Language/Amharic/Grammar/Negation-and-Questions

Amharic → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Negation and Questions

Amharic is a unique and fascinating language, rich in history and culture. In the following lesson, we will explore how to form negative sentences and ask questions in Amharic.

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Direct and Indirect Object Affixes & Simple Sentence.

Negation

Negation in Amharic is formed using the word "አይ" (ayi) before the verb. This indicates a negative meaning to the sentence.

For example:

Negation Examples

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
"ሳምንት አይደለም"	"saminat aydellem"	"I don't have shoes"
"እውነተኛ ትምህርት ላይ አይሆንም"	"ewnetegna t'mehirut lay ayhoneem"	"I'm not good at studying"
"እናዚህ መንገድ መጠን አይቼልም"	"enazih meneged meten ayit'elem"	"I didn't forget the way"

Notice that "ayi" comes before the verb in each of these sentences.

Another common negation word in Amharic is "የተቀበሉ" (yetek'ebelu), which means "not interested".

For example:

Negation Examples with "yetek'ebelu"

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
"ስለማንኛውም ውድብ የተቀበሉ ነዎት"	"silemanegnawum wudib yetek'ebelu newot"	"We are not interested in any kind of conflict"
"የኛ መልዕክት መዝሙር የተቀበሉ ነዎት"	"ye'egna malle'ek't mezmu'ur yetek'ebelu newot"	"We are not interested in our national anthem"

In both examples, "yetek'ebelu" comes after the verb in the sentence.

Questions

Asking questions in Amharic is fairly straightforward. In general, you can just add a question word before the sentence, tone of voice and context will usually determine if the sentence is a question or not. The five main question words in Amharic are:

1. "ማን" (man) - who 2. "ምን" (min) - what 3. "እንደሚከተሉ ስም" (endemi'ek'etelu s'im) - how 4. "ያልተለየ" (yaltetaleya) - why 5. "የሚጠይቁ" (yemi'tek'uk'u) - when

For example:

Question Examples

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
"ማን ነው የቤተሰቡ ምልክት?"	"man new ye'beta sibu milik't?"	"Who is in charge of the department?"
"ምን እንደሚሆን ነው ይላሉ?"	"min endemi'hon new yilaloo?"	"What should we do?"
"እንደሚከተሉ ስም በአሰልጣኝ አይደለም"	"endemi'ek'etelu s'im be'aselatan aydellem?"	"How can I help you?"
"ያልተለየ የምሽቱ አንበሳ ምን እንደሚገኘው ነው?"	"yaltetaleya ye'mishtu anbesa min endemi'gennu new?"	"Why is the bus late?"
"የሚጠይቁ የዕለት ምልክት ቀርበዋል?"	"yemi'tek'uk'u ye'elt milik't k'erbewal?"	"When are you going to finish the project?"

Notice how the question word is placed at the beginning of each sentence.

You can also form questions in Amharic by using a rising intonation at the end of a sentence to indicate a question.

For example:

Question Examples with Intonation

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
"ልጅ እንደማይገባ የሚተርፉ ይሆናል?"	"lij endemayigeba yemit'eref'u yihonali?"	"Are the children still sleeping?"
"መልስ አላየውም?"	"malis alayewum?"	"Did you see him?"

Notice how the rising intonation at the end of each sentence indicates a question.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have learned how to form negative sentences and ask questions in Amharic. Keep practicing and expanding your vocabulary to become more fluent in this beautiful language. Join us for the next lesson, where we will learn about imperatives and requests.

Well done on mastering this lesson! Don't miss these related pages to expand your knowledge: How to Use Have & Complex Sentence.

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

Other Lessons

• Making Sentences
• Simple Past Tense Forms of Other Verbs (Negative)
• Pronunciation and Phonetics
• Adjectives
• Basic Prepositions and Adverbs
• Conjugation of the verb መኖር “to live” (present tense)
• Time Phrases
• Time Adverbs
• Indirect Object Pronouns
• Prepositions and Conjunctions

Sources

• Amharic Grammar | LEARN101.ORG