Compound Verbs and Aspect

This unit introduces compound verbs formed with /malet/ (“to say”) and /madreg/ (“to do/make”), and the inconclusive aspect in Amharic.

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic (Romanized)	English
sira bilehi yiseral.	He works diligently (saying “work,” he does).
aTTirto ale.	He said “finish” (he declared finishing).
dingay bilehi adirgo feresewen.	He smashed it, hitting it like a stone.
sTot bilehi yiseTTal.	He gives as a gift (saying “gift,” he gives).
TiruNNa adirgo serraw.	He made it well.
dek-imo bilehi yinoral.	He lives happily (saying “happy,” he lives).
heddo heddo alageTTam.	He kept going but didn’t arrive. (inconclusive)
siro siro ageTTem.	Having worked and worked, he finished.
billo billo aqqeme.	Having said and said, he stopped.
belo belo Tegge.	Having eaten and eaten, he was satisfied.

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Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English		Amharic	English
malet	to say		madreg	to do, to make
bilehi	saying, having said		adirgo	having done/made
sTot	gift		dingay	stone
heddo	having gone		siro	having worked
billo	having said		belo	having eaten
ageTTem	he finished		aqqeme	he stopped
Tegge	was satisfied		alageTTam	didn’t arrive

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Grammar Notes

1. Compound Verbs with /malet/ (“to say”)

Many Amharic expressions use the verb /malet/ (“to say”) in combination with another word to form compound verbs. The auxiliary /bilehi/ (gerundive of /malet/) links the descriptive word with the main verb:

Pattern: descriptive word + /bilehi/ + main verb

Amharic	Literal	English
sira bilehi yiseral.	”work” saying, he works	He works diligently.
dek-imo bilehi yinoral.	”happy” saying, he lives	He lives happily.
qess bilehi meTTa.	”quietly” saying, he came	He came quietly.
feTin bilehi hede.	”fast” saying, he went	He went quickly.

/malet/ also creates idiomatic expressions:

Amharic	English
aTTirto ale.	He declared it finished.
min ale?	What did he say?
iši ale.	He said “okay” (he agreed).

2. Compound Verbs with /madreg/ (“to do/make”)

/madreg/ combines with adjectives and nouns to form compound verbs. The gerundive /adirgo/ is used:

Pattern: modifier + /adirgo/ + main verb

Amharic	Literal	English
TiruNNa adirgo serraw.	”good” having-made, he did it	He did it well.
dingay adirgo feresewen.	”stone” having-made, he smashed it	He smashed it like a stone.
tilliq adirgo seraw.	”big” having-made, he did it	He did it on a large scale.
sTot adirgo seTTe.	”gift” having-made, he gave	He gave it as a gift.

3. Inconclusive Aspect

The inconclusive aspect describes an action that was repeated or continued but did not reach a definitive conclusion. It is formed by repeating the gerundive form of the verb:

Pattern: gerundive + gerundive + result verb

Amharic	English
heddo heddo alageTTam.	He kept going and going but didn’t arrive.
siro siro ageTTem.	Having worked and worked, he finally finished.
billo billo aqqeme.	Having said and said (repeatedly), he stopped.
belo belo Tegge.	Having eaten and eaten, he was satisfied.
TeTTo TeTTo Tegge.	Having drunk and drunk, he was satisfied.

The inconclusive aspect can express either:

• Futility: heddo heddo alageTTam (he kept going but didn’t arrive)
• Eventual completion: siro siro ageTTem (he kept working and finally finished)

The choice between a positive or negative result verb determines the meaning:

Positive Result	Negative Result
siro siro ageTTem. (worked → finished)	siro siro alaqqemem. (worked → didn’t stop)
belo belo Tegge. (ate → satisfied)	belo belo alTegam. (ate → not satisfied)

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Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1 — Compound Verbs with /malet/

Descriptive Word	Compound	English
sira (work)	sira bilehi yiseral.	He works diligently.
dek-imo (happy)	dek-imo bilehi yinoral.	He lives happily.
qess (quiet)	qess bilehi meTTa.	He came quietly.
feTin (fast)	feTin bilehi hede.	He went quickly.
aTTirto (finish)	aTTirto ale.	He declared it finished.

Drill 2 — Compound Verbs with /madreg/

Modifier	Compound	English
TiruNNa (good)	TiruNNa adirgo serraw.	He did it well.
tilliq (big)	tilliq adirgo seraw.	He did it big.
sTot (gift)	sTot adirgo seTTe.	He gave it as a gift.
tinniš (small)	tinniš adirgo qeyyerew.	He made it small/reduced it.

Drill 3 — Inconclusive Aspect

Form the inconclusive aspect:

Base Verb	Inconclusive + Result
hede (went)	heddo heddo alageTTam. (kept going, didn’t arrive)
sera (worked)	siro siro ageTTem. (worked and worked, finished)
bela (ate)	belo belo Tegge. (ate and ate, was satisfied)
ale (said)	billo billo aqqeme. (said and said, stopped)
TeTTa (drank)	TeTTo TeTTo Tegge. (drank and drank, was satisfied)

Drill 4 — Translation

1. He works diligently. — /sira bilehi yiseral./
2. He did it well. — /TiruNNa adirgo serraw./
3. He kept going but didn’t arrive. — /heddo heddo alageTTam./
4. Having worked and worked, he finished. — /siro siro ageTTem./
5. He came quietly. — /qess bilehi meTTa./
6. He gave it as a gift. — /sTot adirgo seTTe./

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Narrative

ato kebbede sira bilehi yiseral. hullu qen Tewat feTin bilehi wede sira-e-bet yihedal. izziya siro siro bizu neger yidregal. anddand gize debdabe billo billo aqqemal. lela gize-m TiruNNa adirgo neger-oč-in yidregal. mata-m dek-imo bilehi wede bet yihedal. isswo yilal — “sira be sira, heddo heddo alageTTam yalut alleggu. gina ine siro siro iageTTalehu. mikniyatu — ine sira bilehi iseralehu.” bet-e-saw-u-m dek-imo bilehi yinoralu.

Translation: Mr. Kebbede works diligently. Every day in the morning he goes quickly to the office. There, having worked and worked, he accomplishes many things. Sometimes he writes letters again and again until he stops. Other times he does things well. In the evening he goes home happily. He says — “In work, there are those who keep going and going but don’t arrive. But I, having worked and worked, I finish. The reason — I work diligently.” His family also lives happily.