COLLOQUIAL

SINHALA

Fairbanks
Gair
Revised by
Steve Pepper De Silva
Part 1: Lessons 1 – 12
Draft: 2023-04-13
COLLOQUIAL SINHALA

Gordon H. Fairbanks
James W. Gair
M. W. S. De Silva

Second, revised edition by

Steve Pepper

Part 1
Lessons 1 – 12

South Asia Program

Cornell University
Ithaca, N. Y.

(1968/1981/1993)
2023
This work was originally prepared under contracts
with the Office of Education,
Department of Health, Education and Welfare,
Washington, D. C.
 Prefaces

Preface to the first edition

Sinhalese is the official language of Ceylon*, and the mother tongue of the majority
(about 70%) of the population. There are two main varieties: Literary and Spoken,
which differ from each other in important ways. Literary Sinhalese is the language
of virtually all written materials, not just literature in the narrow sense. It is
characteristically written and read, and on those relatively rare occasions when it is
heard, it is generally read aloud from a previously prepared text. It is not dealt with
in this book. Spoken Sinhalese, setting aside some formal sub-varieties heard
primarily in lectures and sermons, is basically the language used by everyone, of
all social and educational levels, for all face-to-face discourse, and it is this
colloquial variety of Spoken Sinhalese that is represented in the present text.
Although there are some dialectal differences in Colloquial Sinhalese, they are not
sufficient to impair understanding to any significant extent between speakers from
any parts of the island. This text represents primarily a variety spoken by educated
speakers of the South-Western coastal regions. Though it differs somewhat from
the speech of some other regions, particularly the upcountry region and the South
Coast, it will be understood anywhere, and one who learns it can adjust easily to
the speech of any area.
Sinhalese belongs to the family of languages usually called Indo-Aryan, the other
members of which are found primarily in the north of India and include Hindi,
Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Panjabi, Kashmiri, Oriya and
Sindhi. Another member of the family, Maldivian, is spoken in the Maldive Islands
and is closer to Sinhalese than the others. The Indo-Aryan languages form in turn a
subgroup of the Indo-European family, so that Sinhalese is ultimately related to
languages like English, Russian, and the Romance languages, though the
relationship is far too distant to be of any real help in learning it. The other major
language of Ceylon, Tamil, spoken by about 20% of the total population, as well as
by a much larger group in South India, is not an Indo-European language, but
belongs to another family, the Dravidian.
This text appears in two parts, including thirty-six lessons in all: twenty-four in the
first part and twelve in the second. Each lesson has a conversation, grammar, and
set of exercises, and there is a set of review exercises after every four lessons. The
conversations should be drilled until they can be said at normal speed and
pronounced in a manner acceptable to a native speaker of Sinhalese. The grammar
section of each lesson is based on the conversation and is intended to help the

*
The modern names of the language and country, Sinhala and Sri Lanka, are used
throughout this new edition, except for in the original prefaces.

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Colloquial Sinhala

student to construct new sentences, not to serve as an end in itself. The drill section
requires the student to construct new sentences on the analogy of those already
learned, with the help of the grammar. Each lesson introduces new vocabulary in
the conversation, but not enough that vocabulary learning becomes the major task.
The emphasis of the whole is on developing fluency in manipulating Sinhalese
patterns, making use of the vocabulary introduced in the conversation. For the first
twelve lessons, new Sinhalese material is presented in a phonemic transcription
slightly adapted for pedagogical reasons. The Sinhalese script, in a form adequate
for writing the colloquial language, is introduced beginning with lesson five, and
from lesson thirteen on all new Sinhalese material is written in that script. While
some time must naturally be devoted to learning the script, the basic approach
should be oral throughout, with all exercises done orally. In lessons 9-12 the
conversational sections of all lessons previously given in transcription are given in
Sinhalese script at the rate of three per lesson. These may be used for practice.
After lesson twelve, when the student has learned to read the script, a few of the
exercises may be assigned for writing practice, but they should be done orally first.
In any case, the student should not have to do any writing until after he has learned
the Sinhalese script.
An appendix that gathers together the inflected forms of Sinhalese in one place for
ready reference appears in Part II. Following it, there are cumulative Sinhalese-
English and English-Sinhalese glossaries for lessons 1-36. Since the student will
need these most after he has gone through enough lessons to have encountered a
reasonably large number of forms, the Sinhalese in the glossaries is given only in
Sinhalese script.
Thanks are due to many people for help in the preparation of this text. Mr. D. D. de
Saram and Mr. W. S. Karunatillake have actively assisted in revising it and have
played an indispensable part in bringing it to its present form. It has been used in
an earlier mimeographed version both at Cornell and elsewhere, and many students
have suggested improvements and corrections. Mr. Gregory Pearson assisted in
some of the proofreading and in assembling the glossaries. Special thanks are due
to Mrs. Helen Albertson for typing the English portions for reproduction and to
Mrs. Trelicia Gunawardana for her typing of the Sinhalese. Mr. A. J. Gunawardana
also deserves our gratitude for making many valuable suggestions during the final
preparation of the copy. Mrs. Helen Kelley designed the covers. We also wish to
thank the Office of Education for the contract funds provided both to prepare and
reproduce this text.
G. H. F.
J. W. G.
M. W. S. De S.
Ithaca, New York
July, 1968

vi
 Prefaces

Preface to the second printing

This book was composed, in its essentials, in the early 1960s, but first appeared in
print, with revisions, in 1968. Since that time, enough changes have taken place in
Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, to lend a somewhat outdated color to some of the dialogues
here. The three-cent banana that appears in lesson three, for example, is a thing of the
past. More seriously, constitutional changes have radically altered the forms of
government reflected in some of the lessons in nomenclature as well as organization,
on both the village and national levels. The English name of the language itself has
changed, with the name Sinhala, officially preferred but not widely adopted when this
book was written, now having gained wide currency in actual usage, both in Sri Lanka
and abroad. (Within the language itself, of course, there has been no change: it was and
remains සිංහල, pronounced siŋhələ). Nevertheless, most things remain essentially the
same, and the changes do not seriously affect the utility of this work as a teaching text.
If necessary, they can be easily compensated for by a teacher familiar with present day
Sri Lanka.
More importantly, there have been advances in language pedagogy in the interim, and
the use of this text with successive classes over the years has suggested other ways in
which it could be improved if a full revision were undertaken. For example, it has
become clear that the past tense, which we introduced quite late because of its apparent
complexities of form, is not actually that much of a problem to the student, so that it
could usefully have been introduced prior to lesson 15, making a much wider range of
realistic conversational strategies available to the student at an earlier point. There are
also newer forms of exercises, developed in the interim, that could be usefully
incorporated.
Despite its shortcomings, however, and though other texts for the language have
appeared, this one still remains the fullest in some respects . At the very least, it will
serve as a useful reference and source of additional material even for those using some
other text. There has also been a continued demand for this work, so that it seemed
worthwhile to reissue it when the first printing was exhausted, even though other
commitments made a full revision impossible at this time. Hence the present reprinting,
in which we have simply corrected misprints and carried out a few minor revisions that
could be done without resetting.
One truly sad change took place before this reprinting: the passing of one of the
authors. Sugath will be much missed by us as a colleague and as a companion graced
with intelligence, charm, and a ready wit in at least two languages. The loss will also
be felt in South Asian and particularly Sinhala Linguistics, to which he was an active
and stimulating contributor, cut off in his prime as a scholar and teacher. With sadness
and a sense of loss, but also with gratitude for the pleasure and stimulation of having
worked with him, we dedicate this reissue to his memory.
James W. Gair
Ithaca, New York
May 1981

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Colloquial Sinhala

Preface to the third printing

Judging from continued demand, this book remains, despite some shortcomings mentioned
in the preface to the second printing, a useful text for teaching and learning Sinhala, so
that it seemed worth while to initiate a third printing when the second was exhausted.
Once more, it proved impossible to carry out a full revision, so that this reprinting has
been again carried out without resetting. However, a number of further corrections were
made, along with some revisions that were possible to fit into the text replacing single
pages or sections. Also, in the time between reprintings, some auxiliary materials have
been created in order to rectify at least in part some of the deficiencies mentioned in the
earlier preface. Most importantly, an accompanying reader, Readings in Colloquial
Sinhala, by J.W. Gair, W.S. Karunatillake and John Paolilo, has been produced and
published (Sinha Books/South Asia Program, Cornell, 1987) and is available from the
same source as this basic text. It contains 32 readings designed to illustrate further both
conversational and discursive styles, as well as to extend vocabulary and introduce
some further cultural material. The order is geared to the present text, and the quite
extensive grammatical notes that accompany the readings, as well as the readings
themselves, have been designed to facilitate the earlier introduction of some crucial
grammatical material that was indicated as desirable in the preceding preface. In
addition, still more supplementary materials, including a set of model proficiency
conversations are under way, and we hope to make them generally available soon.
Once more also, I would like to acknowledge with thanks the teachers and students
who have used this book for their useful comments, that have in particular served to
stimulate and guide the production of the supplementary materials. Again, I must
single out Milan Rodrigo, who noted errors as she taught and made countless good
suggestions, and John Paolillo, whose interest and effort as a student made a special
contribution to those materials, along with my frequent co-author and indispensable
friend and colleague, Professor W. S. Karunatillake. Special acknowledgment is due to
Susan Campbell, who made the vital arrangements for this reprinting, and to Sue
Baker-Carr, who filled in during Susan’s unavoidable absence. Ian Smith is also owed
thanks for allowing himself to be pressed into service during his vacation for the
proofreading and checking of the new material here.
Unfortunately, a further sad note is in order: in the interim between printings, another of
the authors, Gordon Fairbanks, passed away. Gordon was a beloved teacher and guide
for me and many others both here and in South Asia. In my case, he was specially dear
as the one who introduced me, as a graduate student, to the study and teaching of South
Asian languages, and especially Sinhala, which has occupied so much of my attention
and effort since, and for me and others he furnished a model of a genuine scholar,
devoted teacher, and person of personal and scholarly integrity. This reprinting is
accordingly especially and affectionately dedicated to his memory.
James W. Gair
Ithaca, New York
April, 1993

viii
 Prefaces

Preface to the second edition

As stated in the preface to the second printing, this book was composed, in its essentials,
in the early 1960s and first appeared in print in 1968. It was reprinted in 1981 and 1993,
each time with minor corrections, but was never revised by the authors. It served as the
course book for the Sinhala language program at Cornell University until well into the
2000s, when it was replaced by Beginning Colloquial Sinhala by Theresa McGarry &
Liyanage Amarakeerthi (2011).
When I became interested in learning Sinhala in 2017 I looked around for an intro-
duction suitable for self-study. There was nothing in the Teach Yourself series, nor
in Routledge’s “Colloquial” series. In fact, there was very little available at all, at
least in print, and the little that I found – most of it very superficial and not at all to
the liking of a trained linguist and language learning geek such as myself – was
hard to locate online, and even harder to purchase.
Then I came across a scanned copy of Colloquial Sinhalese by Fairbanks, Gair and
De Silva at Library Genesis. Although somewhat dated, this offered me exactly what
I was looking for: a series of carefully graded lessons, with dialogues, informed
grammatical explanations and exercises; an easy way into the Sinhala writing
system via a consistent and scientific romanization (actually a phonemic transcription
of the pronunciation rather than a transliteration of Sinhala script); and a fairly
extensive wordlist (albeit one that required knowledge of the script). So, in order to
get an overview of basic Sinhala grammar, I worked through the first 12 lessons
(but without doing the exercises, so not as systematically as one should).
By this time my wife, Sylvia, had decided that she too would learn Sinhala. What
did I recommend? I had recently discovered more books comparable to Colloquial
Sinhala:
• Reynolds (1980) Sinhalese: An introductory course
• Karunatillake (1991) An introduction to spoken Sinhala
• Matzel & Jayawardena-Moser (2001) Singhalesisch: Eine Einführung
I had also added a couple of typological studies of Sinhala to my library (Gair &
Paolillo (1997) Sinhala and Chandralal (2010) Sinhala). These were great for
learning about how the language works, but not for actually mastering it. I had also
acquired A.W.L. Silva’s self-published Teach yourself Sinhalese (2015), which I
have found to be more useful as a reference work than as a self-study course.
Since Sylvia is German I tried her on Matzel & Jayawardena-Moser, but quickly
realized that it is not at all suitable for non-linguists (though it may well be perfect
for German-speaking linguists). And since the Reynolds and Karunatillake books are
almost as long in the tooth as Colloquial Sinhalese, I decided to recommend the
latter to her, not least because it is available electronically.

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But even Colloquial Sinhalese has its weaknesses, one of which is that it is rather
dated. In addition, the 1968 original was printed from a typewritten manuscript, and
the PDF is a scan of this. So not only are the dialogues around which the book is
constructed rather old-fashioned, the layout is messy, the romanization suboptimal,
and the text often hard to read (especially the parts that are written in Sinhala script).
I therefore decided to do what the original authors themselves had seen the need for,
i.e. revise and reset the whole book. The initial result is what you are now reading.
In the first instance I have focused on resetting the existing text for readability. This
was done from a digital copy of the first (1968) printing. Although some corrections
were made in the process, those made in the second (1981) and third (1993) printings
have not been incorporated systematically. The most important changes are as follows:
• The romanization has been revised to use ṭ instead of T for Sinhala ට්, and ḍ
instead of D for Sinhala ඩ්. This is in line with the IPA (International Phonetic
Alphabet) and makes the text more readable. Other orthographic choices made
by the authors are retained, including doubling to indicate long vowels (e.g. aa
for Sinhala ආ rather than IPA ā) and w instead of v for Sinhala ව්, but this may
change in a later version.
• New vocabulary has been separated out into a section of its own following each
dialogue. In the original, new vocabulary was interspersed line by line with the
dialogue, which is messy, as can be seen from the facsimile on page 1.
• In order to make longer dialogues and vocabularies visible simultaneously in a
two-page spread, each lesson starts on a left-hand page.
• A key to exercises (page 151) has been added in order to make the book more
suitable for self-study.
• A new index (page 205) makes it easier to locate grammatical information.
In addition to these changes, numerous minor typographical and spelling errors have
been corrected (e.g. kərənnə→ kərannə in lesson 6, section 12.5).
Relatively little has been done in terms of revising the text, since this is a task for which I
am not qualified. It would be desirable to update certain dialogues in order to avoid the
slightly anachronistic tone of some of them (especially the use of mahattea ‘sir’ and
lamea ‘boy’), but this cannot be done easily as the grammatical explanations are closely
linked to the constructions and vocabulary used in the dialogues. Some changes and
additions have been made, however. These are mostly in the form of footnotes and are
always flagged with [eds].
Finally, flashcards for the vocabulary of each lesson are available for use with Anki as
described in Lesson 1 on page 2.
There will inevitably be typos. Please let me know if you find one!
Steve Pepper
pepper.steve@gmail.com
Gonapinuwala, 13 April 2023

x
 Contents

Contents
Preface to the first edition v
Preface to the second printing ........................................................................... vii
Preface to the third printing .............................................................................. viii
Preface to the second edition .............................................................................. ix
Contents xi
Notes on pronunciation xviii
General ...................................................................................................... xviii
Vowels....................................................................................................... xviii
Short vowels ........................................................................................ xviii
Long vowels .......................................................................................... xix
Consonants .................................................................................................. xxi
Stop consonants ..................................................................................... xxi
Non-stop consonants ............................................................................ xxii
Spirants ................................................................................................ xxiii
Nasals .................................................................................................. xxiii
Other consonants ................................................................................. xxiv
Doubled consonants and combinations ................................................ xxv
Lesson 1: At the bus depot 2
Grammar.............................................................................................................. 3
1. Noun and pronoun forms.......................................................................... 3
2. The singular – the definite and indefinite forms ...................................... 3
3. The plural ................................................................................................. 3
Case systems: Who is doing what to whom? .................................................. 4
4. Cases ........................................................................................................ 5
4.1 The direct case .................................................................................. 5
4.2 The dative case ................................................................................. 5
4.3 The instrumental case ....................................................................... 6
4.4. Plural case forms .............................................................................. 6
5. Noun citation ............................................................................................ 7
6. Verb forms................................................................................................ 7
6.1 Infinitive, simple and emphatic present............................................ 7
6.2 Uses of the forms .............................................................................. 7
6.3 Agreement ........................................................................................ 8
7. Postpositions............................................................................................. 8
8. The question marker də ............................................................................ 8
9. Interrogative expressions.......................................................................... 9
Exercises.............................................................................................................. 9

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Lesson 2: Buying cigarettes 12

Grammar............................................................................................................ 13
1. Address ................................................................................................... 13
2. Noun classes ........................................................................................... 13
2.1 Class 1 ............................................................................................ 13
2.2 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 14
2.3 Class 3 ............................................................................................ 14
2.4 Class 4 ............................................................................................ 14
3. The genitive case .................................................................................... 15
3.1 Class 1 ............................................................................................ 15
3.2 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 15
3.3 Class 3 ............................................................................................ 15
3.4 Class 4 ............................................................................................ 16
3.5 Use of the genitive.......................................................................... 16
4. First person pronouns ............................................................................. 16
5. New verbs............................................................................................... 17
6. near ......................................................................................................... 17
7. Equational sentences .............................................................................. 18
7.1 With an adjective as predicate attribute.......................................... 18
7.2 With a noun as predicate attribute .................................................. 18
8. The location sets ..................................................................................... 18
8.1 The ‘mee’ set .................................................................................. 18
8.2 The ‘meekə’ set............................................................................... 19
8.3 The uses of the sets......................................................................... 19
Exercises............................................................................................................ 21
Lesson 3: Buying fruit 24
Grammar............................................................................................................ 25
1. New nouns .............................................................................................. 25
1.1 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 25
1.2 Class 4 ............................................................................................ 25
1.3 Other nouns .................................................................................... 25
2. New verbs............................................................................................... 26
3. ‘Madam’ ................................................................................................. 26
4. The genitive of place .............................................................................. 26
5. The assertion marker -y .......................................................................... 27
6. -y and də ................................................................................................. 28
7. ekak ‘each’ (literally ‘a one’) ................................................................. 28
8. The ‘want’ construction: DATIVE + oonə ............................................... 28
9. Some negative formations: nææ and epaa ............................................. 29
Exercises............................................................................................................ 29

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Lesson 4: Getting directions 32

Grammar............................................................................................................ 33
1. New nouns .............................................................................................. 33
1.1 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 33
1.2 Class 4 ............................................................................................ 33
2. New verbs............................................................................................... 33
3. The ‘must’ or ‘have to’ construction: DIRECT + oonə ............................ 33
4. The ‘can’ construction: puluwaŋ ............................................................ 34
5. The question marker də with different sentence types ........................... 35
6. Quantity phrases ..................................................................................... 37
7. kiiyak ........................................................................................................ 38
8. ṭikak and huŋ̌gak....................................................................................... 38
9. Indirect questions ................................................................................... 39
10. The mehe and metənə sets ...................................................................... 40
10.1 The mehe set ................................................................................... 40
10.2 The metənə set ................................................................................ 40
10.3 Use of the sets................................................................................. 40
Exercises............................................................................................................ 41
Review 1 44
Lesson 5: Information about a journey 48
Grammar............................................................................................................ 50
1. New nouns .............................................................................................. 50
1.1 Class 1 ............................................................................................ 50
1.2 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 50
1.3 Class 3 ............................................................................................ 50
1.4 Class 4 ............................................................................................ 50
2. New verbs............................................................................................... 51
3. The indefinite in time phrases ................................................................ 51
4. Infinitives with nouns ............................................................................. 51
5. The Sinhala writing system – 1 .............................................................. 51
5.1 Consonants ..................................................................................... 52
5.1 Inherent vowel ................................................................................ 52
Romanization schemes for Sinhala .............................................................. 53
Exercises............................................................................................................ 54
Lesson 6: Offering a job 56
Grammar............................................................................................................ 57
1. New nouns .............................................................................................. 57
1.1 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 57
1.2 Class 3 ............................................................................................ 57
1.3 Class 4 ............................................................................................ 57
1.4 Notes on new nouns ....................................................................... 58

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2. Class 5 nouns.......................................................................................... 58
2.1 Animate and inanimate nouns ........................................................ 58
2.2 The respectful indefinite ................................................................. 59
3. Differences between animate and inanimate in agreement .................... 60
3.1 tiyenəwa – innəwa ............................................................................ 60
3.2 Agreement of numerals .................................................................. 60
3.3 kiiyak – kiidenek ............................................................................... 61
4. New verbs............................................................................................... 61
5. Pronouns ................................................................................................. 62
5.1 First person pronouns ..................................................................... 62
5.2 Second person pronouns ................................................................. 62
6. gamə ....................................................................................................... 63
7. Assertion marker .................................................................................... 64
8. ‘from … on’ ........................................................................................... 64
9. The mee set as adverbs of place ............................................................. 64
10. More negative formations ...................................................................... 65
11. nædda ..................................................................................................... 65
12. The Sinhala writing system – 2 .............................................................. 66
12.1 More consonant symbols ................................................................ 66
12.2 Removing the inherent vowel......................................................... 66
12.3 Another rule for the inherent vowel ............................................... 67
12.4 The symbol ා ................................................................................ 67
12.5 kərənəwa......................................................................................... 67
Exercises............................................................................................................ 68
Lesson 7: Hiring a driver 72
Grammar............................................................................................................ 73
1. New nouns .............................................................................................. 73
1.1 Class 1 ............................................................................................ 73
1.2 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 73
1.3 Class 4 ............................................................................................ 73
1.4 Class 5 ............................................................................................ 73
1.5 Notes on new nouns ....................................................................... 73
2. New verbs............................................................................................... 74
3. lamea ...................................................................................................... 74
4. ‘remain, stay’ .......................................................................................... 74
5. Infinitives ............................................................................................... 74
6. The conjunction -y … -y ......................................................................... 75
7. Sentences with an adverbial expression ................................................. 75
8. nee and nee də ........................................................................................ 76
9. The Sinhala writing system – 3 .............................................................. 76
9.1 Vowels following consonants ........................................................ 76
9.2 Consonant combinations ................................................................ 78

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9.3 Final -y............................................................................................ 78

9.4 Final ea and eak.............................................................................. 78
Exercises............................................................................................................ 79
Lesson 8: The mailman comes 82
Additional vocabulary – Days of the week .................................................. 83
Grammar............................................................................................................ 83
1. New nouns .............................................................................................. 83
1.1 Class 1 ............................................................................................ 83
1.2 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 83
1.3 Class 3 ............................................................................................ 83
1.4 Class 4 ............................................................................................ 83
Other nouns ............................................................................................ 83
2. New verbs............................................................................................... 84
3. ‘have, has’ .............................................................................................. 84
4. æti ‘might be, might have’ ..................................................................... 85
5. The verbal adjective form of the verb .................................................... 85
6. ‘when’ clauses (ADJV+koṭə) .................................................................... 86
7. The conjunction -y … -y ......................................................................... 86
8. witərə ‘only’ and witərə ‘about’ ............................................................. 86
9. Numerals ................................................................................................ 87
9.1 The numeral 5................................................................................. 87
9.2 Case forms of numerals .................................................................. 87
9.2 Use of the genitive definite of numerals......................................... 88
10. The Sinhala writing system – 4 .............................................................. 88
10.1 More vowel symbols ...................................................................... 88
10.2 More consonant symbols ................................................................ 89
Exercises............................................................................................................ 90
Review 2 94
Lesson 9: Borrowing a book 98
Grammar............................................................................................................ 99
1. New nouns .............................................................................................. 99
1.1 Class 1 ............................................................................................ 99
1.2 Class 2 ............................................................................................ 99
1.3 Class 3 ............................................................................................ 99
2. New verbs............................................................................................. 100
3. parakku wenəwa ................................................................................... 100
4. Idioms with kamak ............................................................................... 100
5. mokut ‘anything’ .................................................................................. 101
6. The -mu form........................................................................................ 101
7. The Sinhala writing system – 5 ............................................................ 102
7.1 Vowel symbols ............................................................................. 102

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7.2 Nasals ........................................................................................... 102

Exercises.......................................................................................................... 104
Lesson 10: Buying a book 108
Additional vocabulary – Numerals 6–12.................................................... 109
Grammar.......................................................................................................... 109
1. New nouns ............................................................................................ 109
1.1 Class 2 .......................................................................................... 109
1.2 Class 4 .......................................................................................... 109
2. New verbs............................................................................................. 109
3. Noun compounds.................................................................................. 109
4. koten də ................................................................................................ 110
5. koccərə, kiiyak, kiidenek....................................................................... 110
6. Numerals 6 – 12 ................................................................................... 111
7. teerenəwa ‘understand’ ........................................................................ 112
8. madi ‘not enough’, ‘insufficiently’ ...................................................... 112
9. paṭaŋ gannəwa ..................................................................................... 113
10. laŋ̌gə ..................................................................................................... 113
11. The infinitive with adjectives ............................................................... 113
Exercises.......................................................................................................... 114
Lesson 11: Extending an invitation 118
Grammar.......................................................................................................... 119
1. New nouns ............................................................................................ 119
1.1 Class 2 .......................................................................................... 119
1.2 Class 3 .......................................................................................... 119
1.3 Class 4 .......................................................................................... 119
1.4 Class 5 .......................................................................................... 120
2. New verbs............................................................................................. 120
3. The third person pronoun (meyaa) set.................................................. 120
4. Like, like to – kæməti ........................................................................... 121
5. -t ekkə ‘with’......................................................................................... 121
6. issərəha ‘in front of’ ............................................................................. 122
7. kiiyəṭə də ‘at what time?’...................................................................... 122
8. kataa kərənəwa..................................................................................... 122
9. kiyənəwa ............................................................................................... 123
Exercises.......................................................................................................... 123
Lesson 12: Calling on a friend 128
Grammar.......................................................................................................... 129
1. New nouns ............................................................................................ 129
1.1 Class 2 .......................................................................................... 129
2. New verbs............................................................................................. 130
3. The -wi form of the verb ...................................................................... 130

xvi
 Contents

4. The -nnaŋ form of the verb .................................................................. 131

5. The conjunction naŋ ‘if’ ....................................................................... 132
6. (-ṭə) … bææ ‘can’t’ .............................................................................. 132
7. The ‘am to’, ‘be supposed to’ construction .......................................... 133
8. Telling time .......................................................................................... 133
9. wenəwa in time expressions ................................................................. 133
10. taamə and tawə ‘still, yet’ .................................................................... 134
11. may ‘certainly, surely’ .......................................................................... 134
12. waaḍi wenəwa ...................................................................................... 135
Exercises.......................................................................................................... 135
Review 3 139
Appendix: Noun and verb forms 143
1. Noun forms................................................................................................. 143
1.1 Regular nouns....................................................................................... 143
1.11 The singular .................................................................................. 143
1.12 The plural ..................................................................................... 144
1.2 Irregular nouns ..................................................................................... 145
Class 1 .................................................................................................. 145
Class 2 .................................................................................................. 145
Class 3 .................................................................................................. 145
Class 4 .................................................................................................. 146
Class 5 .................................................................................................. 146
2. Verb forms ................................................................................................. 146
2.1 Regular verbs........................................................................................ 146
2.12 The past stem ................................................................................ 147
2.13 The past participial stem............................................................... 148
2.2 Irregular verbs ...................................................................................... 149
Key to exercises 151
Glossary 191
Sinhala-English ............................................................................................... 192
English-Sinhala ............................................................................................... 198
Index 205

xvii
Colloquial Sinhala

Notes on pronunciation
General
The only satisfactory way to learn the pronunciation of a language is to imitate a
native speaker of that language. The notes that follow are intended only as an
indication of what to look for and imitate in the speech of a native speaker of
Sinhala and to provide selected material for practice.
For the first twelve lessons, new Sinhala material will be given in a transcription
which represents the sounds of Sinhala using letters most of which are familiar in
shape. Their sound values for Sinhala are described briefly below. Sinhala
orthography is introduced in lessons 5 through 12, and it will be used for all
Sinhala from lesson 13 on.

Vowels
Sinhala has two sets of vowels, a set of seven short vowels, represented by i, e, æ,
ə, a, u, o, and a set of seven corresponding long vowels, represented by doubling
the short vowel symbols: ii, ee, ææ, əə, aa, uu, oo. In speaking Sinhala it is
important to maintain carefully the distinction between short and long vowels, for
it may signal the difference between entirely different words: ekə ‘one’ but eekə
‘that one,’ danə ‘burning’ but daanə ‘putting.’

Short vowels
i is a high front vowel, similar to that in English ‘bit’, very short:
Exercise 1
di while itiŋ so
iḍə room miniha man
digə long api we
giyə gone madi too little
kiri milk iŋgirisi English
e is a midfront vowel, about halfway between the vowel sound in English ‘bet’ and
that in ‘bait’, very short and without the glide that occurs in the latter English word:
Exercise 2
tel oil ehenaŋ if so
ekə one aayet again
kenek a person passe after
ehemə like that aawe came
ridenə hurting poteŋ from the book

xviii
 Notes on pronunciation

æ is a low front vowel, similar to that in English ‘hat’ , very short:

Exercise 3
æpəl apples gænə about
æti might hæṭi manner
mædə a middle nætuwə without
dæŋ now perəhærə procession
pættə side tæpæl mail
ə is like the last vowel sound in English ‘sofa’:
Exercise 4
də question marker gamənə journey
mə emphatic witərə about
kərənə doing ikmənəṭə fast
iwərə finished matəkə remembering
a is a low central vowel, similar to that in English ‘far’, but shorter. Many speakers
of American English use a similar vowel in the word ‘hot’:
Exercise 5
at hands ekak a one
naŋ if dawas days
adə today kamak a difficulty
darə firewood gatta took
u is a high back rounded vowel, similar to the vowel sound in English ‘shoot’ but
shorter and without the glide that occurs in the English word:
Exercise 6
usə tall uturu northern
durə far kukul poultry
tunə three amutu new
mulu whole baḍu goods
o is a mid back rounded vowel, similar to the vowel sound in the English word
‘coat’, but shorter and without the glide that occurs in English:
Exercise 7
pot books uuro pigs
loku big oyə that
ohomə like that koy which
polos young jackfruit daruwo children

Long vowels
ii is a high front vowel, similar to the vowel sound in the English word ‘deed’, long
and without the glide that occurs in English:

xix
Colloquial Sinhala

Exercise 8
iiṭə to that kiipə several
iiye yesterday siigiriyə Sigiriya
griismə summer asəniipe illness
biimə drink kulii wages
ee is a mid front vowel, similar to the vowel sound in English ‘raid’, long and
without the glide that occurs in English:
Exercise 9
ee that peenəwa see
gee house isṭeesəmə station
eekə that one gamee in the village
deewi might give udee morning
ææ is a low front vowel, like short æ but lengthened:
Exercise 10
ææ she kææmə food
rææ night næædææya relation
nææ no nææwa bathed
bææ can’t hæbææ true
əə is very rare in Sinhala, and occurs only in English borrowings. It is similar to the
vowel sound heard in ‘bird’ in British and some varieties of American English:
Exercise 11
šəəṭ shirts səəwis service
Speakers of Sinhala vary in their pronunciation of such words. Imitate that of your
teacher.
aa is a low central vowel, similar to that in English ‘father’, long:
Exercise 12
daa day dihaawə direction
aapu came niwaaḍu vacation
gaanə amount epaa don’t
aagəmə religion kalpənaa thought
uu is a high back rounded vowel, similar to the vowel sound in English ‘food’, long
and without the glide that occurs in English:
Exercise 13
huu hoot luunu onion
muu this animal asuu eighty
uura pig anuu ninety

xx
 Notes on pronunciation

oo is a mid back rounded vowel, similar to the vowel sound in the-English word
‘load’, long and without the glide that occurs in English:
Exercise 14
ookə that one iskoolə schools
koo where kantooruwə office
toorənə chosen noona lady
eloolu vegetables winoode enjoyment

Consonants
Sinhala consonants may be subdivided into two groups, which for reference
purposes may be called stop consonants and non-stop consonants. The stop
consonants occur in two series, as follows:
Voiceless: p, t, ṭ, c, k
Voiced: b, d, ḍ, j, g

Stop consonants
p, c, k are pronounced like the underlined consonants in the English words ‘pin’,
‘chin’, ‘kin’, respectively. In English, when voiceless stop consonants such as these
begin a word, they are accompanied by a release of breath called aspiration. Such
aspiration may also be present in that position in Sinhala, but if so it will be very
slight and much less pronounced than in English.
Exercise 15
paha five ruci liking
palaatə province puñci small
api we koo where
sæpə comfort kiipe several
ciine China dakunu southern
wacəne word ekak a one
t and ṭ are both ‘t-like’ sounds, but are produced with the tongue in different
positions. t is produced with the tip of the tongue just behind the upper-teeth and
with the front flat part of the tongue flat against the tooth ridge. ṭ is produced with
the tip of the tongue curled back so that it touches the roof of the mouth back of the
tooth ridge, at a point just slightly farther back than is used for English ‘t’. Since
these two sounds are not distinguished in English, the difference between them will
be difficult to hear at first, but it is important in Sinhala and may distinguish
different words. An English ‘t’ will sound like ṭ to a speaker of Sinhala, so that it is
particularly important to remember to keep the tongue forward when making
Sinhala t:

xxi
Colloquial Sinhala

Exercise 16
tiha thirty ṭikə the few
tawə still ṭawmə town
tænə place ṭæksiyə taxi
atə hand aṭə eight
etənə there heṭə tomorrow
ratə red raṭə country
æti enough wæṭə fence
b, j, and g are pronounced like the underlined consonants in English ‘bin’, ‘jam’
and ‘gone’, respectively:
Exercise 17
bat rice koliijiyə college
babaa baby kaju cashews
hæbææ true gamə village
kaləbəlee haste, confusion galə rock
juuni June agə end
jiiwitee life atərəmagə on the way
d and ḍ are the voiced counterparts of t and ṭ. That is, they are ‘d-like’ sounds, with
ḍ produced with the tongue in the same position as for ṭ, and d produced in the
same position as for t. English ‘d’ will sound to a speaker of Sinhala like ḍ, so that,
as for t, it is particularly important to keep the tongue forward for the Sinhala d:
Exercise 18
dostərə doctor ḍokṭə Doctor
badu taxes baḍu goods
adə today aḍə half
mædə middle iḍə room
madi not enough wæḍə work
padiñciyə residence poḍi little
nidahasə independence paḍiyə salary

