A conjunction is a word used to connect words, phrases, or clauses. Conjunctions help to maintain the flow and coherence of a sentence.

ምሳሌዎች (Examples):

• Section A:

• እርሱ ይጫወታል። እሷም ታነባለች። He plays, and she reads.
• ነገ ወደ ተማሪ ቤት እሄዳለሁ ወይም ከቤቴ እውላለሁ። Tomorrow, I will either go to the school or stay home.
• አባቴ ይቀጣኛል። ይሁን እንጂ በጣም ያዝንልኛል። My father punishes me, but he is very compassionate toward me.
• Section B:
• የመጣህ እንደሆን አብረን እንሄዳለን። If you come, we will go together.
• ቢፈልግ ይስጠኝ። ባይፈልግ ይተወው።  If he wants to give it to me, let him. If not, let him leave it.
  መጨረሻውን ሳላይ አልቀየምም። I won’t be angry until I see the end.

words like ወይም፡ ይሁን እንጂ፣ የ —— እንደሆነ፣ ቢ፣ ባ፣ ሳ are መስተፃምሮች / conjunctions.

In the first section (A), as mentioned, conjunctions help connect independent sentences that can stand alone.

In section (B), as mentioned, conjunctions attach to different clauses, ensuring coherence and meaning in sentences.

Therefore, conjunctions are words that link words and sentences together and contribute to the coherence of a paragraph.

Types of Conjunctions

Conjunctions are divided into two categories in Amharic:

(ሀ) ወደረኛ መስተፃምር Coordinating conjunctions
(ለ) ጥገኛ መስተፃምር Subordinating conjunctions

These are again divided into sub-categories.

Coordinating conjunctions are categorized into four types:

1. አጫፋሪ ወይም አዳጋሚ (Additive or Cumulative)
2. አማራጭ ወይም አወላዋይ (Alternative or Disjunctive)
3. አፍራሽ ወይም ተቃራኒ (Adversative or Contrastive)
4. ምክንያታዊ (Causal or Reason-based)

አጫፋሪ ወይም አዳጋሚ (Additive or Cumulative)

ምሳሌ፦

1. እሱም እኔም በአንድ ትምህርት ቤት ውስጥ እንማር ነበር።
2. እርሱ አስተማሪም ገበሬም ነው።
3. እርሱ ብልህ ነው፣ አንተ ደግሞ አይደለህም።
4. እሱና እኔ ጓደኛሞች ነን፣ በዚያም ላይ እንዛመዳለን።

አማራጭ ወይም አወላዋይ (Alternative or Disjunctive)

When there is a need to choose or alternate between one thing and another, the conjunction used is called alternative or disjunctive.

Example:

ወይም / or

ዛሬ ወይም ነገ እመጣለሁ። I will come today or tomorrow. (አወላዋይ / Disjunctive)
እርሳሱን ወይም ቀለሙን ስጠኝ። Give me the pencil or the color. (አማራጭ / Alternative)

ወይ / or

• ወይ ዛሬ ወይ ነገ እመጣለሁ። I will come either today or tomorrow.
• እርሱ ወይ አልተማረ፤ ወይ አላረሰ፤ ወይ አልነገደ። በምን ሊተዳደር ነው? He neither learned nor farmed nor traded. How is he going to survive?

አለበለዚያ / አለዚያ = otherwise

• እንስራ አለዚያ ትምህርታችንን እናጥና። Let’s work; otherwise, let’s study our lessons.

አፍራሽ ወይም ተቃራኒ (Contrastive or opposing word)

A contrastive word describes the relationship of ideas in an opposing or contrasting manner.

ምሳሌዎች (Examples):
1. “ነገር ግን”
“እኔና አብርሃም በውልደት እኩዮች ነን፣ ነገር ግን አብርሃም በቁመት ይበልጠኛል።”
“Abraham and I are twins, but he is taller than me.”

2. “ግን”
“እኔ አጭር ነኝ፣ ግን አብርሃም ረጅም ነው።”
“I am short, but Abraham is tall.”

3. “ዳሩ ግን”
“ብዙ መጽሐፍ አንብቤ ነበር፣ ዳሩ ግን አላስታውሰውም።”
“I had read many books, but I don’t remember them.”

4. “ስንት”
“እውነትን መናገር ያስከብራል፣ ሐሰትስ ያዋርዳል።”
“Telling the truth earns respect, while lies bring disgrace.”

5. “እርሱ ይመጣ አይመስለኝም፤ ከመጣ ግን እቀበለዋለሁ።”
“I don’t think he will come, but if he does, I will welcome him.”

ምክንያታዊ Causal words (words that express cause and effect)

1) ምክንያትን ሰጪ / Words that indicate a reason

“ና” — “ለሰው ትዕግሥት ይገባዋል፣ ክብር የሚገኝ በትዕግሥት ነውና።”
“A person should have patience because respect is gained through patience.”

“ከዚህ የተነሣ” — “ታደሰና ዘለቀ ጓደኞች ናቸው። ከዚህም የተነማ ይፋቀራሉ።”
“Because of this, they have become reconciled and are now close friends. As a result, they forgive each other.”

2) ምክንያትን ተርጓሚ (ወይም ምኞትና ጸጸት)
Words that translate reasons (or express desire and necessity)

“እንዲህ ከሆነ” — “ሕግን ያልጠበቀ ይፈረድበታል። እንዲህ ከሆነ ሕግን እንጠብቅ።”
“If this is the case, one who does not obey the law will be punished. So, in this case, we must obey the law.”

“እንግዲያ” — “ጊዜው መሽቶአል፣ እንግዲያ በየቤታችን እንግባ።”
“Time has passed, so let’s go to our homes.”

3) ዲያ (ሳቢ ቃል – Conditional or Conjunctive Word)
“ታዲያ” — “እኔ ማደሪያ የለኝም። ታዲያ ከምን ታድራለህ?”
“I have no place to stay. So, where will you accommodate me?”

“ማስገንዘቢያ”
These words are used to provide explanation or emphasis by adding contrast or reason.

In the next lesson, we will learn about ጥገኛ መስተፃምር (subordinate conjunctions), but make sure to review this lesson.