Dialogue and Narrative Practice (I)

This is the first of two review units consolidating grammar and vocabulary from Units 1–20. It features review dialogues and cumulative vocabulary practice.

Review Dialogue 1 — At the Office (በቢሮ)

Amharic (Romanized)	English
ato kebbede: indemin adderk, ato tadesse?	Mr. Kebbede: How did you spend the night, Mr. Tadesse?
ato tadesse: dehna, igziabher yimesgen. antess?	Mr. Tadesse: Fine, praise God. And you?
ato kebbede: dehna. zare min sira allehi?	Mr. Kebbede: Fine. What work do you have today?
ato tadesse: bizu sira allegNNi. debdabewočč-in memermer allebbiNNi.	Mr. Tadesse: I have a lot of work. I must review the letters.
ato kebbede: ine-m yebereha waraqat madres allegNNi.	Mr. Kebbede: I also have to receive a plane ticket.
ato tadesse: wede yet tihedalehi?	Mr. Tadesse: Where will you go?
ato kebbede: wede ityoTTya. nege yimeTTa yihonal waraqat-u.	Mr. Kebbede: To Ethiopia. The ticket may arrive tomorrow.
ato tadesse: melkam guzo!	Mr. Tadesse: Good trip!

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Review Dialogue 2 — At the Market (በገበያ)

Amharic (Romanized)	English
almaz: yih sint new?	Almaz: How much is this?
negade: amist birr new.	Merchant: It is five birr.
almaz: bizu new! sost birr yihonal?	Almaz: That’s a lot! Would three birr be possible?
negade: arat birr yihonal. kehullu yibelliT zegga new.	Merchant: Four birr is possible. It’s the lowest price.
almaz: iši, arat birr iseTTalehu.	Almaz: Okay, I’ll give four birr.
negade: iši, ameseginalehu. ke yih bet-im afellgiyaleš?	Merchant: Okay, thank you. Do you need anything else?
almaz: ay, beqa. ameseginalehu.	Almaz: No, that’s enough. Thank you.

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Cumulative Vocabulary Review (Units 1–20)

Greetings and Courtesies

Amharic	English		Amharic	English
selam	peace, hello		dehna	fine, well
indemin adderk?	How are you? (m.)		indemin adderš?	How are you? (f.)
igziabher yimesgen	praise God		ameseginalehu	thank you
iši	okay		awo	yes
ay / aydelem	no		izzih	here
izziya	there		zare	today
tilant	yesterday		nege	tomorrow

Common Verbs

Amharic	English		Amharic	English
meta	came		hede	went
bela	ate		TeTTa	drank
seTTe	gave		sera	worked
sebbere	broke		nebber	was, lived
allegNNi	I have		yifellgal	is needed
yihonal	it is possible		yimeslal	it seems

Descriptive Words

Amharic	English		Amharic	English
tilliq	big		tinniš	small
reddj	tall, long		aTTir	short
feTin	fast		zegga	slow, cheap
TiruNNa	good		meTabbi	bad
moq	hot		berd	cold

Numbers Review

Amharic	English		Amharic	English
and	one		hullet	two
sost	three		arat	four
amist	five		siddist	six
sebat	seven		simmint	eight
zeTTegNa	nine		assir	ten

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Review Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1 — Greeting Exchange

Practice the full greeting sequence:

Speaker A	Speaker B
indemin adderk?	dehna, igziabher yimesgen. antess?
dehna. zare min sira allehi?	bizu sira allegNNi.
wede yet tihedalehi?	wede sira ihedalehu.
melkam qen!	ameseginalehu, antehim.

Drill 2 — Verb Review (Perfect Tense)

Give the perfect form for /ine/:

Verb	Perfect (ine)
meta (came)	meTTahu
hede (went)	hedku
bela (ate)	bellahu
seTTe (gave)	seTTehu
sebbere (broke)	sebberkw
tergeme (translated)	tergemmehu

Drill 3 — Comparative Review

Form comparisons:

Prompt	Response
addis abeba / dire dawa / tilliq	addis abeba kedire dawa yibellTal.
šay / bunna / moq	šay kebunna yimoqal.
ine / anta / reddj	ine kante ireddjalehu.

Drill 4 — Express Possibility

Use /yihonal/:

Prompt	Response
He may come.	yimeTTa yihonal.
It may rain.	yizennb yihonal.
She may go.	tihed yihonal.
They may work.	yiseru yihonal.

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Narrative — A Day at Work

ato tadesse Tewat tenesTo wede sira hede. bizu sira nebber. debdabewočč-in mermero sileTelefon Tera. keza wede gibi hede. izziya ato kebbede-n agegNe. hullet-u bunna TeTTu inna yesira-wočč-in gize-woč teyayequ. bexwala ato kebbede “nege wede ityoTTya ihedalehu” ale. ato tadesse “melkam guzo” ale. hullet-um sira-wočč-in aTTirru inna wede bet-aččew hedu.

Translation: Mr. Tadesse woke up in the morning and went to work. There was a lot of work. He reviewed the letters and made phone calls. Then he went to the cafeteria. There he met Mr. Kebbede. The two drank coffee and discussed their work schedules. Afterwards Mr. Kebbede said, “Tomorrow I will go to Ethiopia.” Mr. Tadesse said, “Good trip.” Both finished their work and went home.