Relational Affixes and Relative Clauses

This unit introduces relational affixes on verbs, relative clause constructions using /y(e)- ~ yemin(i)-/, and /ind(e)-/ constructions. These structures allow you to form complex sentences, describe people by their actions, and make comparisons or manner expressions.

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic	English
yəmeTTaw səw	the person who came
yəhedəčč set	the woman who went
yəmmıhed səw	the person who goes
yəmmıbəla mısa	food that is eaten
yətəSafəw dəbdabbe	the letter that was written
ində-ıne	like me
ində-ıssu yınaggəral	He speaks like him
indəmıhed awKallehu	I know how he goes
indəmeTTa səmahu	I heard that he came
yəmmınaggərəw lıj	the child who speaks
yəmmıTeTTaw bunnna	coffee that one drinks

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English
yə-…-ə	relative past (who did)
yəmmı-	relative imperfective (who does)
ində-	like, as; that (conjunction)
səw	person, people
set	woman
wənd	man
lıj	child, boy
lıjočč	children
bəza	much, many
hullu	all, every
yəlləm	there is not
gın	but
sıle-	because of, about
sıləmən	why
sıləzzih	therefore

Grammar Notes

Relational Affixes on Verbs

The relational prefix yə- attaches to perfective verbs to form relative clauses (who did, what was done):

Verb	Relative past	English
meTTa	yəmeTTaw	the one who came (masc.)
hedəčč	yəhedəčč	the one who went (fem.)
Safə	yəSafəw	the one who wrote (masc.)
bəlla	yəbəllaw	the one who ate (masc.)

The suffix on the relative clause agrees with the head noun: -w (masc.), -wa (fem.), -u (definite masc.).

/y(e)- ~ yemin(i)-/ in Relative Clauses

For imperfective (present/habitual) relative clauses, the prefix yəmmı- (or yəmin-) replaces the regular imperfective prefix:

Imperfective	Relative	English
yıhedral	yəmmıhed	who goes
yıbəlal	yəmmıbəla	who eats
yıSafal	yəmmıSaf	who writes
yınaggəral	yəmmınaggər	who speaks

These modify nouns: yəmmıhed səw (a person who goes), yəmmıbəla mısa (food that one eats).

/ind(e)-/ Constructions

The prefix ində- has two main uses:

1. “Like, as” (comparison):

Amharic	English
ində-ıne	like me
ində-ıssu	like him
ində-ityoPiyawi	like an Ethiopian

2. “That, how” (complement clause):

Amharic	English
indəmeTTa awKallehu	I know that he came
indəmmıhed səmahu	I heard that he goes
indəmin addərk?	How did you spend (the day)?

Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1: Form Relative Clauses (Past)

Verb	Relative	English
meTTa	yəmeTTaw	who came
bəlla	?	who ate
Safə	?	who wrote
hedəčč	?	who went (fem.)

Drill 2: Form Relative Clauses (Imperfective)

Verb	Relative	English
yıhedral	yəmmıhed	who goes
yıbəlal	?	who eats
yınaggəral	?	who speaks
yıTeTTal	?	who drinks

Drill 3: ində- Practice

Translate:

English	Amharic
like me	ində-ıne
like a teacher	?
I know that he went	?
He speaks like her	?

Narrative

yəmeTTaw səw Kebede new. ıssu yəmmınaggər amarıñña beTam Tiru new. ində-ıssu amarıñña mənaggər ıfəlligallehu. yəmmıhed tımhırt bet bete lıkk new. bə-tımhırt bet yəmmımar lıjočč bəzu naččəw. yəmmıbəla ınjəra ində-ıne yıwəddalu. indəmeTTahu səmu.

The person who came is Kebede. The Amharic he speaks is very good. I want to speak Amharic like him. The school he goes to is near my house. The children who study at school are many. They like the injera that one eats, like me. They heard that I came.