Language/Tigrinya/Grammar/Pronouns
Hi Tigrinya learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on pronouns. Pronouns are a crucial part of any language, as they are used to refer to people or things without repeating the same word over and over again. Tigrinya has several types of pronouns, such as personal, possessive, and demonstrative pronouns.
Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Conditional Mood, Plurals & Future Tense.
Personal Pronouns[edit | edit source]
A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing. In Tigrinya, personal pronouns are often used as the subject or object of a sentence. Here is a table with Tigrinya personal pronouns:
Tigrinya | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
እኔ | ənɨ | I |
ንስሓ | nəsˁħa | you (singular) |
እስሃት | əsˁħatə | he/she/it |
እኛ | ənˁa | we |
ንስሓት | nəsaħət | you (plural) |
ስምህ | səmħə | they |
Let's look at some examples to see how personal pronouns are used in sentences:
- Person 1: እኔ ብድሕር ምን ዓይነት ኣብዚ ኣይትሓፍትን? (ənɨ bədħər mən ʕaenət ʔabzi ʔaityḥaftən?) (What type of food do you like?)
- Person 2: ንስሓ ክረምተይ ነብሲ ትሓፍትን ኣሎ። (nəsˁħa krəmtəy nəbsi təḥaftən ʔalo.) (I like injera with tsebhi.)
In this example, we see the pronouns "እኔ" (I) and "ንስሓ" (you) used as subjects of the sentence, and "አይትሓፍትን" (do you like) and "ኣሎ" (yes) as the verbs.
Possessive Pronouns[edit | edit source]
Possessive pronouns indicate ownership or possession of an object. In Tigrinya, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun they describe. Here is a table with some common Tigrinya possessive pronouns:
Tigrinya | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
እንተደ | ɨntədə | my |
ንስሓደ | nəsˁaħadə | your (singular) |
እስሃተይ | əsˁħatyə | his/her/its |
እንተዝሓበ | ɨntəzḥəba | our |
ንስሓዘሓበ | nəsˁaħazḥəba | your (plural) |
ስምህደ | səmħadə | their |
Let's look at some examples:
- Person 1: እንተደ መወዳእታ ምዝራኾ ናብ መንጋደእታት ትበዓል? (ɨntədə məwədaʔatə məzraχi nəb mənɡadəyatat təbaal?) (Did you plant your vegetables in the garden?)
- Person 2: ንስሓደ ምስ ነቲ ኣድላዕ ናብ ቦታ ተደራቢ? (nəsˁaħadə məs nəti ʔadˁlaʔ nəb botə tedrabəy?) (Did you forget your keys somewhere?)
We can see that the possessive pronouns "እንተደ" (my) and "ንስሓደ" (your) are used to show ownership of the object in the sentence.
Demonstrative Pronouns[edit | edit source]
Demonstrative pronouns are used to indicate a specific person or thing, and they can be either close or far from the speaker. In Tigrinya, demonstrative pronouns are placed before the noun they modify. Here is a table with some common Tigrinya demonstrative pronouns:
Tigrinya | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
ዝሓለፈ | zḥalefa | this (close) |
ሓደ | hadə | that (far) |
ዝደረበ | zḥadaerəba | these (close) |
ሓደይ | hadəy | those (far) |
Let's look at some examples:
- Person 1: ዝሓለፈ በዝተን ምንቅስቓስ ኣሎ? (zḥalefa bəzeten mənqisəsas ʔalo?) (Do you like this type of music?)
- Person 2: ሓደ ኣስታወሰድ ከምብል ዝግበረሉ ክልተ ልዕሊ ወይ? (hadə ʔəstatwəsdə kambəl zəɡəbərlu kəlati lenəli way?) (Do you remember that restaurant we went to last week?)
In these examples, the demonstrative pronouns "ዝሓለፈ" (this) and "ሓደ" (that) are used to indicate a specific object or concept.
Reflexive Pronouns[edit | edit source]
Reflexive pronouns are used when a subject acts on itself. In Tigrinya, reflexive pronouns are formed by adding the suffix "-ብል" ("-blə") to the personal pronoun. Here is a table with some examples:
Tigrinya | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
እኔብል | ənɨblə | myself |
ንስሓብል | nəsaħəblə | yourself |
እስሃትብል | əsˁħatəblə | himself/herself/itself |
እኛብል | ənˁablə | ourselves |
ንስሓይብል | nəsˁaħayblə | yourselves |
ስምህይብል | səmħayblə | themselves |
Let's look at some examples:
- Person 1: ትምህርት ብል ምትሕግዝ? (təmhərtə blə məthɡəz?) (Did you teach yourself math?)
- Person 2: ንስሓብል ከመይ ኣለኹም እንተመስገን ነገር ትኾነ? (nəsaħəblə kambəy ʔallekhum ɨntəmasɡen neɡer tekʷəna?) (Did you remind yourself to do that thing?)
In these examples, the reflexive pronouns "እኔብል" (myself) and "ንስሓብል" (yourself) are used to show that the subject is acting on themselves.
To improve your Tigrinya Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
Sources[edit | edit source]
➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]