Non-stop consonants
The Sinhala non-stop consonants may be divided for discussion into three groups:
spirants, nasals and others.
• Spirants: f, s, š, h
• Nasals: m, n, ñ, ŋ, m̌, ň, ŋ̌
• Others: y, r, l, w

xxii
 Notes on pronunciation

Spirants
The spirants s, š, h are produced like the corresponding consonants in English, š
being like the ‘sh’ in English ‘shin’. Some speakers may not have both s and š but
use s only.
f is similar to the underlined consonant in English ‘fin’, but while the English
sound is produced by the passage of air between the lower lip and upper teeth, most
speakers of Sinhala produce f by allowing air to pass between the upper and lower
lips. f is quite rare in Sinhala, occurring mostly in words borrowed from English
and some people will regularly substitute p for it.
Exercise 19
siini sugar šoo shows
satə cent fiis fees
rasə tasty ṭælifoon telephones
gas trees frayd rays fried rice
paha five hayə six

Nasals
Sinhala nasal consonants may be divided into two groups: full nasals (m, n, ñ, ŋ)
and half-nasals (m̌, ň, ŋ̌).
The full nasals m, n, ŋ are produced like the corresponding consonant sounds in
English, ŋ being the sound represented by ‘ng’ in English ‘sing’. ñ is unlike any
English sound, but like that in Spanish in señor.
Exercise 20
mee this noona lady
mamə I gaŋ villages
maama uncle naŋ names
nææ no liŋ wells
namə name ñaanə wisdom
The half-nasals m̌, ň, ŋ̌ occur only before the voiced stop consonants b, d, ḍ, g.
They are produced in a manner similar to the corresponding full nasals, but they
are kept very short and released quickly into the following stop consonant as if the
two were to form a single consonant sound. In technical terms, these nasal-stop
combinations are “pre-nasalized stops.”
Exercise 21
am̌bə mangoes liňdə well
kaňdu hills gaŋ̌gə river
hoňdə good laŋ̌gə near

xxiii
Colloquial Sinhala

The distinction between full and half-nasals is important in Sinhala, for since full
nasals may also occur before voiced stops, the difference may serve to distinguish
words. Practice the following pairs:
Exercise 22
kandə hill kaňdə tree trunk
kambə cloth book-cover kam̌bə ropes
ændə side æňdə bed
hinda because iňdəla from
handiyə corner haňdə moon

Other consonants
The consonant y is produced like the corresponding English sound, but before
another consonant or at the end of a word y may be spoken as short i in slow or
emphatic speech:
Exercise 23
yanəwa go ḍraywər driver
yantaŋ barely ayse chum
ayə people æy why
eyaa he koy which
aynə edge lokuy it’s big
ayti belong lamay children
The consonant l is similar to that in English ‘let’. In some pronunciations or
American English the back of the tongue is raised, and the tip is in a relaxed
position in saying l in some words (try the word ‘bowl’). In Sinhala, the tip of the
tongue is always raised, and the back never is, so that it may take some practice to
produce Sinhala l properly in all positions:
Exercise 24
lu it seems eliyə light
loku big kulii wages
liyumə letter pol coconuts
lamea child mal flowers
alə yams mul chief
batalə sweet potatoes tel oil
The consonant r is in most positions a voiced sound produced by tapping or very
briefly trilling the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper tooth ridge. At the
beginning of words it is a voiceless trill or spirant. In either case it is quite unlike
any consonant in English and can only be learned by careful imitation:

xxiv
 Notes on pronunciation

Exercise 25
raa toddy irida Sunday
rææ night amaaru difficult
rupiyal rupees ærəla opened
rasə tasty perəhærə procession
arə that kaar cars
parənə old prəsiddə famous
The consonant w at the beginning of words or between vowels when the preceding
vowel is not u or o will be produced in a manner much like English w in ‘went’ or
‘away’, but it will also be accompanied by some of the friction characteristic of
English v, although not as strong. In other positions, Sinhala w will be produced
like English ‘w’. (At the end of words or before a consonant, w may be spoken as
short u in slow or emphatic speech:)
Exercise 26
wenə other duwə daughter
warədə fault oowa those
witərə about pawlə family
wæḍə work kawnṭəree counter
kææwa ate udaw help
tawəmə yet ow yes

Doubled consonants and combinations

Sinhala consonants may, like English consonants, occur in various combinations.
Some of those with nasals were given above. Others will cause no difficulty:
Exercise 27
isṭeesəmə station ispiritaale hospital
antimə end lækcər lectures
dostərə doctor oktoobər October
Unlike consonants in English, Sinhala consonants may occur doubled. A doubled
consonant is produced like its single counterpart but is held longer before being
released into the next vowel. The distinction between single and doubled
consonants is important and may signal the difference between different words: ekə
‘one’ but ekkə ‘with’:

xxv
Colloquial Sinhala

Exercise 28
parakku late koocciyə train
tææggə gift rajjuruwo king
kiṭṭuwə near awwə sunshine
poḍḍə ə little passe after
pættə side issella before
awruddə year amma mother
baappa uncle mennə here
ibba tortoise pipiññə cucumber
Exercise 29
atə hand wattə estate
rasə tasty issa shrimp
næṭumə dance næṭṭuwa dancer
leḍaa patient leḍḍu patients
mædə middle næddə isn’t it
diwə tongue diwwa ran
kapənəwa to cut kappənəwa to cause to cut
danəwa to burn dannəwa to know
yanə going yannə to go

xxvi
Figure 1: From the first edition (1968)

1
Colloquial Sinhala

Lesson 1: At the bus depot

John Wood, an American, goes to the bus depot to get a bus for Colombo. He
approaches the conductor of a waiting bus for help.
John mehe iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə bas- Is there a bus from here to
ekak tiyenəwa də? Colombo?
Conductor nææ, mahattea. No, sir.
John mee bas-ekə yanne kohaaṭə də? Where is this bus going?
Conductor meekə yanne kalutərəṭə. This one is going to Kalutara.
John kalutərə iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə bas Are there buses from Kalutara to
tiyenəwa də? Colombo?
Conductor ow, nitərəmə tiyenəwa. meekeŋ Yes, (there are) always. Go to
kalutərəṭə yannə. meekə dæŋ Kalutara by this one. This one is
yanəwa. kalutərə iňdəla going now. From Kalutara, go by
koləm̌bə bas-ekəkiŋ yannə. a Colombo bus.
John hoňday. kiiyə də kalutərəṭə? Fine. How much to Kalutara?
Conductor rupiyal dekay. Two rupees.
John mennə. ṭikæṭ-ekak dennə. Here you are. Give (me) a ticket.

Vocabulary
bas buses kalutərə Kalutara mehe here
bas-ekə the bus kalutərəṭə to Kalutara mennə here you are
bas-ekak a bus kiiyə how much nææ no
bas-ekəkiŋ by a bus kohaaṭə where to? nitərəmə always
dæŋ now koləm̌bə Colombo ow yes
də QM koləm̌bəṭə to Colombo rupiyal rupees
dekay two mahattea sir ṭikæṭ-ekak a ticket
dennə give mee this tiyenəwa there is
hoňday fine meekə this one yanəwa is going
iňdəla from meekeŋ by this one yanne is going
yannə go
The vocabulary for each lesson is available in a form suitable for use with
Anki, a flash card application that runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS,
Android and any device with a web browser. To get started, download
Anki from apps.ankiweb.net and install the app on your desktop. Then
register at ankiweb.net and contact pepper.steve@gmail.com for the Colloquial
Sinhala card deck. Once you have imported the deck on your desktop, you can install
Anki on your smartphone or iPad, synch with your account, and get started learning
vocabulary using Anki’s amazing implementation of the spaced repetition method.

2
 Lesson 1: At the bus depot

Grammar
1. Noun and pronoun forms
Sinhala nouns and pronouns may appear in several forms. They may be DEFINITE
or INDEFINITE,* SINGULAR or PLURAL, and inflected for any one of four CASES.†

2. The singular – the definite and indefinite forms

2.1 The definite-indefinite distinction occurs only in the singular. bas-ekə ‘the bus’
and ṭikæṭ-ekə ‘the ticket’ are singular definite forms. The singular indefinite forms
are bas-ekak and ṭikæṭ-ekak. This type of definite and indefinite, with -ekə and
-ekak, is often found with nouns such as these, which have been borrowed from
English. rupiyələ ‘the rupee’ has the indefinite form rupiyəlak. Notice that these
forms are very similar to those above. The only difference is that there is no -ek-
before the -ə definite and -ak indefinite.
Place names like koləm̌bə ‘Colombo’ and kalutərə ‘Kalutara’ and pronouns like
meekə ‘this one’ do not have indefinite forms.
2.2 In general, the definite form corresponds to English ‘the’ with a noun, and the
indefinite to English ‘a’ with a noun. We say “in general” because this provides
only a rough guide for the beginner: the forms do not always appear where the
corresponding English translations would lead us to expect them. For example, the
definite form appears after mee ‘this’: mee bas-ekə ‘this bus’. …

3. The plural
The plural forms for bas-ekə and ṭikæṭ-ekə are bas ‘buses’ and ṭikæṭ ‘tickets’. This
“no ending” plural is the usual type for nouns with a definite form in -ekə.
The plural of rupiyələ is rupiyal ‘rupees’. Notice that there is again no ending.
Also, we have -əl- before endings, but -al when final. This is a regular change in
Sinhala; where ə occurs before a consonant when something else follows, it
becomes a if that consonant becomes final.
Place names like koləm̌bə and kalutərə do not generally have plurals. The plurals of
pronouns like meekə will be taken up as they occur later.

*
The distinction between definite and indefinite can be thought of as the difference
between the use of ‘the’ and ‘a’ in English. When we say ‘the bus’ (or bas-ekə) we
are referring to a particular member of the category ‘bus’, the identity of which is
known to the speaker and listener. When we say ‘a bus’ (or bas-ekak) we are not
referring to a particular bus but to any member of the category ‘bus’. [eds]
†
See the box on the next page for an explanation of grammatical case. [eds]

3
Colloquial Sinhala

Case systems: Who is doing what to whom?

Many of the world’s languages, including Latin, German, Russian … and Sinhala, have
a feature called ‘grammatical case’ (or ‘case’, for short). If you have never studied a
language with a case system before, you are in for a new experience with Sinhala! This
course book assumes that you already have a rough idea of what case systems are, so
for those readers who don’t, here is a short introduction.
A typical sentence in any language describes some kind of ‘situation’ centred around
an action or state, such as eating, biting, speaking, giving or being. As these examples
show, actions and states are usually expressed by verbs. In any such situation there
can be a number of ‘participants’, e.g. the person or animal doing the eating, the thing
being eaten, the location where the eating is taking place, the tools being used, etc.
Those participants are usually expressed by nouns or pronouns:
(1) The dog bites the postman.
(2) The man spoke to the woman by telephone.
(3) She will give him a letter.
When a situation involves multiple participants, it is important for the listener to be
able to figure out who is doing what to whom, or what ‘role’ each participant is playing
in the situation. There are several ways in which languages allow the speaker to indicate
who is doing what to whom. In English, the main mechanism is word order. We know
that it is the dog biting the postman in (1) and not the other way round because ‘the
dog’ comes before the verb and ‘the postman’ comes after it. (In grammatical terms
‘dog’ is the subject and ‘postman’ is the direct object.)
Word order is very strict in English, but in other languages it is more flexible. In
German (1) could be expressed as either (4) or (5):
(4) Der Hund beißt den Postboten.
(5) Den Postboten beißt der Hund.
In both of these it is the dog (Hund) that is doing the biting and the postman (Postboten)
that is being bitten. How do we know? Not because of word order, because the word
for ‘dog’ (i.e., the subject) comes before the verb in (4) but after it in (5). What makes
it possible to figure out who is doing what to whom is the form of the words meaning
‘the’, i.e. the definite articles, der and den. With words like Hund and Postboten the
form taken by the definite article is der for the subject and den for the object. In
grammatical terms, der is in the nominative case (used for the subject) and den is in the
accusative case (used for the direct object). In short, while English (mainly) uses word
order to express who is doing what to whom, German uses a case system.
A case system can be defined as a system in which words related to participants (nouns,
pronouns, etc.) change their form depending on the role the participants play in the
situation. In German there are four cases: nominative, accusative, genitive and dative.
Roughly speaking, these are used for the subject, object, possessor and recipient,
respectively. Sinhala, too, has four cases, here called direct, dative, genitive and
instrumental, three of which are introduced in Lesson 1 and the fourth in Lesson 2. In
order to know who is doing what to whom in Sinhala, you need to master the different
forms taken by different types of noun – specifically endings like -ṭə, -e(e), -eŋ and -iŋ.

4
 Lesson 1: At the bus depot

4. Cases
Three of the four Sinhala cases will be introduced here.

4.1 The direct case

The “basic” forms that have been given above and referred to simply as “singular
definite,” “singular indefinite” or “plural” are in the DIRECT CASE. Thus, bas-ekə,
bas-ekak, bas; ṭikæṭ-ekə, ṭikæṭ-ekak, ṭikæṭ; rupiyələ, rupiyəlak; kalutərə, koləm̌bə
and meekə are all direct case forms, although some are singular, some plural, some
definite and some indefinite. When new nouns occur, and when they are listed in
the glossary, they are always listed under the direct singular definite form.
The subject of most sentences is in the direct case:
bas-ekak tiyenəwa. There is a bus.
bas-ekə yanəwa. The bus is going.
meekə yanəwa. This one is going.

4.2 The dative case

4.21 The dative case form of a noun in the definite singular is formed by adding
-ṭə to the direct case form. The dative definite forms of the nouns and pronouns in
this lesson are thus:
direct definite dative definite
bas-ekə bas-ekəṭə
ṭikæṭ-ekə ṭikæṭ-ekəṭə
rupiyələ rupiyələṭə
meekə meekəṭə
kalutərə kalutərəṭə
koləm̌bə koləm̌bəṭə
4.22 The dative case form of a noun in the indefinite singular is formed by adding
-əṭə to the direct case form. Notice here, too, we have -ək- before endings but -ak
where the consonant k is final. For the nouns in this lesson that have an indefinite
form, the dative indefinite form is as follows:
direct indefinite dative indefinite
bas-ekak bas-ekəkəṭə
ṭikæṭ-ekak ṭikæṭ-ekəkəṭə
rupiyəlak rupiyələkəṭə
4.23 The dative case is used as an equivalent of the English “to a place.”
kalutərəṭə yannə. Go to Kalutara.
bas-ekəṭə yannə. Go to the bus.
bas-ekəkəṭə yannə. Go to a bus.

5
Colloquial Sinhala

In this connection we might note that the -ṭə on kohaaṭə (də) ‘where to’ is this same
dative ending.*

4.3 The instrumental case

4.31 The most frequent ending for definite nouns (and pronouns) in the
instrumental case is -eŋ:
direct definite instrumental definite
bas-ekə bas-ekeŋ
ṭikæṭ-ekə ṭikæṭ-ekeŋ
rupiyələ rupiyəleŋ
meekə meekeŋ
However, some nouns take -iŋ:
koləm̌bə koləm̌biŋ
kalutərə kalutəriŋ
4.32 In the indefinite, the instrumental ending is always -iŋ for the classes of nouns
that we will meet for some time. It is added to the direct indefinite form and as
always, the rule for ə - a applies:
direct indefinite instrumental indefinite
bas-ekak bas ekəkiŋ
ṭikæṭ-ekak ṭikæṭ-ekəkiŋ
rupiyəlak rupiyələkiŋ
4.33 The instrumental case is an equivalent of the English “with (a hammer)” or
“by (a bus).” Thus:
meekeŋ kalutərəṭə yannə. Go to Kalutara by this one.
bas-ekeŋ koləm̌bəṭə yannə. Go to Colombo by the bus.
koləm̌bə bas-ekəkiŋ yannə. Go by a Colombo bus.

4.4. Plural case forms

The case forms of the plural, except for the direct case forms given in paragraphs 3
and 4.1, will be dealt with in a later lesson.

*
With yanəwa ‘go’ the dative case is optional when the destination is very specific,
and especially when it is a named place, hence:
koləm̌bəṭə yannə.
or Go to Colombo.
koləm̌bə yannə. [eds]

6
 Lesson 1: At the bus depot

5. Noun citation
Since the definite-indefinite distinction operates only in the singular, we need
specify only:
1. case
2. definite, indefinite or plural
in order to describe a noun form. That is, if we say that a noun form is either
definite or indefinite it will automatically be singular as well. We will thus refer to
nouns as being “dative definite” (automatically singular),”instrumental indefinite”
(automatically singular), “direct plural” (definite-indefinite does not apply), etc.

6. Verb forms
6.1 Infinitive, simple and emphatic present
yanəwa and yanne are both present tense forms which we refer to as the SIMPLE
PRESENT and EMPHATIC PRESENT respectively.

yannə is the INFINITIVE form of the same verb. These forms all consist of a VERB
STEM plus the endings -nəwa, -nne or -nnə.

Whenever a new verb is given, whether in this book or a Sinhala dictionary, it is

given in the simple present form. The verb stem will be that part which precedes
the -nəwa, so that the forms for the verbs that occur in this lesson are:
simple present verb stem emphatic present infinitive
yanəwa – go ya- yanne yannə
denəwa – give de- denne dennə
tiyenəwa – be tiye- tiyenne tiyennə

6.2 Uses of the forms

6.21 The simple and emphatic present forms are both used in forming present tense
sentences. The most common difference between statements formed with these two
forms is in emphasis. Generally non-emphatic statement sentences are formed by
using the simple present form.
mee bas-ekə kalutərəṭə yanəwa. This bus is going to Kalutara.
meekə dæŋ yanəwa. This one is going now.
Where special emphasis is to be given like that which might be indicated by
translation such as: “It is to Kalutara that this one is going” or “This one is going to
Kalutara,” the emphatic form is commonly used. Frequently, though not invariably,
the emphasized part is placed after the verb:

7
Colloquial Sinhala

mee bas-ekə yanne kalutərəṭə. It is to Kalutara that this bus is going.

koləm̌bəṭə yanne meekə. This one is going to Colombo.
meekə yanne dæŋ də! Is this one is going now?
Constructions with the simple form of the verb will be referred to as SIMPLE
STATEMENTS; those with the emphatic form of' the verb as EMPHATIC
STATEMENTS.

6.22 One of the most common uses of the INFINITIVE is as an imperative, in giving
directions or orders. It usually occurs last in the sentence when so used:
meekeŋ kalutərəṭə yannə. Go to Kalutara by this one.
ṭikæt-ekə dennə. Give (me) a ticket.

6.3 Agreement
Note that the verb forms above do not change to agree with the singular, plural,
definite or indefinite status of nouns. For example:
mehe bas tiyenəwa. There are buses here.
mehe bas-ekə tiyenəwa. Here is the bus ~ The bus is here.
mehe bas-ekak tiyenəwa. There is a bus here.

7. Postpositions
iňdəla ‘from’ is the first of an important class of POSTPOSITIONS. Although these
often have much the same function as English prepositions such as ‘from,’ they
appear after the word which depends on them.
mehe iňdəla from here
koləm̌bə iňdəla from Colombo

8. The question marker də

də, the QUESTION MARKER, may be added to any statement to change it to a
question.
8.1 In a simple statement (i.e. one with the simple form of the verb), də always
appears immediately after the verb.
koləm̌bəṭə bas-ekak tiyenəwa. There is a bus to Colombo.
koləm̌bəṭə bas-ekak tiyenəwa də? Is there a bus to Colombo?
8.2 In an emphatic statement (i.e. one with an emphatic form of the verb) də
follows the emphasized word and must not immediately follow the verb.
mee bas-ekə yanne kalutərəṭə. This bus is going to Kalutara.
mee bas-ekə yanne kalutərəṭə də? Is this bus going to Kalutara?

8
 Lesson 1: At the bus depot

8.3 In all but a few very rare cases, then, the following rule will hold for the
position of də:
də always follows a simple verb; it never directly follows an emphatic verb.

9. Interrogative expressions
kohaaṭə ‘where to’ and kiiyə ‘how much, how many’ are the first two of a set of
interrogative words. In interrogative sentences, these appear with the question
marker də. The də usually immediately follows the interrogative word, so that
combinations such as kiiyə də, kohaaṭə də are most easily learned as idiomatic
units. These interrogative expressions composed of interrogative plus an
immediately following də never occur with a simple verb.
kohaaṭə də may be used without the emphatic form of the verb if the context is
sufficiently clear without it.
meekə yanne kohaaṭə də?
Where is this one going?
meekə kohaaṭə də?
kiiyə də is the usual expression for asking the price of something:
kalutərəṭə kiiyə də? How much to Kalutara?
ṭikæt-ekə kiiyə də? How much is the ticket?

Exercises
A. Say in Sinhala
1. Is there a bus from here to Colombo?
2. No, sir.
3. Where is this bus going?
4. This one goes to Kalutara.
5. Is there a bus from Kalutara to Colombo?
6. Yes.
7. Yes, sir.
8. There are always (buses).
9. Go to Kalutara by this one.
10. This one is going now.
11. From Kalutara, go by a Colombo bus.
12. Fine.
13. How much to Kalutara?
14. Two rupees.
15. Here you are.
16. Give me a ticket.

9
Colloquial Sinhala

B. Substitute orally in the sentences below, the Sinhala equivalent of the

English given
1. .............. yanne kalutaraṭa. [this one, this bus, buses, these buses]
2. mehe iňdəla ............. yannə. [by a bus, by the bus, by this bus, by this one]
3. .............. tiyenəwa də? [a ticket, tickets, buses, the bus, a bus]
4. .............. yanəwa. [a bus, buses, this bus, these buses, this one, the Colombo
bus, a Colombo bus, Colombo buses]
5. meekə ............. yanəwa. [always, to Kalutara, to Colombo, from here, from
Kalutara, from Colombo, from here to Colombo, from here to Kalutara, from
Colombo to Kalutara, from Kalutara to Colombo]
6. .............. yannə. [by the bus, by a bus, by this bus, by this one, to Colombo, to
Kalutara, by a bus to Colombo, by this one to Colombo, by the bus to Kalutara,
by this bus to Kalutara]
C. Transform the following sentences into questions according to the model
meekə yanne kalutərəṭə → meekə yanne kalutərəṭə də?
1. mehe iňdəla bas tiyenəwa.
2. mee bas-ekə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
3. meekə dæŋ yanəwa.
4. nitərəmə yanəwa.
5. dæŋ bas-ekak tiyenəwa.
6. mee bas-ekə kalutərəṭə.
7. mehe indəla bas-ekak dæŋ yanəwa.
8. mee bas-ekə yanne koləm̌bəṭə.
D. Transform according to the model, changing each sentence into an
emphatic sentence emphasizing the underlined item
meekə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa → koləm̌bəṭə yanne meekə.
1. mee bas-ekə kalutərəṭə yanəwa.
2. dæŋ bas-ekak tiyenəwa.
3. bas-ekə dæŋ yanəwa.
4. kalutərəṭə bas-ekak tiyenəwa.
5. mee bas koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.

10
 Lesson 1: At the bus depot

E. Translate orally
1. Is this bus going to Kalutara?
2. No, sir.
3. Where is this one going?
4. This bus goes to Colombo.
5. Are there buses from Colombo to Kalutara?
6. Yes, sir.
7. There are always buses.
8. How much to Colombo?
9. Two rupees.
10. Fine, here you are.
11. Give me a ticket.
12. Here you are, sir.

11
Colloquial Sinhala

Lesson 2: Buying cigarettes

John mehe næwikəṭ tiyenəwa də? Do you have (lit. ‘are there’)
Navy Cuts here?
Proprietor næwikəṭ nææ, mahattea. No Navy Cuts, sir.
John oyə monəwa də? What are those?
Proprietor mee triiroos. These are Three Roses.
John eekə hoňdə sigəræṭ jaatiyak də? Is that a good kind of cigarette?
Proprietor ow, mahattea. huŋ̌gak denaa Yes, sir. Many people use Three
triiroos paawicci kərənəwa. Roses. Do you smoke cigars,
mahattea suruṭṭu bonəwa də? api sir? We have good cigars
laŋ̌gə hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa. here.
John laŋkaawe suruṭṭu də? Sri Lankan* cigars?
Proprietor ow, maatəlee suruṭṭu. meekə Yes, Matale cigars. This one is
†
bohomə rasay. mennə. suwəňňdə very tasty. Here you are.
balannə. Notice the aroma.
John aa, meekə bohomə særay! maṭə arə Oh, this one is very strong!
sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekak dennə. Give me a pack of those
cigarettes.

Vocabulary
aa oh huŋ̌gak many næwikəṭ Navy Cuts
api we, us jaatiyak a kind oyə those
arə those kərənəwa do, make paawicci use (noun)
balannə look, notice laŋ̌gə near, with pækæt-ekak a pack
bohomə very laŋkaawe Sri Lankan, rasay tasty
bonəwa drink, smoke of Sri Lanka særay strong
eekə that one maatəlee Matale sigəræṭ cigarettes
hoňdə good maṭə to me suruṭṭu cigars
huŋ̌gak denaa many people monəwa what suwəňdə aroma

*
The name Ceylon and the adjective Ceylonese were used in the first edition of this
book. They have been replaced by Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan throughout. [eds]
†
bohomə is much less commonly used as an intensifier in contemporary Sinhala
and sounds rather old-fashioned. In most situations, hari ‘sure’ or goḍak ‘much’
are to be preferred. [eds]

12
 Lesson 2: Buying cigarettes

Grammar
1. Address
mahattea is used to address or refer to either (male) strangers or superiors,
excluding relations and clergy. Servants use mahattea to refer to or address their
employers, and thus it is generally translated ‘(the) master’. Elsewhere, as when
used for strangers, it means something like ‘the gentleman’ or ‘sir’, although there
is no real English equivalent. It is the most commonly used polite form of address,
and such terms are mandatory in Sinhala in many situations in which a term of
deference like “sir” would be optional or not used at all in English. Notice that in
many situations where English would have the pronoun “you” Sinhala uses a form
like mahattea: e.g.: mahattea suruṭṭu bonəwa də? ‘Do you smoke cigars?’ (literally
‘Does the gentleman smoke cigars?’).

2. Noun classes
On the basis of the inflectional form of (inanimate) nouns, they may be grouped
into four classes:
1. Those with a direct definite form in -ekə
2. Those with a direct definite form in -ə and an instrumental definite in -eŋ
3. Those with a direct definite in -ə and an instrumental in -iŋ
4. Those with a direct definite form in -ee or -e
These classes will be referred to as classes 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively.

2.1 Class 1
Nouns of this class have an inflection identical to that of bas-ekə. Thus:
definite indefinite plural
direct pækæṭ-ekə pækæṭ-ekak pækæṭ
dative pækæṭ-ekəṭə pækæṭ-ekəkəṭə
instrumental pækæṭ-ekeŋ pækæṭ-ekəkiŋ
The new nouns of this class that have occurred so far are:
pækæt-ekə the pack, package triiroos-ekə the Three Roses cigarette
sigəræṭ-ekə the cigarette næwikəṭ-ekə the Navy Cut cigarette
In future lessons, in the section for new nouns, nouns of this class will be cited only
in the direct definite form since all other forms are predictable from this one.

13
Colloquial Sinhala

2.2 Class 2
Nouns of this class have an inflection in the singular that is identical with that of
rupiyələ. The plural form is not predictable from the direct definite and must be
learned for each noun. Thus:
definite indefinite plural
direct suwəňdə suwəňdak suwəňdəwal
dative suwəňdəṭə suwəňdəkəṭə
instrumental suwəňdeŋ suwəňdəkiŋ
Nouns of this type that have occurred so far are:
singular plural
suwəňdə the aroma suwəňdəwal
suruṭṭuwə the cigar suruṭṭu
jaatiyə the kind, type jaati
laŋkaawə Sri Lanka –
The form meekə ‘this one’ has the same definite forms as nouns of this class, but
does not have indefinite forms. Thus:
direct meekə
dative meekəṭə
instrumental meekeŋ

2.3 Class 3
Nouns of this class have an inflection in the definite singular that is identical with
that of koləm̌bə. The plural form is not predictable from the direct definite and
must be learned for each noun. Note that the direct and dative forms are like for
Class 2 but the definite instrumental in this class has the ending -iŋ. The only nouns
of this class that have occurred so far are koləm̌bə and kalutərə, neither of which
has indefinite or plural forms. The definite inflection is as follows:
direct koləm̌bə
dative koləm̌bəṭə
instrumental koləm̌biŋ

2.4 Class 4
The only noun of this class that has occurred so far is maatəlee ‘Matale’, which has
neither an indefinite nor a plural form. Its definite forms are:
direct maatəlee
dative maatəleeṭə
instrumental maatəleŋ

14
 Lesson 2: Buying cigarettes

3. The genitive case

The fourth and last case of Sinhala is the GENITIVE.

3.1 Class 1
Nouns of Class 1 have a genitive ending in -ekee in the definite. The genitive
indefinite adds -ə to the direct indefinite with the regular change of ak to ək. The
plural case form will be learned later for all classes.
definite indefinite
direct bas-ekə bas-ekak
genitive bas-ekee bas-ekəkə

3.2 Class 2
Nouns of Class 2 have a genitive definite ending either in -ee or in -e. The genitive
indefinite adds -ə to the direct indefinite with the regular change of ak to ək:
definite indefinite
direct rupiyələ rupiyəlak
genitive rupiyəlee rupiyələkə
Since it cannot be simply predicted from the direct definite whether the genitive
definite will end in -ee or -e, the genitive will regularly be cited for nouns of this
class. Thus:
direct genitive direct genitive
rupiyələ rupiyəlee jaatiyə jaatiye
suwəňdə suwəňde laŋkaawə laŋkaawe
suruṭṭuwə suruṭṭuwe meekə meeke

3.3 Class 3
Nouns of this class have a genitive definite ending in -ə and hence identical with
the direct definite. The genitive indefinite, like that of the classes above, adds -ə to
the direct indefinite with the regular change of ak to ək. However, the only nouns
of this class that have occurred so far do not have an indefinite form.
direct definite koləm̌bə
genitive definite koləm̌bə
The characteristics of this class as compared with Class 2 are:
1. The direct definite and the genitive definite both end in -ə for Class 3, but for
Class 2 the direct definite ends in -ə, and the genitive is -ee or -e.
2. The instrumental definite for Class 3 ends in -iŋ, but for Class 2 in -eŋ.

15
Colloquial Sinhala

3.4 Class 4
Nouns of this class have a genitive definite form identical with the direct definite.
Thus:
direct definite maatəlee
genitive definite maatəlee

3.5 Use of the genitive

1. A noun or pronoun dependent on the postposition iňdəla will always precede
iňdəla and will be in the genitive case:
kalutərə iňdəla from Kalutara
laŋkaawe iňdəla from Sri Lanka
meeke iňdəla from this one
2. The genitive case may be an equivalent of the English possessive “-’s”
construction or “of” construction:
mee suruṭṭuwe suwəňdə this cigar’s aroma or the aroma of this cigar
With place names, it may equate with the English adjectival form of the place
name:
maatəlee suruṭṭu Matale cigars
laŋkaawe sigəræṭ Sri Lankan cigarettes

4. First person pronouns

The pronouns of the first person are:
singular plural
direct mamə I, me api we, us
dative maṭə apiṭə
The other case forms will be learned later.
mamə kalutərəṭə yanəwa. I’m going to Kalutara.
maṭə pækæṭ-ekak dennə. Give me a pack.
api kalutərəṭə yanəwa. We are going to Kalutara.
apiṭə pækæṭ-ekak dennə. Give us a pack.
Note that the dative form is used as indirect object of dennə ‘give’.

16
 Lesson 2: Buying cigarettes

5. New verbs
The three new verbs in Conversation 2 are:
bonəwa drink (with tobacco: smoke)
balənəwa look, observe, see
kərənəwa do, make
The emphatic and infinitive forms are obtained, as stated in Lesson 1, by adding
the ending -nne or -nnə to the verb stem obtained by removing -nəwa from the
simple form. However, there is a general rule for verb stems ending in -ə:
whenever -nne or -nnə are added, this stem-final -ə- becomes -a-. The forms for the
three verbs above are thus:
simple form stem emphatic form infinitive
bonəwa bo- bonne bonnə
balənəwa balə- balanne balannə
kərənəwa kərə- kəranne kərannə
paawicci kərənəwa ‘(make) use (of)’ acts like a single verb and may take both
subject and object (both in the direct case) in the same way that a verb such as
bonəwa does:
mahattea suruṭṭu bonəwa. The gentleman smokes cigars.
huŋ̌gak denaa triiroos Many people use Three Roses.
paawicci kərənəwa.
Note that the two parts remain together, no matter what form kərənəwa takes. For
example:
mahattea paawicci kəranne The gentleman smokes these
mee suruṭṭu. cigars.

6. near
laŋ̌gə ‘near, with, by (location)’ is a postposition taking the noun or pronoun
dependent on it in the direct case:
api laŋ̌gə with us
are bas-ekə laŋ̌gə by (near) that bus
Note that a phrase with laŋ̌gə together with the verb tiyenəwa may have the English
equivalent ‘have’. Thus:
api laŋ̌gə hoňdə suruṭṭu We have good cigars (literally
tiyenəwa. ‘By us there are good cigars’).

17
Colloquial Sinhala

7. Equational sentences
Equational sentences are those in which one thing is equated with another, e.g.
English “x is y.” In such a sentence the x may be referred to as subject and y as
predicate attribute. In Sinhala, there is no equivalent of the English “is” and the
structure of the sentence depends on whether the predicate attribute is an adjective
or noun.

7.1 With an adjective as predicate attribute

Adjectives such as rasə ‘tasty’, særə ‘strong (as of tobacco)’ and hoňdə ‘good’,
which end in a vowel, add -y when they appear as predicate attributes (note that ə
becomes a before final y):
mee sigəræṭ hoňday. These cigarettes are good.
maatəlee suruṭṭu bohomə særay. Maatale cigars are very strong.
suwəňdə ‘aroma, fragrance’, which is a noun in suwəňdə balannə ‘notice the
aroma’, is also an adjective of this type, with the meaning ‘aromatic, fragrant’:
mee suruṭṭu suwəňday. These cigars are aromatic.

