Passive Prefix 'tä-'
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Add 'tä-' to the start of a root verb to turn an active action into a passive one.
- Add 'tä-' to the base: 'säbbärä' (broke) becomes 'täsäbbärä' (was broken).
- The prefix 'tä-' indicates the subject is receiving the action, not doing it.
- It works for most transitive verbs to shift focus from the doer to the object.
Meanings
The 'tä-' prefix is the primary morphological marker for the passive voice in Amharic, shifting the focus from the agent to the patient.
True Passive
The subject undergoes the action.
“መጽሐፉ ተጻፈ (The book was written).”
“ቤቱ ተገነባ (The house was built).”
Reflexive/Reciprocal
Action done to oneself or between parties.
“ተዋደዱ (They loved each other).”
“ተገደለ (He killed himself/was killed).”
Passive Conjugation (Root: S-B-R)
| Person | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Masc | ተሰበረ | አልተሰበረም | ተሰበረ? |
| 3rd Fem | ተሰበረች | አልተሰበረችም | ተሰበረች? |
| 1st Sing | ተሰበርኩ | አልተሰበርኩም | ተሰበርኩ? |
| 2nd Masc | ተሰበርክ | አልተሰበርክም | ተሰበርክ? |
| 2nd Fem | ተሰበርሽ | አልተሰበርሽም | ተሰበርሽ? |
| 1st Plur | ተሰበርን | አልተሰበርንም | ተሰበርን? |
| 3rd Plur | ተሰበሩ | አልተሰበሩም | ተሰበሩ? |
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | tä + root | ተሰበረ (It was broken) |
| Negative | al + tä + root + m | አልተሰበረም (It was not broken) |
| Question | tä + root + ? | ተሰበረ? (Was it broken?) |
| Reflexive | tä + root | ተዋደዱ (They loved each other) |
| Reciprocal | tä + root | ተገናኙ (They met) |
| Past Tense | tä + root (past) | ተሰበረ (It was broken) |
Formalitätsspektrum
ሥራው ተከናወነ። (Work report)
ሥራው ተደረገ። (Work report)
ሥራው ተሠራ። (Work report)
ሥራው አለቀ። (Work report)
Tä- Prefix Functions
Passive
- ተሰበረ was broken
Reflexive
- ተገደለ was killed/killed self
Reciprocal
- ተገናኙ met each other
Examples by Level
መጽሐፉ ተነበበ።
The book was read.
ቤቱ ተገነባ።
The house was built.
ምግቡ ተበላ።
The food was eaten.
በሩ ተዘጋ።
The door was closed.
ስብሰባው ተሰረዘ።
The meeting was cancelled.
ደብዳቤው አልተጻፈም።
The letter was not written.
ልጁ ተገኘ።
The child was found.
ስልኩ ተገዛ።
The phone was bought.
እነሱ ተገናኙ።
They met (each other).
ችግሩ ተፈታ።
The problem was solved.
ውሳኔው ተላለፈ።
The decision was passed.
እቅዱ ተቀየረ።
The plan was changed.
ጉዳዩ በዝርዝር ተወያየበት።
The matter was discussed in detail.
ህጉ በፓርላማው ተጸደቀ።
The law was approved by the parliament.
ውጤቱ በይፋ ተገለጸ።
The result was officially announced.
ስህተቱ ተስተካከለ።
The error was corrected.
ታሪኩ በብዙዎች ዘንድ ተወደደ።
The story was loved by many.
የቀድሞው ስምምነት ተሻረ።
The previous agreement was annulled.
አዲሱ ቴክኖሎጂ ተዋወቀ።
The new technology was introduced.
ምስጢሩ ተጠበቀ።
The secret was kept.
ጥንታዊው ወግ ተጠበቀ።
The ancient tradition was preserved.
የተወሳሰበው ችግር ተፈታ።
The complex problem was resolved.
የተሰጠው ትእዛዝ ተፈጸመ።
The given order was executed.
የተደበቀው እውነት ተገለጠ።
The hidden truth was revealed.
Easily Confused
Learners mix up 'tä-' (passive) and 'as-' (causative).
Learners use passive when active is more natural.
Learners think 'tä-' is only for passive.
