Grammar book · Words and sentences
Word order
የቃላት ቅደም ተከተል (word order)
English sentences follow subject – verb – object, then place and time. Adjectives go before nouns, adverbs have fixed places, and questions put the helping verb before the subject. Amharic puts the verb last, so this needs practice.
Subject – verb – object – place – time
Amharic order is subject – object – verb, and time often comes early: እኔ ትናንት ገበያ ቡና ገዛሁ. English order is subject – verb – object – place – time: I bought coffee at the market yesterday. Time can also go at the very start: Yesterday, I bought coffee at the market. But never put the object or the place between the subject and the verb.
In Amharic
የአማርኛ ቅደም ተከተል ባለቤት – ተሳቢ – ግሥ ነው፣ ጊዜም ብዙ ጊዜ ቀድሞ ይመጣል፦ እኔ ትናንት ገበያ ቡና ገዛሁ። የእንግሊዝኛ ቅደም ተከተል ባለቤት – ግሥ – ተሳቢ – ቦታ – ጊዜ ነው፦ I bought coffee at the market yesterday። ጊዜ ደግሞ መጀመሪያ ላይ ሊገባ ይችላል፦ Yesterday, I bought coffee at the market። ነገር ግን ተሳቢውን ወይም ቦታውን በባለቤቱና በግሡ መካከል በፍጹም አያስገቡ።
| Subject | Verb | Object | Place | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | bought | coffee | at the market | yesterday. |
| She | takes | the kids | to school | every morning. |
| We | watched | the game | at a friend's house | on Sunday. |
| My brother | is moving | — | to Denver | next month. |
- Two objects: give someone something, or give something to someone: I sent my mother money / I sent money to my mother.
- Place before time: at work at 9 (not at 9 at work).
- Adjective before the noun: a new job (not a job new).
- My husband drives a truck for a delivery company.
- We visited our relatives in Seattle last summer.
- Every Saturday, I clean the house.
- The landlord fixed the air conditioner yesterday.
- She gave her neighbour a plate of food.
Where adverbs go
Adverbs of frequency (always, usually, never) go before the main verb and after be. Adverbs of manner (slowly, well) go after the verb or the object. Time and place words go at the end, or time at the start. The rule that matters most: don't separate a verb from its object.
In Amharic
የድግግሞሽ ተውሳኮች (always, usually, never) ከዋናው ግሥ በፊት፣ ከ be በኋላ ይገባሉ። የአኳኋን ተውሳኮች (slowly, well) ከግሡ ወይም ከተሳቢው በኋላ ይገባሉ። የጊዜና የቦታ ቃላት መጨረሻ ላይ፣ ወይም ጊዜ መጀመሪያ ላይ ይገባሉ። በጣም አስፈላጊው ሕግ፦ ግሥን ከተሳቢው አይለዩ።
| Kind | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|
| frequency | before main verb / after be | I usually take the bus. He is never late. |
| frequency + helping verb | after the helping verb | I have always lived here. You can sometimes park there. |
| manner | after verb + object | She speaks English well. |
| place, time | end (time also at start) | I'll see you at the office tomorrow. |
| also, only, just | before main verb / after be | I also work weekends. She's just left. |
- Wrong: I like very much Las Vegas. Right: I like Las Vegas very much.
- Wrong: She cooks always injera. Right: She always cooks injera.
- I really enjoy my new job.
- We often eat dinner late on Fridays.
- He finished the work quickly.
- They have never missed a Sunday service.
- I'll call you back later.
Questions and embedded questions
Amharic makes a question with the same order and a rising voice or a question word (የት ትሄዳለህ?). English changes the order: question word – helping verb – subject – main verb. If there is no helping verb, add do / does / did. But inside a longer sentence (Can you tell me…, I don't know…), the order goes back to normal: Can you tell me where the office is? (not where is the office).
In Amharic
አማርኛ ጥያቄን በዚያው ቅደም ተከተልና በሚነሳ ድምፅ ወይም በጥያቄ ቃል ይሠራል (የት ትሄዳለህ?)። እንግሊዝኛ ቅደም ተከተሉን ይቀይራል፦ የጥያቄ ቃል – ረዳት ግሥ – ባለቤት – ዋና ግሥ። ረዳት ግሥ ከሌለ do / does / did ይጨምሩ። ነገር ግን በረዥም ዓረፍተ ነገር ውስጥ (Can you tell me…, I don't know…) ቅደም ተከተሉ ወደ መደበኛው ይመለሳል፦ Can you tell me where the office is? (where is the office አይደለም)።
| Question word | Helping verb | Subject | Main verb | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where | do | you | work | ? |
| What time | does | the store | open | ? |
| — | Is | she | coming | tonight? |
| How long | have | you | lived | here? |
| Can you tell me where | — | the office | is | ? (normal order) |
- With be as the main verb, just swap: She is at home → Is she at home?
- After does / did, the main verb has no -s or -ed: Where does he live? What did you buy?
- Polite questions use normal order after the opening: Do you know when the bus comes?
- Where do you live?
- What time does your shift start?
- Did you get my message?
- Could you tell me how much the rent is?
- I don't know where she works.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I drink coffee every day. | Subject – verb – object – time. | |
| I like my job very much. | Don't put an adverb between the verb and its object. | |
| Where do you work? | Questions need a helping verb before the subject. | |
| Where does he live? | After does, the main verb has no -s. | |
| Can you tell me where the bank is? | Inside a sentence, use normal order. | |
| She bought a beautiful dress. | Adjectives go before the noun. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Put in order: every day / I / the bus / take → ___
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose the correct question.
Choose the correct sentence.
Make a question: She is at work. → ___ at work?
Excuse me, do you know ___?
Choose the correct sentence.
Correct it: “What time the store opens?” → What time ___ the store open?
Choose the correct sentence.
Put in order: a / car / bought / red / he → ___
Choose the correct sentence.