Four-Radical Verbs and Agents

This unit introduces four-radical verbs, the reflexive pronoun /ras-/ meaning “self,” nouns of agent and instrument, and the conjunctions /weyim/ and /weyiss/ for “or.” Four-radical verbs follow distinct conjugation patterns, and the derivational patterns for agent and instrument nouns greatly expand your working vocabulary.

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic	English
yih mekina bizu yatterfifal	This car vibrates a lot
ras-un yastemarew	He taught himself
ind-alqesu yinegiral	He speaks as if he didn’t stay
tiru astemariwočč yifelligalu	Good teachers are needed
negadewočč berehan yasteworedu	The merchants exported goods
meTfeyawn yifelligal	The broom is needed
ras-wan meTbeq allebbin	We must watch ourselves
weyim izzih teqemeTi, weyiss izziya	Either sit here, or there
yih mesfin lij-u-n yastemarewal	This prince educated his son
ind-iyasfellig yimeslal	It seems it is not needed
astewawwaqi zena-wun astawweqe	The announcer broadcast the news
seTočč masfiya-wan yiTTeqemalu	The women use the strainer

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English
atterfefe	vibrated, shook
astewawweqe	announced, broadcast
asteworedu	they exported
astemare	taught
asfelleg	needed, required
ras-	self (reflexive pronoun)
ind(i)-	as, like (prefix)
weyim	or (in questions)
weyiss	or (in statements)
astemarri	teacher (agent)
astawwaqi	announcer (agent)
aTTabi	printer (agent)
maTfiya	broom (instrument)
masfiya	strainer (instrument)
maqreja	reading material (instrument)
mesfin	prince
negade	merchant
mekina	car, machine

Grammar Notes

The Prefix /ind(i)-/

The prefix ind(i)- attaches to verbs and nouns to express “as, like, as if”:

Amharic	English
ind-ine	like me
ind-issu	like him
ind-alqesu	as if he didn’t stay
ind-iyasfellig	as if not needed
ind-ityoPiyawi	like an Ethiopian

When attached to a negative imperfective, it expresses “as if … not.”

Four-Radical Verbs

Four-radical verbs have roots with four consonants. The paradigm for /atterfefe/ (“vibrated”):

Subject	Perfective	Imperfective
ine	atterfef-ku	atterfif-allehu
anta	atterfef-k	t-atterfif-alleh
anči	atterfef-š	t-atterfif-iyaleš
issu	atterfefe	y-atterfif-al
isswa	atterfef-ečč	t-atterfif-aleč
inña	atterfef-n	inn-atterfif-allen
innante	atterfef-aččihu	t-atterfif-allaččihu
innassu	atterfef-u	y-atterfif-alu

Three- and Four-Radical Verbs in /-o-/

Certain verbs take an /-o-/ vowel pattern. These include causative and intensive forms:

Verb	Meaning
astewawweqe	he announced (4-radical)
astawwaqi	announcer (agent)
asteworredu	they exported (4-radical)

The Pronoun /ras-/ — “self”

The reflexive pronoun /ras-/ takes possessive suffixes to agree with the subject:

Amharic	English
ras-e	myself
ras-ih	yourself (m.)
ras-iš	yourself (f.)
ras-u	himself
ras-wa	herself
ras-aččin	ourselves
ras-aččihu	yourselves
ras-aččew	themselves

Used as object: /ras-un yastemarew/ — “He taught himself.”

Noun of Agent

Agent nouns describe the person performing an action. Pattern: stem with /-i/ ending:

Verb	Agent Noun	English
astemare	astemarri	teacher
astawweqe	astawwaqi	announcer
aTTebe	aTTabi	printer
asfelege	asfelagi	one who requires
agennebbe	agennabbi	one who connects

Noun of Instrument

Instrument nouns describe the tool used. Pattern: prefix /ma-/ with suffix /-iya/:

Verb	Instrument	English
Taffefe	maTfiya	broom
saffefe	masfiya	strainer
qerrese	maqresiya	shearing tool
qeTTere	maqTeriya	cutting tool
qerreye	maqreja	reading material

/weyim/ and /weyiss/ — “or”

Word	Usage	Example
weyim	questions and alternatives	šay weyim bunna tifellgaleš? — “Do you want tea or coffee?“
weyiss	declarative statements	šay weyiss bunna yiseTal — “Tea or coffee will be served”

Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1 — Four-Radical Verb Conjugation

Conjugate /astewawweqe/ (“announced”) in the perfective:

Prompt	Response
ine	astewawweq-ku
anta	astewawweq-k
issu	astewawweqe
inña	astewawweq-n
innassu	astewawweq-u

Drill 2 — /ras-/ with Possessive Suffixes

Complete with the correct reflexive form:

Prompt	Response
I taught myself	ras-e-n astemarkuhu
He watches himself	ras-u-n yiTbeqal
We help ourselves	ras-aččin-in irrdallen
They fed themselves	ras-aččew-in abellačew

Drill 3 — Form Agent and Instrument Nouns

Verb	Agent Noun	Instrument Noun
astemare (taught)	astemarri	—
Taffefe (swept)	—	maTfiya
astawweqe (announced)	astawwaqi	—
saffefe (strained)	—	masfiya
aTTebe (printed)	aTTabi	—

Drill 4 — /weyim/ vs. /weyiss/

Choose the correct word for “or”:

English	Amharic
Do you want coffee or tea?	bunna weyim šay tifellgaleh?
He will come today or tomorrow	zare weyiss nege yimeTTal
Is it big or small?	tilliq weyim tinniš new?
Read or write	anbib weyiss Saf

Narrative

ato kebbede tiru astemarri new. be-timhirt bet yetemariwočč-un yastemir-al. yileyyayu meTahift-očč-in yiTTeqemal. keza yileyyayu maqreja-wočč-in yasfelligal. yetemariwočč ras-aččew-in meTbeq allebaččew. weyim yastemarri-yaččew-in yisemalu weyiss ras-aččew yasTelalu. ato kebbede yih-in yasTemir-al — “ras-aččihu-n Tebiqu. ande qen tiru astemarri-wočč tihonallaččihu.”

Mr. Kebbede is a good teacher. He teaches the students at school. He uses various textbooks. He also requires various reading materials. The students must watch themselves. They either listen to their teacher or they study by themselves. Mr. Kebbede teaches them this — “Watch yourselves. One day you will become good teachers.”