7.2 With a noun as predicate attribute

When the predicate attribute is a noun, there is no y added. Both subject and
predicate attribute are in the direct case:
mee triiroos. These are Three Roses.
mee bas-ekə koləm̌bə bas-ekak. This bus is a Colombo bus.

8. The location sets

mee ‘this’, arə ‘that’, and meekə ‘this one’ are representatives of two sets of items
that are part of a large and important group of similar sets involving differences in
location. Only the first two sets will be given here.

8.1 The ‘mee’ set

The forms in this set are mee, oyə, arə and ee. There are four distinctions in
location where English has two, and these remain the same throughout the rest of
the sets, so that this set should be learned thoroughly first. The first three forms in
this set involve distinction in location with respect to speaker and hearer; the fourth
refers to the topic being discussed.*

*
The terms PROXIMAL, MEDIAL, DISTAL and TOPICAL are used throughout this new
edition (and in the Anki vocabulary) to label the four-way distinction found in the
various demonstrative sets, including meyaa, mehe, metənə, mehaa and mennə,
as well as mee and meekə. [eds]

18
 Lesson 2: Buying cigarettes

1. mee ‘this, these’ – near the speaker (PROXIMAL)

2. oyə ‘that, those’ – near the hearer (MEDIAL)
3. arə ‘that, those’ – away from both speaker and hearer, but in sight. This
implies “pointing at” roughly ‘that (those) over there’ (DISTAL)
4. ee ‘that, those’ – away from both speaker and hearer, out of sight or with no
“pointing at” implied; roughly, ‘that (those) we are talking about’ or ‘that
(those) in question’ (TOPICAL)
The form mee will be translated as ‘this’ or ‘these.’ The other forms will normally
all equate with English ‘that’ or ‘those,’ but where it is important to indicate which
form is meant, e.g. in exercises, oyə will be translated as ‘that (those) near you;’
arə as ‘that (those) over there;’ and ee as ‘that (those) in question.’ It is important
to remember that this distinction is a necessary one in Sinhala even though the last
three forms will all equate with English ‘that, those.’ The members of the mee set
never change form, regardless of the case or number of the nouns they precede.
They may thus be ‘this (that)’ or ‘these (those)’ depending upon context.
mee bas-ekə this bus
arə bas-ekəṭə (to) that bus
ee bas those buses

8.2 The ‘meekə’ set

The forms belonging to this set are meekə, ookə, arəkə and eekə. The meanings
exactly parallel those of the mee set; thus meekə ‘this one;’ ookə ‘that one near
you;’ arakə ‘that one over there’ and eekə ‘that one in question.’
These forms are inflected for case in the singular as follows:
proximal medial distal topical
direct meekə ookə arəkə eekə
dative meekəṭə ookəṭə arəkəṭə eekəṭə
genitive meeke ooke arəke eeke
instrumental meekeŋ ookeŋ arəkeŋ eekeŋ

8.3 The uses of the sets

8.31 The characteristic use of the mee set is to qualify following nouns:
mee bas-ekə this bus
arə ṭikæṭ-ekə that ticket
ee pækæṭ-ekə that pack
Notice that when the members of this set are used in this way, the noun qualified is
always in the definite or the plural, never the indefinite.
8.32 The members of the meekə set are pronouns that substitute for one of the mee
set plus definite noun:

19
Colloquial Sinhala

mee ṭikæṭ-ekə rupiyal dekay. This ticket is two rupees.

meekə rupiyal dekay. This one is two rupees.
ee bas-ekə maatəleeṭə yanəwa. That bus is going to Matale.
eekə maatəleeṭa yanəwa. That one is going to Matale.
8.33 Members of the mee set may also act as pronouns. As such, however, they
may take the place only of a noun or pronoun in the direct case which is the subject
of an equational sentence in which the predicate attribute is also a noun or pronoun
in the direct case. Thus:*
mee hoňdə sigəræṭ jaatiyak. This is (or these are) a good kind of cigarettes.
or
meekə hoňdə sigəræṭ jaatiyak. This one is a good kind of cigarettes.

mee bas-ekə. This is the bus.

or
meekə bas-ekə. This one is the bus.

but, in meekə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa, mee cannot take the place of meekə since this is
not an equational sentence of the required type. Notice that since mee and the rest
of the members of its set can be singular or plural in meaning, we may have:
mee bas These are buses
mee bas-ekak. This is a bus.
mee bas-ekə. This is the bus.
While meekə can only be singular:
meekə bas-ekak. This one is a bus.
meekə bas-ekə. This one is the bus.

*
In such cases there must be a short pause between the pronoun and the predicate
attribute, otherwise the utterance sounds like an incomplete noun phrase and not
a complete sentence. Compare:
mee (..) bas-ekə. This is the bus. (complete equational sentence)
mee bas-ekə... This bus… (incomplete noun phrase) [eds]

20
 Lesson 2: Buying cigarettes

Exercises
A. Say in Sinhala
1. Do you have Navy Cuts here?
2. No, sir.
3. No Navy Cuts.
4. What are those (near you)?
5. These are Three Roses.
6. Is that one (in question) a good kind of cigarettes?
7. Yes, sir. Many people use Three Roses.
8. Do you smoke cigars, sir?
9. We have (literally “near us there are”) good cigars.
10. Sri Lankan cigars?
11. Yes, Matale cigars.
12. This one is tasty.
13. This one is very tasty.
14. Here you are. Notice the aroma.
15. Oh, this one is very strong.
16. Yes, this one is very tasty.
17. Give me a pack of those (over there) cigarettes.
18. Give me those (near you) cigars.
B. Substitute orally
1. maṭə .......................dennə. [a cigar, the cigar, a cigarette, this one, the
cigarette, cigarettes, a Navy Cut, the Three Roses, a Three Roses, a pack, a Sri
Lankan cigarette, a ticket]
2. ................ suwəňdə balannə. [this cigarette’s, this Navy Cut’s, this one’s, this
Sri Lankan cigarette’s, this Matale cigar’s, this kind of cigar’s]
3. ................ triiroos. [these are, those (near you) are, those (over there) are,
those (in question) are, this one is, that one (in question) is, that one (near you)
is, that one (over there) is]
4. ................ suwəňday. [this cigar, this one, those (near you) cigars, that (in
question) cigar, that one (over there), that one (near you), that one (in
question), these Matale cigars, good cigarettes, those (in question) cigarettes]
5. ..............hoňday. [that (over there) bus, that (in question) Sri Lankan bus,
those (over there) buses, that (over there) kind, that (near you) kind of
cigarettes]

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Colloquial Sinhala

C. Transform according to the model

mee sigəræṭ-ekə triiroos. → meekə triiroos.
1. mee bas-ekə yanne koləm̌bəṭə.
2. arə suruṭṭuwə laŋkaawe suruṭṭuwak.
3. mee bas-ekə yanne dæŋ.
4. ee ṭikæṭ-ekə kalutərəṭə.
5. oyə suruṭṭuwə maṭə dennə.
6. ee pækæṭ-ekə næwikaṭ sigəræṭ.
7. oyə sigəræṭ jaatiyə triiroos də?
8. mee bas-ekeŋ yannə.
9. oyə suruṭṭuwe suwəňdə balannə.
10. arə bas-ekəṭə yannə.
11. ee sigəræṭ-ekee suwəňdə hoňday
D. Transform according to the model
mee bas-ekə koləm̌bə bas-ekak. → mee koləm̌bə bas-ekak.
1. arə bas-ekə hoňdə bas-ekak.
2. mee suruṭṭu maatəlee suruṭṭu.
3. ee sigəræṭ hoňdə jaatiyak.
4. oyə rupiyələ laŋkaawe rupiyəlak.
E. Transform the following emphatic sentences into simple sentences
according to the model
mahattea bonne suruṭṭu. → mahattea suruṭṭu bonəwa.
1. mehe tiyenne næwikəṭ.
2. huŋ̌gak denaa paawicci kəranne triiroos.
3. maatəlee suruṭṭu bonne mahattea.
4. api laŋ̌gə tiyenne hoňdə suruṭṭu.
5. mahattea yanne kalutərəṭə.
6. mee mahattea bonne laŋkaawe suruṭṭu.
7. særə suruṭṭu tiyenne mehe.
8. triiroos tiyenne mahattea laŋ̌gə.
9. mahattea ṭikæṭ-ekak denne maṭə.

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 Lesson 2: Buying cigarettes

F. Transform into emphatic sentences according to the model. Choose any

reasonable item as the one to be emphasized.
mahattea suruṭṭu bonəwa də? → mahattea bonne suruṭṭu də?
1. mahattea kalutərəṭə yanəwa də?
2. mee bas-ekə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa də?
3. mehe hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa də?
4. maṭə ṭikæṭ-ekak denəwa də?
G. Translate orally
1. Are there Sri Lankan cigars here?
2. Yes, sir. We have good cigars.
3. Matale cigars?
4. Yes, sir. These are Matale cigars.
5. Matale cigars are very strong.
6. Yes, sir. Notice the aroma.
7. This aroma is very good.
8. Yes, this one is a good cigar.
9. How much is this kind?
10. Two rupees.
11. Here you are. Give me a packet.
12. Fine, here you are, sir.
13. Is this bus going to Matale?
14. No, sir. That one (over there) is going to Matale.
15. Is that one (in question) going now?
16. Yes, that one (in question) is going now.
17. Are you going to Matale, sir?
18. Yes, to Matale.
19. Go to that (in question) bus.
20. Fine, here you are.
21. Give me a ticket to Matale.

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Colloquial Sinhala

Lesson 3: Buying fruit

Mrs. Perera goes into a shop to buy some fruit. She is then directed to another one.

In the first shop:

Mrs. Perera lamea mehe paləturu tiyenəwa
də?
1st Shopkeeper nææ, noona mahattea.
paləturu tiyenne alləpu kaḍee.
Mrs. Perera mehe tiyenne eloolu witərə də?
1st Shopkeeper ow. eloolu witəray.
In the second shop:
Mrs. Perera maṭə paləturu ṭikak gannə oonə.
2nd Shopkeeper hoňday. noona mahatteaṭə
monəwa də oonə?
Mrs. Perera hoňdə keselgeḍi tiyenəwa də?
2nd Shopkeeper tiyenəwa, noona. noona
mahatteaṭə keselgeḍi oonə də?
meekə ekak satə tunay.
arəkə ekak satə hatəray.
Mrs. Perera meekeŋ tunak dennə. æpəl
tiyenəwa də?
2nd Shopkeeper æpəl nææ. noona mahatteaṭə
wenə monəwa də oonə?
Mrs. Perera wenə mokut epaa.
Boy, do you have (is there)
fruit here?
No, madam.
Fruit is in the adjoining shop.
Are there only vegetables
here?
Yes. Only vegetables.
I want to buy some fruit.
Fine. What do you want,
madam?
Do you have good bananas?
Yes, we have, madam. Do
you want bananas? This
one (the bunch) is three
cents each. That one is four
cents each.
Give me three from this one.
Do you have (any) apples?
No apples. What else do you
want, madam?
I don’t want anything else.

Vocabulary
æpəl apples kaḍee the shop satee the cent
alləpu next, adjoining keselgeḍiyə the banana ṭikak some, a few
ekak each lamea the child, boy, girl tunə three
eloolu vegetables mokut anything, something tunak (a) three
epaa don’t want noona madam, you wenə else
gannəwa buy, get oonə want witəray only
hatərə four paləturu fruit, fruits

24
 Lesson 3: Buying fruit

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 2
keselgeḍiyə ‘the banana’; gen. keselgeḍiye; pl. keselgeḍi.

1.2 Class 4
kaḍee ‘the shop’; pl. kaḍə or kaḍəwal
satee ‘the cent’; pl. satə
Some nouns of this class may have a direct form ending in -ee, and some a direct
form ending in -e. The genitive is always identical with the direct. The dative will
have -ee or -e before the -ṭə in agreement with the direct. The instrumental will
always have the ending -eŋ. Thus the definite forms of kaḍee are:
direct kaḍee
dative kaḍeeṭə
genitive kaḍee
instrumental kaḍeŋ
Note that the definite forms of kaḍee are just like those for maatalee, the only other
noun of this class to occur so far. kaḍee and satee are the first nouns of this class to
occur that have indefinite and plural forms. The indefinite forms of kaḍee are:
direct kaḍeak
dative kaḍeekəṭə
genitive kaḍeekə
instrumental kaḍeekiŋ
The direct indefinite of nouns of this class always ends in -eak, and the other case
forms will have either -ee- or -e- before the -k- in agreement with the direct
definite.
The plural is not predictable from the direct definite and will be cited for each new
noun of Class 4 in future lessons.

1.3 Other nouns

The nouns paləturu ‘fruit, fruits’, eloolu ‘vegetables’ and æpəl ‘apples’ are all
plural forms. These nouns rarely occur in the singular, and hence the singular
forms are not given here. Dative case forms for mahattea ‘sir, you’, noona
mahattea ‘madam, you’, noona ‘ madam, you’ and lamea, ‘child, boy, girl’, may
be formed, as with other nouns, by adding -ṭə:

25
Colloquial Sinhala

mahatteaṭə noonaṭə
noona mahatteaṭə lameaṭə
These nouns belong to a separate class, distinct from the four already discussed,
and their other forms will be given in a later lesson.

2. New verbs
gannəwa ‘get, buy’; gan-; ganne; gannə
Note that when the ending -nəwa is taken from the form gannəwa, the stem that is
left is gan-. When an ending beginning with two n’s, such as -nne or -nnə, is added
to a stem like this one, ending in -n, the result is only two n’s.

3. ‘Madam’
noona and noona mahattea, like mahattea, are used either as a term of address or
as an equivalent of English ‘you’, but for women rather than men. Both noona and
noona mahattea are respectful terms, and one of them would almost always be
used by a servant, shopkeeper, a bus conductor in addressing a lady. However,
noona mahattea implies greater respect than just noona, and so would scarcely
ever be used where the person addressed was considered to be of equal or inferior
status. Simple noona, however, like mahattea, may be used for equals and, if
desired, inferiors when they are strangers. In circumstances where greater
familiarity exists, equals and inferiors are generally addressed by their proper
names.
noona mahatteaṭə paləturu oonə də? Do you want fruit, madam?
noona mee bas-ekeŋ yanəwa də? Are you going by this bus?

4. The genitive of place

One of the characteristic uses of nouns in the genitive case in Sinhala is adverbial,
to indicate location.* The sense is generally ‘in’ or ‘at’ whatever is referred to by
the noun (or pronoun) in the genitive. Thus, in the sentence
paləturu tiyenne alləpu kaḍee Fruit is in the adjoining
shop
kaḍee is in the genitive case, although with this noun (as with maatəlee) the
genitive and direct are the same in form. Compare the following:

*
Some linguists analyse this case as a locative when it occurs on an inanimate noun
and a genitive when it occurs on an animate noun. See e.g. Chandralal: Sinhala
(John Benjamins 2010), page 81. The distinction between animate and inanimate
nouns is introduced in Lesson 6 (see page 58ff). [eds]

26
 Lesson 3: Buying fruit

sigəræṭ tiyenne pækæṭ-ekee. The cigarettes are in the packet.

bas-ekə arəke tiyenəwa. The bus is in that one (e.g. a building).
ee kaḍee tiyenne kalutərə. That shop is in Kalutara (GEN).
mahattea paləturu ganne ee kaḍee. The master buys fruit at that shop
(GEN).

5. The assertion marker -y

The -y that appears on adjectives used as predicate attributes is the assertion
marker. It has a number of important functions; those that have appeared so far are
listed here.
1. It appears (as pointed out in Lesson 2) on adjectives used as predicate attributes
in equational sentences, provided the adjective ends, as all have so far, in a vowel:
meekə bohomə hoňday. This one is very good.
mee keselgeḍi rasay. These bananas are tasty.
Compare hoňday and rasay, above, which are predicative, with the forms of the
same adjectives in the following sentences, in which they modify a following noun:
mehe hoňdə eloolu tiyenəwa. Here there are good vegetables.
mee bohomə rasə suruṭṭu. These are very tasty cigars.
2. When vowel-final adjectives are used alone, without a subject, the -y also
appears. Thus hoňday ‘good, fine, all right’, as well as
bohomə rasay. Very tasty.
aa, særay! Oh, (this one is) strong!
3. The assertion marker is used with numerals in counting and quoting prices.
Thus:
rupiyal dekay two rupees cf. dekə two
satə tunay three cents cf. tunə three
satə hatəray four cents cf. hatərə four
4. The assertion marker also forms sentences with witərə ‘only’. Thus:
eloolu witəray vegetables only or only vegetables

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Colloquial Sinhala

6. -y and də
When the question marker də is added to the sentences that take the assertion
marker -y, the latter does not appear.* Thus we have the corresponding question for
each of the types of assertion discussed in the preceding section:
Assertion Question
mehe eloolu hoňday. mehe eloolu hoňdə də?
Vegetables are good here. Are vegetables good here?
hoňday. hoňdə de?
Good, fine. Good? All right?
rupiyal dekay. rupiyal dekə də?
Two rupees. Two rupees?
eloolu witəray. eloolu witərə də?
Only vegetables. Only vegetables?

7. ekak ‘each’ (literally ‘a one’)

The numeral ‘one’ is ekə. The indefinite form of ekə ‘one’ is ekak, literally ‘a one’.
It is used to mean ‘each’, as in:
meekə ekak satə tunay. This one (i.e. ‘This bunch’) is three cents each.
The indefinite forms of the other numerals may be used in the same way, with the
meaning ‘for two’, ‘for three’, etc. Thus:
meekə dekak satə tunay. This one (i.e. ‘This bunch’) is three cents for two.
meekə tunak satə tunay. This one is three cents for three.
meekə hatərak satə tunay. This one is three cents for four.

8. The ‘want’ construction: DATIVE + oonə

The Sinhala word oonə – or oona / oone [eds] – is an equivalent of English ‘want’.
The person who wants something is in the dative case:
maṭə ____ oonə I want ____
mahatteaṭə ____ oonə The gentleman wants ____
Like English ‘want’, oonə may occur with a dependent noun or verb.
1. A dependent noun is in the direct case:
mahatteaṭə keselgeḍi oonə. The gentleman wants bananas.
maṭə paləturu oonə. I want fruit.

*
Increasingly, in contemporary Sinhala, the assertion marker does appear together
with də, as in mehe eloolu hoňday də? [eds]

28
 Lesson 3: Buying fruit

2. A dependent verb is always in the infinitive form:

mahatteaṭə yannə oonə. The gentleman wants to go.
The infinitive may in turn have its own object or modifiers (as may the equivalent
English infinitive). Note the order:
maṭə paləturu gannə oonə. I want to buy fruit.
mahatteaṭə kalutərəṭə yannə The gentleman wants to go to Kalutara.
oonə.

9. Some negative formations: nææ and epaa

9.1 The negative of tiyenəwa ‘there is’ is nææ, substituted for tiyenəwa.
mehe æpəl tiyenəwa. There are apples here.
mehe æpəl nææ. There aren’t any (or ‘are not’) apples here.
9.2 -ṭə ____ oonə sentences, with either a noun or a verb, may be negated by
adding nææ.
maṭə keselgeḍi oonə. I want bananas.
maṭə keselgeḍi oonə nææ. I don’t want bananas.
maṭə paləturu gannə oonə. I want to buy fruit.
maṭə paləturu gannə oonə nææ. I don’t want to buy fruit.
9.3 If the -ṭə ____ oonə sentence has a dependent noun, it may also be negated in
an alternate way: epaa is substituted for oonə:
maṭə keselgeḍi oonə. I want bananas.
maṭə keselgeḍi oonə nææ.
or I don’t want bananas.
maṭə keselgeḍi epaa.
However, -ṭə ____ oonə sentences with a dependent infinitive cannot be negated
with epaa, but only by adding nææ.

Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. sigəræṭ tiyenne ................ [in the pack, in the shop, with us, in Colombo,
here, in the adjoining shop]
2. .............. ekak satə tunay. [these bananas, Navy Cuts, that one (over there),
Three Roses, Three Roses cigarettes, apples]
3. mee sigəræṭ .............. [are tasty, are aromatic, are strong, Matale cigars, are
good, are three cents]

29
Colloquial Sinhala

4. mamə ............... yanəwa. [to Kalutara, to the adjoining shop, to Colombo, to

that (over there) bus, to Matale, to that (in question) shop, to the shop, to that
one (in question), to the bus, to that one (over there)]
B. Transform according to the model
mee eloolu hoňday → mee eloolu hoňdə də?
1. meekə ekak satə tunay.
2. mee næwikəṭ-ekə rasay.
3. mee keselgeḍiyə suwəňday.
4. oyə paləturu bohomə hoňday.
5. mee ṭikæṭ-ekə rupiyal dekay.
6. kalutərəṭə rupiyal tunay.
7. mehe tiyenne eloolu witəray.
C. Transform according to the model
mee hoňdə keselgeḍi də? → mee keselgeḍi hoňday.
1. ee hoňdə kaḍə də?
2. arə suwəňdə suruṭṭu də?
3. mee særə sigəræṭ də?
4. oyə rasə æpəl də?
D. Transform according to the model
meekə suwəňdə suruṭṭuwak də? → mee suruṭṭuwə suwəňday.
1. arəkə hoňdə kaḍeak də?
2. arəkə rasə paləturu jaatiyak də?
3. ookə særə sigəræṭ-ekak də?
4. eekə hoňdə bas-ekak də?
E. Substitute orally
1. maṭə ....................... oonə. [vegetables, some bananas, fruit, some apples,
bananas, a ticket, some fruit, that (over there) pack, some vegetables, that (in
question) kind of cigars]
2. maṭə ........................oonə. [to go to buy, to go to Colombo, to buy vegetables,
to go to Kalutara, to buy cigars, to go to the shop, to buy Sri Lankan cigarettes,
to go by the bus, to smoke a Matale cigar]
F. Repeat the sentences in Exercise E1
Transform to the negative using first oonə nææ and then epaa.

30
 Lesson 3: Buying fruit

G. Repeat the sentences in Exercise E2

Transform to the negative using oonə nææ.
H. Transform according to the model
mamə sigəræṭ bonəwa. → maṭə sigəræṭ bonnə oonə.
1. mahattea koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
2. api eloolu gannəwa.
3. api bas-ekeŋ yanəwa.
4. mamə keselgeḍi ṭikak gannəwa.
5. mahattea alləpu kaḍeeṭə yanəwa.
I. Say in Sinhala
1. Do you want cigarettes, sir?
2. I don't want cigarettes. Give me some cigars.
3. These cigars are three cents each.
4. Sri Lankan cigars?
5. Yes. These cigars are very aromatic.
6. Fine. Give me a pack.
1. Are there good cigars here?
2. No, sir. Cigars are in the next shop.
3. Do you have (literally ‘are there’) only cigarettes here?
4. Yes, sir. Only cigarettes.
5. Do you want cigarettes, sir?
6. No. I smoke only cigars.
7. Go to the adjoining shop.
8. Fine.
1. How much are these bananas?
2. This one is two cents each.
3. That one over there is three cents each.
4. That one near you is three cents for two.
5. Are these bananas good?
6. That one over there is very tasty.
7. Buy that one (in question).
8. Fine. Give me three from that one.
9. What else do you want?
10. I don’t want anything else.

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Colloquial Sinhala

Lesson 4: Getting directions

John stops a passerby to find the way to the Galle-Face Hotel.
John gool-fees hooṭəlee huŋ̌gak durə Is the Galle-Face Hotel very far?
də?
Passerby ṭikak duray. Some distance.
John hætæpmə kiiyak tiyenəwa də? How many miles is it?
Passerby metənə iňdəla hætæpmə tunak It is three miles from here.
tiyenəwa. ṭæksiyəkiŋ yannə oonə. (You) must go by a taxi.
John maṭə teerune nææ. aayet kiyannə. I didn’t understand. Say (it)
again.
Passerby metənə iňdəla hætæpmə tunak It is three miles from here. (You)
tiyenəwa. ṭæksiyəkiŋ yannə oonə. must go by a taxi. Did you
teeruna də? understand?
John ow, teeruna. ṭæksiyak ganne Yes, (I) understood. Tell me how
kohomə də kiyannə. to get a taxi.
Passerby arə paarəṭə yannə. etəkoṭə Go to that road. Then (you) can
ṭæksiyak nawattannə puluwaŋ. stop a taxi. Or else, go to that
nættaŋ arə handiyəṭə yannə. corner. There are taxis there.
etənə ṭæksi tiyenəwa. arə enne There comes a taxi.
ṭæksiyak.
John bohomə istutiy. Thank you (very much).

Vocabulary
aayet again hooṭəlee the hotel nawattənəwa stop (transitive)
durə far istutiy thank you oonə must, have to
enəwa come kiiyak how many paarə the road, street
etəkoṭə then kiyənəwa say puluwaŋ can
etənə there kohomə how ṭæksiyə the taxi
gool-fees Galle-Face metənə here teeruna understood
hætæpmə the mile nættaŋ or, or else teerune nææ didn’t understand
handiyə the corner

32
 Lesson 4: Getting directions

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 2
hætæpmə ‘the mile’; gen. hætæpme; pl. hætæpmə
paarə ‘the street, road’; gen. paare; pl. paarəwal
ṭæksiyə ‘the taxi’; gen. ṭæksiye; pl. ṭæksi
handiyə ‘the corner’; gen. handiye; pl. handi
Note that nouns of this class with a direct definite in -iyə or -uwə regularly have a
plural in -i or -u and a genitive definite in -e (never -ee). So far we have met the
following:
jaatiyə ‘the kind’; gen. jaatiye; pl. jaati
keselgeḍiyə ‘the banana’; gen. keselgeḍiye; pl. keselgeḍi
ṭæksiyə ‘the taxi’; gen. ṭæksiye; pl. ṭæksi
handiyə ‘the corner’; gen. handiye; pl. handi
suruṭṭuwə ‘the cigar’; gen. suruṭṭuwe; pl. suruṭṭu

1.2 Class 4
hooṭəlee ‘the hotel’; pl. hooṭələ

2. New verbs
kiyənəwa ‘say’; stem kiyə-; kiyanne; kiyannə
nawattənəwa ‘stop’ (transitive); stem nawattə-; nawattanne; nawattannə
enəwa ‘come’; stem e-; enne; ennə
Notice that the stem is obtained, as usual, by removing -nəwa, and that the
emphatic and infinitive forms are formed by the regular pattern. In future lessons,
only the simple form will be cited for each new verb, unless there is some special
or unusual feature involved in the formation of the other forms.

3. The ‘must’ or ‘have to’ construction: DIRECT + oonə

3.1 In the previous conversation, oonə appeared with the equivalent of the English
subject in the dative case and the meaning ‘want’. In one of the sentences in the
present conversation oonə appears in a construction in which it means ‘must, have
to’:
ṭæksiyəkiŋ yannə oonə. You must go by a taxi.
This construction differs from the ‘want’ construction in two principal ways:

33
Colloquial Sinhala

1. It occurs with the infinitive of a verb only, never with a dependent noun. Here a
comparison with English may help. ṭə ___ oonə ‘want’, like English ‘want (to)’,
may take either a noun or a verb. oonə ‘must’, like English ‘must’ or ‘have to’ may
take only a verb.
2. When the equivalent of the English subject is expressed, it is in the direct case,
not in the dative. Compare the following pairs:
maṭə yannə oonə. I want to go.
mamə yannə oonə. I must go.
mahatteaṭə paləturu gannə oonə. The gentleman wants to buy fruit.
mahattea paləturu gannə oonə. The gentleman must buy fruit.
3.2 In either of the two constructions with oonə, the equivalent of the English
subject may be omitted when the situation makes the meaning clear. Thus:
ṭæksiyəkiŋ yannə oonə
could mean either ‘(I, you, he, they) must go by taxi’ or ‘(I, you, he, they) want to
go by taxi’, depending upon the context or situation.

4. The ‘can’ construction: puluwaŋ

4.1 puluwaŋ ‘can’ takes the form puluwəni when the assertion marker is added, and
either form may occur, optionally, at the end of statement sentences.* Thus either
maṭə puluwaŋ
or I can
maṭə puluwəni
As with other forms that take the assertion marker, -y is never present when də is
added to form a question. Thus only
maṭə puluwaŋ də Can I?
4.2 The puluwaŋ ‘can’ construction, except for the possible occurrence of the
assertion marker, is parallel in form to the oonə ‘want’ construction:
A. The equivalent of the English subject, when expressed, is in the dative case:
maṭə ṭæksiyak nawattannə puluwaŋ I can stop a taxi.
(or puluwəni).
mahatteaṭə yannə puluwaŋ The gentleman can go!
(or puluwəni).
B. It may occur with a verb in the infinitive, which may have its own object and
modifiers:

*
Today the form puluwaŋ has almost completely replaced puluwəni. [eds]

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 Lesson 4: Getting directions

mahatteaṭə sigəræṭ bonnə puluwaŋ. The gentleman can smoke

cigarettes.
maṭə kalutərəṭə yannə puluwaŋ. I can go to Kalutara.
C. It may occur with a dependent noun in the direct case, although the nouns that
may occur in this fashion are relatively few in number, such as siŋhələ ‘Sinhala’:
maṭə siŋhələ puluwaŋ. I know (literally ‘can’) Sinhala.

5. The question marker də with different sentence types

5.1 As pointed out before, də may be added to a simple statement converting it to a
question. The simple statement always has the simple form of the verb, commonly
occurring at the end, and the də is added immediately after the verb form.
Emphatic sentences use the emphatic form of a verb. In this case, də occurs
immediately after the emphasized item in the sentence.
Most interrogatives will always be the emphasized word in any question in which
they appear, and will therefore occur with the emphatic form of the verb and with
də immediately following the interrogative.
Simple sentences
Statement:
mahattea kalutərəṭə yanəwa. The gentleman is going to Kalutara.
Question:
mahattea kalutərəṭə yanəwa də? Is the gentleman going to Kalutara?
Emphatic sentences
Statement:
mahattea yanne kalutərəṭə. The gentleman is going to
or
mahattea kalutərəṭə yanne. Kalutara.
Question:
mahattea yanne kalutərəṭə də? Is the gentleman going to
or
mahattea kalutərəṭə də yanne? Kalutara.
Questions with interrogatives
mahattea yanne kohaaṭə də?
or Where is the gentleman going?
mahattea kohaaṭə də yanne?

or mahattea ganne monəwa də? What is the gentleman buying?

mahattea monəwa də ganne?

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Colloquial Sinhala

5.2 Statements with oonə and puluwaŋ may be either simple or emphatic without
any change in form except that the emphasized item is likely to occur after oonə or
puluwaŋ. Questions with oonə or puluwaŋ will have də in the expected position:
i.e. the simple question will have də after oonə or puluwaŋ and the emphatic
question will have də after the emphasized item:
Simple sentences
Statement:
mahatteaṭə eloolu oonə. The gentleman wants vegetables.
Question:
mahatteaṭə eloolu oonə də? Does the gentleman want
vegetables?
Emphatic sentences
Statement:
mahatteaṭə eloolu oonə.
or The gentleman wants vegetables.
mahatteaṭə oonə eloolu.
Question:
mahatteaṭə eloolu də oonə? Does the gentleman want
or
mahatteaṭə oonə eloolu də? vegetables?
Question with an interrogative
mahatteaṭə monəwa də oonə? What does the gentleman want?
5.3 In emphatic sentences or questions, puluwaŋ will never occur with the assertion
marker:
Emphatic sentence
mahatteaṭə siŋhələ puluwaŋ.
or It is Sinhala that you can speak.
mahatteaṭə puluwaŋ siŋhələ.
Emphatic question
mahatteaṭə siŋhələ də puluwaŋ.
or Is it Sinhala that you can speak?
mahatteaṭə puluwaŋ siŋhələ də.
Question with an interrogative
mahatteaṭə monəwa də puluwaŋ? What can you do?

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 Lesson 4: Getting directions

6. Quantity phrases
6.1 hætæpmə tunak (tiyenəwa) (It is) three miles
sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekak a pack of cigarettes
sigəræṭ jaatiyak a kind of cigarettes
all illustrate the QUANTITY PHRASE construction, with this structure:
PLURAL NOUN plus QUANTITY WORD
“Quantity words” include numerals, nouns of measure like pækæṭ-ekə, and jaatiyə
‘the kind.’ The quantity word carries the number, definiteness, and case endings for
the entire phrase:
sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekə the pack of cigarettes
sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekak a pack of cigarettes
sigəræṭ pækæṭ packs of cigarettes
sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekəṭə to the pack of cigarettes
mee sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekə this pack of cigarettes
A plural quantity phrase may be followed by another word, usually a numeral, to
form a new phrase in which the whole first phrase becomes the “plural noun.”
sigəræṭ pækæṭ packs of cigarettes
sigəræṭ pækæṭ dekə the two packs of cigarettes
keselgeḍi jaati kinds of bananas
keselgeḍi jaati tunə the three kinds of bananas
6.2 In quantity phrases, there is a general agreement between the use of the Sinhala
definite form and the English definite article, and the use of the Sinhala indefinite
form and the English form without any article:
hætæpmə tunak three miles
hætæpmə tunə the three miles
1. When a quantity expression is modified by a form like ‘this, that’, then the
definite form is used:
mee sigəræṭ tunə these three cigarettes
mahattea arə sigəræṭ pækæṭ The gentleman is buying those three
tunə gannəwa. packs of cigarettes.
2. Quantity phrases as subjects or objects of simple sentences use the definite form
where English uses the definite ‘the’ and the indefinite form where English uses no
article:
bas hatərə yanəwa The four buses are going.
bas hatərak yanəwa Four buses are going.

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Colloquial Sinhala

mahattea pækæṭ tunə The gentleman is buying the three

gannəwa. packs.
mahattea pækæṭ tunak The gentleman is buying three packs.
gannəwa.
3. In emphatic sentences, the definite form of quantity phrases is used where
English would use the definite form:
bas hatərə yanne kalutərəṭə. The four buses are going to Kalutara.
kalutərəṭə yanne bas hatərə. The four buses are going to Kalutara.
However, where English would use the form without an article, in Sinhala the
indefinite is used if it is not the emphasized word, but the definite with -y if it is the
emphasized word, in final position. In the latter case, since the form in final
position is emphasized, it is likely to equate with English ‘only such and such’:
bas hatərak yanne kalutərəṭə. Four buses are going to Kalutara.
kalutərəṭə yanne bas hatəray. (Only) four buses are going to Kalutara.
4. Each of the types of sentences above has its corresponding question, with də
following the regular rules:
bas hatərak yanəwa. Four buses are going.
bas hatərak yanəwa də? Are four buses going?

