Past Tense Subject Suffixes
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Amharic past tense uses specific suffixes attached to the verb root to indicate who performed the action.
- Add -hu for 'I' (e.g., neger-hu - I told).
- Add -h for 'You masculine' (e.g., neger-h - You told).
- Add -sh for 'You feminine' (e.g., neger-sh - You told).
Past Tense Conjugation (Root: S-R-A)
| Person | Suffix | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
I
|
-hu
|
ሰራሁ
|
|
You (m)
|
-h
|
ሰራህ
|
|
You (f)
|
-sh
|
ሰራሽ
|
|
He
|
none
|
ሰራ
|
|
She
|
-ech
|
ሰራች
|
|
We
|
-n
|
ሰራን
|
|
You (pl)
|
-achu
|
ሰራችሁ
|
|
They
|
-u
|
ሰሩ
|
Meanings
The perfective aspect in Amharic describes completed actions in the past. It uses a set of suffixes to denote the subject.
Completed Action
Actions finished in the past.
“ሄድኩ (hedku) - I went.”
“በላህ (belah) - You ate.”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Root + Suffix
|
ሰራሁ
|
|
Negative
|
al + Root + suffix + m
|
አልሰራሁም
|
|
Question
|
Root + Suffix + -n?
|
ሰራህ?
|
|
Short Answer
|
Affirmative/Negative
|
አዎ፣ ሰራሁ / አልሰራሁም
|
Spectre de formalité
በላሁ። (General)
በላሁ። (General)
በላሁ። (General)
በላሁ። (General)
Past Tense Suffixes
1st Person
- -hu I
2nd Person
- -h/-sh You
Exemples par niveau
በላሁ
I ate
ሄድኩ
I went
ጠጣህ
You (m) drank
መጣች
She came
አልበላሁም
I did not eat
ስራ ሰራን
We worked
አየሽው?
Did you (f) see him?
ገዙ
They bought
ትናንትና ወደ አዲስ አበባ ሄድን።
We went to Addis Ababa yesterday.
እሷ መጽሐፉን አነበበች።
She read the book.
እነሱ አልመጡም ነበር።
They had not come.
ምን አደረግሽ?
What did you (f) do?
ስራውን በሰዓቱ ጨረስኩ።
I finished the work on time.
እሱ የነገረኝን ሁሉ አደረግኩ።
I did everything he told me.
እሷ በደንብ አላጠናችም ነበር።
She had not studied well.
እኛ አብረን በላን።
We ate together.
የተባለውን ሁሉ በግልጽ ተረዳሁ።
I understood everything that was said clearly.
እነሱ በውሳኔው አልተስማሙም።
They did not agree with the decision.
እሷ በስብሰባው ላይ ንግግር አደረገች።
She gave a speech at the meeting.
እኛ ቀደም ብለን ደረስን።
We arrived earlier.
በዚያን ጊዜ ሁኔታው በጣም ተቀየረ።
At that time, the situation changed significantly.
እሷ ያቀረበችውን ሀሳብ በሙሉ ተቀበልን።
We accepted all the ideas she presented.
እሱ የጻፈው መጽሐፍ በሰፊው ተነበበ።
The book he wrote was widely read.
እነሱ በድርጊታቸው አልተጸጸቱም።
They did not regret their actions.
Facile à confondre
Mixing up past and present.
Erreurs courantes
እኔ በላ
እኔ በላሁ
አልበላም
አልበላሁም
እሷ በላህ
እሷ በላች
እነሱ በላ
እነሱ በሉ
Structures de phrases
እኔ ___ አደረግኩ።
Real World Usage
መጣሁ!
Practice
Smart Tips
Drop the pronoun.
Prononciation
Suffix stress
Stress usually falls on the root.
Question
ሄድክ?
Rising pitch at the end.
Mémorise-le
Moyen mnémotechnique
Remember 'HU' for 'I' (like 'Who, me?').
Association visuelle
Imagine a person pointing at themselves saying 'HU!' after finishing a task.
Rhyme
I am -hu, you are -h, she is -ech, we are -n.
Story
Yesterday, I (ሰራሁ) worked hard. You (ሰራህ) helped me. We (ሰራን) finished it together.
Word Web
Défi
Write 5 sentences about what you did yesterday.
Notes culturelles
Politeness is key; use plural forms for elders.
Semitic roots.
Amorces de conversation
ትናንት ምን አደረግክ?
Sujets d'écriture
Erreurs courantes
Test Yourself
እኔ ___ (eat).
Score: /1
Exercices pratiques
1 exercisesእኔ ___ (eat).
Score: /1
FAQ (1)
Use 'al' + verb + 'm'.
Scaffolded Practice
1
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Preterite
Amharic is more agglutinative.
