Articles: a, an, the and no article
መስተአምር፦ a, an, the እና ያለ መስተአምር (articles)
a/an ከብዙዎች አንዱን ማለት ነው፤ the ሁለታችንም የምናውቀውን ማለት ነው። አንዳንድ ጊዜ ያለ መስተአምር ትክክል ነው። አማርኛ “the”ን በቅጥያ (-ው, -ዋ) ያሳያል፣ ለ “a” ደግሞ ቃል የለውም፤ ስለዚህ ይህ ለአማርኛ ተናጋሪዎች በጣም ከባዶቹ አንዱ ነው።
a ወይስ an?
a እና an አንድ ትርጉም አላቸው፦ አንድ፣ ማንኛውም አንድ። ከነጠላ የሚቆጠሩ ስሞች ጋር ብቻ ይጠቀሙባቸው። በፊደሉ ሳይሆን በድምፁ ይምረጡ፦ ከአናባቢ ድምፅ በፊት an (an apple, an hour)፣ ከተነባቢ ድምፅ በፊት a (a car, a university, a one-way street)።
| a + consonant sound | an + vowel sound |
|---|---|
| a job, a bus, a doctor | an office, an egg, an apartment |
| a university (you-) | an hour (silent h) |
| a uniform, a European car | an honest man, an MRI (em-) |
| a one-bedroom apartment (won-) | an X-ray (ex-) |
- ለሥራ a/an ይጠቀሙ፦ She is a nurse። He's an engineer። (አማርኛ ያለ መስተአምር ነርስ ናት ይላል።)
- አንድን ነገር ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ሲጠቅሱ a/an ይጠቀሙ፦ I saw a nice apartment።
- በመለኪያ a/an አንድ ማለት ነው፦ twice a week, $15 an hour, 60 miles an hour።
- My brother is a taxi driver.
- I'm looking for an apartment near a bus stop.
- She makes $18 an hour.
- Is there a pharmacy near here?
- He studies at a university in Reno.
the፦ ሁለታችንም የምናውቀው
አድማጩ የትኛውን እንደሚሉ ሲያውቅ the ይጠቀሙ፦ ቀደም ብለው ስለጠቀሱት፣ አንድ ብቻ ስለሆነ፣ ወይም የዓረፍተ ነገሩ ቀሪ ክፍል ግልጽ ስላደረገው። ከነጠላ፣ ከብዙና ከማይቆጠሩ ስሞች ጋር ይሠራል። አማርኛ ይህን ብዙ ጊዜ በ -ው/-ዋ ያደርጋል (መኪናው = the car)።
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| second mention | I saw a car and a truck. The truck was blocking the road. |
| only one | the sun, the moon, the internet, the government |
| clear from the situation | Close the door, please. Where's the bathroom? |
| made clear by the sentence | the apartment on Desert Inn Road, the man who called |
| superlatives and ordinals | the best, the cheapest, the first, the last |
| some place names | the United States, the Strip, the Red Sea, the Nile |
- ከአናባቢ ድምፅ በፊት the “ዚ” ይባላል፤ ከተነባቢ በፊት “ዘ” ይባላል።
- ከ superlative ጋር ሁልጊዜ the ይጠቀሙ፦ the biggest, the most expensive።
- አብዛኞቹ የአገርና የከተማ ስሞች መስተአምር አይወስዱም (Ethiopia, Las Vegas)፤ ብዙ ቁጥር ወይም “united” ያላቸው ግን ይወስዳሉ፦ the United States, the Philippines።
- We rented an apartment. The apartment has two bedrooms.
- Can you turn off the light?
- The man who lives next door works at the hospital.
- This is the cheapest store in town.
- My parents moved to the United States in 2010.
ያለ መስተአምር
በብዙ ወይም በማይቆጠሩ ስሞች ስለ ነገሮች በአጠቃላይ ሲናገሩ መስተአምር አይጠቀሙ፦ Prices are high። Coffee is popular in Ethiopia። እንዲሁም ከአብዛኞቹ ስሞች፣ ከምግብ ሰዓቶች፣ ከቋንቋዎች፣ እና ለተለመደ ዓላማቸው ከሚጠቀሱ አንዳንድ ቦታዎች ጋር መስተአምር የለም፦ go to work, go to school, go to bed, be at home።
| No article | With the (a particular one) |
|---|---|
| Children need sleep. (all children) | The children are asleep. (these children) |
| I love coffee. | The coffee at this café is great. |
| She goes to school. (as a student) | She went to the school to meet the teacher. |
| We have dinner at seven. | The dinner last night was delicious. |
| He speaks Amharic. | the Amharic language (formal) |
| at home, at work, by bus, in bed | in the house, at the office, on the bus |
- አጠቃላይ አባባል፦ ብዙ ወይም የማይቆጠር ስም ያለ መስተአምር። Rent is expensive። Doctors work long hours።
- ነጠላ የሚቆጠር ስም ብቻውን አይቆምም፦ I have a car / the car / my car (I have car አይደለም)።
- ከ my, your, this, that ጋር መስተአምር የለም፦ my car (the my car አይደለም)።
- Gas is cheaper in Arizona.
- I go to work by bus.
- My kids are at school until three.
- Ethiopians drink a lot of coffee.
- What time do you have lunch?
የተለመዱ ስህተቶች
| ስህተት | ትክክል | ለምን |
|---|---|---|
| She is a nurse. | Use a/an with jobs. | |
| I have a car. | A singular countable noun needs a, the or my. | |
| Life in America is busy. | General ideas take no article. | |
| He is the best student in the class. | The listener knows which class: the. | |
| I go to work at seven. | go to work, go to school, go home: no article. | |
| I waited for an hour. | hour starts with a vowel sound (silent h): an. |
ልምምድ
እያንዳንዱ መልስ ወዲያው ከምክንያቱ ጋር ይታረማል። እዚህ ምንም አይቀመጥም።
She works as ___ engineer.
He studies at ___ university.
I saw a house and a car. ___ house was for sale.
___ rent is expensive in big cities.
She makes $20 ___ hour. (one word)
This is ___ best injera in Las Vegas.
My kids go to ___ school near our house.
I usually go to ___ bed at eleven.
Correct it: “I have appointment at ten.” → I have ___ appointment at ten. (one word)
They moved to ___ United States in 2015.
Can you close ___ window, please?
My father is ___ doctor. (one word)