Conjugating Amharic nouns
Conjugating Amharic Nouns as Objects and Possessives
In Amharic, nouns change form depending on their role in a sentence. When they function as indicators of possession (ownership) or objects (receivers of an action), their endings change. This lesson will teach you how to conjugate nouns in these contexts.
We can conjugate the noun ሚስት into different words depending on the pronouns and noun types, like singular and plural, possessive and object nouns.
1. Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns show ownership. They are formed by adding possessive suffixes to the noun. Let’s use the noun ሚስት (wife) as an example:
1st person singular
- ሚስቴ (My wife)
- ሚስቶቼ (My wives)
1st person plural
- ሚስቶቻችን (Our wives)
2nd person singular
- ሚስትህ (Your wife)
- ሚስቶችህ (Your wives)
3rd person singular
- ሚስቱ (His Wife)
- ሚስቶቹ (His Wives)
3rd person plural
- ሚስቶቻቸው (Their wives)
These words are possessive nouns. Let’s see how we can change them to the object nouns.
2. Object Nouns
Object nouns are the recipients of an action. To turn a noun or possessive noun into an object noun, add the suffix ን (n) at the end. For example:
Possessive Noun = Object Noun
- ሚስቴ / My wife = ሚስቴን My wife (object)
- ልጆቿ / Her children = ልጆቿን / Her children (object)
- ቤተሰቦቿ / Her family = ቤተሰቦቿን / Her family (object)
When we add ን/n at the end of nouns or the possessive nouns, they will become object nouns; they will become the recipients of the action. For example:
- ሚስቴ+ን = ሚስቴን (My wife) possession + object)
- ልጆቿ+ን = ልጆቿን (Her children.) possessive + object
- ቤተሰቦቿ+ን = ቤተሰቦቿን (Her family) possessive + object
When a noun functions as an object, it often takes the suffix “ን” to indicate that it is the receiver of the action. If a noun ends with “ን,” then it is an object noun. For example:
- ተግባርህን አልወደድኩትም። (I didn’t like your action.) Now the word ተግባርህን is an object noun.
መልመጃ፦ Exercise:
Now change these 3 Amharic possessive and object words to nouns. For example, the noun in the sentence “ተግባርህን አልወደድኩትም። (I didn’t like your action.)” is ተግባር / action.
- ሚስቴን =
- ልጆቿ =
- ቤተሰቦቿ =
- ቤተሰቦቿን =
Tip: Identifying Amharic Nouns
In Amharic, we can easily identify nouns by the adjectives that describe their type, nature, quantity, etc. For examples:
- ጥቁር በግ = Black sheep.
- ቀይ ሰው = Red person.
- አሮጊት ሴት = Old woman.
- ሁለት መቶ ብር = Two hundred Birr.
- አንደኛ ደረጃ = First level.
Conclusion:
By understanding how Amharic nouns function as possessives and objects, you’ll be able to construct more accurate and meaningful sentences. Remember to practice regularly, review your progress, and focus on areas where you need improvement. With patience and dedication, you’ll master Amharic grammar in no time!
By reviewing this lesson, you can easily understand how Amharic nouns function in a sentence. On each page of this website, you will find informational lessons.
Be patient and learn Amharic easily by reading and applying what you learn. A student who wants to learn the language easily will grow by doing this. They study diligently, practice, remain hopeful, evaluate their progress, and know what they have understood and what they haven’t. They work on what they haven’t understood. A student who doesn’t do this will always struggle to learn Amharic and may never succeed or give up.