Infinitive and Imperfective

This unit introduces the relational prefix /y(e)-/, the verb infinitive, the verb imperfective (present-future tense), and verb classification into three-radical and two-radical types. You will learn to express ongoing or habitual actions and to name actions using the infinitive form.

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic	English
yə-ityoPiya kətəma	a city of Ethiopia
yə-ıne bet	my house (lit. house of me)
yə-Kebede mekina	Kebede’s car
məhed ıfəlligallehu	I want to go
məblat ıfəlligallehu	I want to eat
mənbab ıfəlligallehu	I want to read
bunnna ıTeTTallehu	I drink coffee
amarıñña ınaggərallehu	I speak Amharic
kə-bet ıwəTTallehu	I leave from the house
yəmıhəd new	He is (one) who goes
tımhırt bet ıhedallehu	I go to school

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English
yə-	of (relational prefix)
məhed	to go (infinitive)
məmTat	to come (infinitive)
məblat	to eat (infinitive)
mənbab	to read (infinitive)
məSaf	to write (infinitive)
məsmat	to hear (infinitive)
məmar	to learn (infinitive)
bunnna	coffee
čay	tea
ınjəra	injera (Ethiopian bread)
wəT	stew, sauce
tımhırt bet	school
yəmıhəd	who goes (relative)
ıfəlligallehu	I want

Grammar Notes

Relational Prefix /y(e)-/

The prefix yə- creates a genitive (“of”) relationship between two nouns:

Amharic	English
yə-ityoPiya kətəma	a city of Ethiopia
yə-ıne bet	my house
yə-Kebede mekina	Kebede’s car
yə-amarıñña məsahıf	an Amharic book

The Verb Infinitive

The infinitive is formed by adding the prefix mə- to the verb stem:

Verb stem	Infinitive	Meaning
hed-	məhed	to go
meTT-	məmTat	to come
bəll-	məblat	to eat
Saf-	məSaf	to write
anbəb-	mənbab	to read
səm-	məsmat	to hear
mar-	məmar	to learn

The infinitive is used after verbs like fəlləgə (want): məhed ıfəlligallehu (I want to go).

The Verb Imperfective

The imperfective expresses ongoing, habitual, or future actions. It is formed with a prefix and sometimes a suffix:

Person	Prefix/Suffix	hedə (go)
1sg	ı- … -allehu	ıhedallehu
2sg masc.	tı- … -allehu	tıhedalləh
2sg fem.	tı- … -alleš	tıhedalləš
3sg masc.	yı- … -al	yıhedral
3sg fem.	tı- … -alləčč	tıhedalləčč
1pl	ın- … -allən	ınhedallən
2pl	tı- … -allaččıhu	tıhedallaččıhu
3pl	yı- … -allu	yıhedallu

Verb Classification

Amharic verbs are classified by the number of root consonants (radicals):

• Three-radical verbs: most common (e.g., s-b-r → səbbərə “he broke”)
• Two-radical verbs: shorter stems (e.g., s-m → səmma “he heard”, b-l → bəlla “he ate”)

Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1: Form the Infinitive

Verb stem	Infinitive
hed-	məhed
Saf-	?
bəll-	?
mar-	?
səm-	?

Drill 2: Imperfective Conjugation

Conjugate bəlla (eat) in the imperfective:

Person	Imperfective
1sg	ıbəlallehu
3sg masc.	?
3sg fem.	?
1pl	?
3pl	?

Drill 3: yə- Constructions

Translate using the relational prefix:

English	Amharic
Almaz’s book	yə-Almaz məsahıf
the teacher’s house	?
Ethiopia’s capital	?
an Amharic lesson	?

Narrative

bəyyə Kən tımhırt bet ıhedallehu. bə-tımhırt bet amarıñña ımmarallehu. astəmariye beTam Tiru new. amarıñña ınnaggəralləhu. yə-amarıñña məsahıf anbəbalehu. kə-tımhırt bet hwala ınjəra-inna wəT ıbəlallehu. bunnna ıTeTTallehu. amarıñña məmar ıfəlligallehu.

Every day I go to school. At school I learn Amharic. My teacher is very good. I speak Amharic. I read an Amharic book. After school I eat injera and stew. I drink coffee. I want to learn Amharic.