Grammar book · Words and sentences
Determiners and quantifiers
ወሳኞችና የመጠን ቃላት (determiners and quantifiers)
Determiners come before a noun to say which one or how many: this, those, each, every, all, both, either, neither, no, none, enough. Each one goes with a certain kind of noun.
this, that, these, those
this (ይህ) and these (እነዚህ) are for things near you; that (ያ) and those (እነዚያ) are for things far away. this and that go with singular or uncountable nouns; these and those go with plurals. They can stand alone too: This is my wife. Those are mine.
In Amharic
this (ይህ) እና these (እነዚህ) በአጠገብዎ ላሉ ነገሮች ናቸው፤ that (ያ) እና those (እነዚያ) ርቀው ላሉ ነገሮች ናቸው። this እና that ከነጠላ ወይም ከማይቆጠሩ ስሞች ጋር ይሄዳሉ፤ these እና those ከብዙ ጋር ይሄዳሉ። ብቻቸውንም ሊቆሙ ይችላሉ፦ This is my wife። Those are mine።
| Near | Far | |
|---|---|---|
| singular / uncountable | this bag, this money | that car, that music |
| plural | these shoes | those people |
| time | this week (now) | that day (in the past) |
| on the phone | This is Meron. | Is that Daniel? |
- this / that + is; these / those + are: These apples are fresh.
- The noun must agree: these kind of → this kind of / these kinds of.
- How much are these tomatoes?
- Is this seat free?
- Who are those people outside?
- I'm very busy this week.
each, every, all, both
each and every go with a singular noun and a singular verb: Every apartment has a balcony. each looks at members one by one (often a small group); every looks at the whole group. all goes with plural or uncountable nouns: All the rooms are clean. both means the two of them. Amharic ሁሉ / እያንዳንዱ covers these, but English is strict about the noun after them.
In Amharic
each እና every ከነጠላ ስምና ከነጠላ ግሥ ጋር ይሄዳሉ፦ Every apartment has a balcony። each አባላቱን አንድ በአንድ ይመለከታል (ብዙ ጊዜ ትንሽ ቡድን)፤ every ሙሉውን ቡድን ይመለከታል። all ከብዙ ወይም ከማይቆጠሩ ስሞች ጋር ይሄዳል፦ All the rooms are clean። both ሁለቱም ማለት ነው። የአማርኛው ሁሉ / እያንዳንዱ እነዚህን ይሸፍናል፤ እንግሊዝኛ ግን ከኋላቸው ስለሚመጣው ስም ጥብቅ ነው።
| Word | Noun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| each | singular | Each child gets a book. |
| every | singular | I call my mother every day. |
| all (of) the | plural / uncountable | All the stores are closed. All the food is gone. |
| both (of) the | plural (two) | Both my sisters live in Las Vegas. |
| each of / all of / both of | + the / my / pronoun | Each of the rooms… All of us… Both of them… |
- every + singular verb: Everyone is here. Every room has a window (not every rooms).
- all / both go before the main verb and after be: We all agree. They are both nurses.
- every day (adverb, two words) is different from everyday (adjective): everyday English.
- Every apartment in the building has air conditioning.
- Each student must bring an ID.
- All the kids in my family speak Amharic.
- Both of my parents are retired.
- We all went to the wedding.
either, neither, no, none, enough
either = one or the other of two; neither = not one and not the other. Both take a singular noun: Either day is fine. Neither bus goes there. no + noun means not any: There's no milk. none stands alone or with of: None of my friends drive. enough goes before a noun: enough money, enough chairs.
In Amharic
either = ከሁለቱ አንዱ ወይም ሌላው፤ neither = አንዱም ሌላውም አይደለም። ሁለቱም ነጠላ ስም ይወስዳሉ፦ Either day is fine። Neither bus goes there። no + ስም ምንም የለም ማለት ነው፦ There's no milk። none ብቻውን ወይም ከ of ጋር ይቆማል፦ None of my friends drive። enough ከስም በፊት ይገባል፦ enough money, enough chairs።
| Word | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| either | one of two (positive / question) | You can sit at either table. |
| neither | not one of two | Neither answer is right. |
| either … or / neither … nor | two choices | Pay either online or in person. Neither he nor I knew. |
| no | + noun = not any | There are no buses after midnight. |
| none (of) | alone / + of | How many tickets are left? — None. None of them works. |
| enough | + noun | Do we have enough food? |
- neither is already negative: Neither of them came (not Neither of them didn't come).
- In negatives, use either, not neither: I don't like either of them.
- no is used before a noun; none is used without one: I have no time. — I have none.
- Tuesday or Thursday? Either day works for me.
- Neither of my kids likes spicy food.
- There's no bus service on this street.
- None of the apartments we saw had a yard.
- We don't have enough money for a new car.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Every student must sign in. | every takes a singular noun. | |
| These shoes are too small. | Plural nouns take these / those. | |
| All the rooms are clean. | all goes with plural (or uncountable) nouns. | |
| Neither of them came. | neither is already negative. | |
| I have no money. | Use no before a noun; none stands alone. | |
| Both of my brothers live here. | both means two: use the plural. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
___ shoes are very comfortable. (near me)
Who is ___ man over there?
Every ___ in our building has a parking space.
___ my parents are from Gondar. (= the two of them)
___ the stores downtown close at 9.
Monday or Friday? ___ day is fine with me.
I asked two people, but ___ of them knew the way.
There are ___ buses after midnight. (= not any; one word)
How many letters came today? — ___.
Do we have ___ for everyone?
___ child gets a gift at the party.
Correct it: “This kind of jobs are hard.” → This kind of ___ is hard.