Language/Amharic/Grammar/Imperatives-and-Requests

Amharic → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Imperatives and Requests

Introduction:

Welcome to the Amharic Grammar course! In this lesson, you will learn about how to give commands and make requests using the imperative form in Amharic. This lesson is designed for complete beginners who want to learn the basics of Amharic language.

What are Imperatives and Requests?

The imperative form of Amharic verbs is used to give commands, orders or make requests. To form the imperative, we need to drop the final vowel of the baseverb and add a specific suffix. There are five different imperative suffixes for the different consonant groups. Depending on the situation we will use one of the five different suffixes to give commands or make a request in Amharic. Understanding the imperative form is a crucial part of Amharic grammar and is essential for clear and concise communication.

The Five Imperative Forms:

Amharic has five different types of imperative forms based on the ending consonant groups of the base verb. These imperative forms are formed by taking away the final vowel of the base verb and then adding a specific suffix to the remaining stem. Below is a table that shows the five different types of imperative forms and their respective suffixes:

Consonant Group	Example Word	Translation	Imperative Suffix
Unvoiced plosives (P, T, Ṭ, C, K, Q)	k’abdu	write	-e
Voiced plosives (B, D, Ḍ, J, G)	lebo	bear	-o
Fricatives (F, S, SH, H, ሠ)	sit’ina	change	-i
Nasals (M, N, Ñ, Y, ኛ)	simint’	understand	-e or-or
Liquids (L, R, W, H, Z)	werada	come	-u

As you can see, the imperative suffixes depend on the ending consonant group of the base verb.

The Imperative Suffixes:

Let's take a closer look at the five different imperative suffixes and see how they're used in practice.

The "e" suffix:

The "e" suffix is used for verbs that end in unvoiced plosives (P, T, Ṭ, C, K, Q). Here are some examples:

• አትካት፡! - Atk'at! - Write!
• አትጣር፡! - Attar! - Run!
• አትስጠም፡! - Ats'etem! - Join!
• አትክፍል፡! - Atkifil! - Work!

The "o" suffix:

The "o" suffix is used for verbs that end in voiced plosives (B, D, Ḍ, J, G). Here are some examples:

• አታመልጣል፡! - Atemeletal! - Speak!
• አትተኮነስ፡! - Attekonnes! - Prepare!
• አትልጥ፡! - Atlit! - Strike!
• አትሰርየህ! - Atsetireyih! - Close!

The "i" suffix:

The "i" suffix is used for verbs that end in fricatives (F, S, SH, H, ሠ). Here are some examples:

• አታደርሳለሁ! - Ataderesalehu! - Advise!
• አትልክስ፡! - Atlak'es! - Continue!
• አትመጪየህ! - Atemegiyeh! - Try!
• አትተከብርስ፡! - Attek'ibris! - Work hard!

The "e/or" suffix:

The "e/or" suffix is used for verbs that end in nasals (M, N, Ñ, Y, ኛ). The usage of "e" or "or" changes here based on a specific set of rules. You will use "e" for words that end in -am and -an, and "or" for words that end in -en, -in, -on, -um, and -un. Here are some examples:

• አትመሃል፡! - Atmehal! - Behave!
• አትረሳለህ፡! - Ateresaleh! - Rest!
• አትጣራዎትም፡! - Attarawotem! - Dare!
• አትንፋሸስ፡! - Atenfashes! - Decide!

The "u" suffix:

The "u" suffix is used for verbs that end in liquids (L, R, W, H, Z). Here are some examples:

• አትገባዎትም፡! - Atgebawotem! - Try!
• አትተክለህ፡! - Attekelleh! - Get up!
• አትጠማማም፡! - Att'emmam! - Feel!
• አትጥፍም፡! - Attifem! - Touch!

Usage of Imperative Forms:

Now that we have a good understanding of the different imperative forms and their respective suffixes, let's take a look at how they are used in practice.

Commands:

Commands are used to tell someone to do something. They are direct and usually used when you want something done immediately. Here are some examples using the five different imperative forms:

• አጥፊዎትም፡! - Atififotem! - Study!
• ምንም፣ አትፍሩ፡! - Minim, atefiru! - Don't talk!
• አትጥፌም፡! - Attifefem! - Put down!
• አትመረቁም፡! - Atemererukem! - Shut up!
• አትገኝም፡! - Atgagenem! - Help!

Requests:

Requests are used to ask someone to do something. They are usually more polite than commands and are used when you want someone to do something but don't want to give them an order. Here are some examples using the five different imperative forms:

• እጠብቃለሁ፡! - Etibek'alehu! - Please come!
• አታዳምጣለሁ፡! - Atadametat'alehu! - Please wait!
• እግዚአብሔር፣ አትተማሩ፡! - Egzi'abher, attemeru! - Please forgive me!
• እጅግ መዝሙረ አዳምን አትሰሙም፡! - Ejig, mezemer adamn, atsemum! - Can you play a song for Adam, please?
• አትኩት፡! - Atkut! - Please sit down!

Conclusion:

In this lesson, we have learned about the five different types of imperative forms in Amharic and how to use them in commands and requests. Understanding the imperative is essential when communicating in Amharic as it helps to convey your message concisely and politely.

To continue learning and improving your Amharic skills, be sure to check out the other lessons in the Complete 0 to A1 Amharic Course.

Table of Contents - Amharic Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Amharic Alphabet

• Fidel and Syllables
• Pronunciation and Phonetics

  ---

Basic Vocabulary

• Greetings and Introductions
• Numbers and Counting
• Days of the Week and Months
• Colors and Shapes
• Family and Relationships

  ---

Basic Sentence Structure

• Nouns and Pronouns
• Verbs and Tenses
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Prepositions and Conjunctions

  ---

Everyday Vocabulary

• Food and Drinks
• Clothing and Accessories
• Weather and Seasons
• Travel and Transportation
• Hobbies and Leisure

  ---

Intermediate Sentence Structure

• Negation and Questions
• Imperatives and Requests
• Expressing Possession
• Comparatives and Superlatives

  ---

Advanced Vocabulary

• Professions and Work
• Health and Body
• Education and Learning
• Nature and Environment
• Technology and Communication

  ---

Ethiopian Culture and Traditions

• Ethiopian Holidays and Festivals
• Ethiopian Cuisine
• Ethiopian Music and Dance
• Ethiopian History and Heritage

Related Lessons

• Comparing and Contrasting
• Time Phrases
• Prepositions and Conjunctions
• Question Words
• Using the Past Tense
• Expressions Using the Relative Past
• Negation
• Negation and Questions
• Conjugation of the verb መኖር “to live” (present tense)
• Noun Gender and Articles