Postpositions /zend/ and /ga/

Postpositions /zend/ and /ga/

Unit 41 introduces the postpositions /zend/ and /ga/, their use as postverbs, the prepositional-postpositional frames /ke-…zend/ and /ke-…ga/, and the impersonal use of /menor/.

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Basic Sentences

Romanized Amharic	English
ïssu yämäTTaw wädä ïzzieh zend new.	He came toward here.
bet zend hedä.	He went toward the house.
yähïn mängäd zend attïhïd.	Don’t go toward this road.
ïssu ga mäTTahut.	I came to him. (to his place)
wäyzäro Hirut ga hedku.	I went to Mrs. Hirut’s (place).
käbet zend mäTTa.	He came from toward the house.
käïssu ga tämällähut.	I returned from his (place).
käaddis abäba zend new yämimäTTaw.	He is coming from toward Addis Ababa.
käïssua ga mäshaf aKähut.	I got a book from her (place).
mïgïb menor bätam yiKäbbïdal.	To eat is very heavy. (impersonal)
menor ïzzieh bätam yiKäbbïdal.	To live here is very hard. (impersonal)
bähïzb mäkakäl menor ayiKällïm.	To live among people is not easy. (impersonal)

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Key Vocabulary

Romanized Amharic	English
zend	toward, in the direction of (postposition)
ga	at, to (someone’s place) (postposition)
ke-…zend	from the direction of
ke-…ga	from (someone’s place)
menor	to live, living; to be (infinitive, impersonal)
yiKäbbïdal	it is heavy, it is hard
ayiKällïm	it is not easy
mängäd	road, way
bet	house
hïzb	people, population
mäkakäl	middle, among
tämälläsä	he returned
aKä	he found, he got

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Grammar Notes

1. Postposition /zend/ — “Toward”

/zend/ follows nouns to indicate direction:

Construction	Meaning
bet zend	toward the house
gäbäya zend	toward the market
addis abäba zend	toward Addis Ababa
ïzzieh zend	toward here
ïzziya zend	toward there

/zend/ can follow a relative clause to describe the direction of movement:

yämäTTaw ïzzieh zend new. — He came toward here.

2. Postposition /ga/ — “At Someone’s Place”

/ga/ follows nouns (typically people) to mean “at/to someone’s place”:

Construction	Meaning
ïssu ga	at his place, to him
ïssua ga	at her place, to her
ato Kébädä ga	at Ato Kebede’s (place)
doktär ga	at the doctor’s
mämhïr ga	at the teacher’s

3. Frame Construction /ke-…zend/ and /ke-…ga/

Combining the preposition /ke-/ (“from”) with /zend/ or /ga/ creates “from toward” and “from someone’s place”:

Frame	Example	Meaning
ke- … zend	käbet zend	from toward the house
ke- … zend	käaddis abäba zend	from toward Addis Ababa
ke- … ga	käïssu ga	from his place
ke- … ga	käïssua ga	from her place
ke- … ga	kädoktär ga	from the doctor’s

4. /menor/ Used Impersonally

The infinitive /menor/ (“to live, to be”) can be used impersonally as a subject:

Example	Translation
menor ïzzieh bätam yiKäbbïdal.	Living here is very hard.
bähïzb mäkakäl menor ayiKällïm.	Living among people is not easy.
ïssu ga menor ayimäččïm.	Living at his place is not comfortable.

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Drills

Drill 1 — Substitution with /zend/

Cue	Response
bet	bet zend hedä. (He went toward the house.)
gäbäya	gäbäya zend hedä. (He went toward the market.)
addis abäba	addis abäba zend hedä. (He went toward Addis Ababa.)
tïmhïrt bet	tïmhïrt bet zend hedä. (He went toward the school.)

Drill 2 — Substitution with /ga/

Cue	Response
ïssu	ïssu ga hedku. (I went to his place.)
ïssua	ïssua ga hedku. (I went to her place.)
doktär	doktär ga hedku. (I went to the doctor’s.)
mämhïr	mämhïr ga hedku. (I went to the teacher’s.)

Drill 3 — Frame constructions /ke-…zend/ and /ke-…ga/

Cue	Response
bet / zend / mäTTa	käbet zend mäTTa. (He came from toward the house.)
ïssu / ga / tämälläsä	käïssu ga tämälläsähut. (I returned from his place.)
addis abäba / zend / mäTTa	käaddis abäba zend mäTTa. (He came from toward Addis Ababa.)
doktär / ga / tämälläsä	kädoktär ga tämälläsähut. (I returned from the doctor’s.)

Drill 4 — Impersonal /menor/

Cue	Response
ïzzieh / yiKäbbïdal	menor ïzzieh bätam yiKäbbïdal. (Living here is very hard.)
ïssu ga / ayimäččïm	ïssu ga menor ayimäččïm. (Living at his place is not comfortable.)
kätäma / Tïru new	bäkätäma menor Tïru new. (Living in the city is good.)

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Narrative

wäyzäro Almaz kädoktär ga tämälläsäčč. doktär bet ïssua käbet zend new. bäyyä Kän doktär ga tïhedallačč mïknïyatum bet zend yiKärïbal. zare gïn käaddis abäba zend addis doktär mäTTa. ïssua ïssu ga hedäčč. “ïzzieh menor yiKäbbïdal?” alläčč. “ayi, bähïzb mäkakäl menor Tïru new” alä doktäru. “käïne ga ïyä mäTTu bïzuh sïw yitämäkïral.” bämeČärräša ïssua yähïn doktär ga mähäd ïna menor Tïru ïndähon awKäčč.

Translation: Mrs. Almaz returned from the doctor’s. The doctor’s office is near her house. Every day she goes to the doctor’s because the house is toward it. But today a new doctor came from toward Addis Ababa. She went to his (place). “Is living here hard?” she said. “No, living among people is good,” said the doctor. “Many people are helped by coming to my place.” In the end she understood that going to this doctor and living was good.