7. kiiyak
The interrogative word kiiyak ‘how many’ behaves like a quantity word. Note that
the form kiiyak is the indefinite form of kiiyə ‘how much, how many;’ and also that it
is one of the few interrogatives which will not necessarily occur as the emphasized
word followed by də:
hætæpmə kiiyak tiyenəwa də? How many miles is it?
æpəl kiiyak oonə də? How many apples do you want?

8. ṭikak and huŋ̌gak

A. ṭikak is actually an indefinite form. The definite is ṭikə. When it is used as a
quantity word, meaning ‘some, (a) little, (a) small amount,’ it acts like a numeral,
and takes the same endings:
paləturu ṭikak gannə oonə. I want to buy a little (some) fruit.
mee paləturu ṭikə dennə. Give me this small amount of fruit.
mehe tiyenne paləturu ṭikay. Here there is (only*) a little fruit.

*
When the assertion marker is used with ṭikə, ‘only’ is usually implied.

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 Lesson 4: Getting directions

B. huŋ̌gak ‘a lot, much’ is also used as a quantity word:

mehe paləturu huŋ̌gak There is a lot of fruit here.
tiyenəwa.
However, the definite huŋgə is not used in sentences parallel to those above where
the definite form ṭikə is used.
C. Both indefinite forms, ṭikak and huŋ̌gak, are used to qualify following adjectives
to mean ‘somewhat, a little, a bit’ and ‘very, quite’ respectively. Thus:
huŋ̌gak durə də? (Is it) very far?
ṭikak duray. Somewhat distant.
D. huŋ̌gak and bohomə
Notice that bohomə and huŋ̌gak are commonly used interchangeably to qualify
adjectives.
bohomə rasə keselgeḍi
or very tasty bananas
huŋ̌gak rasə keselgeḍi
or mee suruṭṭu bohomə særay. These cigars are very strong.
mee suruṭṭu huŋ̌gak særay.

9. Indirect questions
An indirect question can be formed from a direct question by the addition of
kiyannə ‘tell me.’
Direct
ṭæksiyak ganne kohomə də? How does one get a taxi?
Indirect
ṭæksiyak ganne kohomə də kiyannə.* Tell me how to get a taxi.
Direct
mahattea yanne kohaaṭə də? Where is the gentleman going?
Indirect
mahattea yanne kohaaṭə də kiyannə. Tell me where the gentleman is going.

*
kiyannə is the imperative form of kiyənəwa, which makes this construction sound
rather abrupt (as it does in English). A less abrupt form is obtained by appending
puluwan də, as in, for example, ṭæksiyak ganne kohomə də kiyannə pulwan də,
‘Can you tell me how to get a taxi’. [eds]

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Colloquial Sinhala

10. The mehe and metənə sets

mehe ‘here’ and metənə ‘here’ represent two more subsets of location words. Both
sets are inflected for the four case forms, and the same four distinctions of location
that were found in the mee set exist:

10.1 The mehe set

proximal* medial distal topical
Direct mehe ohe arəhe ehe
Dative meheṭə oheṭə arəheṭə eheṭə
~mehaaṭə ~ohaaṭə ~arəhaṭə ~ehaaṭə
Genitive mehe ohe arəhe ehe
Instrumental meheŋ oheŋ arəheŋ eheŋ
Notice that these have the same endings as Class 4 nouns and that there are
alternate dative case forms.

10.2 The metənə set

proximal medial distal topical
Direct metənə otənə atənə etənə
Dative metenṭə otenṭə atenṭə etenṭə
Genitive metənə otənə atənə etənə
Instrumental metəniŋ otəniŋ atəniŋ etəniŋ
Notice that these all have -e- before the -n- in the dative, but -ə- in all other cases,
and that the endings are the same as those for Class 3 nouns.

10.3 Use of the sets

Both mehe and metənə specify location. The difference between them is one of
specificity of location, metənə indicating a more specific or smaller area than mehe.
The difference does not normally show up in translation, although metənə may
sometimes be translated as ‘this spot:’
mehe iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə bas Is there a bus from here to
tiyenəwa də? Colombo?
metənə iňdəla hætæpmə tunak It is three miles from here (this
tiyenəwa. spot).

*
Refer to Lesson 2, section 8 (page 18) for a reminder of what these labels mean.
[eds]

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 Lesson 4: Getting directions

Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. mehe iňdələ koləm̌bəṭə ...................... tiyenəwa. [two miles, three miles, four
miles, a mile]
2. maṭə .................... dennə. [three bananas, the four apples, some fruit, these
three apples, two tickets, a pack of Navy Cuts, that (by you) pack of Three
Roses, a good kind of cigarettes, two packs of cigars, three kinds of bananas,
those (over there) cigarettes, this kind of bananas]
3. .............. iňdəla hætæpmə tunak tiyenəwa. [this spot, that road (over there),
here, that corner (in question), that (over there) spot, this hotel, the shop, the
Galle-Face Hotel, that (near you) shop, that (in question) spot]
4. ..............ṭæksi tiyenəwa. [here, that (in question) spot, there (near you), that
(over there) spot, there (over there), in this corner, there (in question), in that (in
question) road, this spot, near this hotel, that (near you) spot, near the next shop]
B. Transform according to the model
mamə yanəwa. → mamə yannə oonə (‘I must go’).
1. api eloolu gannəwa.
2. mahattea bas-ekeŋ yanəwa.
3. mamə suruṭṭu bonəwa.
4. mamə arə handiyəṭə yanəwa.
5. mahattea ṭæksiyak nawattənəwa.
6. mamə sigəræṭ pækæt-ekak gannəwa.
C. Transform according to the model
mamə yanəwa. → maṭə yannə oonə.
1. mamə rasə suruṭṭu bonəwa.
2. api hoňdə keselgeḍi ṭikak gannəwa.
3. mahattea koləm̌bə bas-ekeŋ yanəwa.
4. mamə sigəræt pækæṭ tunak gannəwa.
5. mahattea dæŋ kalutərəṭə yanəwa.
6. noona nitərəmə ee kaḍeeṭə yanəwa.

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Colloquial Sinhala

D. Transform according to the model

mamə yanəwa. → maṭə yannə puluwaŋ.
1. mamə bas-ekə nawattənəwa.
2. mahattea arə kaḍee hoňdə suruṭṭu gannəwa.
3. mamə etenṭə ṭæksiyəkiŋ yanəwa.
4. noona arə handiye kaḍee keselgeḍi gannəwa.
5. mahattea dæŋ lankaawe sigəræṭ bonəwa.
6. api alləpu kaḍeeṭə yanəwa.
E. Transform according to the model, making the quantity phrase the
emphasized item
metənə bas dekak tiyenəwa. → metənə tiyenne bas dekay.
1. kalutərəṭə hætæpmə tunak tiyenəwa.
2. mahattea keselgeḍi dekak gannəwa.
3. ee kaḍee eloolu ṭikak tiyenəwa.
4. mee pækæṭ-ekee sigəræṭ hatərak tiyenəwa.
5. maṭə rupiyal dekak oonə.
F. Say in Sinhala
1. Is it very far from here to Matale?
2. Yes, sir. It is four miles.
3. One must go by a bus.
4. Can I stop a bus here (‘in this spot’)?
5. No, sir. (You) must go to that corner.
6. Fine. Thank you.
7. Tell me how to get a bus.
8. Buses stop at that corner.
9. Go there (‘to that spot’).
10. There comes a bus.
11. Where does this bus go?
12. To Colombo.
13. I want to go to Kalutara.
14. Can I go to Kalutara by this one?
15. Yes, sir.
16. Good. Give me a ticket.
17. Do you want to go to Colombo, sir?
18. Yes. Is there a bus now?
19. No buses now. (You) must take a taxi.
20. Taxis stop at that (over there) corner.
21. Go to that (over there) road.
22. Thank you.

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 Lesson 4: Getting directions

23. How many tickets do you want, sir?

24. I can give you four.
25. I don’t want four. Give me two.
26. How much are the two tickets?
27. Four rupees, sir.
28. Here you are.
29. Are you going to the Galle-Face Hotel, sir?
30. Yes. Is it very far?
31. Yes. It is four miles.
32. Is the Galle-Face Hotel a good hotel?
33. Yes, sir. It is very good.
34. Tell me how to go there (that spot in question).
35. (You) must get a taxi.
36. Is that (over there) a taxi?
37. No. Taxis are at that (over there) corner.
38. Go there (to that spot). Then you can get a taxi.
39. Thank you.

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Colloquial Sinhala

Review 1
A. Substitute orally
1. .............. eloolu tiyenəwa də? [here with us, in this shop, in that (over there)
shop, in Colombo, in this spot, in that one (in question), in Kalutara, in Sri
Lanka, at the corner, on that (over there) street, in Matale, in the adjoining
shop, near the corner]
2. suruṭṭu tiyenne ................. [in the adjoining shop, in Matale, in the shop, at
that (over there) corner, in that spot (over there), in this spot, with us]
3. ..............dennə puluwaŋ də? [this ticket, two tickets, some fruit, a cigar, a
pack of Three Roses, two rupees, four cents, three bananas, many bananas,
how many cigarettes, three kinds of cigars, an aromatic cigar, some tasty fruit,
a good bus, how many rupees]
4. mehe tiyenne..................... [(only) two cigars, the three bananas, (only) four
buses, (only) two kinds of cigarettes, the two packs of Navy Cuts]
B. Transform according to the model
mamə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa. → mamə yanne koləm̌bəṭə.
1. mahattea eloolu gannəwa.
2. alləpu kaḍee paləturu tiyenəwa.
3. arə handiye kaḍeak tiyenəwa.
4. mahattea suruṭṭuwak bonəwa.
5. mamə meekə balənəwa.
6. api laŋkaawe suruṭṭu paawicci kərənəwa.
C. Transform according to the model
mahattea suruṭṭu bonəwa. → mahattea suruṭṭuwak bonəwa.
1. mamə keselgeḍi gannəwa.
2. handiye ṭæksi tiyenəwa.
3. api kaḍə balənəwa.
4. mamə bas nawattənəwa.
5. mahattea sigəræṭ bonəwa.
6. mahatteaṭə ṭikæṭ dennə.
7. atənə hooṭələ tiyenəwa.
8. mehe paarəwal tiyenəwa də?

44
 Review 1

D. Transform according to the model

mamə etenṭə yanəwa. → maṭə etenṭə yannə puluwaŋ.
1. mahattea keselgeḍi hatərak gannəwa.
2. api meekeŋ kalutərəṭə yanəwa.
3. mamə mee eloolu gannəwa.
4. mahattea arə ṭæksiyeŋ yanəwa.
5. mamə handiyəṭə ṭæksiyeŋ yanəwa.
6. mahattea alləpu kaḍee paləturu gannəwa.
E. Transform according to the model
triiroos bonne mahattea də? → mahattea bonne triiroos də?
1. eloolu tiyenne mee kaḍee də?
2. maatəleeṭə yanne arə bas-ekə də?
3. arə handiye tiyenne ṭæksi də?
4. laŋkaawe suruṭṭu tiyenne atənə də?
5. mee sigəræṭ jaatiyə tiyenne arə kaḍee də?
F. Transform according to the model
mamə etenṭə yanəwa. → maṭə etenṭə yannə oonə.
1. noona æpəl tunak gannəwa.
2. mamə ṭæksiyəkiŋ koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
3. mamə triiroos sigəræṭ bonəwa.
4. mahattea hoňdə bas-ekeŋ yanəwa.
5. mamə bas-ekak nawattənəwa.
6. mahattea handiye kaḍee suruṭṭu gannəwa.
G. Transform according to the model
mamə etenṭə yanəwa. → mamə etenṭə yannə oonə.
1. mahattea mehe iňdəla bas-ekeŋ yanəwa.
2. mamə dæŋ laŋkaawe sigəræṭ bonəwa.
3. noona alləpu kaḍeeṭə yanəwa.
4. mamə ṭikæṭ dekak mahatteaṭə denəwa.
5. noona mahattea paləturu gannəwa.
6. mamə eekə aayet kiyənəwa.
H. Say in Sinhala
1. Tell me how to get a bus.
2. Where are you going, sir.
3. I want to go to Matale.
4. Matale buses stop over there (in that spot).

45
Colloquial Sinhala

5. Or, go to that corner.

6. Then you can get a bus.
7. Is it very far to Matale?
8. Yes. Very far.
9. (You) must go by a bus.
10. There are always buses.
11. Thanks.
12. Boy, are you going to the shop?
13. Yes, sir: what do you want?
14. I want a pack of cigarettes.
15. What do you smoke, sir?
16. Three Roses.
17. How much is a pack of Three Roses?
18. Two rupees.
19. Are there Three Roses in that shop (in question)?
20. Yes. There are.
21. Fine.
I. Conversations
1. A asks B how to go to the Galle-Face Hotel. B tells him that it is four miles and
says that he must get a taxi. A wants to know how to get a taxi. B sends him to a
corner which is in sight, saying that he could stop a taxi there. A thanks B.
2. A wants to buy two tickets. B tells him that a ticket is two rupees and asks him
if he has four rupees. A says yes and pays the money. B thanks A.
3. A asks a shopkeeper if he has any fruit. The shopkeeper says yes and asks A
what he wants. A would like to buy a few bananas and asks how much they are.
The shopkeeper says they are four cents each. A asks if there are any apples. The
shopkeeper says no and points out a shop and says that they have apples there. A
buys four bananas.
4. A goes to buy some Three Roses. The shopkeeper says that they haven’t any
Three Roses now. There they have only Navy Cuts. But A doesn’t want Navy Cuts,
and asks if he can get any Sri Lankan cigars there. They have good Sri Lankan
cigars, very aromatic, at two rupees a pack. A buys a pack.
5. A asks B how to get to Kalutara. B says that he must go by a taxi. Taxis are at
the corner. Or he can go by bus. A says he didn’t understand, asks B to repeat. B
repeats and asks if he understood. A says yes and asks whether any buses stop at
this corner. B says no and sends A to a street in sight.

46
 Review 1

J. Activity in pairs
Student A asks student B on his right the first of the questions below. B gives an
appropriate answer as in the following examples:
A: mee bas-ekə yanne kohaaṭə də?
B: meekə yanne kalutərəṭə.
B asks the student on his right the next question, and so on:
1. kaḍee huŋ̌gak durə də?
2. etenṭə yanne kohomə də kiyannə?
3. ṭæksiyak ganne kohomə də?
4. ee handiye ṭæksi nawattənəwa də?
5. mee kaḍee eloolu tiyenəwa də?
6. paləturu tiyenəwa də?
7. mahattea yanne kohaaṭə də?
8. mee bas-ekə yanne kohaaṭə də?
9. maṭə meekeŋ kalutərəṭə yannə puluwaŋ də?
10. kalutərə iňdəla maatəleeṭə yanne kohomə də kiyannə.
11. ehe ṭæksi tiyenəwa də?

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Colloquial Sinhala

Lesson 5: Information about a journey

John wants to visit the ancient ruins in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. He
wants to find out something about the area from his servant Banda who comes
from that region.
John dæŋ anuraadəpuree wæssə Is there rain in Anuradhapura now?
tiyenəwa də?
Banda nææ? dæŋ ee pætte wæssə nææ. No, there is no rain in that area
æy? mahatteaṭə anuraadəpureeṭə now. Why, do you want to go to
yannə oonə də? Anuradhapura?
John ow. maṭə ee palaatə balannə oonə. Yes. I want to see that part of the
anuraadəpureeṭə koocci country. Are there trains to
tiyenəwa də? Anuradhapura?
Banda ow. koocciyeŋ yannə puluwaŋ. Yes. (You) can go by train.
anuraadəpuree iňdəla kaar-ekak From Anuradhapura, (you) must
gannə oonə. get a car.
John anuraadəpuree dawas kiiyak How many days should one stay in
nawətinnə oonə də? Anuradhapura?
Banda dawas dekak nawətinnə. Stay two days.
balannə tæŋ huŋ̌gak tiyenəwa. There are many places to see.
John anuraadəpuree kaar-ekak gannə Can one get a car in Anuradhapura?
puluwaŋ də?
Banda puluwaŋ. ehe ṭæksi tiyenəwa. One can. There are taxis there.
anuraadəpuree isṭeesəmə laŋ̌gə There is a hotel near the Anura-
hooṭəleak tiyenəwa. etenṭə dhapura railroad station. Go there.
yannə. etənə ṭæksi tiyenəwa. There are taxis there.
John etənə nawətinnə puluwaŋ də? Can one stay there?
Banda ow. nawətinnə puluwaŋ. Yes. One can (stay).
John siigiriye hoňdə hooṭələ tiyenəwa Are there good hotels in Sigiriya?
də?
Banda nawətinnə də? To stay (in)?
John ow. Yes.
Banda siigiriye taanaayəmə huŋ̌gak The rest house at Sigiriya is very
hoňday. taanaayəmə tiyenne good. The rest house is near
siigiri galə laŋ̌gə. Sigiriya Rock.

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 Lesson 5: Information about a journey

Vocabulary
anuraadəpuree Anuradhapura pættə the area, locality
æy why palaatə the province, part of country
dawəsə the day siigiri galə Sigiriya rock
galə the stone siigiriyə Sigiriya
isṭeesəmə the (railroad) station taanaayəmə the rest house
kaar-ekə the car tænə the place
koocciyə the train wæssə (the) rain
nawətinəwa stop (intransitive), stay

Notes on the conversation

Anuradhapura was the first capital of the Sinhalese kings, and the period of
Sinhalese culture up to about the 10th Century A.D. is known as the “Anuradhapura
Period.” The ruins of many ancient structures, both secular and religious, remain
from this period, and demonstrate the remarkable engineering and organizational
skill of those who constructed them. Some religious edifices have been restored,
but many of the ancient shrines and great irrigation works remain in ruins, though
some of the latter have been restored and are in use today.
Sigiriya is situated about 50 miles to the south of Anuradhapura. There, a large
rock was transformed into a royal palace during the 5th century. Originally,
entrance to the palace was gained by means of a stairway cut inside the rock. The
stairway was entered through the mouth of a large sculptured lion – hence the name
Sigiriya ‘Lion Rock.’ The most famous features of attraction at Sigiriya today are
the magnificent frescoes depicting beautiful women in a gallery on the rock face.
These date from the 5th century, and there are a number of poems commenting
upon them which were written on a wall below by admiring visitors of the 8th
through 10th centuries.
taanaayəmə – ‘rest house’: Rest houses are maintained either by the Government
Tourist Bureau or by the government of the area in which they are located. They
provide food and lodging at a moderate rate, and are found in almost any important
town. One may go to a rest house for a meal or for tea even if he is not staying
there.
hooṭəlee – ‘hotel’: In Sinhala or Sri Lankan English, a hotel is not necessarily a
place to stay. The term is extended as well to restaurants of almost any type.

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Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 1
kaar-ekə ‘the automobile, car’

1.2 Class 2
isṭeesəmə ‘the (railroad) station’; gen. isṭeesəmee; pl. isṭeesaŋ
koocciyə ‘the train’; gen. koocciye; pl. koocci
taanaayəmə ‘the rest house’; gen. taanaayəmee; pl. taanaayaŋ
dawəsə ‘the day’; gen. dawəse; pl. dawas
palaatə ‘the province, region’; gen. palaate; pl. palaat
pættə ‘the area, locality, side’; gen. pætte; pl. pæti
wæssə ‘(the) rain’; gen. wæsse; pl. wæhi (Note the change of -ss- to -h-.)
Note: Usually the definite is used when English has ‘rain’. The indefinite is used
for a single instance: wæssak ‘a shower, rainstorm’. Similarly, in the plural, wæhi
‘showers, rainstorms’.
siigiriyə ‘Sigiriya’; gen. siigiriye; (no plural)
galə ‘the rock’; gen. galee; pl. gal
siigiri galə ‘Sigiriya Rock’; gen. siigiri galee; (no plural)
Note that many nouns of this class have a plural formed by dropping the final -ə of
the direct definite. When this -ə is lost an -ə in the final syllable becomes -a. Thus
rupiyələ, rupiyal; dawəsə, dawas. Also a final -m or -n becomes -ŋ; thus isṭeesəmə,
isṭeesaŋ.

1.3 Class 3
tænə ‘the place, spot’; pl. tæŋ
Note that here again a final n becomes ŋ. This is the first noun of this class to occur
that has indefinite forms (the rest have been place names or pronouns). The forms
are just like those for Class 2. Thus:
direct tænak
dative tænəkəṭə
genitive tænəkə
instrumental tænəkin

1.4 Class 4
anuraadəpuree ‘Anuradhapura’; (no plural)

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 Lesson 5: Information about a journey

2. New verbs
nawətinəwa ‘to stay, stop (intransitive)’

3. The indefinite in time phrases

In expressions of periods of time, just as in expressions of distance, price or other
quantities, Sinhala commonly uses the indefinite of a quantity phrase unless a
particular stretch of time is referred to, or the form of the sentence is such that the
assertion marker is required:
anuraadəpuree dawas kiiyak nawətinnə How many days should (one) stay
oonə də? in Anuradhapura?
dawas dekak nawətinnə. Stay two days.
Or the answer could be:
dawas dekay. Two days.

4. Infinitives with nouns

In Sinhala an infinitive form may modify a noun just as an infinitive with ‘to’ may
in English, but the Sinhala infinitive precedes the noun:
balannə tæŋ places to see
nawətinnə hooṭəleak a hotel (in which) to stay
Like any other noun, a noun so modified may be used in the plural as part of a
quantity phrase:
balannə tæŋ huŋ̌gak many places to see
nawətinnə hooṭələ tunak three hotels to stay in

5. The Sinhala writing system – 1

The Sinhala writing system known as the siŋhələ hooḍiyə, ‘the Sinhala alphabet,’
has 54 basic symbols used in the literary tradition. These 54 include 18 vowel
symbols and 36 consonant symbols. For writing spoken Sinhala, however, only 36
symbols are necessary. These include 24 basic consonant symbols and 12 vowel
symbols.
Each symbol is called akurə ‘the letter’, pl. akuru. There is no modern language
other than Sinhala for which the siŋhələ hooḍiyə is used.

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Colloquial Sinhala

5.1 Consonants
In the Sinhala writing system, a consonant symbol by itself represents a consonant
plus a following vowel, which will be called the INHERENT VOWEL. This inherent
vowel will be ə or a depending upon position within the word. The first symbols to
be learned are the following:

.ක kə (or ka) .ද də (or da) .හ hə (or ha)

.ට ṭə (or ṭa) .ම mə (or ma) .ර rə (or ra)
.ඩ ḍə (or ḍa) .ස sə (or sa) .ල lə (or la)
.ත tə (or ta) .ග gə (or ga) .ව wə (or wa)
Note that some symbols are quite different in form while others such as ට, ම, ව or
ග, හ are similar in their basic shape.

5.1 Inherent vowel

The following rules for the inherent vowel will apply in almost all cases:
#1. In words written with a single consonant symbol, the inherent vowel will be ə.
Thus the question marker is ද.
#2. A consonant symbol at the beginning of a word will have the inherent vowel a.
#3. A consonant symbol at the end of a word will have the inherent vowel ə.
For two-syllable words written with two consonant symbols, then, the effect of
rules 2 and 3 together is that the first vowel will be a, the second ə:
.රස rasə ‘tasty’ .මට maṭə ‘I, me’ (dative)
.මම mamə ‘I’ .කඩ kaḍə ‘shops’
#4. In the middle of words longer than two syllables, the inherent vowel will be ə
except under certain regular conditions to be learned later and in some irregular
cases:
.දවස dawəsə ‘the day’
.දවසක dawəsəkə ‘on a day’
.හතර hatərə ‘four’

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 Lesson 5: Information about a journey

Romanization schemes for Sinhala

In order to avoid using the Sinhala writing system from Lesson 1, this book has used a
spelling system based on the Latin alphabet; that is, a ‘romanization’. Since there are
many different romanization systems used for Sinhala, it might be useful to understand
how the one used in this book relates to other systems.
Most writing systems do not faithfully reflect the way in which words are pronounced
and Sinhala is no exception. One must therefore choose between a romanization system
that reflects how the language is spoken (transcription-based), or a system that reflects
how it is written (transliteration-based). The advantage of a transcription is that it
makes it easier to achieve correct pronunciation; the disadvantage is that getting from
the romanization to the original script is somewhat tricky. The advantage of a
transliteration is that there is a direct mapping to the original script; the disadvantage
is that some complicated rules need to be learned in order to achieve correct
pronunciation. This course book has opted for the transcription approach.
The basic Latin alphabet is adopted as far as possible since it is familiar to English-
speaking readers. However, this alphabet varies depending on which language it is used
for: some variants use accented letters (e.g. á, à, â, ä, å, ā) and others contain additional
letters (e.g. Icelandic ð and þ, German ß, and Polish ł). Moreover, the same letter might
be pronounced differently from one language to another (e.g. j is pronounced like English
y in many languages), or even within one and the same language (e.g. English c resembles
k in cat but s in city). As a result, there are many choices to be made when devising a
romanization scheme for Sinhala. The following list illustrates some of the most
important issues and some of the solutions that have been adopted by various writers:
#1 back vs. front a: (1) a ~ æ (or ä); (2) ah ~ a; (3) ignore the difference.
e.g. ඇත ‘tusker’: solution (1) gives æta; (2) gives atah; (3) gives ata
#2 stressed vs. unstressed a: (1) a ~ ə; (2) ignore the difference (this issue is only
relevant for transcriptions since the Sinhala writing system doesn’t distinguish these
sounds).
e.g. මම ‘I’: (1) mamə; (2) mama
#3 long vs. short vowels: (1) double the letter: e.g. aa; (2) add a macron or some other
accent: e.g. ā; (3) approximate English usage: e.g. aah for long a, ah for short a, ee for
long i, etc.; (4) ignore the difference.
e.g. ලුණු ‘salt’ vs. ලූනු ‘onion’: (1) lunu ~ luunu; (2) lunu ~ lūnu; (3) lunu ~ loonu;
(4) lunu ~ lunu;
#4 dental vs. retroflex t d: (1) dot the retroflex: ṭ ḍ; (2) use the IPA symbols: ʈ and ɖ;
(3) add an h to the dental: th dh; (4) uppercase the retroflex: T D; (5) ignore the
difference.
e.g. ත ත ට ‘to father’: (1) taattaṭa; (2) taattaʈa; (3) thaaththata; (4) taattaTa;
(5) taattata
The romanization used in this edition of Colloquial Sinhala employs the first of each
of these variants. (The same applies to the first edition, except for the use of T and D
for the retroflex sounds, a choice dictated by the unavailability of ṭ and ḍ on typewriters
in the 1960s; see the facsimile on page 1.)

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Colloquial Sinhala

Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. .............. nawətinnə oonə də? [how many days, a day, two days, four days,
three days]
2. mehe ................. tiyenəwa də? [a hotel to stay (in), hotels to stay (in), a place
to see, places to see, fruit to buy, some fruit to buy, cigarettes to smoke, a place
to go, a place to stay]
3. ..................... kiyannə. [how to get a taxi, how to go to Sigiriya, how much
bananas are, where this bus is going, what these are]
4. maṭa.................. puluwaŋ. [go, see Anuradhapura, get a car, stay three days,
stop a bus, go to Sigiriya, give two rupees, buy Three Roses in that (over there)
shop]
B. Transform according to the model
mehe æpəl tiyenəwa. → mehe æpəl nææ.
1. mee kaḍee suruṭṭu tiyenəwa.
2. dæŋ bas-ekak tiyenəwa.
3. anuraadəpuree kaar tiyenəwa.
4. api laŋ̌gə hoňdə paləturu tiyenəwa.
5. etənə hoňdə taanaayəmak tiyenəwa.
C. Transform according to the model
mee eloolu hoňday. → mee eloolu hoňdə də?
1. mee paləturu huŋ̌gak rasay.
2. taanaayəmə ṭikak duray.
3. mee pækæṭ-ekə rupiyal dekay.
4. eekə bohomə særay.
5. siigiriye taanaayəmə huŋ̌gak hoňday.
D. Transform according to the model
mamə dæŋ yanəwa. → maṭə dæŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
1. mahattea ee taanaayəmee nawətinəwa.
2. api anuraadəpuree balənəwa.
3. mamə siigiriyəṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanəwa.
4. mahattea koləm̌bə iňdəla anuraadəpureeṭə koocciyeŋ yanəwa.
5. mamə siigiri galə laŋ̌gə nawətinəwa.

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 Lesson 5: Information about a journey

E. Say in Sinhala
1. Do you want to go to Sigiriya, sir?
2. Yes. Tell me how to go there (that spot).
3. You must go by car.
4. Or, go to Anuradhapura by the train.
5. From there, get a taxi.
6. Fine. I can go by car.
7. Is Sigiriya very far?
8. Yes, sir. Some distance.
9. Is there a rest house here?
10. No, sir. The rest house is in Anuradhapura.
11. There is a hotel to stay at here.
12. Or, you can go to Anuradhapura.
13. Is there a bus to Anuradhapura?
14. No. You must get a taxi.
15. Tell me how to get a taxi.
16. Taxis are near the hotel.
17. Go there (that spot).
18. Thank you.
19. Are you staying at the rest house, sir.
20. Is the rest house good?
21. Yes. Many people go to the rest house.
22. How many days can (one) stay in a rest house?
23. One can stay three days.
24. Is there any place else (wenə tænak)?
25. To stay?
26. Yes.
27. You can stay in a hotel.
28. What are you buying?
29. Some bananas.
30. How much are the bananas here?
31. Four cents each.
32. Are these bananas good?
33. Yes.
34. There are very good bananas in the shop over there.
35. There (in question) bananas are three cents each.
36. Go there (that spot). I buy fruit there (that spot in question).
F. Read
1. .රස 4. .ම 7. .ගල 10. .දවසක 13. .හතර
2. .මම 5. .ද 8. .දවස 11. .දවසට 14. .හතරක
3. .මට 6. .සත 9. .ගලට 12. .ගලක

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Colloquial Sinhala

Lesson 6: Offering a job

Mr. Perera, an estate owner, meets Banda, a young man from the village whom he
hasn’t seen for some time.
Perera dæŋ oyaage kaḍee næddə? Don’t you have your shop these days?
(Literally ‘Isn’t there your shop now?’)
Banda nææ, mahattea. dæŋ kaḍee No, sir. (My) uncle is tending the
kəranne maama. shop now.
Perera oyaa? And you?
Banda mamə uḍəraṭə poḍi rassaawak I am working at (literally ‘doing’) a
kərənəwa. little job in the up-country.
Perera pawlə inne uḍəraṭə də? Is (your) family in the up-country?
Banda nææ. gamee.* pawlə balaaganne No. At home. Father is taking care of
taatta. the family.
Perera lamay kiidenek innəwa də? How many children have you
(literally ‘are there’)?
Banda tuŋ denek innəwa, mahattea. I have three, sir.
Perera iskoole yanne næddə? Aren’t they going to school?
Banda iskoole yanne duwə witəray. Only (my) daughter is going to
puttu denna yanne nææ. school. The two sons are not going.
Perera oyaaṭə gamee rassaawak Could you work at a job in the
kərannə puluwaŋ də? village?
Banda puluwaŋ mahattea. I can, sir. Is there a job?
rassaawak tiyenəwa də?
Perera oyaaṭə waḍuwæḍə puluwaŋ də? Can you (do) carpentry?
Banda puluwaŋ. mamə dæŋ kəranne Yes, I can. I am doing carpentry now.
waḍuwæḍə.
Perera ehenaŋ mage† watte wæḍak If so, I can give you a job in my
dennə puluwaŋ. watte estate. There is a carpenter in the
waḍuwek innəwa. namut ee estate. But that man’s work is not
minihage wæḍə hoňdə nææ. good.
Banda bohomə istutiy, mahattea. maṭə Thank you very much, sir. I can come
heṭə iňdəla ennə puluwaŋ. from tomorrow.
Perera hoňday. ehenaŋ heṭə ennə. arə Fine. Then come tomorrow. There is
tiyenne wæḍəpələ. udee etenṭə the workshop. Come there in the
ennə. morning.
Banda hoňday mahattea. Fine, sir.

*
The first edition had gamə, which is now outdated. See section 6 on page 63. [eds]
†
The first edition had magee, but modern pronunciation uses a short ‘e’. [eds]

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 Lesson 6: Offering a job

Vocabulary
balaagannəwa tend, take care of oyaage your
denna the two oyaaṭə you (dative)
duwə the daughter pawlə the family
ehenaŋ if so, then poḍi small, little
gamee at home putaa the son
gamə the village puttu sons
heṭə tomorrow rassaawa the position, job
innəwa there is, there are taatta father
iskoole the school tuŋ denek three (of people)
kiidenek how many udee morning
lamay children uḍəraṭə the up-country
maama maternal uncle waḍuwæḍə carpentry
mage my waḍuwa the carpenter
miniha the man waḍuwek a carpenter
minihage the man’s wæḍə work
næddə isn’t there? wæḍee the work, job
namut but wæḍəpələ the workshop
oyaa you wattə the estate

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 2
gamə ‘the village’; gen. gamee; pl. gaŋ
rassaawə ‘the position, job’; gen. rassaawe; pl. rassaawal
wattə ‘the estate; gen. watte; pl. watu
waḍuwæḍə ‘carpentry’; gen. waḍuwæḍee; (no plural)
wæḍəpələ ‘the workshop; gen. wædəpəlee; pl. wæḍəpələwal
pawlə ‘the family’; gen. pawle; pl. pawl

1.2 Class 3
uḍəraṭə ‘the up-country’ (no plural)
heṭə ‘tomorrow’ (no plural)

1.3 Class 4
wæḍee ‘the work’ (see notes on meaning below): pl. wæḍə
udee ‘the morning’; pl. udee
iskoole ‘the school’; pl. iskoolə

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Colloquial Sinhala

Nouns of Class 4, as mentioned in Lesson 3, with a direct form in -e have this -e

throughout the definite and indefinite forms, while those with a direct in -ee have
long -ee everywhere except in the instrumental definite and the direct indefinite.
Thus:
with -e with -ee
definite
direct iskoole kaḍee
dative iskooleṭə kaḍeeṭə
genitive iskoole kaḍee
instrumental iskooleŋ kaḍeŋ
indefinite
direct iskooleak kaḍeak
dative iskoolekəṭə kaḍeekəṭə
genitive iskoolekə kaḍeekə
instrumental iskoolekiŋ kaḍeekiŋ
The noun wæḍee ‘the work’ has irregular indefinite forms in that the -ee- of the
definite is lost in the indefinite:
direct wæḍak
dative wæḍəkəṭə
genitive wæḍəkə
instrumental wæḍəkiŋ

1.4 Notes on new nouns

The noun wæḍee and the noun rassaawə may both be the equivalent of the English
term ‘job’. wæḍee refers to a job generally lasting for a short period of time,
whereas rassaawə is likely to equate with the English term ‘occupation’. The plural
of wæḍee may often equate with the English term ‘work’; as in
ee minihage wæḍə hoňdə nææ.
Sinhala has a number of occupational terms like waḍuwæḍə, ‘carpentry’, which
end in -wæḍə. This is the noun wæḍee, but note that the direct definite ends in -ə.
Nouns compounded with wæḍə are all regular members of Class 2 but have no
plurals. The indefinite form waḍuwæḍak means ‘a carpentry job’, and the indefinites
of other similar compounds have similar meanings.

