Conditional Expressions

This unit covers conditional expressions in Amharic, focusing on the use of /yihonal/ to express possibility or permission, and the adverb /gena/ meaning “still” or “yet.” These structures allow you to talk about things that might happen and situations that continue or have not yet occurred.

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic	English
yimeTTa yihonal	He may come
tihed yihonal	You may go
yizennb yihonal	It may rain
nege yimeTTa yihonal waraqat-u	The ticket may arrive tomorrow
buna TeTTo yihonal?	May I drink coffee?
awo, TeTTo yihonal	Yes, you may drink
gena almeTTam	He hasn’t come yet
gena ayteTTam	He still hasn’t drunk
gena isra-llehu	I am still working
gena ahede-m	I haven’t gone yet
gena yinoral	He is still living (there)
gena alqeresim	It still isn’t finished

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English
yihonal	it is possible, may
yihon yičilal	it may be possible
yihon aydelem	it is not possible
gena	still, yet
gena … -m (neg.)	not yet
nege	tomorrow
kene	day
waraqat	ticket, paper
izzih	here
izziya	there
min-im	anything
man-im	anyone

Grammar Notes

/yihonal/ — Possibility and Permission

The word yihonal (lit. “it becomes”) is used after a jussive-form verb to express possibility (“may, might, could”) or to ask/grant permission:

Amharic	English
yimeTTa yihonal	He may come
tihed yihonal	You may go
nisera yihonal	We may work
yibella yihonal	He may eat

To form questions (asking permission):

Amharic	English
ihed yihonal?	May I go?
buna TeTTo yihonal?	May I drink coffee?
izzih iqemeTT yihonal?	May I sit here?

Negative: replace /yihonal/ with aychilim (“it is not possible”):

Amharic	English
yimeTTa aychilim	He cannot come
tihed aychilim	You cannot go
mehed aychilim	Going is not possible

/gena/ — “still” and “yet”

The adverb gena expresses continuity (“still”) or non-completion (“yet”):

With affirmative verbs — “still”:

Amharic	English
gena isra-llehu	I am still working
gena yinoral	He still lives (there)
gena yiTeTTal	He is still drinking
gena tiqim new	It is still useful

With negative verbs — “not yet”:

Amharic	English
gena almeTTam	He hasn’t come yet
gena ahede-m	I haven’t gone yet
gena ayteTTam	He hasn’t drunk yet
gena albelam	He hasn’t eaten yet
gena alqeresim	It isn’t finished yet

Combining /gena/ and /yihonal/

Amharic	English
gena yimeTTa yihonal	He may still come
gena tihed yihonal	You can still go

Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1 — Express Possibility with /yihonal/

Prompt	Response
He may come	yimeTTa yihonal
She may go	tihed yihonal
They may eat	yibbellu yihonal
We may work	nisera yihonal
It may rain	yizennb yihonal

Drill 2 — Ask Permission

Prompt	Response
May I go?	ihed yihonal?
May I sit here?	izzih iqemeTT yihonal?
May I drink water?	wuha TeTTo yihonal?
May I read this?	yih-in anbibo yihonal?

Drill 3 — /gena/ with Affirmative Verbs (“still”)

Prompt	Response
I am still working	gena isra-llehu
He is still eating	gena yibellal
She still lives here	gena izzih tinoralečč
They are still studying	gena yiTenalu

Drill 4 — /gena/ with Negative Verbs (“not yet”)

Prompt	Response
He hasn’t come yet	gena almeTTam
I haven’t eaten yet	gena albelahum
She hasn’t gone yet	gena alhedečč-im
It isn’t finished yet	gena alqeresim

Narrative

ato tadesse wede amerika yihed-al. gena waraqat-u almeTTam. nege yimeTTa yihonal. misst-u “meta yihonal?” bilta teyeqečč. ato tadesse “gena almeTTam, gin nege yimeTTa yihonal” ale. gena bizu sira alle-w — debdabe-wočč-in memermer allebbin. misst-u-m “buna TeTTo yihonal?” bilatew, “awo, TeTTo yihonal” ale. hullet-u buna TeTTu. gena yisra-lu — gena alqeresim sira-ččew.

Mr. Tadesse is going to America. His ticket hasn’t arrived yet. It may arrive tomorrow. His wife asked, “Has it come?” Mr. Tadesse said, “It hasn’t come yet, but it may come tomorrow.” He still has a lot of work — he must review the letters. His wife asked him, “May I drink coffee?” and he said “Yes, you may.” The two of them drank coffee. They are still working — their work isn’t finished yet.