Telling Time, Jussive and Imperative

This unit expands on telling time and introduces the jussive and imperative verb forms. You will also learn the relational affix /iyy(e)-/, the conjunction /s(i)-/ meaning “when,” and the adverb /abro/ meaning “together.” The jussive and imperative are essential for giving commands, making requests, and expressing wishes.

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic	English
sıddıst saat Tıwat new	It is 6:00 in the morning
hullətt saat-inna rub kə-səat bəhwala	It is 2:15 in the afternoon
ıhed!	Let me go!
yıhed!	Let him go!
tıhed!	Let her go!
ınhed!	Let us go!
hıd!	Go! (masc. imperative)
hıji!	Go! (fem. imperative)
hıdu!	Go! (plural imperative)
na!	Come! (masc.)
nay!	Come! (fem.)
sımeTTa nəggərəñ	When he came, he told me
abro ınhed	Let’s go together
ıyyandandu	each one

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English
ıhed	let me go (jussive)
yıhed	let him go (jussive)
ınhed	let us go
hıd	go! (masc. imperative)
bıla	eat! (masc. imperative)
TeTTa	drink! (masc. imperative)
na	come! (masc.)
nay	come! (fem.)
sı-	when (conjunction)
abro	together
ıyyandandu	each one
ıbakkıh	please (to masc.)
ıbakkıš	please (to fem.)
ıbakkwot	please (to pol.)
Tıwat	morning
mata	evening

Grammar Notes

Telling Time (Expanded)

Amharic traditionally counts hours from dawn (6 AM = 12 saat). The full system:

Western clock	Amharic	Expression
7:00 AM	and saat bə-Tıwat	one o’clock morning
8:30 AM	hullətt saat-inna gərma bə-Tıwat	2:30 morning
12:00 PM	sıddıst saat bə-Kən	six o’clock daytime
1:00 PM	səbatt saat bə-Kən	seven o’clock daytime
6:00 PM	assırhullətt saat bə-mata	twelve o’clock evening
9:00 PM	sost saat bə-lelit	three o’clock night

The Jussive

The jussive expresses wishes, commands, and suggestions (“let me/him/us …”):

Person	hedə (go)	bəlla (eat)
1sg	ıhed	ıbla
3sg m.	yıhed	yıbla
3sg f.	tıhed	tıbla
1pl	ınhed	ınbla
3pl	yıhedu	yıblau

The Imperative

The imperative is used for direct commands (2nd person only):

Person	hedə (go)	bəlla (eat)	meTTa (come)
2sg m.	hıd	bıla	na
2sg f.	hıji	bıy	nay
2pl	hıdu	bılu	nu

Some verbs have irregular imperatives: na (come!), nay (come, fem.), nu (come, pl.).

Relational Affix /iyy(e)-/

The prefix iyy(e)- forms distributive or reciprocal meanings:

Amharic	English
ıyyandandu	each one
ıyyəmangəlačč	each time

Conjunction /s(i)-/ — “when”

The prefix sı- attaches to the perfective to mean “when”:

Amharic	English
sımeTTa	when he came
sıbəlla	when he ate
sıhedku	when I went

/abro/ — “together”

The adverb abro means “together”:

• abro ınhed — Let’s go together
• abro bəllan — We ate together

Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1: Jussive Formation

Verb	1sg jussive	1pl jussive
hedə	ıhed	ınhed
bəlla	?	?
Safə	?	?
TeTTa	?	?

Drill 2: Imperative Practice

Give the command:

Verb	2sg m.	2sg f.	2pl
hedə	hıd	hıji	hıdu
bəlla	?	?	?
meTTa	?	?	?
Safə	?	?	?

Drill 3: sı- Constructions

Combine with sı-:

Sentence	With sı-
meTTa, bəlla	sımeTTa bəlla (when he came, he ate)
hedku, ayyəhum	?
bəllan, wəTTan	?

Narrative

zare Tıwat and saat kə-bet wəTTahu. wədaje Kebede ına sımmıhedu Tərahu. na abro ınhed alləhu. ıssu na allə. abro wədə bunnna bet hedən. bunnna TeTTa! allhu. hullaččınnim bunnna TeTTən. sıddıst saat sıhonə wədə sıra hedən. abro sıra sırran. mata sıhonə abro wədə bet təməlləsən.

Today at 7 AM (one o’clock morning) I went out from the house. I called my friend Kebede when he was going. “Come, let’s go together,” I said. He said “OK.” Together we went to the coffee shop. “Drink coffee!” I said. Both of us drank coffee. When it was noon, we went to work. We worked together. When evening came, we went home together.