2. Class 5 nouns
2.1 Animate and inanimate nouns
All nouns in Sinhala fall into two large divisions: ANIMATE and INANIMATE. Which
division a given noun belongs to may be predicted almost without exception from
its meaning.

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 Lesson 6: Offering a job

1. INANIMATE: places, non-living things, plants

2. ANIMATE: persons, animals, living things (excluding plants)
There are a very few nouns, referring to such things as groups, or organizations of
living things, which do not fit neatly into this classification.
The first four classes of Sinhala nouns belong to the inanimate division, whereas
Class 5 belongs to the animate division. The inflection of Class 5 nouns is
illustrated by the following:
definite indefinite plural
direct mahattea mahatteek mahatturu
dative mahatteaṭə mahattekuṭə
genitive mahatteage mahatteekuge
instrumental mahatteageŋ mahatteekugeŋ
The dative ending for this class, as for all other classes, is -ṭə. The genitive ending
is -ge and the instrumental ending is -geŋ. Nouns of this class, in the definite, add
the case endings directly to the direct definite. The direct indefinite is formed by
replacing the last vowel a, aa, or ə of the direct definite by -ek. Thus mahattea,
mahatteek; duwə, duwek. The other forms of the indefinite are formed by adding
the regular case endings, but with a preceding -u-, to the direct indefinite. The
plural is not predictable from the direct definite, and will be given along with lists
of new nouns.
The nouns of this class that have occurred so far are:
mahattea ‘the gentleman, master’; pl. mahatturu
lamea ‘the child’; pl. lamay
putaa ‘the son’; pl. puttu or putaala
maama ‘the (maternal) uncle’; pl. maamala
taatta ‘the father’; pl. taattala
noona ‘the lady’; pl. noonala
miniha ‘the man’; pl. minissu
waḍuwa ‘the carpenter’; waḍuwo
duwə ‘the daughter’; pl. duwəla or duula

2.2 The respectful indefinite

Kinship terms specifying older relatives and certain nouns denoting superiors are
respectful terms, and take a special indefinite. This is formed by adding kenek:
definite maama
inindefinite maama kenek
In forming the remaining case forms, kenek is treated just like any Class 5
indefinite. Thus:

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Colloquial Sinhala

dative maama kenekuṭə

genitive maama kenekuge
instrumental maama kenekugeŋ
In listing Class 5 nouns that take the respectful indefinite, the indefinite form will
be cited along with the definite. If the respectful indefinite is optional, the form
kenek will be placed in parentheses. The forms that take the respectful indefinite
that have occurred so far are:
taatta kenek mahattea(ŋ) (kenek)
maama kenek noona (kenek)
Note that mahattea may appear as mahatteaŋ before kenek.

3. Differences between animate and inanimate in agreement

3.1 tiyenəwa – innəwa
tiyenəwa and its various forms may be used only with inanimate subjects. With
animate subjects, the verb innəwa must be used in the same constructions:
bas tiyenəwa. There are buses.
lamay innəwa. There are children.
sigəræṭ tiyenne kaḍee. Cigarettes are in the shop.
lamea inne kaḍee. The child is in the shop.
pawlə ‘the family’ is one of the few words that were mentioned in 2.1 as not falling
neatly into the animate-inanimate classification. It is a regular Class 2 noun, and
hence inanimate in inflection, but it takes innəwa:
mage pawlə inne gamee. My family is in the village.
When such nouns occur, the fact that they are inanimate but take innəwa will be
stated.

3.2 Agreement of numerals

Numerals have different forms depending on whether they occur with animate or
inanimate nouns. For the numbers 1-4 the forms are:
inanimate animate
definite indefinite definite indefinite
one ekə ekak ekkenaa ekkenek
two dekə dekak denna dennek
three tunə tunak tuŋ denaa tuŋ denek
four hatərə hatərak hatərə denaa hatərə denek

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 Lesson 6: Offering a job

The definite and indefinite of the animate numbers ‘two’, ‘three’ and ‘four’ are used
with animate nouns in the same way that the equivalent forms of the inanimate
numbers are used with inanimate nouns, as stated in Lesson 4 (Section 6). Thus:
sigəræṭ tunə metənə tiyenəwa. The three cigarettes are here.
lamay tuŋ denaa iskoole The three children are in the school.
innəwa.
sigəræṭ tunak metəna tiyenəwa. There are three cigarettes here.
lamay tuŋ denek iskoole innəwa. There are three children in the school.
sigəræṭ tunə tiyenne metənə. The three cigarettes are here.
lamay tuŋ denaa inne iskoole. The three children are in the school.
sigəræṭ tunak tiyenne metənə. Three cigarettes are here.
lamay tuŋ denek inne iskoole. Three children are in the school.
metənə tiyenne sigəræṭ tunə. The three cigarettes are here.
iskoole inne lamay tuŋ denaa. The three children are in the school.
metənə tiyenne sigəræṭ tunay. There are (only) three cigarettes here.
iskoole inne lamay tuŋ denay. There are (only) three children in the
school.
The main use of the numeral ‘one’ is pronominal; that is, it is used without a
dependent noun:
heṭə ekkenek wæḍə kərannə Tomorrow one person is coming to work.
enəwa.
ehenaŋ maṭə ekak oonə. In that case, I want one.

3.3 kiiyak – kiidenek

The animate equivalent of kiiyak ‘how many’ is kiidenek. Thus:
hætæpmə kiiyak tiyenəwa də? How many miles are there (is it)?
lamay kiidenek innəwa də? How many children are there?
Similarly, in speaking of children:
kiidenek iskoole yanəwa də? How many are going to school?
but of buses:
kiiyak kalutərəṭə yanəwa də? How many are going to Kalutara?

4. New verbs
balaagannəwa ‘tend, take care of, look after’
innəwa ‘be’ (animate)
kaḍee kərənəwa ‘tend shop, keep shop’

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Colloquial Sinhala

5. Pronouns
5.1 First person pronouns
The direct and dative case forms of mamə ‘I’ and api ‘we’ were given in Lesson 2.
The complete set of case forms for these pronouns is as follows:
singular plural
direct mamə I api we
dative maṭə apiṭə, apəṭə
genitive mage apee
instrumental mageŋ apeŋ
Note that the forms for mamə are like those of a Class 5 noun, those of api like a
Class 2 noun. The two dative case forms of api may be used interchangeably.
In rapid speech, mamə is often reduced to maŋ.

5.2 Second person pronouns*

Pronouns of address are a special problem in Sinhala, since almost any such form
carries with it definite implications of degree of intimacy or of superiority or
inferiority in social status. Furthermore, there is no “all purpose” form like English
‘you’, or even a polite form like French ‘vous’ or German ‘Sie’. In the first edition
of this book, the form ohee was introduced, as follows:

ohee is a second person pronoun ‘you’ (singular). It is used to equals, or, as a polite
form, to inferiors. Friends may call each other ohee if they are not close friends,
although some individuals may be more formal and use ohee even to their close friends.
The use of such pronouns may vary with the area of Ceylon. Thus ohee is generally
not used in this way in the up-country.
The case forms of ohee are like those of a Class 5 noun:
direct ohee
dative oheeṭə
genitive oheege
instrumental oheegeŋ
The plural is oheela.

However, the general polite use of ohee is limited to one dialect area in the South,
and people in other areas may react negatively to it as overly distant and impersonal.

*
This section has been completely revised based on the commentary to Reading 1
in James W. Gair, W. S. Karunatillake and John Paolillo’s Readings in Colloquial
Sinhala (Cornell University 1987), pages 3–4. [eds]

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 Lesson 6: Offering a job

The form oyaa, originally introduced in Lessons 11 and 24, is now widely used
between friends and implies a great deal of familiarity and relative equality. In this
edition of Colloquial Sinhala it is used instead of ohee. The case forms are as
follows:
direct oyaa
dative oyaaṭə
genitive oyaage
instrumental oyaageŋ
The plural is oyaala.
Foreigners face a special problem in using Sinhala terms of address, since those
terms are geared to traditional roles and relationships, into which the foreigner
really does not fit. Also, usage varies not only from place to place but also along
such dimensions as social class, rural vs. urban, and traditional vs. modern. In
general the safest course is to avoid the use of specific pronoun forms as much as
possible, and there are several strategies for doing so (which are also used by Sri
Lankans). They include:
1. Using a form like mahattea (p. 13), noona (p. 26), or lamea (p. 74); other
forms of this type are introduced later.
mahattea meekəṭə kæməti də? Do you like this (sir)?
2. Using the person’s name if one knows him/her sufficiently well.
siripaalə adə də aawe? Did you just come today, Siripala?
3. Using no form at all (a “zero pronoun”). Sinhala allows the dropping of nouns
and pronouns when context makes it clear. It is this characteristic of Sinhala
that often allows one to avoid the use of a pronoun when it might be awkward,
as, for example, in the following exchange:
dæŋ yanəwa də? Are (you) going now?
ow, yanəwa. Yes, (I) am.
aayet heṭə ennə puluwaŋ də? Can (you) come again tomorrow?
ow, puluwaŋ. Yes, (I) can.
The first person pronouns mamə and api can be used without any problem, but, like
other pronoun forms, these also can be omitted, as in the examples above.

6. gamə
The first edition of this book suggested that the form gamə could be used as an adverb
of place equating with the English expression ‘at home’ when the latter means one’s
native village or town, but not when it means ‘in one’s own house,’ and it contrasted
the following sentences:

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Colloquial Sinhala

taatta inne gamə. Father is at home (in his native village or town).
taatta inne gamee. Father is in the village (not necessarily his own).
However, this usage no longer appears to be current. All instances of gamə in the
sense of ‘at home (in one’s native village)’ have therefore been replaced with
gamee in this edition. The expression for ‘at home (in one’s own house)’, gedərə,
is introduced in Lesson 9. [eds]

7. Assertion marker
When adjectives like poḍi, ending in -i, take the assertion marker, -y, the
pronunciation is -ii.
poḍi wattak tiyenəwa. There is a small estate.
mee wattə poḍii. This estate is small.

8. ‘from … on’
Note that iňdəla may be used with time to mean ‘from … on’:
maṭə heṭə iňdəla ennə puluwaŋ. I can come from tomorrow on.
udee iňdəla mamə gamee From the morning on, I will be in
innəwa. the village.
Note also that where a particular time is mentioned, or made clear from context, the
present tense may have a future meaning, so that innəwa in the sentence above is
translated as ‘will be’. Similarly:
heṭə udee mamə koləm̌bəṭə Tomorrow morning I am going
yanəwa. (or ‘will go’) to Colombo.

9. The mee set as adverbs of place

The forms mee, oyə, arə, ee can be used adverbially referring to place: ‘here, there,
over there, there (in question)’. This is most common in emphatic sentences like
the following:
arə tiyenne wæḍəpələ. There is the workshop (over there).
arə enne ṭæksiyak. There comes a taxi.
mee inne mage putaa. Here is my son.
Or: This is my son here.

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 Lesson 6: Offering a job

10. More negative formations

10.1 The form nææ serves as the negative of innəwa ‘there is, there are’ as well as
the negative of tiyenəwa ‘there is, there are’:
mehe eloolu tiyenəwa. There are vegetables here.
mehe eloolu nææ. There are no (or ‘aren’t any’) vegetables here.
mehe lamay innəwa. There are children here.
mehe lamay nææ. There are no (or ‘aren’t any’) children here.
10.2 The negative of a simple sentence with a verb other than innəwa or tiyenəwa
is formed by changing the verb to the emphatic form and adding nææ:
puttu denna iskoole yanəwa. The two boys are going to school.
puttu denna iskoole yanne nææ. The two boys don’t go to school (or
‘aren’t going to school’).
mamə anuraadəpuree iňdəla I’m taking a car from Anuradhapura on.
kaar-ekak gannəwa.
mamə anuraadəpuree iňdəla I’m not taking a car from Anuradhapura
kaar-ekak ganne nææ. (on).
10.3 Equational sentences with adjectives as predicate attributes may be negated by
dropping the assertion marker and adding nææ:
ee minihage wæḍə hoňday. That man’s work is good.
ee minihage wæḍə hoňdə nææ. That man’s work isn’t good.

11. nædda
Any negative sentence formed with nææ may be made into a question by adding
də, but when də is added to nææ, the result is næddə. Observe the following series:
mehe eloolu tiyenəwa. There are vegetables here.
mehe eloolu tiyenəwa də? Are there vegetables here?
mehe eloolu nææ. There are no vegetables here.
mehe eloolu næddə? Aren’t there (any) vegetables here?
mehe lamay innəwa. There are children here.
mehe lamay innəwa də? Are there children here?
mehe lamay nææ. There are no children here.
mehe lamay næddə? Aren’t there (any) children here?
mage putaaṭə siigiriyəṭə yannə My son wants to go to Sigiriya.
oonə.
mage putaaṭə siigiriyəṭə yannə Does my son want to go to Sigiriya?
oonə də?

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Colloquial Sinhala

mage putaaṭə siigiriyəṭə yannə My son doesn’t want to go to Sigiriya.

oonə nææ.
mage putaaṭə siigiriyəṭə yannə Doesn’t my son want to go to Sigiriya?
oonə næddə?
mahattea kalutərəṭə kaar-ekak The gentleman is taking a car to
gannəwa. Kalutara.
mahattea kalutərəṭə kaar-ekak Is the gentleman taking a car to
gannəwa də? Kalutara?
mahattea kalutərəṭə kaar-ekak The gentleman isn’t taking a car to
ganne nææ. Kalutara.
mahattea kalutərəṭə kaar-ekak Isn’t the gentleman taking a car to
ganne næddə? Kalutara?

12. The Sinhala writing system – 2

12.1 More consonant symbols
The following consonant symbols should be added to those already learned. (In
giving new consonant symbols from now on, the inherent vowel will be symbolized
simply as ə, and the rules given in the preceding lesson will apply):

බ bə ප pə ය yə න nə
Note the difference between ය yə ~ ස sə; and න nə ~ ත tə.

12.2 Removing the inherent vowel

The inherent vowel is removed by adding ා or ා to a consonant symbol depending
on the shape of that symbol:
ා is added to ට, බ, ම, ඩ and other consonants yet to be learned of that general
(“circular”) shape:

ට් ṭ බ් b ම් m ඩ් ḍ
ා is added to all other consonant symbols:

ක් k ග් g ත් t ද් d
න් n ප් p ල් l ර් r
ස s ය් y හ h
When the inherent vowel is removed, the consonant symbol represents the consonant
alone. Thus if a word ends in a consonant, the symbol representing that consonant
must have the inherent vowel removed:

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 Lesson 6: Offering a job

.බස bas (compare රස rasə)

.ගල් gal (compare ගල galə)
Double consonants are indicated by writing a consonant symbol twice and removing
the inherent vowel from the first one. The second retains the inherent vowel:
.වත්ත wattə .ගන්න gannə
12.3 Another rule for the inherent vowel
#5. Before a final consonant, a double consonant, or a consonant combination, the
vowel -a- may occur but not the vowel -ə-. This implies that the inherent vowel
of a consonant symbol that precedes another consonant symbol from which the
inherent vowel is removed will always be -a- and not -ə-:
.බස bas .කඩවල් kadəwal
.වත්තක් wattak .තවත්තන්න nawattannə

12.4 The symbol ා

The symbol ා following a consonant symbol represents either a or aa instead of
the inherent vowel as follows:
#1. If the consonant symbol is at the beginning or in the middle of a word, the
vowel represented by ා is aa:
.ප ර paarə .රසස ව rassaawə
.පල ත palaatə .ත න යම taanaayəmə
#2. At the end of a word, ා will represent either a or aa as follows:
If the word has two syllables, and the first syllable has a short vowel followed
by a single consonant, ා will represent aa:
.බල balaa
Otherwise it will represent a, regardless of the number of syllables:
.යනව yanəwa .ම ම maama .ත ත්ත taatta
#3. When case or plural endings are added to Class 5 nouns spelled with a final ා ,
that ා will represent the same sound that it did when final. Note that this leads
to exceptions to rule #1:
.ත ත්ත ට taattaṭə .ම ම ට maamaṭə .ම ම ල maamala

12.5 kərənəwa
The verb kərənəwa is spelled කරනව . This is an exception to the rule that a
consonant symbol at the beginning of a word has the inherent vowel a, and is true
for all forms of that verb:
.කරන්න kərannə

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Colloquial Sinhala

Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. ..............gamee innəwa. [a gentleman, the child, my son, the two sons, two
daughters, three children, two men, four uncles]
2 . ..............ennə puluwaŋ. [tomorrow, from tomorrow on, from the morning on,
in the morning, tomorrow morning, from the up-country, by the Colombo bus,
by a taxi, from the village, to my estate, always, to the workshop]
3. ..............yanəwa də? [two buses, the two sons, two children, how many men,
three taxis, the four buses, how many buses, the four gentlemen]
B. Transform according to the model, changing the first noun from the
definite to the indefinite
mahattea koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa. → mahatteek koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
1. waḍuwa wæḍə kərənəwa.
2. maama kaḍee kərənəwa.
3. miniha suruṭṭuwak bonəwa.
4. duwə iskoole yanəwa.
5. putaa wæḍəpəlee innəwa.
6. lamea koocciyeŋ yanəwa.
7. lameaṭə rupiyal dekak dennə.
8. mahatteaṭə paləturu ṭikak oonə.
9. putaaṭə iskoole yannə puluwəŋ də?
C. Transform according to the model, emphasizing the quantity phrase
mehe iskoolə dekak tiyenəwa. → mehe tiyenne iskoolə dekay.
1. metənə lamay tuŋ denek innəwa.
2. maṭə sigəræṭ pækæṭ dekak oonə.
3. mee minissu hatərə denaa koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
4. minissu denna wæḍə kərənəwa.
5. mee kaḍee eloolu jaati hatərak tiyenəwa.
6. duwəla tuŋ denaa ṭæksiyəkiŋ yanəwa.
7. puttu denna iskoole yanəwa.

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 Lesson 6: Offering a job

D. Transform according to the model, substituting the noun given for the
first noun in the sentence, and making all necessary changes to agree with
the substitution.
bas tunak metənə tiyenəwa (lamay). → lamay tuŋ denek metənə innəwa.
1. ee gamə tiyenne uḍəraṭə. (apee puttu)
2. kaar dekak koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa. (minissu)
3. bas kiiyak etənə tiyenəwa də? (noonala)
4. iskoolə dekə tiyenne koləm̌bə. (waḍuwo)
5. mee koocci hatərə yanne maatəleeṭə. (mahatturu)
6. mahatturu tuŋ denek isṭeesəmee innəwa. (koocci)
7. bas hatərə wattəṭə yanəwa. (lamay)
E. Say in Sinhala
1. Does your son go to school?
2. No. The son doesn’t go. The two daughters go.
3. Is your son working at (literally, doing) a job?
4. Yes. He works in my workshop.
5. Can that boy do carpentry?
6. Yes. (He) can.
7. Then I can give (him) a good job.
8. In your estate?
9. Yes.
10. Fine. Thank you.
11. Do you have cigarettes (with you)?
12. Yes. Do you want a cigarette?
13. Yes. Give (me) a cigarette.
14. Here you are.
15. Thank you.
16. Isn’t the master in the workshop?
17. No. Now the master is in the up-country.
18. Is (he) coming to the workshop tomorrow?
19. No. Tomorrow the master is going to Colombo.
20. Is the master’s son at home (in the village)?
21. Yes. The son is looking after the workshop.
22. Do you want to go to Anuradhapura?
23. Yes. Tell me how to go.
24. (You) can go by the train.
25. Are there trains from this station?
26. Yes. From here (you) must go to Matale by train.
27. From that spot there are trains to Anuradhapura.
28. Aren’t there buses?

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Colloquial Sinhala

29. Yes, there are. You can go by a bus.

30. How many daughters have you?
31. There are two.
32. No sons?
33. There are two sons.
34. Going to school?
35. Yes, three are going to school.
36. The little daughter isn’t going.
37. Is your father at home (in the village) now?
38. No, father is in up-country.
39. (He) is doing carpentry in an estate.
40. Are you working now?
41. I am working in a little workshop.
F. Read
1. .ගම 10. .යනව 19. .රසස වක් 28. .ම ම ට
2. .ගමක 11. .බලනව 20. .දවසක් 29. .බලන්න
3. .ගමක් 12. .ගමට 21. .දවසක 30. .කරනව
4. .පල ත 13. .කඩවල් 22. .යන්න 31. .කරන්න
5. .පල ත් 14. .වත්ත 23. .ත ත්ත 32. .ගන්න
6. .පල තක් 15. .වත්තක 24. .ත ත්ත ල 33. .ගන්නව
7. .ගල 16. .වත්තක් 25. .ත ත්ත ට 34. .බල ගන්නව
8. .ගලක් 17. .වත්තකට 26. .ම ම 35. .රසස වක් කරනව
9. .ගලක 18. .රසස ව 27. .ම ම ල 36. .ත න යමක
G. Read
1. ප රට යන්න.
2. පල ත බලන්න.
3. මම ගමට යනව .
4. ත ත්ත කඩවල් බල ගන්නව .
5. සත හතරක් ගන්න.
6. බස වත්තට යනව ද?
7. බස හතරක් යනව .
8. ත න යමට යනව ද?
9. මම ගමම් රසස වක් කරනව .
10. ම ම ල රසස වක් කරනව ද?

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 Lesson 6: Offering a job

Figure 2: From the first edition of this book

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Colloquial Sinhala
Lesson 7: Hiring a driver
Mr. Perera, needing someone to take care of his car while he is away for a time,
speaks to Gunapala, a villager known to him.
Perera dæŋ lamea gamee də?
Gunapala ow, mahattea. dæŋ wæḍak nææ.
Perera oyə lameaṭə kaar eləwannə
puluwaŋ, nee də?
Gunapala puluwaŋ, mahattea.
Perera sumaaneak mage kaar-ekə
eləwannə ennə. mamə heṭə
yaapəneeṭə yanəwa.
sumaaneak yaapənee innə
oonə. etəkoṭə maṭə kaar-ekee
wæḍə kərannə kenek oonə.
Gunapala ennə puluwaŋ, mahattea. kaar-
ekə yaapəneeṭə geniyənəwa
də?
Perera nææ. kaar-ekə gamee tiyennə
oonə. lamay iskoole yanne
kaar-ekeŋ.
Gunapala ehenaŋ yaapəneeṭə yanne
mahattea witəray, nee?
Perera ow, mamə witəray. noonay
daruwoy gamee nawətinəwa.
Gunapala lamay iskoole yanne koləm̌bə
də?
Perera ow, puttu denna yanne rooyal
koliijiyəṭə. duwə wisaaka
widyaaleṭə.
Gunapala mahatteage kaar-ekə osṭin-ekak,
nee də?
Perera ow. oyaaṭə osṭin eləwannə
puluwaŋ, nee?
Gunapala ow. puluwaŋ, mahattea.
Perera heṭə udee iňdəla wæḍəṭə ennə
puluwaŋ də?
Gunapala puluwaŋ, mahattea.
Perera hoňday, ehenaŋ udee ennə.
72
Are you at home these days?
Yes, sir. I am not working now.
You can drive a car (literally ‘drive
cars’), can’t you?
I can, sir.
Come to drive my car for a week.
I am going to Jaffna tomorrow.
I must be in Jaffna a week. Then I
need a man to take care of
(literally, ‘a person to work in the
car’) my car for a week.
I can come, sir. Are you taking the
car to Jaffna?
No. The car must remain at home.
The children go to school in the car.
Then only you are going to Jaffna,
eh?
Yes. Only me. (My) wife and
children are staying at home.
Are the children going to school in
Colombo?
Yes, (my) two boys are going to the
Royal College. (My) daughter
(goes) to Visaka College.
Your car is an Austin, isn’t it?
Yes, you can drive an Austin, can’t
you?
Yes, I can, sir.
Can you come to work from
tomorrow on?
I can, sir.
Fine. Then come in the morning.
 Lesson 7: Hiring a driver

Vocabulary
daruwa the child noonay daruwoy the wife and children
eləwənəwa drive osṭin-ekə the Austin
geniyənəwa take oyə lamea you (literally ‘that boy by you’)
kenek a person rooyal koliijiyə Royal College
nee isn’t it? sumaane the week
nee də isn’t it? wæḍəṭə enəwa come to work
noona the lady, wife wisaaka widyaale Visaka College
yaapənee Jaffna

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 1
osṭin-ekə ‘the Austin’

1.2 Class 2
koliijiyə ‘the high school’; gen. koliijiye; pl. koliiji

1.3 Class 4
sumaane ‘the week’; pl. sumaanə
yaapənee ‘Jaffna’; (no plural)
widyaale ‘the high school’; pl. widyaalə

1.4 Class 5
daruwa ‘the child, offspring’; pl. daruwo
noona ‘the wife, lady’; indefinite: noona kenek; pl. noonala
kenaa ‘the person’; (no plural)

1.5 Notes on new nouns

1. The nouns koliijiyə and widyaale may be roughly translated as ‘high school’, in
that they refer to the school immediately preceding the university. The iskoole is
the elementary school, attended for seven years, approximately from age five to age
twelve, and the koliijiyə or widyaale is attended for seven years after the iskoole.
koliijiyə is the normal colloquial term and widyaale is more literary, although it
may be used in a proper name like wisaaka widyaale, ‘Visaka High School’.
2. daruwa generally means ‘one’s own child’, lamea, in addition to being a term of
address (see below) means ‘child’ in general.

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3. Note that although wæḍee ‘the job, work’ has the regular dative form wæḍeeṭə,
the form for ‘to work’ as in ‘come to work tomorrow’ is wæḍəṭə. Learn this as an
idiom.
4. kenek ‘a person’ is the same item that forms the respectful indefinite, but used as
‘a person, someone’, it has no connotations of respect.

2. New verbs
eləwənəwa ‘drive’
Note that ‘drive (a car)’ has the plural of the Sinhala noun: kaar eləwənəwa.
geniyənəwa ‘take (away)’

3. lamea
The form lamea may be used referring to a person of either sex who is a younger
relative or an unrelated younger person of an inferior status.
The term lamea or oyə lamea may be used as an equivalent of English ‘you’ as
follows:
oyə lameaṭə kaar eləwannə
puluwaŋ, nee də?
or You can drive a car, can’t you?
lameaṭə kaar eləwannə puluwaŋ,
nee də?
lamea may be used as a term of address, in which case oyə may not be used with it.
lamea mehe paləturu tiyenəwa də? Boy (or girl), is there fruit here?
Note that the use of lamea in referring to a younger or inferior person is similar to
the use of mahattea in referring to an equal or superior, although oyə is less
frequently used with mahattea.

4. ‘remain, stay’
innəwa and tiyenəwa may mean ‘stay, remain’ as well as ‘be’:
sumaaneak yaapənee innə oonə. I must be (or ‘stay’) in Jaffna a week.
kaar-ekə gamee tiyennə oonə. The car must remain at home.

5. Infinitives
Infinitives may modify verbs as well as nouns (Lesson 5, 4) and again the infinitive
precedes the word it modifies:
balannə yannə. Go to see (or ‘go see’).

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The modifying infinitive may have its own object preceding it:
mage kaar-ekə eləwannə ennə. Come (to) drive my car.
mahattea waḍuwek balannə etenṭə The master is going there to look for a
yanəwa. carpenter.

6. The conjunction -y … -y
In the sentence
noonay daruwoy gamee (My) wife and children are staying home.
nawətinəwa.
the y’s are not assertion markers, but together form a conjunction ‘and’ joining
noona ‘wife’ and daruwo ‘children’. When two or more items are joined thus or in a
longer series, y is added to each of them. When this y is added to an item ending in
a vowel, final ə or aa become a, ee becomes e, and other vowels remain unchanged
(as with the assertion marker, -i plus y is pronounced -ii). The y’s are added after
any other endings that may be present.
keselgeḍiy elooluy gannə oonə. I want to buy bananas and vegetables.
mamay, lameay, mahatteay I, the child, and the master are going
koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa. to Colombo.
mamə sumaaneak koləm̌bay, I am going for a week to see
siigiriyay, anuraadəpurey, Colombo, Sigiriya, Anuradhapura,
yaapəney balannə yanəwa. and Jaffna.
mehe iňdəla kalutərəṭay, There are buses from here to Kalutara
koləm̌bəṭay bas tiyenəwa. and Colombo.
mahatteagey magey ṭikæṭ dekə Give me the two tickets belonging to
maṭə dennə. the master and me. (Literally, ‘the
master’s and my two tickets.’)

7. Sentences with an adverbial expression

Sentences in English that are composed of subject plus verb ‘to be’ plus an adverbial
expression may have an equivalent in Sinhala either with or without the verb
tiyenəwa or innəwa.
taatta gamee. Father is at home.
taatta gamee innəwa. Father is (stays, lives, remains) at home.
taatta inne gamee. Father is at home.

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The sentence with the verb innəwa or tiyenəwa indicates a more permanent state of
things, and the verb may equate with an English ‘stay, remain, live’, whereas the
sentence without the verb indicates a temporary state of affairs:
paləturu tiyenne alləpu Fruit is in the next shop (where it generally
kaḍee. is).
paləturu alləpu kaḍee. Fruit is in the next shop (at the moment,
but this is not the ordinary state of
affairs).

8. nee and nee də

The forms nee and nee də may be added to the end of a Sinhala sentence to form a
question where the expected answer is a confirmation of the original statement. It
equates with the English ‘isn’t it, aren’t you, doesn’t he’, etc.
The gentleman is going to Kalutara,
mahattea kalutərəṭə yanəwa, isn’t he?
or
nee (də)? You are going to Kalutara, aren’t
you?
mehe æpəl tiyenəwa, nee (də)? There are apples here, aren’t there?
mehe æpəl nææ, nee (də)? There are no apples here, are there?
You buy vegetables at that shop,
mahattea eloolu ganne arə don’t you?
or
kaḍee, nee (də)? The gentleman buys vegetables at
that shop, doesn’t he?

9. The Sinhala writing system – 3

9.1 Vowels following consonants
Vowels other than the inherent vowel following consonants are written by adding
symbols as follows:
9.11 æ and ææ
The short vowel æ following a consonant is written by ා after the consonant
symbol:

ක kæ ස sæ ට ṭæ ද dæ න næ
The long vowel ææ following a consonant is written by ා after the consonant
symbol:

ක kææ ස sææ ට ṭææ ද dææ න nææ

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The only exceptions are:

æ and ææ following r are written as රැ and රෑ respectively, joined to the tip of ර.
9.12 i and ii
The short vowel i following a consonant is written with ා over the consonant
symbol:

කි ki ස si ටි ṭi දි di නි ni
Note that ා is joined to the tip of letters that have a shape like ට. Thus: බි, වි, ඩි, etc.
The long vowel ii following a consonant is written with ා over the consonant
symbol:

කී kii සී sii ටී ṭii දී dii නී nii

9.13 u and uu
u and uu after consonants are each written in three ways depending upon the
consonant as follows:
1. With ක, ග and ත short u and long uu are written thus:

කු ku ගු gu තු tu
කූ kuu ගූ guu තූ tuu
2. With ර, u is written with ා and uu with ා :

රු ru රූ ruu
Note that these are the same symbols used to write æ and ææ with other
consonants, and ræ and rææ are distinguished from ru, ruu by the way the
symbols are added: රැ ræ, රෑ rææ, but රු ru, රූ ruu.
3. With all other consonants, short u is written with ා and long uu with ා attached
below the consonant as follows:

ටු ṭu මු mu සු su නු nu හු hu
ටූ ṭuu මූ muu සූ suu නූ nuu හූ huu
Note that when these symbols are added to ද, the lower part of ද is not written:
දු du, දූ duu.

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9.2 Consonant combinations

Consonant combinations may be written in the same manner as double consonants,
i.e. with the inherent vowel removed from the first consonant symbol:

ක්ස ksə න්ද ndə

Vowel symbols are added to the second consonant symbol:

ක්ස ksi න්දි ndi

Combinations with w
Where the first consonant in a combination is w, it will sometimes be treated like
any other consonant and written ව්, but it will also be found written as wu, i.e. වු.
For many words, these will be alternated. For example, pawlə may be written පව්ල
or පවුල. In other cases, however, one of these spellings will be regularly used, so
that spellings of words with these combinations should be learned as they occur.

9.3 Final -y
-y at the end of a word is written as yi, i.e. යි:
.ලමයි lamay
Thus both the assertion marker and the conjunction y … y are written යි:
.තුනයි tunay .රුපියලයි rupiyəlay
.රසයි rasay .ම මයි මමයි maamay mamay
Note that a preceding consonant symbol will have the inherent vowel a.

