Negation and Short Imperfective

This unit covers negation in Amharic. You will learn how to form the negative perfective, the short imperfective, the negative imperfective, and the negative infinitive. The imperfective with /-(i)nna/ (used for “while” or “and” in continuous actions) is also introduced. Mastering negation is essential for natural conversation.

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic	English
alhedkum	I did not go
alməTTam	He did not come
albəllam	He did not eat
ayhedem	He does not go
aybəlam	He does not eat
ayTeTTam	He does not drink
Kebede ınjəra bəlto bunnna TeTTa	Kebede, eating injera, drank coffee
ıne ınbıbbına ıssu Safə	While I read, he wrote
yalhədə	who did not go
yaləbəlla	who did not eat
alməblat	not to eat
alməhed	not to go

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English
al-…-m	negative perfective pattern
ay-…-m	negative imperfective pattern
alə-	negative infinitive prefix
-ınna	while, and (with imperfective)
bunnna	coffee
wuha	water
TəTT	milk
birz	beer
ınjəra	injera
wəT	stew, sauce
sıga	meat
aTıKılt	vegetables
fırafe	fruit
mısa	lunch, meal
Kıne mısa	dinner

Grammar Notes

Imperfective with /-(i)nna/ — “while, and”

The suffix -(i)nna added to the imperfective stem expresses simultaneous or connected actions:

Amharic	English
ıne ınbıbbınna ıssu yıSafal	While I read, he writes
bunnna ıTeTTınna ınnaggəralləhu	While drinking coffee, we talk
ıssu ınjəra yıbəlınna bunnna yıTeTTal	He eats injera and drinks coffee

Negative Perfective

The negative perfective is formed with the prefix al- and the suffix -m:

Affirmative	Negative	English
hedku	alhedkum	I did not go
meTTa	alməTTam	he did not come
bəlla	albəllam	he did not eat
Safə	alSafəm	he did not write
təmarku	altəmarkum	I did not learn

Short Imperfective

The short imperfective drops the main-verb suffix -al and is used in subordinate clauses, after certain particles, and with negation:

Full imperfective	Short imperfective
yıhedral	yıhed
yıbəlal	yıbəla
yıSafal	yıSaf
ıhedallehu	ıhed

Negative Imperfective

The negative imperfective uses the prefix a(y)- and the suffix -m on the short imperfective:

Affirmative	Negative	English
yıhedral	ayhedem	he does not go
yıbəlal	aybəlam	he does not eat
yıTeTTal	ayTeTTam	he does not drink
yıSafal	aySafəm	he does not write
ıhedallehu	alhedem	I do not go

Negative Infinitive

The negative infinitive is formed with the prefix alə- (or al-) before the infinitive:

Infinitive	Negative	English
məhed	alməhed	not to go
məblat	alməblat	not to eat
məSaf	alməSaf	not to write

Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1: Negate the Perfective

Affirmative	Negative
hedku	alhedkum
meTTa	?
bəllan	?
Safəčč	?
təmaru	?

Drill 2: Negate the Imperfective

Affirmative	Negative
yıhedral	ayhedem
yıbəlal	?
ıSafallehu	?
tıTeTTalləh	?

Drill 3: -(i)nna Constructions

Combine the two actions:

Action 1	Action 2	Combined
ınbıb (read)	ıSaf (write)	ınbıbbınna ıSaf
bəla (eat)	TeTTa (drink)	?
hed (go)	naggər (talk)	?

Narrative

zare bunnna alTeTTahum. čay-ım alTeTTahum. Tıwat ınjəra bəllahu, gın wəT albəllahum. wuha bıčča TeTTahu. kə-saat bəhwala wədə sıra hedku. sıra lay bunnna ıTeTTınna kə-wədaje gar tənagərku. ıssu-m ınjəra aybəlam. ıñña hullaččınim alməblat mərrəTn.

Today I did not drink coffee. I did not drink tea either. In the morning I ate injera, but I did not eat stew. I only drank water. In the afternoon I went to work. At work, while drinking coffee, I talked with my friend. He also does not eat injera. We both chose not to eat.