Verbal Nouns and Adverbials

Verbal Nouns and Adverbials

Unit 44 covers verbal nouns (infinitives used as nouns), adverbials formed with /b(e)-/ and /-(i)n/, and gerund adverbials. These constructions expand your ability to describe manner, circumstance, and nominalized actions.

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Basic Sentences

Romanized Amharic	English
mähed Tïru new.	Going is good. (verbal noun as subject)
maKnäb yifälligal.	He wants to read. (verbal noun as object)
mäbälat ïna mäTäTat yifälligal.	He wants eating and drinking.
bäfïTnät hedä.	He went quickly. (adverbial with /bä-/)
bätänäKäKKo nägärä.	He spoke carefully.
bädässïta tämälläsä.	He returned happily.
wädä betu riTon hedä.	He went running to his house. (gerund adverbial)
zïm bïlo Kommä.	He stood silently. (gerund adverbial)
ïyyä sïran ïna ïyyä bällan yimässïlal.	The working and the eating seem (like they’re happening).
sïran bäwäd särra.	He did the work lovingly.
mämaRin ayifälligïm.	He doesn’t want learning.
fïTnätin hedä.	He went with speed. (adverbial with /-(i)n/)

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Key Vocabulary

Romanized Amharic	English
mähed	going (verbal noun / infinitive)
maKnäb	reading (verbal noun)
mäbälat	eating (verbal noun)
mäTäTat	drinking (verbal noun)
mämaR	learning (verbal noun)
bäfïTnät	quickly (adverbial)
bätänäKäKKo	carefully (adverbial)
bädässïta	happily (adverbial)
bäwäd	lovingly (adverbial)
riTon	running (gerund adverbial)
zïm bïlo	silently (gerund adverbial)
fïTnät	speed, quickness
tänäKäKKo	care, caution
dässïta	happiness, joy
Kommä	he stood

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Grammar Notes

1. Verbal Nouns (Infinitives as Nouns)

Amharic infinitives (beginning with /mä-/ or /ma-/) function as nouns — they can serve as subjects or objects of sentences:

As subject:

Example	Translation
mähed Tïru new.	Going is good.
maKnäb yiKäbbïdal.	Reading is hard.
mäbälat yifälligal.	Eating is desirable.
mäsrat yiKärral.	Doing it is necessary.

As object:

Example	Translation
maKnäb yifälligal.	He wants to read.
mähed aldällähubbïm.	I didn’t want to go.
mämaRin ayifälligïm.	He doesn’t want learning.

2. Adverbials with /b(e)-/

Nouns (especially abstract nouns) take the prefix /bä-/ to form adverbs of manner:

Noun	Adverbial	Meaning
fïTnät (speed)	bäfïTnät	quickly
tänäKäKKo (care)	bätänäKäKKo	carefully
dässïta (happiness)	bädässïta	happily
wäd (love)	bäwäd	lovingly
ïwwnät (truth)	bäïwwnät	truly
gïddïya (obligation)	bägïddïya	necessarily

3. Adverbials with /-(i)n/

Some adverbials are formed by adding the suffix /-(i)n/ to nouns:

Noun	Adverbial	Meaning
fïTnät	fïTnätin	with speed, quickly
gïddïya	gïddïyawn	necessarily
bet	betin	homeward

This construction overlaps with the direct object suffix but functions adverbially in context.

4. Gerund Adverbials

Gerund forms can function as adverbs describing the manner of the main action:

Gerund	Example	Translation
riTo (running)	riTon hedä	he went running
zïm bïlo (being silent)	zïm bïlo Kommä	he stood silently
čïkkol bïlo (hurrying)	čïkkol bïlo mäTTa	he came hurrying
tïkïkk bïlo (being exact)	tïkïkk bïlo nägärä	he spoke precisely
dässïtu (being happy)	dässïtu tämälläsä	he returned happily

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Drills

Drill 1 — Verbal nouns as subjects

Cue	Response
mähed / Tïru	mähed Tïru new. (Going is good.)
maKnäb / yiKäbbïdal	maKnäb yiKäbbïdal. (Reading is hard.)
mäbälat / yifälligal	mäbälat yifälligal. (Eating is desirable.)
mäsrat / yiKärral	mäsrat yiKärral. (Doing it is necessary.)
mämaR / ayiKällïm	mämaR ayiKällïm. (Learning is not easy.)

Drill 2 — Adverbial formation with /bä-/

Cue Noun	Adverbial Sentence
fïTnät (speed)	bäfïTnät hedä. (He went quickly.)
tänäKäKKo (care)	bätänäKäKKo nägärä. (He spoke carefully.)
dässïta (happiness)	bädässïta tämälläsä. (He returned happily.)
wäd (love)	bäwäd särra. (He did it lovingly.)
ïwwnät (truth)	bäïwwnät nägärä. (He spoke truthfully.)

Drill 3 — Gerund adverbials

Cue	Response
riTo + hedä	riTon hedä. (He went running.)
zïm bïlo + Kommä	zïm bïlo Kommä. (He stood silently.)
čïkkol bïlo + mäTTa	čïkkol bïlo mäTTa. (He came hurrying.)
dässïtu + tämälläsä	dässïtu tämälläsä. (He returned happily.)

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Narrative

ato Kébädä bäfïTnät mähed yifälligal. bäyyä Kän riTon wädä sïra yihedal. “mähed yiKärral, maKnäb yiKärral, mäsrat yiKärral” yilal. sïranun bätänäKäKKo yisäral. dïbdabbe bäïwwnät yisTal. bäwäd näw yämisäraw. aïnïd Kän bädässïta tämälläsä — sïranun bäfïTnät assälqäw. birtu zïm bïla Tärräggäčč: “mäbälat atiTfälligïm?” bïla. ïssu čïkkol bïlo mäTTa ïna bällo dässïtu “mäbälat ïna mäsrat hullätu yiKäralu” alä.

Translation: Ato Kebede likes going fast. Every day he goes to work running. “Going is necessary, reading is necessary, doing is necessary,” he says. He does his work carefully. He writes letters truthfully. He works lovingly. One day he returned happily — he finished his work quickly. His wife asked silently: “Don’t you want to eat?” He came hurrying and after eating said happily, “Both eating and working are necessary.”