Grammar book · Words and sentences
Pronouns
ተውላጠ ስሞች (pronouns)
Pronouns stand in place of nouns: I, me, my, mine, myself. English uses a different form for subject, object and owner, and a sentence always needs its subject pronoun, even when Amharic leaves it out.
The pronoun table
Amharic puts the person inside the verb (ሄድኩ = I went), so the pronoun እኔ is often left out. English verbs don't show the person clearly, so the subject pronoun is always needed: I went, not Went. Use the subject form before the verb and the object form after a verb or preposition.
In Amharic
አማርኛ ሰውን በግሡ ውስጥ ያስገባል (ሄድኩ = I went)፣ ስለዚህ “እኔ” ብዙ ጊዜ ይቀራል። የእንግሊዝኛ ግሦች ሰውን በግልጽ ስለማያሳዩ የባለቤት ተውላጠ ስም ሁልጊዜ ያስፈልጋል፦ I went እንጂ Went አይደለም። ከግሡ በፊት የባለቤት ቅርጽ፣ ከግሥ ወይም ከመስተዋድድ በኋላ የተሳቢ ቅርጽ ይጠቀሙ።
| Subject | Object | Possessive adjective | Possessive pronoun | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine | myself |
| you | you | your | yours | yourself / yourselves |
| he | him | his | his | himself |
| she | her | her | hers | herself |
| it | it | its | — | itself |
| we | us | our | ours | ourselves |
| they | them | their | theirs | themselves |
- Subject before the verb: She called. Object after the verb or a preposition: I called her. This is for him.
- English you is the same for one person, many people, polite and casual (Amharic አንተ, አንቺ, እርስዎ, እናንተ).
- Use he for a man, she for a woman, it for a thing or an animal you don't know. Don't mix them up: Amharic ending sounds can make this easy to confuse.
- My sister lives in Henderson. She works at a bank.
- Can you help me? I can't find my keys.
- Tell them we're on our way.
- This phone isn't mine. Is it yours?
- Between you and me, the manager is leaving.
my or mine? Reflexive pronouns
Possessive adjectives (my, your, her) come before a noun: my car. Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, hers) stand alone, without a noun: The car is mine. Reflexive pronouns (myself, herself) are used when the subject and object are the same person, or for emphasis: I cut myself. She fixed it herself. by myself = alone, without help.
In Amharic
የባለቤትነት ቅጽሎች (my, your, her) ከስም በፊት ይመጣሉ፦ my car። የባለቤትነት ተውላጠ ስሞች (mine, yours, hers) ያለ ስም ብቻቸውን ይቆማሉ፦ The car is mine። ራስን የሚያመለክቱ (myself, herself) ባለቤቱና ተሳቢው አንድ ሰው ሲሆኑ ወይም ለአጽንዖት ያገለግላሉ፦ I cut myself። She fixed it herself። by myself = ብቻዬን፣ ያለ እርዳታ።
| Before a noun | Alone |
|---|---|
| This is my coat. | This coat is mine. |
| Is that your bag? | Is that bag yours? |
| It's her idea. | The idea is hers. |
| That's our table. | That table is ours. |
| Their house is bigger. | Theirs is bigger. |
- Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe: yours, hers, ours, theirs (not your's).
- its (no apostrophe) = belonging to it. it's = it is / it has.
- Don't use reflexives after verbs like feel, relax, meet in normal English: I feel tired (not I feel myself tired).
- Is this seat yours or hers?
- The company changed its name.
- He taught himself English with videos.
- I live by myself.
- Help yourselves to some coffee!
it, there, one and ones
English sentences need a subject even when there is no real one. Use it for weather, time, distance and to start a description: It's hot. It's ten o'clock. It's two miles. Use there is / there are to say something exists. Use one / ones to avoid repeating a countable noun: I don't like the red shirt; I prefer the blue one.
In Amharic
የእንግሊዝኛ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች እውነተኛ ባለቤት ባይኖርም ባለቤት ያስፈልጋቸዋል። ለአየር ሁኔታ፣ ለሰዓት፣ ለርቀትና መግለጫ ለመጀመር it ይጠቀሙ፦ It's hot። It's ten o'clock። It's two miles። አንድ ነገር መኖሩን ለመናገር there is / there are ይጠቀሙ። የሚቆጠር ስም ላለመድገም one / ones ይጠቀሙ፦ I don't like the red shirt; I prefer the blue one።
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| it: weather | It's very windy today. |
| it: time / day / date | It's Friday. It's 5:30. |
| it: distance | It's 20 minutes from here. |
| it + adjective + to | It's hard to find parking. |
| there: exists | There's a gas station on the corner. |
| one / ones | Which bus? The one to the airport. These apples are better than the green ones. |
- Never start with Is or Are alone: It is cold (not Is cold).
- one replaces a countable noun only; for uncountable nouns just leave it out: I need some milk. Do we have any?
- It's raining, so take an umbrella.
- It takes 15 minutes to walk to the store.
- There's a problem with my bill.
- My phone is old. I need a new one.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| It is very hot today. | English needs a subject: use it for weather. | |
| He and I went to the store. | Use subject forms (I, he) before the verb. | |
| She gave the keys to me. | After a preposition, use the object form. | |
| My wife works at the hotel. | Don't repeat the subject with a pronoun; and use she for a woman. | |
| This book is yours. | Possessive pronouns have no apostrophe. | |
| The dog hurt its leg. | its = belonging to it; it's = it is. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
___ is my cousin. She lives in Denver.
Can you call ___ tomorrow?
This coat isn't mine. It's ___.
___ raining. (two words or a short form)
The restaurant changed ___ menu.
We painted the apartment ___. (reflexive)
My parents love ___ grandchildren.
I don't want the big box. Give me the small ___.
Correct it: “Me and Abebe work together.” → Abebe and ___ work together.
Mr. Tesfaye is our landlord. Do you know ___?
She lives by ___. (= alone)