ጥገኛ መስተፃምር Subordinating conjunctions

In Amharic, dependent clauses are often introduced by specific words. The main ones are:

• እንደ (like, as, that)
• ስለ (because of, about)
• በ (by, with, in)
• ከ (from, than)
• ሲ (while, when)
• ስ (while, when)
• እንደ: Used for comparison or introducing clauses.
• ስለ: Indicates reason or cause.
• በ: Shows means, instrument, or reason.
• ከ: indicates separation or comparison.
• እየ / እያ: Shows continuous or simultaneous actions.
• ሲ / ስ: Indicates actions happening at the same time.

እንደ / እንዳ / that

• በዚህ ነገር ውስት እኔ እንደሌለሁበት፣ ተናገሪያለሁ። I have declared that I was not involved.
• እንዳልሳተፍኩ አስቀድሜ ግልጽ አድርጌያለሁ። I have already made it clear that I was not involved.
• እውነቱ ሳይገለጽ እንደማይቀር አምናለሁ። I believe that the truth can’t remain hidden.

ስለ indicates a reason. ስለ (because of, about)

• አስተማሪውን ስለሚፈራ፣ ተግቶ ይማራል። Because he fears the teacher, he studies hard.
• መማር ስለሚፈልግ ከትምህርት ቤት አይለይም። Because he wants to learn, he does not skip school.

ስለ is used to show the reason for an action.

• በርትቶ የሚያጠናው እውቀት ይፈልጋልና ነው። He studies hard because he seeks knowledge.
  Explanation: ና is used to indicate the means or reason.

ሲ / ስ / while, when, as

• ሲማር ዋለ። He spent his day while reading.
• ስትማር ዋለች። She spent her day while reading.

የሚ—-ከሆነ
መጽሐፌን የሚሰጠኝ ከሆነ እርሳሱን እመልስለታለሁ። If he would give me my book, I would give him back his pencil.

ቢ___ኖሮ

መጽሐፌን ቢሰጠኝ ኖሮ እርሳሱን እመልስለት ነበር። If he had given me my book, I would give him back his pencil.

ብ
ብትመጡ ኖሮ እንገናኝ ነበር። If you had come, we would have met.

ቢ
ቢመጣ ኖሮ አገኘው ነበር። ስላልመጣ አላገኘሁትም። If he had come, I would have found him. Since he did not come, I did not find him.

These words are essential for constructing complex sentences in Amharic. Practice using them in different contexts to improve your understanding!

1. ምንም እንኳ / እንኳ (even if, even though)
These phrases are used to express contrast or concession, similar to “even if” or “even though” in English.

Example 1:
አባቴ ምንም እንኳ ቢመታኝ ይወድደኛል።
Translation: “Even if my father hits me, he loves me.”
Explanation: ምንም እንኳ is used to show that despite one action (hitting), another (love) remains true.

Example 2:
አባቴ ቢመታኝም እንኳ ያዝንልኛል።
Translation: “Even though my father hits me, he feels sorry for me.”
Explanation: እንኳ is used to indicate that despite one action (hitting), another (feeling sorry) occurs.

Example 3:
ምንም ብደክ እንኳ ታማኝ ነኝ።
Translation: “No matter how tired I am, I am loyal.”
Explanation: ምንም እንኳ emphasizes that loyalty persists regardless of tiredness.

2. እኮ (still, nevertheless)
This word is used to indicate persistence or continuation despite challenges.

Example:
ብወድቅም እኮ እነሣለሁ።
Translation: “Even if I fall, I will still get up.”
Explanation: እኮ emphasizes the determination to continue despite falling.

3. Time Indicators in Amharic
Amharic uses specific words to indicate time or sequence in sentences.

A. እንደ (when, as)
Example:
እንደ ተደወለ ደረስሁ።
Translation: “I arrived when it was called.”
Explanation: እንደ is used to indicate the time when an action occurred.

B. ሲ (while, when)
Example 1:
ስልክ ሲደወል አልነበርሁም።
Translation: “I was not there when the phone rang.”
Explanation: ሲ is used to indicate an action happening at the same time as another.

Example 2:
ባቡር ሲመጣ እሳፈራለሁ።
Translation: “I will get on the train when it arrives..”
Explanation: ሲ is used to show the time when an action occurs.

Summary for English Speakers
ምንም እንኳ / እንኳ: These phrases mean “even if” or “even though” and are used to express contrast or concession.

Example: “Even if my father hits me, he loves me.”

እኮ: This means “still” or “nevertheless” and is used to show persistence.

Example: “Even if I fall, I will still get up.”

Time Indicators:

እንደ: Means “when” or “as” and indicates the time of an action.

Example: “I arrived when it was called.”

ሲ: Means “while” or “when” and shows simultaneous actions.

Example: “I get excited when the train arrives.”

Key Notes for Learners
ምንም እንኳ / እንኳ and እኮ are used to express contrast or persistence.

እንደ and ሲ are used to indicate time or sequence in sentences.

Amharic Time-Related Conjunctions and Phrases
ከ——ጀምሮ (Starting from…)

Example:
ከተወለድኩ ጀምሮ እዚሁ ነው ያለሁት።
Starting from when I was born, I have been here.

ሳ (While…)

Example:
ባቡር ሳይመጣ እንሰነባበት።
Let’s wait while the train arrives.

ስ (When…)

Example:
ስመለስ አጠይቅሃለሁ።
I will visit you when I come back.

እስቲ / እስኪ (Until…)

Example:
ትምህርት እስኪጀመር ድረስ አጠናለሁ።
I will study until the lesson starts.

በ__ጊዜ (During… / While…)

Example:
በምማር ጊዜ አልጫወትም።
I don’t play while I study.

ከ___በኋላ (After…)

Example:
ከተማርኩ በኋላ እጫወታለሁ።
I will play after I finish studying.

Explanation of Usage
These conjunctions and phrases are used to express time-related relationships in Amharic. They help indicate when an action happens, whether it’s before, during, or after another action. Learning these will help you construct more complex sentences and express yourself more clearly in Amharic.

For example:

ከ___ጀምሮ is used to indicate the starting point of an action or state.

ሳ and በ__ጊዜ are used to describe actions happening simultaneously.

ከ___በኋላ is used to describe an action that happens after another.

Practice using these words in sentences to understand their nuances and improve your Amharic fluency!

Exercise:
(ሀ) From the sentences written below, identify and extract the conjunctions.
ከዚህ በታች ከተጻፉት ዐረፍተ ነገሮች ውስጥ መስተፃምሮቹን እየለየህ አውጣ።
From the sentences written below, extract the conjunctions while separating them.

Sentences:

1. እኔና እርሱ እንጽፋለን፡ እርስዋም ታነባለች። I and he write; she also reads.
2. እኔም እርሱም እርስዋም፡ እንማራለን። I, he, and she, we learn.
3. አስተማሪው ይወድደኛል፤ ያዝንልኛልም፤ ይሁን እንጂ ከትምህርት ስቀር ይገሥጸኛል። The teacher likes me; he also feels sorry for me; however, he warns me when I neglect my studies.
4. ጨዋታን እወዳለሁ፤ ቢሆንም ትምህርቴን አጠናለሁ። I love games, but I also study my lessons.
5. በፈተና ማን እንደሚበልጥ አላውቅም፤ ወይ እኔ ወይ እርሱ እንሸለማለን።
   In the test, I don’t know who will win; either me or him will be rewarded.
6. ያም ሆነ ያ ወደፊት ይታያል። What will happen, that will be seen in the future.