FSI Language Courses
Volume 1 Unit 40 of 60

Extended Dialogue Practice (IV)

FSI Amharic Basic Course

Grammar Focus

  • Consolidation of recent grammar
  • Narrative and drills

Course Material

Extended Dialogue Practice (IV) — Consolidation and Narrative

Unit 40 is a review unit consolidating grammar from Units 31–39. It features extended dialogues, cumulative practice, and narrative exercises that integrate prepositional phrases, conditionals, negatives, frequentatives, reciprocals, concessives, impersonal relatives, gerund with /maweK/, and /yellem/ constructions.

Review Dialogue 1 — Weekend Plans

SpeakerRomanized AmharicEnglish
A:käsämbïtïna mïn lïsära? yämmisärraw mïn allä?What should I do on Sunday? What is there to do?
B:wädä hayk mähed taweKalläh? nïdo taweKalläh?Do you know how to get to the lake? Can you drive?
A:awon, nïdo aweKalähut. gïn bämäkinañ bïccañ new.Yes, I can drive. But only in my car.
B:ato Kébädä yimäTTa indehon aläwKum.I don’t know whether Ato Kebede will come.
A:mäTToge TäyyïKäw.When he comes, ask him.
B:yimäTTa yiKriTma, aydäwïlïm ïnQa!Let alone come, he didn’t even call!
A:yämihäd sïw yellem indä?Is there no one going?
B:ïnätänagäralän, ïnätäraddallän. yïhäd new.We’ll talk to each other, we’ll help each other. It will work out.

Review Dialogue 2 — The Broken Car

SpeakerRomanized AmharicEnglish
A:mäkinaw tässäbbäräčč. yäTägagnä yellem?The car broke down. Has no one fixed it?
B:yäTägagnä yellem. TägagnÉ yämmaweK yellem ïzzieh.No one has fixed it. There is nobody here who knows how to fix it.
A:inkwan mäkina, bus ïnKa yälläm bäzih mängäd.Let alone a car, there isn’t even a bus on this road.
B:bäïgïr bïcca mähed yïKärral.We’ll have to go only on foot.
A:hedku ïnQa, mïnïm almässläñïm.Even though I went, it didn’t seem like anything.
B:sïra massäroge, ïndïTägagnä ïnayalän.When work is finished, let’s see if it gets fixed.

Review Dialogue 3 — A Visit to Friends

SpeakerRomanized AmharicEnglish
A:gäbäbzoččïn mäTToge, mïgïb Täbbïso taweKïyalläš?When our guests come, do you know how to cook?
B:ïnjera Täbbïso aweKalähut. gïn wäT Täbbïso aläwKum.I know how to make injera. But I don’t know how to cook stew.
A:yämmiradda yellem?Is there no one to help?
B:ïhtïñ bïccañ new. yämimäTTa yellem.My sister is my only one. No one is coming.
A:mäTTačč ïnQa, wäT Täbbïso attawKïm.Even though she comes, she doesn’t know how to cook stew.
B:ïnätäraddallän. ïssua ïnjera tïsäralläčč, ïne wäT ïsäralähut.We’ll help each other. She makes injera, I make stew.

Cumulative Practice

Practice 1 — Sentence construction from cues

Build complete sentences from the elements provided:

ElementsExpected Sentence
bä- + mäkina + hedäbämäkina hedä. (He went by car.)
mäTTa + -ge + nägärämäTToge nägärä. (When he came, he spoke.)
al- + bälla + -malbällam. (He didn’t eat.)
tä- + nägärä (reciprocal)tänagäru. (They talked to each other.)
inkwan + sïga + aTïkïlt + yelleminkwan sïga, aTïkïlt ïnKa yellem. (Let alone meat, there aren’t even vegetables.)
yämmibällaw + yellemyämmibällaw yellem. (There is nothing to eat.)
Täbbïso + maweKTäbbïso yaweKal. (He knows how to cook.)
yäbälla + yellemyäbälla yellem. (No one has eaten.)

Practice 2 — Dialogue role-play prompts

Practice with a partner using these situations:

  1. At a restaurant: Ask what there is to eat and drink using impersonal relatives. The server responds that certain items are unavailable using /yellem/.

  2. Planning a trip: Discuss whether someone is coming using /indehon/. Use /-ge/ clauses to talk about what to do when someone arrives.

  3. At a repair shop: Explain that no one knows how to fix something using /maweK/ + /yellem/. Use concessive /inkwan/ to express frustration.

Practice 3 — Narrative construction

Using the following elements, construct a short narrative (5-8 sentences):

  • Someone went to the market (/bä-/ prepositional phrase)
  • There was nothing to buy (/yämmigäzzaw yellem/)
  • Even though they tried (/hedku ïnQa/)
  • They talked to each other (reciprocal)
  • When they returned (/-ge/ clause)
  • They knew how to solve it (gerund + /maweK/)

Narrative

ato Tässäma ïna ato Kébädä hulät gize yitänagäralu yitäraddalum. aïnïd Kän ato Tässäma bämäkinaw wädä gäbäya hedä. gïn yämmigäzzaw mïnïm yellem näbbär. aTïkïlt yämmišäTTa yellem, sïga yämmišäTTa yellem. inkwan sïga, wuha ïnKa yälläm näbbär. ato Tässäma tämällïsoge ato Kébädän awäyayäw. “mïgïb Täbbïso taweKalläh?” Tärräge. “ïne bïccañ ayidälähum” alä ato Kébädä. “gïn ïnätäraddalän.” tänagäru ïna bämeČärräša ïnädämun sïra särru. inkwan mïgïb, bunna ïnQa Täbbïsu. yäbälla yellem gïn yïbällu hedä — ïnde yämmičïl honä.

Translation: Ato Tessema and Ato Kebede always talk to each other and help each other. One day Ato Tessema went to the market by car. But there was nothing to buy. There was no one selling vegetables, no one selling meat. Let alone meat, there wasn’t even water. When Ato Tessema returned, he spoke with Ato Kebede. “Do you know how to cook?” he asked. “I’m not alone,” said Ato Kebede. “We’ll help each other.” They talked and in the end they worked together. Let alone food, they even made coffee. No one had eaten, but they were going to eat — it turned out to be possible.