9.4 Final ea and eak

Class 5 nouns such as mahattea, lamea which end in -ea are written as if they ended
in -əya. Hence:
.මහත්තය mahattea
.ලමය lamea
The direct case indefinite of Class 4 nouns, -eak, is written as -ayak:
.සුම නයක් sumaaneak
.කඩයක් kaḍeak

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Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. mahattea .................. yanəwa. [by a bus, to a station, to a shop, by the Austin,
to the adjoining shop, by a train, to a high school, from Jaffna, to a rest-house,
from tomorrow on]
2. meekə ....................... dennə. [to a gentleman, to that man (over there), to my
son, to a child, to my wife, to that lady’s son, to your uncle, to the carpenter of
the estate (the estate’s carpenter), to a daughter of that gentleman]
3. putaa ....................... yaapənee nawətinəwa. [two weeks, three days,
tomorrow morning, from tomorrow on, four weeks]
4. oyaaṭə ....................... puluwaŋ də? [drive (a car), drive my car, go by the
train, take my car to Colombo, stay in Sigiriya for a week, come in the
morning, work from tomorrow on, take this one to the shop, go there (that spot)
tomorrow morning, look after the two children]
B. Transform according to the model, substituting the word or phrase given
for the first word or phrase in the sentence, making all necessary changes
bas dekak koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa. (mahatturu)
→ mahatturu dennek koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
1. putaa inne kaḍee. (eloolu)
2. duulə tuŋ denaa inne gamee. (iskoolə)
3. koocci kiiyak tiyenəwa də? (daruwo)
4. wæḍəpələwal hatərə tiyenne mee watte. (waḍuwo)
5. gamee inne puttu denna witəray. (watte)
6. eloolu tiyenne mehe də? (oyaa)
7. putaa metənə dawas tunak innə oonə. (kaar-ekə)
C. Transform the following into emphatic sentences, emphasizing any
appropriate part
1. mahattea kaar-ekeŋ koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
2. mahattea siigiriye dawas dekak nawətinəwa.
3. ṭæksi tunak arə paare tiyenəwa.
4. eloolu arə handiye kaḍee tiyenəwa.
5. oyaa laŋkaawe suruṭṭu bonəwa də?
6. mahattea heṭə iňdəla ee taanaayəmee nawətinəwa.
7. mage putaa rooyal koliijiyəṭə yanəwa.
8. api laŋ̌gə hoňdə paləturu tiyenəwa.

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D. Say in Sinhala
1. Is your car an Austin?
2. Yes.
3. I can drive Austins.
4. Do you want a person to drive the car, sir?
5. No. I have a man now (literally, ‘There is a man now’).
6. That (in question) man's work is very good.
7. Can you do carpentry?
8. No, sir. (My) uncle can.
9. (My) uncle is at home now.
10. Do you (mahattea) want a carpenter?
11. Yes. Can your uncle come to work?
12. (He) can, sir.
13. Fine. Can (he) come from tomorrow on?
14. (He) can, sir.
15. Fine.
16. Do you (mahattea) want a person to drive a car?
17. We have a good man here.
18. Can that (in question) man come from tomorrow on?
19. Yes, (he) can. That (in question) man's work is very good.
20. Can (he) drive an Austin?
21. Yes. (He) can. Is your (mahattea) car an Austin, sir?
22. Yes.
23. Tell me how to come to your (mahattea) estate.
24. Come by bus to Matale.
25. From there (that place) it is three miles.
26. He must take a taxi.
27. Give the man these four rupees.
28. Thank you, sir.
29. The gentleman and (his) wife are going to Colombo tomorrow.
30. Are they going in the car?
31. No. By train.
32. (They are) not taking the car.
33. The gentleman’s son is going to school in the car.
34. Are there trains from here to Colombo?
35. No. From here (they) go to Matale by a bus. From Matale there are trains.
36. There is no station here.

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E. Read
1. .න 10. .විතර 19. .මහත්තය 28. .න ද්ද
2. .කීය 11. .පුත 20. .ට ක්සයක් 29. .පව්ල
3. .දුර 12. .දුරයි 21. .මහත්තය ට 30. .පවුලක්
4. .සගරැට් 13. .හ ත ප්ම 22. .වත්තකට 31. .පවුල්
5. .සුරුට්ටුව 14. .දුව 23. .තුනක් 32. .තුනක්
6. .ස රයි 15. .ට ක්ස 24. .තුනක 33. .ව ඩ
7. .ප ක ට් 16. .ව සස 25. .දරුව 34. .ටිකක්
8. .රුපියල 17. .ලමය ට 26. .දූල 35. .පුලුවන්
9. .පලතුරු 18. .ට ක්සය 27. .පුත්තු 36. .හන්දිය
F. Read
1. බස නිතරම යනව .
2. මහත්තය සගරැට් ටිකක් ගන්නව .
3. මහත්තය ට කලුතරට යන්න පුලුවන්.
4. රස සුරුට්ටු ගන්න!
5. පුත්තු ව ඩපලට යනව .
6. නමුත් මට දවස තුනක් නවතින්න පුලුවන්.
7. ලමය වඩුව ඩ කරනව ද?
8. ත ත්ත පව්ලයි කඩයි බල ගන්නව .
9. පුත්තුයි දුවයි කලුතර ව ඩ කරනව .
10. දරුව ට සීගිරි ගල බලන්න යන්න පුලුවන්.
11. කලුතරට බස යනව ද?
12. කලුතරට බස න , මහත්තය .
13. නමුත් ට ක්ස ගන්න පුලුවන්.
14. හන්දියට යන්න.
15. කීය ද කලුතරට?
16. රුපියල් තුනයි.
17. ලමය ව ඩපලට යනව ද?
18. න , මම වත්තට යනව .
19. වත්තට ව ඩ කරන්න යනව ද?
20. න , ප ර බලන්න යනව .

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Lesson 8: The mailman comes

John comes to the door to meet the mailman.
John maṭə adə liyuŋ næddə? Aren’t there any letters for me
today?
Mailman liyuŋ nææ, mahattea. No letters, sir. There are a parcel
paarsəleekuy, pooskaaṭ-ekəkuy and a postcard.
tiyenəwa.
John paarsəleekuy, pooskaaṭ-ekəkuy? A parcel and a postcard? Isn’t there
rejisṭər liyumak næddə? a registered letter?
Mailman nææ, mahattea. rejisṭər liyumak No, sir. No registered letter.
nææ.
John mamə dæŋ sumaaneak witərə I have been expecting (literally ‘am
rejisṭər liyumak balaaporottu- expecting’) a registered letter for
weŋ innəwa. liyuŋ nætiwenəwa about a week now. Do letters get
də? lost?
Mailman rejisṭər liyuŋ nætiwenne nææ. Registered letters don’t get lost.
John saməharəwiṭə heṭə æti. Perhaps there might be (some)
tomorrow.
Mailman heṭə liyuŋ bedanne nææ, Tomorrow letters aren’t delivered,
mahattea. heṭə irida, nee? sir. Tomorrow is Sunday, isn’t it?
mahatteaṭə muddərə oonə də? Do you want stamps.
John epaa. maṭə adə muddərə No. I have stamps today. When
tiyenəwa. saňduda enəkoṭə (you) come on Monday, bring a
rupiyal pahee muddəreak five-rupee stamp. Here’s the
geennə. mennə salli. money.
Mailman nææ. salli saňduda gannə No. (I) can get the money on
puluwaŋ. Monday.

Vocabulary
adə today muddəree the stamp
æti might be nætiwenəwa get lost
balaaporottuwə the expectation paarsəlee the parcel
balaaporottuweŋ expect pooskaaṭ-ekə the postcard
bedənəwa distribute, deliver (of mail) rejisṭər liyumə the registered letter
enəkoṭə when coming salli the money
geenəwa bring saməharəwiṭə perhaps
irida Sunday saňduda Monday
liyumə the letter witərə about, approximately

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Additional vocabulary – Days of the week

Monday saňduda Friday sikuraada
Tuesday aŋgəharuwaada Saturday senəsuraada
Wednesday badaada Sunday irida
Thursday brəhaspətinda

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 1
pooskaaṭ-ekə ‘the postcard’

1.2 Class 2
liyumə ‘the letter’; gen. liyume; pl. liyuŋ
rejisṭər liyumə ‘the registered letter’; gen. rejistər liyume: pl. rejistər liyuŋ
balaaporottuwə ‘the expectation’; gen. balaaporottuwe; pl. balaaporottu

1.3 Class 3
adə ‘today’ (no plural)
Some nouns of Class 3 have a direct form in -a instead of the usual -ə. Like other
nouns of this class, the genitive is identical with the direct (in the definite). The
dative and the instrumental add -ṭə and -iŋ to the direct, but unlike the -ə of other
Class 3 nouns, the -a- of these nouns is not lost before the -iŋ of the instrumental.
The names of the days of the week are all of this type. Thus:
direct saňduda ‘Monday’
dative saňdudatə
genitive saňduda
instrumental saňdudaiŋ
These nouns do not have indefinite or plural forms.

1.4 Class 4
muddaree ‘the stamp’; pl. muddarə
paarsəlee ‘the parcel; pl. paarsal (some people may have a plural paarsələ)

Other nouns
salli ‘money’, like eloolu and paləturu, appears only in the plural.

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2. New verbs
geenəwa ‘bring’
nætiwenəwa ‘get lost’
bedənəwa ‘distribute, deliver (mail)’

3. ‘have, has’
3.1 The Sinhala construction for ‘have, has’ (possession) is formed with the dative
case of the possessor, the direct case of the thing possessed, and the verb tiyenəwa
or innəwa. Thus,
maṭə sigəræṭ tiyenəwa. I have cigarettes.
Literally, this means ‘to/for me there are cigarettes’.
Similarly,
mahatteaṭə kaar-ekak tiyenəwa. The gentleman has an automobile.
arə noonaṭə putek innəwa. That lady has a son.
Notice that the choice of innəwa or tiyenəwa depends upon whether the thing
possessed is animate or inanimate, regardless of the possessor.
As with other constructions with these verbs, the negative is nææ substituted for
the simple form:
maṭə sigəræṭ nææ. I don’t have cigarettes.
mahatteaṭə kaar-ekak nææ. The gentleman does not have an
automobile.
arə noonaṭə putek nææ. That lady doesn’t have a son.
This ‘have’ construction may have its literal meaning also, depending upon
context, so that
maṭə liyuŋ tiyenəwa.
maṭə liyuŋ nææ.
may mean either ‘I have letters’, ‘I don’t have letters’, or ‘There are letters for me’,
‘There are no letters for me’.
Hence,
maṭə adə liyuŋ nædda? Aren’t there any letters for me today?
may also mean ‘Haven’t I any letters today?’
3.2 Instead of the construction with the dative case and tiyenəwa or innəwa,
Sinhala may use the construction with laŋ̌gə that was met in Lesson 2. This is
likely to equate with an English ‘with one’, ‘on one’, ‘at my place’, ‘here’:

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mamə laŋ̌gə sigəræṭ tiyenəwa. I have cigarettes on me.

api laŋ̌gə hoňdə suruṭṭu We have good cigarettes here (i.e.
tiyenəwa. with us, at our place, at our shop).

4. æti ‘might be, might have’

There are in Sinhala constructions identical to those in Section 3, or to ‘there is,
there are’, constructions, but with æti replacing innəwa, tiyenəwa. These
constructions imply ‘might be, might have’, but with the implication that the
situation discussed is fairly likely to be true or to come about.
saməharəwiṭə heṭə æti. Perhaps there might be some tomorrow.
dæŋ bas æti. There might be buses now.
maṭə sigəræṭ æti. I might have cigarettes.
mahatteaṭə kaar-ekak æti. The gentleman might have a car.
arə noonaṭə putek æti. That lady might have a son.
api laŋ̌gə sigəræṭ æti. We might have cigarettes (on us).

5. The verbal adjective form of the verb

A new verb form occurs in Conversation 8 – the VERBAL ADJECTIVE. This is made
by adding -nə to the stem of the verb. Stem-final -ə is not changed before this
ending, although it becomes -a before the -nnə of the infinitive. This means that the
verbal adjective will differ from the infinitive in these ways:
1. The verbal adjective adds -nə and the infinitive adds -nnə.
2. Stem-final -ə- is not changed before the -nə ending, but it becomes -a- before
-nnə.
However, note that when the verb stem ends in -n-, the verbal adjective and the
infinitive will be identical. Examples:
verb stem infinitive verbal adjective
enəwa e- ennə enə
yanəwa ya- yannə yanə
bonəwa bo- bonnə bonə
tiyenəwa tiye- tiyennə tiyenə
balənəwa balə- balannə balənə
kərənəwa kərə- karannə kərənə
innəwa in- innə innə
gannəwa gan- gannə gannə

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6. ‘when’ clauses (ADJV+koṭə)

Sinhala forms ‘when’ clauses by using the verbal adjective with -koṭə added to it:
The verbal adjective plus koṭə is referred to as the PRESENT TEMPORAL GERUND.
saňduda enəkoṭə rupiyal pahee When you come on Monday, bring a
muddareak geennə. five-rupee stamp.
oyaa siigiriyəṭə yanəkoṭə kaar- When you go to Sigiriya, take a car.
ekak gannə.
bas-ekee innəkoṭə suruṭṭu bonnə Don’t smoke cigars when (you are)
epaa. on the bus.
mahattea siigiriyəṭə yanəkoṭə When the master goes to Sigiriya, I
mamə kaar-ekə eləwənəwa. drive the car.

7. The conjunction -y … -y
When the conjunction -y … -y is added to a word that ends in a consonant, -u- is
added before the -y:

putekuy duwekuy a son and (a) daughter

bas-ekəkuy ṭæksiyəkuy a bus and a taxi
When the word to which the -uy is added is the direct indefinite of a Class 4 noun,
the result is the same as when a case ending is added. That is, -ea is replaced by -ee-
or -e-. Thus:

kaḍeak kaḍeekəṭə kaḍeekuy

iskooleak iskoolekəṭə iskoolekuy
When a word to which -uy is added ends in ŋ, the ŋ generally becomes n. Thus
liyuŋ ‘letters’, but liyunuy pooskaaṭuy ‘letters and postcards.’
The -n- is also inserted when -y is added to lamay, the plural of lamea, and the
result is lamayinuy.

8. witərə ‘only’ and witərə ‘about’

witərə ‘only’ contrasts with witərə ‘about’ in that witərə ‘only’ will appear in the
indefinite form when non-final in a sentence, and will take the assertion marker -y
when final in an emphatic sentence, whereas witərə ‘about’ almost always appears
without any ending in both situations. Both commonly occur with quantity phrases,
and then follow the entire phrase. The noun or numeral preceding either witərə
‘only’ and witərə ‘about’ may be definite, indefinite or plural and in any case that
the construction requires:

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mamə sumaaneak witərə wæḍə kərənəwa. I have been working for about a week.
mamə sumaaneak witərak wæḍə
kərənəwa.
mamə koləm̌bəṭə yanne heṭə witərə.
mamə koləm̌bəṭə yanne heṭə witəray.
keselgeḍi pahak witərə geennə.
keselgeḍi pahak witərak geennə.
mahattea koləm̌bəṭə witərə bas-ekeŋ
yanəwa.
mahattea koləmbəṭə witərak bas-ekeŋ
yanəwa.
I have been working for only a week.
It’s about tomorrow that I’m going to
Colombo (i.e. ‘tomorrow or so’).
It’s only tomorrow that I’m going to
Colombo.
Bring about five bananas.
Bring only five bananas.
The master is going about (as far as)
Colombo by bus.
The master is going only to Colombo
by bus.

9. Numerals
9.1 The numeral 5
The numeral 5 has the following forms (cf. numerals 1–4 on page 60):
inanimate animate
definite indefinite definite indefinite
five paha pahak pas denaa pas denek

9.2 Case forms of numerals

Numerals have forms for the same four cases as nouns in both the definite and
indefinite. They have no plural forms.
The inanimate forms of the first five numerals have the forms of Class 2 nouns,
although paha ends in -a rather than -ə. Thus:
definite indefinite
direct ekə ekak
dative ekəṭə ekəkəṭə
genitive ekee ekəkə
instrumental ekeŋ ekəkiŋ
As with other Class 2 nouns, the genitive definite must be given for each:

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genitive
ekə one ekee
dekə two dekee
tunə three tunee
hatərə four hatəre
paha five pahee
The animate forms of all numerals have the forms of Class 5 nouns:
definite indefinite
direct ekkenaa ‘one’ ekkenek
dative ekkenaaṭə ekkenekuṭə
genitive ekkenaage ekkenekuge
instrumental ekkenaageŋ ekkenekugeŋ
direct tuŋ* denaa ‘three’ tuŋ denek
dative tuŋ denaaṭə tuŋ denekuṭə
genitive tuŋ denaage tuŋ denekuge
instrumental tuŋ denaageŋ tuŋ denekugeŋ

9.2 Use of the genitive definite of numerals

The genitive definite form of numerals is used in the construction ‘a five-rupee
stamp’; literally, ‘a stamp of five rupees’.
rupiyal pahee muddəreak a five-rupee stamp
satə hatəre muddəreak a four-cent stamp
satə tunee keselgeḍi næddə? No three-cent bananas?
satə dekee suruṭṭu hoňdə nææ. Two-cent cigars are not good.
In similar constructions with ‘one cent’, ‘one rupee’, etc., the number ‘one’ is not
used, but the word for ‘cent’ or ‘rupee’ is in the genitive definite:
rupiyalee ṭikæṭ-ekak dennə. Give me a (one) rupee ticket.
satee muddəreak oonə. I want a (one) cent stamp.

10. The Sinhala writing system – 4

10.1 More vowel symbols
10.11 e and ee
Short e following a consonant is written with the symbol මා placed before the
consonant symbol:

මද de මය ye මට ṭe මම me මස se මන ne
*
The ŋ of tuŋ is commonly pronounced n before denaa.

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With consonant combinations or double consonants, that is, where the first of two
consonant symbols has the inherent vowel removed, a following e is written with
මා before the second:

න්මන nne යන්මන yanne ත්මත tte ප ත්මත pætte

Long ee is written by placing මා before the consonant symbol and also adding the
symbol used to remove the inherent vowel, ා:

මද් dee මක් kee මට් ṭee මම් mee මස see මඩ් ḍee
10.12 o and oo
Short o after a consonant is written by placing මා before and ා after the consonant
symbol. Note that these are the same symbols used to write e and aa, and that it is
their combination that indicates o:

මක ko මප po මබ bo මහ ho මම mo මර ro
Long oo is written by writing o and adding ා to the ා symbol. Note that this is the
same symbol used for removing the inherent vowel from many consonant symbols
as well as for writing long ee but that it is placed differently:

මහෝ hoo මපෝ poo මනෝ noo මසෝ soo මරෝ roo මමෝ moo
10.2 More consonant symbols
The following consonant symbols should be added to those already learned:
10.21 cə and jə

ච cə ජ jə
10.22 fə
fə was formerly written using the symbol for pə, ප , preceded by the letter ‘f’. The
combination fප was treated like a single consonant symbol in adding vowels. More
recently the symbol ෆ has been introduced for f:

ෆ fə .මගෝල් මෆස gool fees

Occasionally the ‘f’ was omitted from the combination fප, so that spelling such as
මගෝල මප්ස (gool pees) may be met with. Since f is rare in Sinhala and occurs mostly
in words borrowed from English, such spellings will cause no special difficulty.

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10.23 r combinations
r as the second consonant in a consonant combination is generally written with an
inverted arch under the first consonant symbol. The result is treated like a single
symbol when vowels are added:

ත්‍ර tr ත්‍රී මරෝස trii roos

Such combinations may also be found written with the customary r symbol ර, i.e.
ත්ී මරෝස, but the writing with a consonant conjunct is more common.
10.24 y combinations
y as the second consonant in a consonant combination is generally written with the
yansaya symbol. Note that the symbol for removing the inherent vowel is not used
on the first consonant symbol and that the combination is treated as a single
consonant symbol when vowels are added:

දය dy විදය මල widyaale
10.3 The inherent vowel with හ h
When preceded by ə, a, or aa, i.e. by a plain consonant symbol or one with ා , හ
will have the inherent vowel a regardless of position within the word:
.පහ paha . මහත්තය mahattea

Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. maṭə adə ................... næddə? [a letter, three letters, parcels, postcards, a parcel
and two postcards, bananas, a registered letter, a parcel and a registered letter]
2. heṭə enəkoṭə ..................... geennə. [a stamp, three stamps, a five-rupee stamp,
five-cent cigars, a stamp and a postcard, two stamps and three postcards, some
two-rupee stamps, two three-rupee stamps, that (in question) four-rupee stamp,
a two-cent stamp, three two-rupee tickets, those four-cent stamps (by you), the
parcel and two stamps, a few stamps and a packet of postcards, only three
apples, a few good bananas, four tickets, five rupees]
3. heṭə ..................... nee, mahattea. [Tuesday, Monday, Saturday, Wednesday,
Friday, Thursday, Sunday]
4. mehe liyuŋ .................... [get lost, there are, there aren’t, don’t get lost, are
delivered, aren’t delivered, aren’t there?, are there?]
5. lamea liyuŋ ................... [delivers, expects, takes (away), gives, doesn’t
deliver, doesn’t expect, doesn’t take (away), brings, doesn’t bring]

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6. ..............liyuŋ tiyenəwa də? [I, the boy, the gentleman, the son, the lady, the
child]
7. mamə ....................... wæḍə kərənəwa. [about a week, only a week, about
three days, only four days, only Monday]
8. mahattea yanne ............... [only to Colombo, about to Colombo, only by bus,
only three days, only by this car, only five miles]
9. oyə lamea ................ mage kaar-ekə eləwannə. [two days, only three days,
about a week, about four days, only to Colombo, only up to the corner]
B. Transform according to the model, substituting the word or phrase given
for the emphasized word or phrase in the sentence, making all necessary
changes
mehe tiyenne liyuŋ. (only postcards) → mehe tiyenne pooskaaṭ witəray.
1. api laŋ̌gə tiyenne triiroos. (only Navy Cuts)
2. mamə laŋ̌gə tiyenne eloolu. (only the boy)
3. liyuŋ bedanne mamə. (the boy and me)
4. oyə lameaṭə puluwaŋ kaar eləwannə də? (only deliver letters?)
C. Transform to the negative, according to the model.
maṭə putek innəwa. → maṭə putek nææ.
1. mahatteaṭə liyumak tiyenəwa.
2. ee lameaṭə putek innəwa.
3. noonaṭə liyumak tiyenəwa.
4. maamaṭə kaar dekak tiyenəwa də?
5. duwəṭə keselgeḍi tiyenəwa də?
D. Transform according to the model changing the verb ‘is, are, have’ to
‘might be, might have’.
mahattea gamee innəwa. → mahattea gamee æti.
1. mahatteaṭə liyuŋ dekak tiyenəwa.
2. ee noonaṭə lamay innəwa.
3. apee kaḍee paləturu tiyenəwa.
4. ee lameaṭə kaḍeak tiyenəwa.
5. apee taattaṭə kaar-ekak tiyenəwa.
6. oyə lameage maamaṭə duwek innəwa.
7. mee lameaṭə ṭikæṭ tiyenəwa.
8. dæŋ bas tiyenəwa.
9. putaa laŋ̌gə rupiyal pahak tiyenəwa.

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E. Transform according to the model, changing the given sentence into a

‘when clause’ modifying kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ
mamə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.→ mamə koləm̌bəṭə yanəkoṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ.
1. ee lamea liyuŋ bedənəwa.
2. duwə iskoole yanəwa.
3. mamə eloolu geniyənəwa.
4. putaa keselgeḍi geenəwa.
5. maama gaməṭə yanəwa.
6. mahattea yaapəneeṭə yanəwa.
7. noona kaḍeeṭə yanəwa.
F. Transform according to the model, substituting the given noun for the
noun in the quantity phrase and making all necessary changes
maṭə sigəræṭ dekak tiyenəwa. (lamay) → maṭə lamay dennek innəwa.
1. mage kaar dekə koləm̌bə. (puttu)
2. ee lameage ṭikæṭ dekə kaḍee tiyenəwa. (maamala)
3. mage maamala dennekuṭə wæḍə æti. (daruwo)
4. oyə lameaṭə sigəræṭ pahak tiyenəwa də? (lamay)
G. Say in Sinhala
1. Can you go to Colombo on Wednesday?
2. Wednesday is tomorrow, isn’t it?
3. Yes. Tomorrow.
4. I have work tomorrow.
5. Tomorrow, my daughter is coming home.
6. Can you go on Thursday?
7. Yes, I can go on Thursday.
8. Good.
9. When you go to Sigiriya you can stay in the rest house.
10. Is the rest house good?
11. Yes. The rest house at Sigiriya is very good.
12. I must stay in Sigiriya for three days.
13. Are you going by bus?
14. No. I’m taking my car.
15. The children are going to school, aren’t they?
16. I have two cars.

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H. Read
1. .ලියුම 10. .මග්නව 19. .සල්ලි 28. .න තිමවනව
2. .මම් 11. .මනෝන 20. .මකෝච්චිය 29. .විද මල
3. .මමන්න 12. .මක හ ට 21. .මපෝසක ට් 30. .මසනසුර ද
4. .මම නව 13. .මහෝටමල් 22. .තිමයනව 31. .බල මප මර ත්තු
ව
5. .මම්ක 14. .මහට 23. .මත්රුමන න 32. .කීමදමනක්
6. .මමමහ 15. .ත්‍රී මරෝස 24. .ප විච්චි කරන 33. .බ්‍රහසපතින්ද
ව
7. .සුම මන 16. .මගෝල් මප්ස 25. .සමහරවිට 34. .ව මඩ්ට
8. .මකමනක් 17. .මරජිසටර් ලියුම 26. .තිමයන්මන 35. .ත න යමම්
ක්
9. .මබදනව 18. .ප ර්සමල් 27. .බද ද 36. .මක මහ ම
I. Read
1. සීගිරිමය ත න යම මක මහ ද?
2. ටිකක් දුරයි.
3. හ ත ප්ම කීයක් තිමයනව ද?
4. ත න යමට හ ත ප්මක් තිමයනව .
5. මමග් ට ක්සය තිමයනව .
6. ත න යමට කීයක් ගන්නව ද?
7. රුපියලක් මදන්න මහත්තය .
8. මට ලියුමක් තිමයනව ද?
9. න , මනෝන මහත්තය , ලියුමක් න .
10. ප ර්සමල්කුයි මපෝසක ට් මදකකුයි තිමයනව .
11. මරජිසටර් ලියුමක් න ද්ද?
12. න මනෝන මහත්තය .
13. මම් කමඩ් පලතුරු තිමයනව ද?
14. මමමහ තිමයන්මන මකමසල් මගඩි විතරයි.
15. මවන මම කුත් න ද්ද?
16. න මනෝන මහත්තය , මවන පලතුරු මග්න්මන මහට.
17. මම් බස යන්මන මක හ ට ද?
18. මම්ක ම තමල්ට යනව , මම්ක කලුතරට යනව .
19. මම්ක සීගිරියට යන්මන න ද්ද?
20. න , සීගිරියට බස යන්මන න .

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Review 2
A. Substitute orally
1. dæŋ .................. wæssə nææ. [in Anuradhapura, in the up-country, in Matale,
in your village, in Colombo, in my estate, in that area (in question), in Jaffna,
in this area, for about a week]
2. anuraadəpureeṭə ......................tiyenəwa də? [a train, trains, a bus, buses, a
car, a taxi, a letter, letters]
3. maṭə .................... puluwaŋ. [go by train, go by a train, go to a taxi, go to the
bus, go to the village, do a job, stay at the restaurant, stay at the rest house, take
the car, bring five stamps, bring the two letters, take the two parcels]
4. ..................... suruṭṭu bonnə epaa. [when going by bus, when going by this
train, when coming to the uplands, when going to Anuradhapura, when staying
in the rest house, when living in the Sigiriya rest house, when driving the small
Austin, when working, when working in the estate, when delivering letters,
when expecting (your) family, when working on this car, when on the bus]
5. oyaaṭə ................. innəwa də? [a son, how many children, five children, two
uncles, an uncle, a person to work, a carpenter]
6. oyaaṭə ................. tiyenəwa də? [how many cigarettes, letters, two cars, three
parcels, a letter, a registered letter]
B. Transform according to the model changing the indefinite nouns or
numerals to definite
mage putek koləm̌bə innəwa. → mage putaa koləm̌bə innəwa.
1. bas dekak anuraadəpureeṭə yanəwa.
2. siigiriyəṭə koocciyəkiŋ yannə puluwaŋ də?
3. heṭə enəkoṭə poḍi kaar-ekak geennə.
4. mamə rejisṭar liyumak balaaporottuweŋ innəwa.
5. saňduda muddəreak geennə.
6. mahatteaṭə pooskaaṭ-ekəkuy paarsəleekuy oonə də?
7. hætæpmə pahak ṭæksiyeŋ yannə.
8. irida mage kaar-ekəkə wæḍə karannə puluwaŋ də?
9. puttu dennek rooyal koliijiyəṭə yanəwa.

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C. Transform according to the model to form emphatic sentences,

emphasizing the second noun or noun phrase
mahattea anuraadəpuree nawətinəwa. → mahattea nawətinne anuraadəpuree
1. mamə dawas dekak enəwa.
2. ee lamea sumaanə dekak koləm̌bə yanəwa.
3. mee gamee hooṭəleak tiyenəwa.
4. maṭə puttu hatərə denek innəwa.
5. oyaaṭə koocciyəkiŋ yannə puluwaŋ də?
6. mamə etənə nawətinnə oonə.
7. maama rassaawak kərənəwa.
8. maṭə heṭə iňdəla ennə puluwaŋ.
9. mahatteaṭə rejisṭar liyumak tiyenəwa.
D. Transform according to the model, forming negative sentences
maṭə kaar-ekak tiyenəwa. → maṭə kaar-ekak nææ.
1. maṭə lamay dennek innəwa.
2. bas tunə handiye tiyenəwa.
3. ṭæksiyə paare tiyenəwa də?
4. putaa kaḍee innəwa də?
5. mamə siigiriyəṭə yannə oonə.
6. maṭə suruṭṭuwak oonə.
7. ee waḍuwage wæḍə honday.
8. ee noona eloolu gannəwa də?
9. oyaa yaapəneeṭə yanəwa də?
E. Transform according to the model, adding the noun in parenthesis to the
subject
noona kaḍee innəwa. (daruwo) → noonay daruwoy kaḍee innəwa.
1. bas-ekə anuraadəpureeṭə yanəwa. (koocciyə)
2. paarsəleak kaḍee æti. (pooskaaṭ-ekak)
3. saňduda liyuŋ bedanne nææ. (aŋgəharuwaada)
4. adə mamə nawətinəwa. (heṭə)
F. Say in Sinhala
1. Is there a place near here to stay?
2. You can stay in the rest house.
3. Is the rest house here good?
4. Yes. Sigiriya rest house is very good.
5. Is the rest house very far from this place?
6. Yes. It’s about three miles.
7. Then I must take a taxi, mustn’t I?

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8. Yes. Go to that corner.

9. There may be taxis near the hotel.
10. Good. Thank you.
11. Can you come to drive my car for a week?
12. Yes. I don’t have (any) work now.
13. Aren’t you taking the car to Jaffna?
14. No. My wife and children are not going.
15. The children are going to school now.
16. Are the children going to school by car?
17. Yes. From Monday you must come to work.
18. Can you?
19. Yes. Can (you) stop the car near the school?
20. Yes.
G. Conversations
1. A wants to go to Sigiriya. He asks B if there is a place to stay there. B says that
the Sigiriya rest house is very good, and that it is near Sigiriya Rock. A asks
whether there are buses to Sigiriya. B says that there are buses from Matale, and
that he should go to Matale to get a bus. A asks where he can get a bus to Matale. B
says that there are none from there and that he should take a taxi. B says taxis stop
at the next corner. A thanks him.
2. A asks B if he is John’s uncle. B says yes, and that he is tending John’s shop. A
says that he wants to get a small job. B says that he can give him a small job in his
estate, and asks him if he can drive a car. B says tha.t he can’t drive. B asks if he
can do carpentry. A says that he can. B says that he has a carpenter in the estate but
his work is not good. He asks if A’s carpentry is good. A says yes. B asks if he can
come to work the following morning. A says he can, and B tells him to come.
3. The mailman comes to A’s door, and says that there is a postcard and parcel for
A’s wife (or husband (mahattea)). A thanks him, and asks if he has stamps. The
mailman says that he has only two-rupee stamps. A needs a five-rupee stamp. The
mailman says that he will bring it the following day. A gives him the five rupees,
but the mailman says no, he can get the money when he comes the next day.
H. Read
1. මම්ක මමග් ලියුම ද?
2. මට මප තක් මදන්න.
3. මම සීගිරියට යනව .
4. ම ම වත්තකට යනව ද?
5. ගමට යනව ද?
6. ත ත්ත ගමට යන්මන න .
7. මට රසස වක් මදන්න.

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8. ට ක්සය නවත්තන්න.
9. මමමහ බස න .
10. මම යන්මන මක ච්චිමයන්.
11. මකෝච්චිය ද න් යනව ?
12. මහත්තය ල යන්මන කලුතරට ද?
13. මට යන්න පුලුවන් ද?
14. මම කලුතරට යනව .
15. මම කලුතරට යන්මන න .
16. මම මමමහ නවතිනව .
17. මහෝටමල්ට බස තිමයනව .
18. සගරැට් මබ නව ද?
19. මම මබ න්මන සුරුට්ටු.
20. සගරැට් ප විච්චි කරන්මන න .
I. Read
1. මම මහට සීගිරියට යනව .
2. සීගිරිමය නවතින්මන දවස කීයක් ද?
3. මට දවස මදකක් විතර නවතින්න පුලුවන්.
4. සීගිරිමය නවතින්න ත නක් තිමයනව ද?
5. ත න යමක් තිමයනව .
6. නමුත් මහත්තය ට මමග් වත්මත නවතින්න පුලුවන්.
7. දවස මදකක් නවතිනමක ට සීගිරිය බලන්න පුලුවන්.
8. ලමය වඩුව ඩ කරනව ද?
9. පුලුවන් මහත්තය .
10. මට ලමය ට රසස වක් මදන්න පුලුවන්.
11. මමග් වත්මත ව ඩපලක් තිමයනව . නමුත් වඩුමවක් න .
12. මහට ව ඩ කරන්න ව ඩපලට යන්න.
13. මට ලියුමක් තිමයනව ද?
14. ලියුමක් න මනෝන , නමුත් ප ර්සල් මදකක් තිමයනව .
15. මරජිසටර් ලියුමක් න ද්ද?
16. න මනෝන , ප ර්සල් විතරයි.

