Grammar book · Words and sentences
Articles: a, an, the and no article
መስተአምር፦ a, an, the እና ያለ መስተአምር (articles)
a/an means one of many; the means the one we both know. Sometimes no article is right. Amharic marks “the” with an ending (-ው, -ዋ) and has no word for “a”, so this is one of the hardest areas for Amharic speakers.
a or an?
a and an mean the same thing: one, any one. Use them only with singular countable nouns. Choose by the sound, not the letter: an before a vowel sound (an apple, an hour), a before a consonant sound (a car, a university, a one-way street).
In Amharic
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-) |
- Use a/an for jobs: She is a nurse. He's an engineer. (Amharic says ነርስ ናት with no article.)
- Use a/an the first time you mention something: I saw a nice apartment.
- a/an means one in measures: 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: the one we both know
Use the when the listener knows which one you mean: because you mentioned it before, because there is only one, or because the rest of the sentence makes it clear. It works with singular, plural and uncountable nouns. Amharic often does this with -ው/-ዋ (መኪናው = the car).
In Amharic
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 |
- the before vowel sounds sounds like “thee”; before consonants like “thuh”.
- Always use the with superlatives: the biggest, the most expensive.
- Most country and city names take no article (Ethiopia, Las Vegas), but plural or “united” names do: 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.
No article
Use no article when you talk about things in general with plural or uncountable nouns: Prices are high. Coffee is popular in Ethiopia. Also no article with most names, meals, languages, and some fixed places when you mean their normal purpose: go to work, go to school, go to bed, be at home.
In Amharic
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 |
- General statements: plural or uncountable noun with no article. Rent is expensive. Doctors work long hours.
- A singular countable noun never stands alone: I have a car / the car / my car (not I have car).
- No article with my, your, this, that: my car (not the my car).
- 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?
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
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)