Häufige Fehler
እሱ ተሰበረ መስኮት
መስኮቱ ተሰበረ
ተሰበረ በ እሱ
ተሰበረ
እኔ ተሰበርኩ መስኮት
መስኮቱ ተሰበረ
ተ-ሰበረ
ተሰበረ
እሱ ተገዛ መጽሐፍ
መጽሐፉ ተገዛ
አልተሰበረ
አልተሰበረም
ተጻፈ መጽሐፍ
መጽሐፉ ተጻፈ
ተገደለ እራሱን
ተገደለ
ተሰበረው
ተሰበረ
ተገናኙ እርስ በርስ
ተገናኙ
ተሰበረ በብዙ ሰዎች
ብዙዎች ሰበሩት
ተገለጠ ምስጢሩ
ምስጢሩ ተገለጠ
ተደረገ ስብሰባው
ስብሰባው ተደረገ
Sentence Patterns
___ ተሰበረ።
___ በስብሰባው ተደረገ።
ምግቡ ___።
ችግሩ ___።
Real World Usage
ውሳኔው ተላለፈ።
ፓርቲው ተደረገ።
ተሰረዘ።
ፕሮጀክቱ ተጠናቀቀ።
ቲኬቱ ተገዛ።
ምግቡ ተዘጋጀ።
Check the root
Don't add agents
Use for formality
Politeness
Smart Tips
Use passive voice to describe completed tasks.
Always use passive.
Use passive for the agenda items.
Use passive for the steps.
Aussprache
Tä- prefix
The 'ä' is a short vowel, pronounced like the 'a' in 'about'.
Statement
መስኮቱ ተሰበረ↘
Falling intonation for finality.
Question
መስኮቱ ተሰበረ↗
Rising intonation for inquiry.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Tä- is like a 'Target'—the subject is the target of the action.
Visual Association
Imagine a 'T' shaped shield (Tä-) blocking the active doer, leaving only the object standing.
Rhyme
When the doer is gone and you need to explain, just add 'tä-' to the verb root again.
Story
A vase was on the table. Someone hit it. It fell. Now it is 'täsäbbärä'. The vase is the hero of the story now.
Word Web
Herausforderung
Look around your room and describe 3 things using the passive voice (e.g., 'the light was turned on').
Kulturelle Hinweise
Passive voice is frequently used in liturgical texts to maintain a sense of humility and divine agency.
Younger speakers often use active voice even when passive is appropriate, influenced by English.
Passive is used more strictly to avoid naming people directly, which is considered polite.
The 'tä-' prefix is a Proto-Semitic inheritance, common in languages like Ge'ez and Tigrinya.
Conversation Starters
ስብሰባው መቼ ተደረገ?
መጽሐፉ ተነበበ?
ችግሩ እንዴት ተፈታ?
ውሳኔው በምን ተቀየረ?
Journal Prompts
Test Yourself
መስኮቱ ___ (ሰበረ).
Find and fix the mistake:
መጽሐፉ ተጻፈ በ እሱ።
Which means 'It was bought'?
እሱ በሩን ከፈተ።
Passive voice in Amharic uses 'by' to name the agent.
A: ስብሰባው ተሰረዘ? B: አዎ, ___.
ውሳኔው / ተላለፈ / ትናንት
ተሰበረ (3rd Plural)
Score: /8
Ubungsaufgaben
8 exercisesመስኮቱ ___ (ሰበረ).
Find and fix the mistake:
መጽሐፉ ተጻፈ በ እሱ።
Which means 'It was bought'?
እሱ በሩን ከፈተ።
Passive voice in Amharic uses 'by' to name the agent.
A: ስብሰባው ተሰረዘ? B: አዎ, ___.
ውሳኔው / ተላለፈ / ትናንት
ተሰበረ (3rd Plural)
Score: /8
FAQ (8)
No, only transitive verbs that can logically take a passive form.
You don't. The passive voice is specifically used to omit the agent.
No, it can also be reflexive or reciprocal depending on the context.
Yes, sometimes the internal vowels shift to fit the passive pattern.
Yes, you conjugate the passive verb in the future tense just like an active one.
For objectivity, formality, and when the actor is unknown.
It is neutral but often used in formal contexts to sound professional.
Use the active voice instead.
In Other Languages
Se + verb
Amharic uses a prefix, while Spanish uses a clitic pronoun.
Être + past participle
Amharic is synthetic (one word), French is analytic (two words).
Werden + past participle
Amharic is much more compact.
-reru suffix
The position of the marker (prefix vs suffix).
ta- prefix
Arabic has more complex internal vowel changes.
Bei (被)
Amharic is a verb-internal change.
