱ ሻይ ይጠጣሉ	[ʾənäsu šayə yət'ät'alu]

Now let's take a break and refresh our vocabulary by learning the body parts.

ear   ጆሮ [ǧoro]	eye   ዓይን [ʾayənə]	mouth   አፍ [ʾäfə]	nose   አፍንጫ [ʾäfənəč'a]
hair   ፀጉር [s'ägurə ]	face   ፊት [fitə ]	head   ራስ [rasə ]	heart   ልብ [ləbə ]
hand   እጅ [ʾəǧə ]	fingers   ጣቶች [t'atočə]	leg   ቅልጥም [qələt'əmə]	feet   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!

English	Amharic	Pronunciation
Can you help me?	ልትረዳኝ ትችላለህ?	[lətərädañə təčəlalähə?]
Can I help you?	ምን ልርዳህ?	[mənə lərədahə?]
Where is the airport?	አየር ማረፊያው የት ነው?	[ʾäyärə maräfiyawə yätə näwə?]
Go straight	ቀጥታ ሂድ	[qät'əta hidə]
Then	ከዚያ	[käziya]
Turn left	ወደ ግራ ዙር	[wädä gəra zurə]
Turn right	ወደ ቀኝ ዙር	[wädä qäñə zurə]

Source: Learn 101