Negative Constructions with /yellem/

Negative Constructions with /yellem/

Unit 39 covers the use of /yellem/ (the negative existential “there is not” / “is not”) in combination with the short imperfective and the gerund. These constructions express that an action is not happening or has not been done.

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Basic Sentences

Romanized Amharic	English
yämimäTTa yellem.	There is no one who is coming.
yämisära yellem.	There is no one who works.
sïra yässärä yellem.	There is no one who has done the work.
ïnjera yäbälla yellem.	There is no one who has eaten injera.
mäshaf yaKnäbbä yellem.	No one has read the book.
bet yähädä yellem.	No one has gone home.
bunna yämmiTäTTa yellem.	There is no one drinking coffee.
fïdäl yämmisTämar yellem.	There is nothing to be taught by letter.
mäkinawn yäTägagnä yellem.	No one has fixed the car.
sïra yämissär sïw yellem ïzzieh.	There is nobody here who works.
ïnjera yäbälla sïw kaläm yellem.	If there is nobody who has eaten, there is no injera.
wädä gäbäya yähädä yellem zare.	Nobody has gone to the market today.

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Key Vocabulary

Romanized Amharic	English
yellem	there is not, is not (negative existential)
yämimäTTa	one who comes (short imperfective relative)
yämisära	one who works (short imperfective relative)
yässärä	one who has done (gerund-based relative)
yäbälla	one who has eaten (gerund-based relative)
yaKnäbbä	one who has read (gerund-based relative)
yähädä	one who has gone (gerund-based relative)
yäTägagnä	one who has fixed (gerund-based relative)
yämmiTäTTa	one who drinks (imperfective relative)
yämmisära	one who works (imperfective relative)
sïw	person
ïzzieh	here
gäbäya	market

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Grammar Notes

1. /yellem/ — Negative Existential

/yellem/ is the negative form of /allä/ (“there is”). It negates existence:

Affirmative	Negative
mïgïb allä (there is food)	mïgïb yellem (there is no food)
sïw allä (there is someone)	sïw yellem (there is no one)

2. Short Imperfective Relative + /yellem/

The short imperfective relative describes an ongoing or habitual action. Combined with /yellem/, it negates the existence of someone doing the action:

Construction	Translation
yämimäTTa yellem	There is no one coming.
yämisära yellem	There is no one working.
yämmiTäTTa yellem	There is no one drinking.
yämmibälla yellem	There is no one eating.

Pattern: /yä- + mmi/mi + verb stem + -a/ + yellem

3. Gerund-Based Relative + /yellem/

The gerund-based relative describes a completed action. Combined with /yellem/, it means no one has done the action:

Construction	Translation
yässärä yellem	No one has done it.
yäbälla yellem	No one has eaten.
yaKnäbbä yellem	No one has read it.
yähädä yellem	No one has gone.
yäTägagnä yellem	No one has repaired it.

Pattern: /yä- + gerund stem + -ä/ + yellem

4. Adding a Noun Subject

A noun can precede the relative to specify what is negated:

mäshaf yaKnäbbä sïw yellem. — There is no person who has read the book. sïra yämissär sïw yellem. — There is no person who works.

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Drills

Drill 1 — Short imperfective relative + /yellem/

Cue Verb	Response
mäTTa (come)	yämimäTTa yellem. (No one is coming.)
särra (work)	yämisära yellem. (No one is working.)
bälla (eat)	yämmibälla yellem. (No one is eating.)
TäTTa (drink)	yämmiTäTTa yellem. (No one is drinking.)
hedä (go)	yämihäd yellem. (No one is going.)

Drill 2 — Gerund relative + /yellem/

Cue	Response
sïra särra	sïra yässärä yellem. (No one has done the work.)
ïnjera bälla	ïnjera yäbälla yellem. (No one has eaten injera.)
mäshaf aKnäbbä	mäshaf yaKnäbbä yellem. (No one has read the book.)
bet hedä	bet yähädä yellem. (No one has gone home.)
mäkina Tägagnä	mäkina yäTägagnä yellem. (No one has fixed the car.)

Drill 3 — Transformation: Affirmative to negative with /yellem/

Affirmative	Negative
yämimäTTa allä. (Someone is coming.)	yämimäTTa yellem. (No one is coming.)
sïra yässärä allä. (Someone has done the work.)	sïra yässärä yellem. (No one has done the work.)
mïgïb yäbälla allä. (Someone has eaten.)	mïgïb yäbälla yellem. (No one has eaten.)
mäshaf yaKnäbbä allä. (Someone has read the book.)	mäshaf yaKnäbbä yellem. (No one has read the book.)

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Narrative

zare bet wïsT mïgïb yellem. ïnjera yäbälla yellem, bunna yäTäTTa yellem. gäbäya yähädä sïw yellem. wäyzäro Almaz “yämisära yellem zare?” bïla TäyyäKäčč. “yämimäTTa yellem” alä bal-ïbetua. “gäbäya yähädä yellem, mïgïb yämmigäzza yellem.” bämeČärräša ïssu gäbäya hedä. yämmišäTTaw bïzuh näbbär gïn birr yämmibäKKaw yellem näbbär. birr Kïbbe ïnQa, yämmigäzzaw almässäläwïm.

Translation: Today there is no food in the house. No one has eaten injera, no one has drunk coffee. No one has gone to the market. Mrs. Almaz asked, “Is there no one working today?” “No one is coming,” said her husband. “No one has gone to the market, there is no one to buy food.” In the end, he went to the market. There was a lot to sell, but there was no one with enough money. Even though he had money, what he could buy didn’t seem sufficient.