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Lesson 9: Borrowing a book

Mr. Wirasekara is chatting with his friend Mr. Perera, whom he has met in town.
As the conversation progresses, Mr. Wirasekara remembers that he had intended to
borrow a novel from his friend.
Wirasekara oyaa laŋ̌gə hoňdə nawəkataa Don’t you have any good novels?
pot næddə?
Perera potak dennə puluwaŋ. hawəsə I can give you a book. Can you
apee gedərəṭə ennə puluwaŋ come to (my) house in the
də? afternoon?
Wirasekara maṭə dæŋ kiyəwannə pot mokut I haven’t any books to read now.
nææ. ee nisaa ennə oonə. Therefore I’d better come.
Perera mamə laŋ̌gə huŋ̌gak tiyenne Mostly I have English novels.
iŋgirisi nawəkataa pot.
Wirasekara eekəṭə kamak nææ. oyaa That doesn’t matter. Will it be
gedərə yanəkoṭə parakku (getting) late when you get
wenəwa də? home?
Perera nææ. mamə dæŋ yanəwa. No, I’m going now.
Wirasekara maṭə dæŋ ennə puluwaŋ. I can go now. Is that all right?
kamak næddə?
Perera nææ. ennə. eekə leesiy. No. Come. That will be easy. (You)
hoňdə potak toorə gannə can choose a good book. Come
puluwaŋ. ikmənəṭə ennə. right now. Today, I’m going by
mamə adə yanne bas-ekeŋ. bus.
Wirasekara nææ. mage kaar-ekə tiyenəwa. No. I have my car. (Lit. ‘There is
ennə. kaar-ekeŋ yannə my car’.) Come. We can go by
puluwaŋ. car.
Perera ehemə də? eekə hoňday. adə Is that so? That’s fine. Today my
mage kaar-ekə gærej-ekee. car is in the garage.
Wirasekara æy, repeaar-ekak də? Why? Is it being repaired?
(Literally ‘Why, a repair?’)
Perera nææ. səəwis kərənəwa. aapəhu No. They are servicing it. I can get
gannə puluwaŋ hawəsə. it back in the afternoon.
Wirasekara oyaaṭə tiyenne osṭin-ekak, nee? You have an Austin, haven’t you?
Perera ow. Yes.
Wirasekara ehenaŋ səəwis kəranne wookar In that case it’s being serviced at
gærej-ekee. the Walker Garage.
Perera ow. Yes.

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Wirasekara dæŋ yanəkoṭə gærej-ekee Do you want to stop at the garage

nawətinnə oonə də? when we go now?
Perera nææ. dæŋ gedərə yamu. oyaaṭə No. Let’s go home now. You’ll be
parakku wenəwa, nee? maṭə late, won’t you? I can come
passe ennə puluwaŋ. (back) later.
Vocabulary
aapəhu back nawəkataa potə the novel (book)
ee nisaa therefore, because of that nawəkataawə the novel
ehenaŋ in that case, then, if that is so parakku wenəwa get late
gærej-ekə the garage passe later
gedərə the house, home potə the book
hawəsə the afternoon repeaar-ekə the repair
ikmənəṭə at once, right now, quickly səəwis kərənəwa service (a car)
iŋgirisi English toorə gannəwa choose, select
kiyəwənəwa read wenəwə become
leesi easy wookar gærej-ekə the Walker garage
yamu let’s go

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 1
gærej-ekə ‘the garage’
repeaar-ekə ‘the repair’

1.2 Class 2
nawəkataawə ‘the novel’; gen. nawəkataawe; pl. nawəkataa
potə ‘the book’; gen. potee; pl. pot
Either nawəkataawə or nawəkataa potə (literally ‘the novel-book’) may be used as
the equivalent of English ‘the novel’.
iŋgirisi ‘English’; dat. iŋgirisiyəṭə; gen. iŋgirisiye; instr. iŋgirisiyeŋ; (no plural)
iŋgirisi has no -yə in the direct singular, but has the other case forms of a Class 2
noun. Like “English,” iŋgirisi may be used as an adjective in phrases like iŋgirisi
pot ‘English books.’ Some people have iŋgriisi instead.

1.3 Class 3
hawəsə ‘the afternoon’ (roughly from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.); no pl.
gedərə ‘the house, home’; pl. gedərəwal

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The genitive form gedərə is the usual equivalent of English ‘at home’ in the sense
‘in one’s own house’ as opposed to gamə ‘at home’ – in one’s own or native
village.*

2. New verbs
kiyəwənəwa ‘read’
toora gannəwa ‘choose, select’
səəwis kərənəwa ‘service (a car)’
wenəwa ‘become’
parakku wenəwa ‘get late, be late’

3. parakku wenəwa
parakku wenəwa with no subject expressed has the sense ‘it’s getting late.’ With a
subject in the direct case it may imply either voluntary or unavoidable lateness:
mamə parakku wenəwa. I’ll be late (because I must do something).
bas-ekə parakku wenəwa. The bus is late.
With the equivalent of the English subject in the dative case, parakku wenəwa
implies that one will be late for something if he does or does not do a given thing,
and that the lateness is thus avoidable:
oyaaṭə parakku wenəwa, nee? You’ll be late, won’t you (if we stop at the
garage on the way)?
maṭə parakku wenəwa. I’ll be late (if I stay here).

4. Idioms with kamak

kamak nææ is a common idiomatic expression. The English equivalent is usually
something like ‘there is no need,’ ‘there is no problem’ or ‘it’s all right.’ kamak is
actually the indefinite of a Class 2 noun kamə ‘business, matter’; but it rarely
occurs outside of such idiomatic expressions as kamak nææ. Two expressions in
Conversation 9 are built on kamak nææ:
kamak næddə? Is it all right; Does it matter; Will it be a problem
for you?
eekəṭə kamak nææ That’s all right; That doesn’t matter; There’s no
problem about that.

*
As noted in Lesson 6, gamə is no longer used in the sense of ‘at home’ in
contemporary Sinhala. [eds]

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5. mokut ‘anything’
mokut may occur without a preceding noun negative sentences or questions with an
English equivalent ‘anything’. With wenə ‘other, else’ it means ‘anything else’:
maṭə mokut oonə nææ. I don’t want anything.
mahatteaṭə mokut oonə də? Do you want anything?
maṭə wenə mokut oonə nææ / epaa. I don’t want anything else.
mahatteaṭə wenə mokut oonə də? Do you want anything else?
mokut may also occur like a quantity noun after a noun with the meaning ‘any’ in
negative statements or questions:
maṭə dæŋ kiyəwannə pot mokut nææ. I don’t have any books to read now.
mahatteaṭə pot mokut oonə də? Do you want any books?
For most speakers, mokut is restricted to negative statements or questions, though
some can apparently use it in positive sentences with the meaning ‘some(thing)’:
maṭə mokut gannə oonə. I want to buy something.
maṭə paləturu mokut gannə oonə. I want to buy some vegetables.
Note that ṭikak often has the English equivalent ‘some’ when it follows a noun,
whether in statements or questions, but unlike mokut it generally carries the
implication ‘a small amount, a little, a few’ :
maṭə paləturu ṭikak gannə oonə. I want to buy some (a little) fruit.
mahatteaṭə pot ṭikak gannə oonə də? Do you want to buy some (a few)
books?

6. The -mu form

6.1 yamu ‘let’s go’ illustrates a new verb form: the -mu form. It is formed by
adding -mu to the verb stem. Stem final -ə does not change to -a-:
verb stem -mu form
yanəwa ‘go’ ya- yamu
bonəwa ‘drink’ bo- bomu
kərənəwa ‘do’ kərə- kərəmu
eləwənəwa ‘drive’ eləwə- eləwəmu
nawətinəwa ‘stop, stay’ nawəti- nawətimu
geenəwa ‘bring’ gee- geemu
gannəwa ‘get, buy’ has alternate -mu forms gammu and ganimu. Either may be
used. innəwa has an irregular -mu form iňdimu.
6.2 The -mu form serves as a first person plural imperative. The usual English
equivalent is ‘let’s …’ or ‘let us …’:

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yamu Let’s go.

bomu Let’s drink (or smoke).
eekə gammu Let’s buy that one.
metənə nawətimu Let’s stop here.
6.3 We have seen that the simple form of the verb is changed to an emphatic form
in emphatic sentences. But when the sentence is emphatic, the -mu form of the verb
does not change its shape. Thus:
api gaməṭə yamu. Let’s go to the village.
api yamu gaməṭə. Let’s go to the village.
api mee keselgeḍi kamu. Let’s eat these bananas.
api kamu mee keselgeḍi. Let’s eat these bananas.

7. The Sinhala writing system – 5

7.1 Vowel symbols
Vowels that begin a word are written with a set of symbols different from those
added to consonants:

අ a ඇæ ඉi උ u එe ඔo
ආ aa ඈ ææ ඊ ii ඌ uu ඒ ee ඕ oo
Examples:
.අතන atənə .එතමක ට etəkoṭə
.ආමයත් aayet .ඒක eekə
.ඇපල් æpəl .ඔය oyə
.උඩරට uḍəraṭə .ඕක ookə

7.2 Nasals
7.21 Half-nasals m̌, ň, ŋ̌
m̌ occurs only before b, and m̌b is written with the single symbol ඹ.

ඹ m̌b මක ලඹ koləm̌bə
ň occurs only before d and ḍ and ŋ̌ only before g. Both ň and ŋ̌ are written with an
extra stroke attached to the left of the symbol for the following consonant:

ඳ ňd මහ ඳ hoňdə
ඟ ŋ̌g ලඟ laŋ̌gə

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7. 22 The symbol ාිං

ŋ in combinations in which it precedes k or g is always written with the symbol ාිං:

ාිං ŋ ලිංක ව laŋkaawə

n or ŋ preceding ṭ, ḍ, h, or s are often written with ාිං. The only word in which ාිං is
thus used that has occurred so far is සිංහල siŋhələ.
ාිං may also be used to write final ŋ, as stated in the next section.
7.23 Final ŋ
At the end of a word, ŋ may be written by න්, ම් or ාිං:
.මප මතන් poteŋ
.යන්නම් yannaŋ
.න ත්තිං nættaŋ
For the most part, spellings of final ŋ must be memorized for individual words, but
some general statements can be made:
1. Final ŋ in the instrumental ending for any class will be written with න්:
.බස එමකන් bas ekeŋ .මක ලඹින් koləm̌biŋ
.සුරුට්ටුමවන් suruṭṭuweŋ .කමඩන් kaḍeŋ
2. The -nnaŋ form of the verb is always written with final ම්:
.කරන්නම් kərannaŋ
.එන්නම් ennaŋ
3. If a word which ends in ŋ has some other form with m or n where a vowel
follows, ŋ will be written with ම් or න් as the case may be. Thus:
.ගම gamə ‘the village’ .ගම් gaŋ ‘villages’
.පුලුවන් puluwəni .පුලුවන් puluwaŋ
4. The situations in which ාිං is used to write final ŋ must be learned as they
occur. The only one that has occurred so far is:
.න ත්තිං nættaŋ

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Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. maṭə .......................nææ. [any books, any vegetables, anything, any
cigarettes, any letters, any postcards, any stamps, any books to read, any cigars
to smoke, any bananas to give]
2. lameaṭə ..................ennə puluwaŋ. [now, tomorrow, in the afternoon, about
tomorrow, Friday, only Saturday]
3. oyaaṭə .................... puluwaŋ də? [to choose a book, to buy bananas, to drive an
Austin, to read this book, to read English books, to read a Sinhala novel, to take
the car to Jaffna, to stay in the rest house, to deliver letters, to work in a shop]
4. mahattea ................ adə də? [go, come, go back, come back, go to Colombo,
go back to Colombo, come back from Colombo, come back from Jaffna, going
back to the shop, bringing the car back]
5. api dæŋ ........................ [let’s go to the shop, let’s go to deliver letters, let’s go
by the car, let’s read a novel, let’s work, let’s service this car, let’s stay here,
let’s drink something]
B. Transform the following sentences according to the model
api sigəræṭ bonəwa. → api sigəræṭ bomu.
1. api koləm̌bəṭə bas-ekeŋ yanəwa.
2. api wæḍə kərənəwa.
3. api wookar gærej-ekəṭə yanəwa.
4. api saňduda gaməṭə enəwa.
5. ohey mamay adə gedərə innəwa.
C. Transform according to the model, adding mokut to the appropriate noun
maṭə potak oonə. → maṭə pot mokut oonə.
1. putaaṭə nawəkataa pot oonə də?
2. maṭə kiyəwanna potak dennə.
3. mamə eloolu gannə yanəwa.
4. mehe iňdəla bas tiyenəwa də?
5. koləm̌bəṭə yanəkoṭə salli oonə də?
D. Transform according to the model changing to a negative question
mehe suruṭṭu tiyenəwa də? → mehe suruṭṭu næddə?
1. wookar gærej-ekee kaar repeaar kərənəwa də?
2. lameaṭə kiyəwannə mokut oonə də?
3. mahattea koləm̌bəṭə yanəkoṭə handiye nawətinəwa də?
4. lameay mamay heṭə wæḍə kərənəwa.
5. ee mahattea laŋ̌gə hoňdə pot tiyenəwa.

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E. Transform into emphatic sentences emphasizing any appropriate word or

phrase
1. mamə adə iŋgirisi potak kiyəwənəwa.
2. heṭə hawəsə api kaar-ekeŋ yaapəneeṭə yanəwa.
3. lamay denna wisaaka widyaaleṭə yanəwa.
4. noonay daruwoy yaapənee nawətinəwa.
5. api triiroos bomu.
6. adə mee kaar-ekə repeaar kərəmu.
F. Say in Sinhala
1. When (I am) going to Jaffna can I stay at Sigiriya for two days?
2. Yes. (You) can.
3. Can you drive an Austin?
4. Yes. It’s an Austin that I’m driving now.
5. You can use my car for five days.
6. Aren’t you taking the car?
7. No. I’m going by bus.
8. Aren’t the children going?
9. No. The children are going to school.
10. Can you read English books?
11. Yes. I can.
12. I don’t have Sinhala novels.
13. That doesn’t matter. Give me an English novel.
14. Fine. Come in the afternoon.
15. I can come when I go to the garage.
16. I’m in the shop today. Come to the shop.
G. Reading practice
Text of Lesson 1:
1. මමමහ ඉඳල මක ලඹට බස එක තිමයනව ද?
2. න , මහත්තය .
3. මම් බස එක යන්මන මක හ ට ද?
4. මම්ක යන්මන කලුතරට.
5. කලුතර ඉඳල මක ලඹට බස තිමයනව ද?
6. ඔව්, නිතරම තිමයනව .
7. මම්මකන් කලුතරට යන්න.
8. මම්ක ද න් යනව .
9. කලුතර ඉඳල මක ලඹ බස එකකින් යන්න.
10. මහ ඳයි. කීයද කලුතරට?
11. රුපියල් මදකයි.
12. මමන්න. ටික ට් එකක් මදන්න.

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Text of Lesson 2:
1. මමමහ න විකට් තිමයනව ද?
2. න විකට් න , මහත්තය .
3. ඔය මම නව ද?
4. මම් ත්ී මරෝස.
5. ඒක මහ ඳ සගරැට් ජ තියක් ද?
6. ඔව්, මහත්තය .
7. හුඟක් මදන ත්ී මරෝස ප විච්චි කරනව .
8. මහත්තය සුරුට්ටු මබ නව ද?
9. අපි ලඟ මහ ඳ සුරුට්ටු තිමයනව .
10. ලිංක මව සුරුට්ටු ද?
11. ඔව්, ම තමල් සුරුට්ටු.
12. මම්ක මබ මහ ම රසයි.
13. මමන්න. සුවඳ බලන්න.
14. ආ, මම්ක මබ මහ ම ස රයි!
15. මට අර සගරැට් ප ක ට් එකක් මදන්න.
Text of Lesson 3:
1. ලමය මමමහ පලතුරු තිමයනව ද?
2. න , මනෝන මහත්තය . පලතුරු තිමයන්මන අල්ලපු කමඩ්.
3. මමමහ තිමයන්මන එමලෝලු විතර ද?
4. ඔව්. එමලෝලු විතරයි.
5. මට පලතුරු ටිකක් ගන්න ඕන.
6. මහ ඳයි. මනෝන මහත්තය මම නව ද ඕන?
7. මහ ඳ මකමසල් මගඩි තිමයනව ද?
8. තිමයනව , මනෝන .
9. මනෝන මහත්තය මකමසල් මගඩි ඕන ද?
10. මම්ක එකක් සත තුනයි.
11. අරක එකක් සත හතරයි.
12. මම්මකන් තුනක් මදන්න.
13. ඇපල් තිමයනව ද?
14. ඇපල් න .
15. මනෝන මහත්තය මවන මම නව ද ඕන?
16. මවන මම කුත් එප .

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 Lesson 9: Borrowing a book

Figure 3: From the first edition (1968)

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Lesson 10: Buying a book

John enters a bookstore and asks a clerk where the school books are. The clerk
directs him to another counter.
John iskoolə pot tiyenne koten də? Where are the school books?
First clerk arə kawnṭəree laŋ̌gəṭə yannə. Go to that counter over there.
Second clerk mahatteaṭə pot mokut oonə də? Did you want any books, sir?
John siŋhələ igenəgannə hoňdə pot What are the books good for
monəwa də? learning Sinhala?
Clerk mahattea siŋhələ koccərə How much Sinhala do you
dannəwa də? know?
John ṭikak kataa kərannə puluwaŋ. I can speak a little. I know the
akuru dannəwa. maṭə ikmənəṭə letters of the alphabet. I want
siŋhələ igenəgannə oonə. to learn Sinhala quickly.
Clerk pattəree kiyəwənəwa də? Do you read the newspapers?
John kiyəwənəwa. namut teerenne I read them. But I understand
bohomə ṭikay. very little.
Clerk mee potə kiyəwannə puluwaŋ də? Can you read this book?
John kiyəwannə puluwaŋ. teerenəwa I can read (it). I don’t understand
madi. enough.
Clerk meekə? This one?
John meekə tarəmak teerenəwa. This one I understand somewhat.
Clerk ehemə də? ookə tuŋwæni pantiye Is that so? That one is a third
potak. mahattea tuŋwæni grade book. You (should) start
pantiyeŋ paṭaŋ gannə. from the third grade.
John ehenaŋ maṭə tuŋwæni pantiye In that case, give me two third
pot dekak dennə. grade books.
Clerk mahatteaṭə mee dekə hoňday. These two are fine for you.
John kiiyədə gaanə? What is the price?
Clerk rupiyal tunak dennə. (Give me) three rupees.
Vocabulary
akurə the Sinhalese letter madi not enough, insufficiently
dannəwa know namut but
ehenaŋ in that case, if that is so pantiyə the grade, level
gaanə the price pataŋ gannəwa begin, start
igenəgannəwa learn pattəree the newspaper
iskoolə potə the school book siŋhələ Sinhala
kataakərənəwa speak, call tarəmak somewhat, to some extent
koccərə how much, how many teerenəwa understand
kotənə where? (what place) tuŋwæni third

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 Lesson 10: Buying a book

Additional vocabulary – Numerals 6–12

inanimate animate
hayə six hayə denaa
hatə seven hat denaa
aṭə eight aṭə denaa
namee nine namə denaa
dahee ten daha denaa
ekolaha eleven ekolos denaa
dolaha twelve dolos denaa

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 2
akurə ‘the Sinhalese letter’; gen. akure; pl. akuru
gaanə ‘the price’; gen. gaane; pl. ganaŋ (note the change -aa- to -a- in the
plural)
pantiyə ‘the grade’; gen. pantiye; pl. panti
siŋhələ ‘Sinhala’; gen. siŋhəlee; (no plural)

1.2 Class 4
kawnṭəree ‘the counter’; pl. kawnṭərə
pattəree ‘the newspaper’; pl. pattərə

2. New verbs
igenəgannəwa ‘learn’
dannəwa ‘know’
kataakərənəwa ‘speak’
kiyəwənəwa ‘read’
teerenəwa ‘understand’
paṭaŋ gannəwa ‘begin, start, commence’

3. Noun compounds
iskoolə potə, nawəkataa potə, siigiri galə, and koləm̌bə bas are examples of NOUN
COMPOUNDS. Noun compounds of this type consist of two nouns, which together
act as a single noun, so that the compound as a whole may take any case, number
or definiteness ending. They require mention here because the first noun is in a
special form: the uninflected NOUN STEM. The noun stem for many nouns is
identical with the direct plural form (thus iskoolə and nawəkataa are both the stem

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and plural forms of iskoole and nawəkataawə), but for some it is different.
Compounds should be learned as units as they occur, since they are commonly
idioms with special meanings, and the stem form will not be given for each new
noun. One stem that should be learned early is laŋka, the stem form of laŋkaawə,
since it is of frequent occurrence in titles.

4. koten də
koten də is an interrogative phrase composed of the interrogative kotənə ‘at what
place’ plus də. kotənə is the corresponding interrogative form of the metənə set and
carries the same implication of a specific locality. All of the members change -tənə
to -ten- when they occur directly before də just as they do before the dative ending
(Lesson 4, 10.2). kotənə takes the same forms as the rest of the set:
Direct kotənə
Dative kotenṭə
Genitive kotənə
Instrumental kotəniŋ
Thus:
paləturu koten də? Where is the fruit?
atənə. Over there.
or
atenṭə yannə. Go over there.

5. koccərə, kiiyak, kiidenek

koccərə (də) means either ‘how much’ or ‘how many’. kiiyak (də) and kiidenek (də)
mean only ‘how many’. koccərə, like kiiyak and kiidenek, behaves like a quantity
word and follows a noun in the plural. While kiiyak is only inanimate, and kiidenek
is only animate, koccərə is both animate and inanimate:
lamay koccərə innəwa də?
or How many children (have you)?
lamay kiidenek innəwa də?
pot koccərə tiyenəwa də?
or How many books are there?
pot kiiyak tiyenəwa də?
Since kiiyak and kiidenek mean only ‘how many’, they almost never occur with
those nouns like salli, paləturu, eloolu, etc., which do not occur in the singular in
Sinhala. koccərə must be used with these nouns, even though the English
equivalent may be either ‘how much’ or ‘how many’, depending on the particular
noun in English:

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 Lesson 10: Buying a book

oyaa laŋ̌gə salli koccərə tiyenəwa How much money do you have on you?
də?
arə kaḍee tiyenne eloolu koccərə How many vegetables in that shop?
də?
Note that koccərə, kiiyak, and kiidenek, unlike most interrogatives which are used
only with the emphatic form of a verb, may be used with the simple or the emphatic
form:
mehe pot koccərə tiyenəwa də? How many books are here?
mehe tiyenne pot koccərə də? How many books are here?

6. Numerals 6 – 12
6.1 The animate forms of the numerals ‘nine’ and ‘ten’ have the forms of Class 4
nouns. The rest of the numerals ‘six’ through ‘twelve’, like ‘one’ through ‘five’ (8,
9.2) have the forms of Class 2 nouns:
genitive
six hayə haye
seven hatə hatee
eight aṭə aṭee
nine namee (or naməyə)
ten dahee (or dahayə)
eleven ekolaha ekolahe
twelve dolaha dolahe
namee and dahee have the following forms in the indefinite and with the assertion
marker:
indefinite with -y
namee nameak nameay
dahee dahayak dahayay
Note that nameak is the form we would expect from a Class 4 noun, the rest are
not.
6.2 The animate forms of these numerals are:
six hayə denaa
seven hat denaa
eight aṭə denaa
nine namə denaa
ten daha denaa
eleven ekolos denaa
twelve dolos denaa

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Note that all of these, like the animate forms of ‘three’, ‘four’, and ‘five’, tuŋ
denaa, hatərə denaa, pas denaa, are made with the form denaa, which has the case
forms of a Class 5 noun: tuŋ denaaṭə, tuŋ denaage, tuŋ denaageŋ, etc. All animate
numerals in Sinhala except ‘one’ and ‘two’ (ekkenaa, denna) are formed with
denaa. The form of the numeral that precedes denaa is the NUMERAL STEM. In a few
cases, such as hatərə, hayə, aṭə, the numeral stem will be identical with the
inanimate form, but for most numerals it will be different.

7. teerenəwa ‘understand’
teerenəwa ‘understand’ takes a subject in the dative case and an object in the direct
case:
maṭə ee pattərə tarəmak I understand those newspapers to
teerenəwa. some extent.
lameaṭə teerenne mee potə. The child understands this book.

8. madi ‘not enough’, ‘insufficiently’

madi ‘not enough’, ‘insufficiently’ represents a new type of word:
1. It may follow a simple verb, and then means ‘not sufficiently,’ ‘not enough’:
maṭə teerenəwa madi. I don’t understand sufficiently.
mamə wæḍə kərənəwa madi. I don’t work enough.
2. It forms sentences of its own by substituting for innəwa or tiyenəwa in ‘have’
or ‘there is’ constructions. It then means ‘hasn’t (haven’t) enough’ or ‘isn’t
(aren’t) enough’:
kalutərəṭə bas madi. There aren’t enough buses to Kalutara.
mehe paləturu madi. There isn’t enough fruit here.
arə iskoole lamay madi. There aren’t enough children in that school.
maṭə nawəkataa pot madi. I haven’t enough novels.
maṭə salli madi. I haven’t enough money.
mahatteaṭə daruwo madi. The gentleman hasn’t enough children.
Just as the ‘have’ construction with tiyenəwa or innəwa may have its literal
meaning ‘there is something for someone’, so the construction with madi
substituted for innəwa or tiyenəwa may have the sense ‘something isn’t enough
for someone’:
maṭə pot dekak madi. Two books aren’t enough for me.
3. In all of these constructions, it may occur with or without the assertion marker
with no difference in meaning. The assertion marker added to -i gives ii:

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 Lesson 10: Buying a book

maṭə teerenəwa madii.

or I don’t understand sufficiently.
maṭə teerenəwa madi.
kalutərəṭə bas madii.
or There aren’t enough buses to Kalutara.
kalutərəṭə bas madi.

9. paṭaŋ gannəwa
paṭaŋ gannəwa ‘begin’ takes a direct object:
daruwo heṭə iskoole paṭaŋ gannəwa. The children begin school tomorrow.
‘To begin at’ or ‘start from’ is expressed by using the instrumental case of the
noun:
meekeŋ paṭaŋ gannə. Begin with this one.
mahattea tuŋwæni pantiyeŋ paṭaŋ You (should) begin at (or ‘start
gannə. from’) the third grade.
paṭaŋ gannəwa may also be used with a dependent infinitive:
mahattea wæḍə kərannə paṭaŋ The master is starting to work.
gannəwa.

10. laŋ̌gə
laŋ̌gə in the dative case is used to indicate motion up to a place rather than into a
place:
ee gaməṭə yannə. Go to that village (into it).
ee gamə laŋ̌gəṭə yannə. Go to that village (up to it, near it).
arə kawnṭəree laŋ̌gəṭə yannə. Go to that counter.
mee kawnṭaree laŋ̌gəṭə ennə. Come to this counter.
When the destination is a person or persons, the construction with laŋ̌gə is always
used, never that with a dative case noun:
taatta laŋ̌gəṭə ennə. Come to father.
arə mahatturu laŋ̌gəṭə yannə. Go to those gentlemen.

11. The infinitive with adjectives

The infinitive has appeared modifying nouns (balannə tæŋ) and other verbs
(balannə yannə). In this conversation It appears modifying an adjective:
siŋhələ igenəgannə hoňdə (pot) (books) good for learning Sinhala
similarly:

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Colloquial Sinhala

balannə hoňdə (tænak) (a place) good to see

nawətinnə hoňdə (hooṭalee) (a hotel) good to stay at
gannə hoňdə (eloolu) (vegetables) good to buy
– or good for buying

Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. iskoolə pot tiyenne ..................... [where, here, over there, there (near you), in
the shop, at this counter, at that counter over there, in the next shop]
2. .............. laŋ̌gəṭə yannə. [the counter, the gentleman, a shop, a corner, Jaffna,
books, the lady, my son, that shop (over there), that counter (in question)]
3. .............. pot monəwa də? [good to read, good to buy, good to learn English,
good for me, good to take home, good to take to Jaffna, good to bring to the
school, good to give to the boy]
4. mahattea ................ koccərə dannəwa də? [Sinhala, English, kinds of cars,
boys, shops, villages, school books, my children, gentlemen, uncles]
5. maṭə ............... iŋgirisi igenəganna oonə. [today, quickly, on Monday, in the
afternoon, today quickly, this afternoon, Monday evening, Saturday, tomorrow,
tomorrow morning]
6. maṭə ....................... muddəreak dennə. [two-rupee, twelve-rupee, five-rupee,
four-rupee, seven-rupee, six-rupee, eleven rupee, eight-rupee, ten-rupee, nine-
rupee, three-rupee]
B. Transform according to the model
mee potə balannə hoňday. → meekə balannə hoňdə potak.
1. mee bas-ekə koləm̌bəṭə yannə hoňday.
2. arə kaar-ekə yaapəneeṭə geniyannə hoňday.
3. mee sigəræṭ mahatteaṭə bonnə hoňday.
4. arə eloolu lameaṭə gannə hoňday.
C. Transform according to the model
metənə pot pahak tiyenəwa. → metənə tiyenne pot pahay.
1. mamə kaar dekak geniyənəwa.
2. arə ḍraiwar bas dekak eləwənəwa.
3. taata sigəræṭ pækæṭ hayak gannəwa.
4. mamə maatəlee suruṭṭu nameak denəwa.
5. ee miniha pot dahayak kiyəwənəwa.

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D. Transform according to the model

mahattea wæḍə kərənəwa. → mahattea wæḍə kərənəwa madi.
1. api pot kiyəwənəwa.
2. lamea akuru dannəwa.
3. noona eloolu gannəwa.
4. maṭə siŋhələ teerenəwa.
E. Transform according to the model
maṭə lamay dennek innəwa. → maṭə lamay dennek madi.
1. apiṭə pot tiyenəwa.
2. mee kaḍee hoňdə eloolu tiyenəwa.
3. api laŋ̌gə hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa.
4. mahatteaṭə kaar-ekak tiyenəwa.
F. Say in Sinhala
1. Do you know Sinhala?
2. How much Sinhala do you understand?
3. I can read books.
4. But I don’t understand enough.
5. Do you know the alphabet?
6. Yes. I can read the alphabet.
7. When you come tomorrow, bring your book.
8. I am using two books now.
9. What are they?
10. Are they third grade books?
11. Yes.
12. Are you going to Jaffna tomorrow?
13. Yes. But I am not taking the car.
14. That doesn’t matter. You can go in my car.
15. Why? Are you going tomorrow?
16. Yes.
17. Very good. Aren’t the children going?
18. No. My wife and children are staying at home.
19. When you go, tell me.

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G. Reading practice
Text of Lesson 4
1. මගෝල්මප්ස මහෝටමල් හුඟක් දුර ද?
2. ටිකක් දුරයි.
3. හ ත ප්ම කීයක් තිමයනව ද?
4. මමතන ඉඳල හ ත ප්ම තුනක් තිමයනව .
5. ට ක්සයකින් යන්න ඕන.
6. මට මත්රුමන් න .
7. ආමයත් කියන්න.
8. මමතන ඉඳල හ ත ප්ම තුනක් තිමයනව .
9. ට ක්සයකින් යන්න ඕන.
10. මත්රුන ද?
11. ඔව්, මත්රුන .
12. ට ක්සයක් ගන්මන මක මහ ම ද කියන්න.
13. අර ප රට යන්න.
14. එනමක ට ට ක්සයක් නවත්තන්න පුලුවන්.
15. න ත්තිං අර හන්දියට යන්න. එතන ට ක්ස තිමයනව .
16. අර එන්මන ට ක්සයක්.
17. මබ මහ ම ඉසතුතියි.
Text of Lesson 5
1. ද න් අනුර දපුමර් ව සස තිමයනව ද?
2. න . ද න් ඒ ප ත්මත ව සස න .
3. ඇයි? මහත්තය ට අනුර දපුමර්ට යන්න ඕන ද?
4. ඔව්. මට ඒ පල ත බලන්න ඕන.
5. අනුර දපුමර්ට මකෝච්චි තිමයනව ද?
6. ඔව්. මකෝච්චිමයන් යන්න පුලුවන්.
7. අනුර දපුමර් ඉඳල ක ර් එකක් ගන්න ඕන.
8. අනුර දපුමර් දවස කීයක් නවතින්න ඕන ද?
9. දවස මදකක් නවතින්න.
10. බලන්න ත න් හුඟක් තිමයනව .
11. අනුර දපුමර් ක ර් එකක් ගන්න පුලුවන් ද?
12. පුලුවන්. එමහ ට ක්ස තිමයනව .
13. අනුර දපුමර් ඉසමට්සම ලඟ මහෝටලයක් තිමයනව .
14. එමතන්ට යන්න. එතන ට ක්ස තිමයනව .
15. එතන නවතින්න පුලුවන් ද?
16. ඔව්. නවතින්න පුලුවන්.
17. සීගිරිමය මහ ඳ මහෝටල තිමයනව ද?
18. නවතින්න ද?
19. ඔව්.
20. සීගිරිමය ත න යම හුඟක් මහ ඳයි.
21. ත න යම තිමයන්මන සීගිරි ගල ලඟ.

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Text of Lesson 6
1. ද න් ඔය මග් කමඩ් න ද්ද?
2. න , මහත්තය . ද න් කමඩ් කරන්මන ම ම .
3. ඔය ?
4. මම උඩරට මප ඩි රසස වක් කරනව .
5. පවුල ඉන්මන උඩරට ද?
6. න . ගමම්.
7. පවුල බල ගන්මන ත ත්ත .
8. ලමයි කීමදමනක් ඉන්නව ද?
9. තුන් මදමනක් ඉන්නව , මහත්තය .
10. ඉසමකෝමල යන්මන න ද්ද?
11. ඉසමකෝමල යන්මන දුව විතරයි.
12. පුත්තු මදන්න යන්මන න .
13. ඔය ට ගමම් රසස වක් කරන්න පුලුවන් ද?
14. පුලුවන් මහත්තය .
15. රසස වක් තිමයනව ද?
16. ඔය ට වඩුව ඩ පුලුවන් ද?
17. පුලුවන්. මම ද න් කරන්මන වඩුව ඩ.
18. එමහනම් මමග් වත්මත ව ඩක් මදන්න පුලුවන්.
19. වත්මත වඩුමවක් ඉන්නව .
20. නමුත් ඒ මිනිහ මග ව ඩ මහ ඳ න .
21. මබ මහ ම ඉසතුතියි, මහත්තය .
22. මට මහට ඉඳල එන්න පුලුවන්.
23. මහ ඳයි. එමහනම් මහට එන්න.
24. අර තිමයන්මන ව ඩපල.
25. උමද් එමතන්ට එන්න.
26. මහ ඳයි මහත්තය .

