ኢዩ - to be (definition)
Usage: The verb ኢዩ is to be used when you are defining a person or object. The closest English equivalent is the verb "to be." This verb
(like all Tigrigna verbs) is divided by person, number and gender.
| ኢዩ |
|
Singular |
Plural |
| 3rd |
ኢዩ |
he is |
ኢዮም |
they are |
| ኢያ |
she is |
ኢየን |
they are (f) |
| 2nd |
ኢኻ |
you are (m) |
ኢኹም |
you are |
| ኢኺ |
you are (f) |
ኢኽን |
you are (f) |
| 1st |
እየ |
I am |
ኢና |
we are |
Here are some Tigrigna examples of the verb ኢዩ with their English translations (the verbs are underlined in each one):
| ትግርኛ |
Transliteration |
Translation |
| a) | "ንሱ ሓያል ኢዩ" |
a) | "he strong is" |
a) | "He is strong" |
| b) | "ንሳ ሓጻር ኢያ" |
b) | "she short is" |
b) | "She is short" |
| c) | "ንስኻ ሃካይ ኢኻ" |
c) | "you lazy are" |
c) | "You are lazy" |
| d) | "ንስኺ ሓሳዊት ኢኺ" |
d) | "you liar are" |
d) | "You are a liar" |
| e) | "ኣነ ተኣማሚነ እየ" |
e) | "I confident am" |
e) | "I am confident" |
| f) | "ንሶም ጽሉላት ኢዮም" |
f) | "they crazy are" |
f) | "They are crazy" |
| g) | "ንሰን ትግረ ኢየን" |
g) | "they Tigre are" |
g) | "They are Tigre" |
| h) | "ንስኹም መንእሰያት ኢኹም" |
h) | "you young are" |
h) | "You are young" |
| i) | "ንስኽን ጽብቃት ኢኽን" |
i) | "you pretty are" |
i) | "You are pretty" |
| j) | "ንሕና ጉሁያት ኢና" |
j) | "we sad are" |
j) | "We are sad" |
Explaining grammar terms
1. A verb is a very simple concept to describe; it is an action word. An example of a verb in a sentence would be: "John grabbed the keys."
In English, the verb ('grabbed') always goes after the subject ('John'). Word order: [Subject] [Verb] [Object].
This is different in Tigrigna, where the verb always goes after the object. Word order: [Subject] [Object] [Verb].
2. What is an object? The object of a sentence, is the word that is being 'acted upon.' In the above example of: "John grabbed the keys."
The word 'keys' is the object.
Note - Please remember, from the lesson subject pronouns, that the subject of a sentence is the word
that is 'committing the action.' This will contrast nicely with the definition of object
You will quickly find that there are few rules and a lot of exceptions when using verbs or Tigrigna in general,
however here are a few recommendations to help you.
- All verbs go at the end of a statement
Unlike in English where verbs are placed in the middle of a statement ([Subject] [Verb] [Object]), Tigrigna places it's verb at the end ([Subject] [Object] [Verb]);
observe the correct and incorrect examples.
|
Correct:
| ትግርኛ: |
እዚ |
መጽሐፍ |
ኢዩ |
| Transliteration: |
this |
book |
is |
| Translation: |
"This is a book" |
|
Incorrect:
| ትግርኛ: |
እዚ |
ኢዩ |
መጽሐፍ |
| Transliteration: |
this |
is |
book |
| Translation: |
"This is a book" |
|
- ኢዩ is used for defining something, not for its location.
In English the verb "to be" can be used for describing something, and for the location of it; in Tigrigna there are two separate verbs for these purposes. ኢዩ is only used for defining something.
|
Correct:
| ትግርኛ: |
ንሱ |
ወዲ |
ኢዩ |
| Transliteration: |
he |
boy |
is |
| Translation: |
"He is a boy" |
|
Incorrect:
| ትግርኛ: |
ኣብ |
ቤት ትምህርቲ |
ኢዩ |
| Transliteration: |
at |
school |
he is |
| Translation: |
"He is at school" |
|
- Conjugate for person, number, and gender
Like with subject pronouns, Tigrigna verbs are conjugated to agree with the subject in person, number, and gender.
|
Correct:
| ትግርኛ: |
እዚኣ |
ጓል |
ኢያ |
| Transliteration: |
this |
girl |
is |
| Translation: |
"This is a girl" |
|
Incorrect:
| ትግርኛ: |
እዚኣ |
ጓል |
ኢዩም |
| Transliteration: |
this |
girl |
are |
| Translation: |
"This are girl" |
|