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Lesson 11: Extending an invitation

John is invited by his acquaintance, Mr. Gunasekara, an officer in a tea estate, to
see some traditional dances at the latter's village.
Gunasekara mahattea uḍəraṭə næṭuŋ Would you like to see upcountry
balannə kæməti də? dances?
John ow, ow. æy, mehe næṭumak Yes, yes! Why, is there a dance
tiyenəwa də? here?
Gunasekara adə rææ apee gamee hoňdə There is a good dance at our
næṭumak tiyenəwa. bohomə village tonight. (Some) very
prəsiddə næṭṭuwo enəwa. famous dancers are coming.
John maṭə ennə puluwaŋ. adə maṭə I can come. I have no other work
wenə wæḍak nææ. kiiyəṭə də today. At what time should I
ennə oonə? come?
Gunasekara nameeṭə witərə ennə. mahattea Come (at) about nine. Do you
paarə dannəwa də? know the way (literally: ‘the
road’)?
John nææ, mamə paarə danne nææ. No, I don’t (know the road).
Gunasekara ehenaŋ, apee putat ekkə ennə. In that case, come with our son.
eyaa inne arə kaḍee. He is in that shop.
John eheṭə kaar-ekə geniyannə Can one take a car there?
puluwaŋ də?
Gunasekara apee gedərə laŋ̌gəṭə kaar-ekə It is difficult to take a car up to our
geniyannə amaaruy. kaar-ekə home. Leave the car at the
watte nawattannə. hæbæy, estate. However, you must go on
watte iňdəla payiŋ yannə foot from the estate on.
oonə.
John watte murəkaareek innəwa də? Is there a watchman in the estate?
Gunasekara ow, murəkaareek innəwa. Yes, there is (a watchman). You
kaar-ekə geeṭṭuwə issərəha can leave the car in front of the
nawattannə puluwaŋ. gate.
John næṭuŋ iwərə wenəkoṭə rææ Will it be late at night when the
wenəwa də? dances end?
Gunasekara ow, eli wenə kaŋ naṭənəwa. ee Yes, they dance until dawn.
nisaa apee gedərə nawətinnə Therefore you had better stay at
oonə. our home.
John mokut geennə oonə də? Should I bring anything?
Gunasekara mahattea laŋ̌gə kæməraawak You have a camera here, haven’t
tiyenəwa, nee? you?
John ow. Yes.

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Gunasekara eekə geennə. hoňdə pintuurə Bring that. You can take some
ṭikak gannə puluwaŋ. good pictures
John hoňday, lamea yanəkoṭə maṭə Fine. Tell the boy to call me when
kataa kərannə kiyannə. he goes.
Vocabulary
(-t) ekkə with kataa kərənəwa call
adə rææ tonight kiiyəṭə at what time
amaaru difficult murəkaarea the watchman
eyaa he, she næṭṭuwa the dancer
eli wenə kaŋ until dawn næṭumə the dance
eli wenəwa get light nameeṭə at nine
geeṭṭuwə the gate naṭənəwa dance
hæbæy however payiŋ on foot
issərəha in front of pintuure the picture
iwərə wenəwa come to an end prəsiddə famous
iwərə done, finished putat ekkə with the son
kæməti like (v.) rææ the night
kæməraawə the camera

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 2
næṭumə ‘the dance’; gen. næṭume; pl. næṭuŋ
geeṭṭuwə ‘the gate’; gen. geeṭṭuwe; pl. geeṭṭu
kæməraawə ‘the camera’; gen. kæməraawe; pl. kæmərə

1.2 Class 3
rææ ‘the night’ has identical direct and genitive forms, and an instrumental in
-iŋ and thus belongs to Class 3.
The forms are:
definite indefinite plural
direct rææ rææk rææ
dative rææṭə ræækəṭə
genitive rææ ræækə
instrumental ræiŋ ræækiŋ

1.3 Class 4
pintuure ‘the picture’; pl. pintuurə

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1.4 Class 5
næṭṭuwa ‘the dancer’; pl. næṭṭuwo
murəkaarea ‘the watchman’; pl. murakaareo

2. New verbs
eli wenəwa ‘become light, dawn’
naṭənəwa ‘dance’
kataa kərənəwa ‘call, talk, speak (a language)’
iwərə wenəwa ‘to get done, to come to an end’ is an idiomatic phrase
composed of the adjective iwərə ‘finished, completed’ and wenəwa.

3. The third person pronoun (meyaa) set

Another set of location words is used as an equivalent of the third person pronoun.
This set, with the usual distinction in location, is:
meyaa he, she, this person
oyaa he, she, that person (near you)
area he, she, that person (over there)
eyaa he, she, that person (in question)
The plural forms are made by adding -la: meyaala, oyaala, areala, eyaala ‘they’.
meyaa will serve as a model for the case forms of the entire set:
direct meyaa
dative meyaaṭə
genitive meyaage
instrumental meyaageŋ
Note, however, that the final -a in area is short and is kept short throughout the
inflection. The plural case forms will be given later.
All four members of the set are used as third person singular pronouns for equals and
inferiors. They are not generally used for superiors. In addition to this use, one of the
set, i.e., oyaa is also used as a second person pronoun to address intimate equals:
oyaa enəkoṭə, kaar-ekeŋ ennə. When you (intimate) come, come by car.
oyaa enəkoṭə, kaar-ekeŋ ennə. When you (more formal) come, come by car.
Here as with other second person pronouns, no simple rule can be given for when it
may be used, since such usage differs from group to group and area to area. In
general, it is safer not to use oyaa as a second person pronoun unless the person
addressed is a very intimate friend.*

*
In contemporary Sinhala it is safe to use oyaa in most situations (see p. 63). [eds]

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4. Like, like to – kæməti

With kæməti ‘like’, the equivalent of the English subject is in the direct case, and
the object is in the dative case.* kæməti takes the assertion marker, and as with
other forms in -i, the result is -ii. Thus the form is kæmətii when it is not allowed
by an item like də or nææ:
arə mahattea ee pattəreeṭə kæmətii. That gentleman likes that newspaper.
eyaa osṭin-ekəkəṭə kæməti də? Does he like an Austin?
Note that with oonə ‘want’ the English subject is in the dative case whereas with
kæməti it is in the direct case. The English object with oonə is in the direct case
whereas with kæməti it is in the dative case:
mamə mee potəṭə kæmətii. I like this book.
maṭə mee potə oonə. I want this book.
kæməti may have a dependent verb in the infinitive, with or without its own object
and modifiers:
mahattea uḍəraṭə næṭuŋ balannə Do you like to see up-country dances?
kæməti də?
siigiriyəṭə yanəkoṭə mamə ee When I go to Sigiriya, I like to stay in
taanaayəmee nawətinnə kæmətii. that rest house.
oyaa arə kaḍee eloolu gannə kæməti Do you like to buy vegetables at that
də? shop?
The negative of kæməti is formed by adding nææ. Thus:
mahattea arə potəṭə kæməti nææ. The master doesn’t like that book.
mahattea oyə suruṭṭuwəṭə kæməti Don’t you like that cigar?
næddə?

5. -t ekkə ‘with’
‘With’, indicating accompaniment, is expressed by the postposition -t ekkə. The -t
is added to the preceding noun (in the direct case) and ekkə follows:
putat ekkə with the son
lameat ekkə with the child
When the preceding noun ends in a consonant (as when it is in the indefinite) the -t
is preceded by -u-:
lameekut ekkə with a boy
mahatteekut ekkə with a gentleman

*
In order to remember that the object must be in the dative case, it can be useful to
think of kæməti as also meaning ‘partial to (something)’. [eds]

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mamə plus -t may appear as maat. Hence: maat ekkə ‘with me’.

6. issərəha ‘in front of’

The postposition issərəha ‘in front of’ takes the direct case:
geeṭṭuwə issərəha in front of the gate
kaḍee issərəha. in front of the shop
etənə issərəha in front of that place

7. kiiyəṭə də ‘at what time?’

The Sinhala expression for ‘at what time’ is kiiyəṭə də? ‘At about what time’ is
kiiyəṭə witərə də?
In the corresponding answers (‘at nine’, etc.), the dative case of the numeral is
used:
nameeṭə at nine
nameeṭə witərə at about nine
Similarly:
nameeṭə witərə ennə puluwaŋ də? Can you come at about nine?
mamə enne pahaṭə witərə. I am coming at about five.
(Note that witərə in these expressions takes no assertion marker or indefinite
ending since it is witərə ‘about’, not witərə ‘only’.)

8. kataa kərənəwa
kataa kərənəwa may mean either ‘call’ or ‘speak’. As ‘call’ it takes the dative case
of the person called:
taatta maṭə kataa kərənəwa. Father is calling me.
mahatteaṭə heṭə rææ kataa Call the master tomorrow night.
kərannə.
As ‘speak’ it takes the direct case:
mamə dæŋ siŋhələ kataa kərənəwa. I speak Sinhala now.
mehe kataa kəranne siŋhələ They only speak Sinhala here (i.e.,
witəray. ‘only Sinhala is spoken here’).
It may also be used with -t ekkə in the sense ‘talk with’:
maṭə mahatteat ekkə ṭikak kataa I want to talk a bit with the gentleman.
kərannə oonə.
ehenaŋ lameat ekkə kataa kərannə. If so, talk with the boy.

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9. kiyənəwa
kiyənəwa with an infinitive has the sense ‘tell (someone) to’. Thus:
lamea yanəkoṭə maṭə kataa kərannə Tell the boy to call me when he is
kiyannə. going.
This sentence means ‘Tell the boy now that he should call me when he is going.’
Note that lamea is the subject of yanəkoṭə and not the object of kiyannə. When the
person told to do something is expressed in Sinhala, it is in the dative case. Thus:
lameaṭə maṭə kataa kərannə Tell the boy to call me.
kiyannə.
Similarly:
mahattea siigiriyəṭə yanəkoṭə ee Tell the gentleman to stop at that rest
taanaayəmee nawətinnə kiyannə. house when he goes to Sigiriya.
Note that mahattea is the subject of yanəkoṭə, as in lamea yanəkoṭə above.
Compare:
mamə lameaṭə wæḍə kərannə I am telling the boy to work.
kiyənəwa.
Here lameaṭə directly expresses the person told, and is not the subject of wæḍə
kərannə.

Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. mahattea koləm̌bə iňdəla enne ................ [at about one, at two, at four, at
about six, tonight, at five, at about eight, at what time?, at about twelve]
2. mahattea .................. kæməti də? [this book, to see a dance, to buy a pack of
cigarettes, to deliver letters, this stamp, to buy stamps, the dancer, to come at
about nine, to go tonight, the Austin, to go by taxi, to stay at the Galle Face
Hotel, to smoke Matale cigars, the next shop, Ceylon]
3. oyə lamea yanəkoṭə ........... yannə [with my son, with my daughters, with my
uncle, with the child, with me, with him (over there), with him (near you), with
them (over there), with him (near me), with him (in question), with them (near
me), with his son (in question), with them (in question), with a watchman, with
the watchman’s son, with a boy, with the two daughters, with an uncle]
4. mee kaar-ekə ................... nawattannə puluwaŋ. [in front of the gate, in front
of the shop, in front of that place, in front of an estate, near my shop, at Mr.
Perera’s estate, near our gate, in Matale, near a shop, in front of a rest house,
near the Sigiriya rock, at about nine]

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5. oyaa yanəkoṭə........................... [call me, call the boy, call my two sons, call
his uncle, call our uncle’s boy, call Mr. Perera, call the three dancers, call the
watchman, call the lady, call (your) father]
B. Transform according to the model substituting a third person pronoun for
the appropriate phrase in each of the following sentences:
kaar-ekə eləwanne arə lamea → kaar-ekə eləwanne area.
1. mee arə mahatteage kaḍee.
2. maama yanne ee noonage gedərəṭə.
3. mee lameaṭə siŋhələ puluwaŋ.
4. ee lamay iskoole innəwa.
5. mee mahattea næṭuŋ balanna kæmətii.
6. mama arə putaaṭə kæmətii.
7. arə daruwaṭə salli dennə.
8. arə noonala taanaayəmee nawətinəwa.
C. Transform according to the model adding the verb kiyannə:
lamea maṭə kataa kərənəwa. → lameaṭə maṭə kataa kərannə kiyannə.
1. mahattea maṭə salli denəwa.
2. noona eloolu gannəwa.
3. lamea magee kaar-ekə səəwis kərənəwa.
4. ee mahattea siŋhələ kataa kərənəwa.
5. noona mahattea pot dekak gannəwa.
6. eyaa heṭə rææ mehee enəwa.
7. pereera ṭæksiyak nawəttənəwa.
8. maama kaar-ekə handiyəṭə geniyənəwa.
9. taatta maat ekkə koləm̌bə yanəwa.
D. Say in Sinhalese:
1. Have you got any novels?
2. Yes. I can give you a book.
3. What do you want?
4. Can you give me an English book?
5. Yes, I can. Can you come at about eight tonight?
6. Yes. But I don’t know the way.
7. Your uncle knows the road. Come with him.
8. Fine.
9. He has a car, hasn’t he?
10. Yes.
11. Good.
12. Do you like Banda?
13. Yes. His work is good.

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 Lesson 11: Extending an invitation

14. But he goes home at about three o’clock.

15. He is a good dancer.
16. He always likes to dance.
17. Doesn’t he go to school?
18. Yes, he goes. But he comes home at about one.
19. Ask Banda to come with his son when he comes tomorrow.
20. His dancing is very good.
21. Good.
E. Read
1. න ටුම
2. ප්‍රසද්ද
3. න ට්ටුව
4. ලමය ත් එක්ක
5. මගනියනව
6. අම රු
7. හ බ යි
8. මුරක රය ට
9. ඉවරමවනමක ට
10. එලිමවනකිං
11. මහ ඳ
12. ක මර වක්
13. පයින් යනව
14. මග්ට්ටුව
15. රෑකින්
16. මහත්තය උඩරට න තුම් බලන්න ක මති ද?
17. ඔව් ක මති. ඇයි මහ ඳ න ටුමක් තිමයනව ද?
18. අද රෑ අමප් වත්මත මබ මහ ම මහ ඳ න ටුමක් තිමයනව .
19. ඒකට ප්‍රසද්ද න ට්ටුමව එනව ද?
20. ඔව්. ඒ න ට්ටුමව මබ මහ ම ප්‍රසද්දයි.
21. එමහනම් මට පින්තූර ටිකක් ගන්න ඕන.
22. මහ ඳ පින්තූර ගන්න පුලුවන්. ක මර ව මග්න්න.
23. මහ ඳයි. මම එනමක ට මමග් ක මර ව මග්නව .

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F. Reading practice
Text of Lesson 7
1. ද න් ලමය ගමම් ද?
2. ඔව්, මහත්තය . ද න් ව ඩක් න .
3. ඔය ලමයට ක ර් එලවන්න පුලුවන්, මන් ද?
4. පුලුවන්, මහත්තය .
5. සුම නයක් මමග් ක ර් එක එලවන්න එන්න.
6. මම මහට ය පමන්ට යනව .
7. සුම නයක් ය පමන් ඉන්න ඕන.
8. එතමක ට මට ක ර් එමක් ව ඩ කරන්න මකමනක් ඕන.
9. එන්න පුලුවන්, මහත්තය . ක ර් එක ය පමන්ට මගනියනව ද?
10. න . ක ර් එක ගමම් තිමයන්න ඕන.
11. ලමයි ඉසමකෝමල යන්මන ක ර් එමකන්.
12. එමහනම් ය පමන්ට යන්මන මහත්තය විතරයි, මන්?
13. ඔව්, මම විතරයි. මනෝන යි දරුමව යි ගමම් නවතිනව .
14. ලමයි ඉසමකෝමල යන්මන මක ලඹ ද?
15. ඔව්, පුත්තු මදන්න යන්මන මරෝයල් මක ලීජියට. දුව විස ක විදය මලට.
16. මහත්තය මග ක ර් එක ඔසටින් එකක්, මන් ද?
17. ඔව්. ඔය ට ඔසටින් එලවන්න පුලුවන්, මන්?
18. ඔව්. පුලුවන්, මහත්තය .
19. මහට උමද් ඉඳල ව ඩට එන්න පුලුවන් ද?
20. පුලුවන්, මහත්තය .
21. මහ ඳයි, එමහනම් උමද් එන්න.
Text of Lesson 8
1. මට අද ලියුම් න ද්ද?
2. ලියුම් න , මහත්තය .
3. ප ර්සමල්කුයි, මපෝස ක ට් එකකුයි තිමයනව .
4. ප ර්සමල්කුය්, මපෝස ක ට් එකකුයි?
5. මරජිසටර් ලියුමක් න ද්ද?
6. න , මහත්තය . මරජිසටර් ලියුමක් න .
7. මම ද න් සුම නයක් විතර මරජිසටර් ලියුමක් බල මප මර ත්තුමවන් ඉන්නව .
8. ලියුම් න ති මවනව ද?
9. මරජිසටර් ලියුම් න ති මවන්මන න .
10. සමහරවිට මහට ඇති.
11. මහට ලියුම් මබදන්මන න , මහත්තය .
12. මහට ඉරිද , මන්?
13. මහත්තය ට මුද්දර ඕන ද?
14. එප . මට අද මුද්දර තිමයනව .
15. සඳුද එන මක ට රුපියල් පමහ මුද්දරක් මග්න්න.
16. මමන්න සල්ලි.
17. න . සල්ලි සඳුද ගන්න පුලුවන්.

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Text of Lesson 9
1. ඔය ලඟ මහ ඳ නවකත මප ත් න ද්ද?
2. මප තක් මදන්න පුලුවන්.
3. හවස අමප් මගදරට එන්න පුලුවන් ද?
4. මට ද න් කියවන්න මප ත් මම කුත් න .
5. ඒ නිස එන්න ඕන.
6. මම ලඟ හුඟක් තිමයන්මන ඉිංගිරිස නවකත මප ත්.
7. ඒකට කමක් න .
8. ඔය මගදර යන මක ට පරක්කු මවනව ද?
9. න . මම ද න් යනව .
10. මට ද න් එන්න පුලුවන්. කමක් න ද්ද?
11. න . එන්න. ඒක මල්සයි.
12. මහ ඳ මප තක් මතෝරගන්න පුලුවන්.
13. ඉක්මනට එන්න.
14. මම අද යන්මන බස එමකන්.
15. න . මමග ක ර් එක තිමයනව .
16. එන්න. ක ර් එමකන් යන්න පුලුවන්.
17. එමහම ද? ඒක මහ ඳයි.
18. අද මමග ක ර් එක ග මරජ් එමක්.
19. ඇයි, මරපය ර් එකක් ද?
20. න . සර්විස කරනව . ආපහු ගන්න පුලුවන් හවස.
21. ඔය ට තිමයන්මන ඔසටින් එකක්, මන්?
22. ඔව්.
23. එමහනම් සර්විස කරන්මන මවෝකර් ග මරජ් එමක්.
24. ඔව්.
25. ද න් යන මක ට ග මරජ් එමක් නවතින්න ඕන ද?
26. න . ද න් මගදර යමු. ඔය ට පරක්කු මවනව , මන්?
27. මට පසමස එන්න පුලුවන්.

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Colloquial Sinhala
Lesson 12: Calling on a friend
Mr. Perera, wishing to speak with his friend Mr. Wirasekara, goes to the latter’s
house. A servant answers the door.
Mr. Perera mahattea gedərə innəwa də?
Servant nææ. taamə kantooruwe.
Mr. Perera kiiyəṭə də gedərə enne?
Servant kantooruwə wahanne hatərəṭə.
pahaṭə witərə gedərə eewi.
æy, mahattea hambə wennə
oonə də?
Mr. Perera ow, maṭə mahattea ṭikak hambə
wennə oonə. hariyəṭə mə
pahaṭə eewi də?
Servant kiyannə bææ. saməharə
dawaswələ enəkoṭə rææ
wenəwa. hambə wennə oonə
naŋ ṭikak innə. ennə. meheŋ
waaḍi wennə. dæŋ welaawə
tunay.
Mr. Perera kiiyə də?
Servant tunay.
Mr. Perera tawə huŋ̌gak welaa tiyenəwa,
nee də? maṭə ṭawməṭə yannə
tiyenəwa. mamə passe ennaŋ.
mamə pahaṭə ennaŋ.
mahatteaṭə kiyannə. nættaŋ
mahattea koheewat yaawi.
Servant mahatteage namə?
Mr. Perera joon pereera.
Servant hoňday. mamə kiyannaŋ.
mahattea hayə wenəkoṭə
enəwa may. adə rææ
kææməṭə koheewat yanne
nææ. ee nisaa hambə wennə
amaaruwak nææ.
Mr. Perera hoňday. mamə enəwa naŋ
ṭælifooŋ kərannaŋ.
128
Is the master at home?
No. He is still at the office.
What time is he coming home?
The office closes at four. He is
likely to come home about five.
Why, did you want to see the
master?
Yes. I want to see the master for a
little (while). Is he likely to come
exactly at five?
I can’t say. On some days, when
he comes home it is late in the
afternoon. If you want to see
him, wait a little (while). Come.
Sit here. Now it (the time) is
three o’clock.
What time?
Three.
There is still a lot of time (left),
isn’t there? I have to go to (the)
town. I’ll come (back) later. I’ll
come at five. Tell the master.
Otherwise, the master is likely
to go somewhere.
Your name?
John Perera.
All right. I’ll tell (him). The
master will surely come by six.
Tonight he won’t go anywhere
to eat (literally ‘for food’ ).
Therefore, it won’t be difficult
to see (him).
Fine. If I am coming, I’ll call.
 Lesson 12: Calling on a friend

Vocabulary
amaaruwə the difficulty passe later
bææ can’t rææ be late in the afternoon,
eewi is likely to come wenəwa towards night
ennaŋ will come saməharə on some days
gedərə enəwa come home dawaswələ
hambə wenəwa meet, see (to speak with) tawə still, yet
hariyəṭə exactly taamə still, yet
hariyəṭə mə exactly (emphatic) ṭælifooŋ will call (on the
hayə wenəkoṭə towards six kərannaŋ telephone)
kantooruwə the office ṭawmə the town
kææmə the food waaḍi wenəwa sit (down)
kiyannaŋ will tell wahanəwa close
koheewat somewhere, anywhere welaa time
may surely welaawə the time
namə the name yaawi is likely to go
naŋ if yannə tiyenəwa have to go

Grammar
1. New nouns
1.1 Class 2
kantooruwə ‘the office’; gen. kantooruwe; pl. kantooru
ṭawmə ‘the town’; gen. ṭawme; pl. ṭawŋ
namə ‘the name’; gen. namee; pl. naŋ
kææmə ‘the food’; gen. kææme; pl. kææmə (or, rarely, kææŋ)
NOTE: The dative kææməṭə is a common expression for ‘to a meal’, ‘to eat’:
adə rææ kææməṭə koheewat Tonight he isn’t going anywhere for
yanne nææ. supper (to eat).
welaawə ‘the time’; gen. welaawe; pl. welaa
NOTE: The plural form is usually used where English has ‘time’ without an
article, as in ‘There is a lot of time left.’
amaaruwə ‘the difficulty’; gen. amaaruwe; pl. amaaru
NOTE: The indefinite form occurs in the common idiomatic expression
amaaruak nææ ‘not difficult’, as in
ee nisaa hambə wennə amaaruwak Therefore it won’t be difficult to see
nææ (him).

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The same thing may be said using the adjective amaaru ‘difficult’ with nææ:
ee nisaa hambə wennə amaaru Therefore it won’t be difficult to see
nææ (him).
much as English can say ‘It’s not difficult to see him’ or ‘There’s no difficulty
about seeing him’.

2. New verbs
wahanəwa ‘close’
hambə wenəwa ‘meet, see (to speak with)’
waaḍi wenəwa ‘sit (down)’

3. The -wi form of the verb

3.1 The -wi form is made by adding -wi to the verb stem with these stem changes:
1. When the stem ends in a vowel, the vowel is lengthened if possible:
verb stem -wi form
yanəwa ya- yaawi
enəwa e- eewi
wenəwa we- weewi
tiyenəwa tiye- tiyeewi
nawətinəwa nawəti nawətiiwi
2. If the stem-final vowel is -ə or -a, it is lengthened to -aa:
balənəwa balə- balaawi
kərənəwa kərə- kəraawi
bedənəwa bedə- bedaawi
wahanəwa waha- wahaawi
3. When the stem ends in -n, -ii is added before -wi:
gannəwa gan- ganiiwi
dannəwa dan- daniiwi
4. A few stems are irregular:
innəwa in- iňdiiwi
If a new verb has an irregular -wi form, that form will be given along with the verb.

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3.2 The use of the -wi form is illustrated by:

pahaṭə witərə gedərə eewi (He) is likely to come home about five.
nættaŋ mahattea koheewat Otherwise, the master is likely to go
yaawi. somewhere.
dæŋ mahattea eewi. The master will probably come now.
lamea irida koləm̌bəṭə It is likely that the boy will go to Colombo
yaawi. on Sunday.
The -wi form indicates future time and implies some lack of certainty. There is no
single English equivalent that will translate this form under all circumstances, so
that it may be variously rendered by such equivalents as ‘may, might, will
probably, is likely to’, depending upon context. In general, the implication of the
-wi form is similar to that of English ‘it is likely that’, or ‘will probably’.
The -wi form may be either second or third person, singular or plural, but it occurs
as second person only in rare instances. It is never first person.
In questions, də immediately follows the -wi form:
eyaa adə rææ næṭumak Is he likely to go to see a dance
balannə yaawi də? tonight?

4. The -nnaŋ form of the verb

4.1 The -nnaŋ form is made by adding -nnaŋ to the verb stem with the same stem
changes that take place with the -nnə of the infinitive:
verb infinitive -nnaŋ form
yanəwa yannə yannaŋ
enəwa ennə ennaŋ
innəwa innə innaŋ
kərənəwa kərannə kərannaŋ
nawətinəwa nawətinnə nawətinnaŋ
4.2 The -nnaŋ form of a verb refers to an event in the future, and is used only with
a first person subject, either singular or plural, implied or stated.
It may be used as a polite way of asking permission:
mamə yannaŋ? May I go?
api ennaŋ? May we come?
Another use of this form is as a polite way of agreeing to do something, or saying
that you will do something if it is all right with the person you are talking to:

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mamə kiyannaŋ. I’ll tell him (if that’s what you want me to do).
ṭælifooŋ kərannaŋ. I’ll telephone.
api pahaṭə ennaŋ. We’ll come at five (if it’s all right with you).
4.3 Sentences with -nnaŋ verbs can never be questions formed with the question
marker də. They do not have negatives.

5. The conjunction naŋ ‘if’

The conjunction naŋ ‘if’, like the question marker də may, in a simple statement,
occur after the simple verb. In an emphatic statement it may occur after the
emphasized item, but not after the emphatic form of the verb. Also like də, it may
occur after oonə, puluwaŋ and kæməti in sentences with these forms, or after the
predicate attribute in equational sentences.
kalutərəṭə yanəwa. (You are) going to Kalutara.
kalutərəṭə yanəwa də? Are you going to Kalutara?
kalutərəṭə yanəwa naŋ, meekeŋ If you are going to Kalutara, go by this
yannə. one.
mahattea inne gedərə. The master is at home.
mahattea inne gedərə də? Is the master at home?
mahattea inne gedərə naŋ, mamə If the master is at home, I’ll telephone
ṭælifooŋ kərannaŋ. (him).
hambə wennə oonə. (You) want to meet (him).
hambə wennə oonə də? Do you want to meet him?
hambə wennə oonə naŋ, ṭikak innə. If you want to meet him, wait for a while.
mee sigəræṭ hoňday. These cigarettes are good.
mee sigəræṭ hoňdə də? Are these cigarettes good?
mee sigəræṭ hoňdə naŋ, pækæt- If these cigarettes are good, give me a
ekak dennə. pack.

6. (-ṭə) … bææ ‘can’t’

The negative of puluwaŋ ‘can’ is bææ, as in
kiyannə bææ. (I) can’t say.
The construction with bææ is identical to the puluwaŋ construction: that is, the
subject is in the dative case and a dependent verb is in the infinitive form:
maṭə pattəree kiyəwannə puluwaŋ. I can read the paper.
maṭə pattəree kiyəwannə bææ. I can’t read the paper.
lameaṭə siŋhələ puluwaŋ. The boy knows Sinhala.
lameaṭə siŋhələ bææ. The boy doesn’t know Sinhala.

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7. The ‘am to’, ‘be supposed to’ construction

The verb tiyenəwa (but not innəwa) may be used with the subject in the dative case
and a dependent verb in the infinitive form with the meaning ‘am to’, ‘am supposed
to’. This construction is similar in form to the -ṭə ... puluwaŋ ‘can’ and -ṭə ... oonə
‘want’ construction. The dependent verb may have its own subject and modifiers:
maṭə ṭauməṭə yannə tiyenəwa. I am supposed to go to town.
maṭə adə rææ kaḍeeṭə yannə tiyenəwa. I am supposed to go to the shop
tonight.
oyaaṭə pahaṭə koləm̌bə innə tiyenəwa. You are to be in Colombo at five.
lameaṭə mahattea hayəṭə hambə wennə The boy is to meet the master at
tiyenəwa. six.
mahatteaṭə eloolu gannə tiyenəwa. The master is supposed to buy
vegetables.

8. Telling time
8.1 In asking the time at any given moment (as opposed to at which time
something will occur or has occurred – see Lesson 11) any one of several
expressions involving kiiyə də may be used:
welaawə kiiyə də? What time is it (literally, How much is the
time)?
dæŋ welaawə kiiyə də? What time is it now?
dæŋ kiiyə də? What time is it now?
The order may be changed with no change in meaning:
kiiyə də welaawə?
kiiyə də dæŋ welaawə?
kiiyə də dæŋ?
8.2 In answering the questions above, the assertion marker is used with the
appropriate numeral:
ekay ‘one (o’clock)’ or dæŋ ekay ‘It’s one (o’clock) now.’
dekay ‘two (o’clock)’ or dæŋ dekay ‘It’s two (o’clock) now.’

9. wenəwa in time expressions

9.1 When used with a specific hour of the day, wenəwa implies that it will be that
time when something else occurs:
mahattea enəkoṭə hayə wenəwa. It will be six when the master comes.
koocciyə yanəkoṭə aṭə wenawə. It will be eight when the train goes.

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If wenəkoṭə is used with a specific time, it implies that something will happen by
that time:
mahattea hayə wenəkoṭə enəwa. The master will come by six.
koocciyə aṭə wenəkoṭə yanəwa. The train will go by eight.
9.2 rææ wenəwa means either ‘getting towards night’ or ‘getting well into the night’,
depending upon context. Thus it may equate with either ‘be late in the afternoon’
or ‘be late at night’.
næṭuŋ iwərə wenəkoṭə rææ Will it be late at night when the dances
wenəwa də? end?
saməharə dawaswələ enəkoṭə On some days it’s late in the afternoon
rææ wenəwa. when (he) comes home.

10. taamə and tawə ‘still, yet’

While taamə and tawə may both be rendered by English ‘still’ or sometimes ‘yet’,
there is a clear distinction between them.
taamə indicates that something is as it has been in the past.
tawə implies that there is still some left, or still some distance to go. Thus:
mahattea taamə kantooruwe. The master is still at the office.
lamea taamə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa. The boy is still going to Colombo (‘as he has
been’ or ‘he hasn’t reached there yet’).
But:
tawə huŋ̌gak welaa tiyenəwa. There is still much time left.
tawə hætæpmə pahak tiyenəwa. There are still five miles (to go).

11. may ‘certainly, surely’

When may is added to a simple verb, it implies either certainty (English ‘certainly,
surely’) or ‘nothing but’, depending upon context:
mahattea hayə wenəkoṭə enəwa may. The master will surely come by
six.
lamea wæḍə kərənəwa may. The boy is surely working.
or The boy does nothing but work.
mamə kalutərəṭə yanəwa may. I am surely going to Kalutara.
or I do nothing but go to Kalutara.
mahattea sigaræṭ bonəwa may. The master does nothing but
smoke cigarettes.

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12. waaḍi wenəwa

waaḍi wenəwa ‘sit (down)’ takes the instrumental case of the location:
meheŋ waaḍi wennə. Sit here.
arəheŋ waaḍi wennə. Sit down over there.

Exercises
A. Substitute orally
1. mahattea .................. eewi. [by one o’clock, by two o’clock, by four o’clock,
by six o’clock, by eight o’clock, by ten o’clock, by eleven o’clock, by nine
o’clock, by three o’clock, by seven o’clock, by five o’clock, exactly at twelve]
2. noona mahattea ................. kantooruwe. [today, on Monday, tomorrow, still,
today and tomorrow, by six o’clock, tonight, exactly at five, on some days]
3. ........................ maṭə kataa kərannə. [if you are going to Colombo, if he is
going to the office, if the master is going to town, if you are going somewhere,
if you are coming later, if the master telephones, if Perera is going by car, if
you are working, when going to Jaffna, when servicing the car]
4. mamə heṭə ....................... . [will telephone, will come, will go to Colombo,
will work, will go to the shop, will go to the office, will meet the gentleman,
will come by six o’clock, will read this book, will give you a novel]
B. Transform according to the model, changing the verb to the -wi form, or
the -nnaŋ form
mahattea heṭə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa. → mahattea heṭə koləm̌bəṭə yaawi.
1. ee lamea adə rææ wæḍə kərənəwa.
2. eyaa hayə wenəkoṭə koheewat yanəwa.
3. noona kææməṭə enəwa.
4. api adə rææ næṭuməṭə yanəwa.
5. mamə adə kææməṭə gedərə yanəwa.
6. api kæməraawə geenəwa.
7. apee putaa hayəṭə witərə enəwa.
8. ee lamea adə næṭumə balannə yanəwa də?
C. Transform according to the model, changing the ‘when’ clauses to ‘if’
clauses
mamə yanəkoṭə oyaaṭə kataa kərannaŋ.
→ mamə yanəwa naŋ oyaaṭə kataa kərannaŋ.
1. mahattea yaapəneeṭə yanəkoṭə lameat ekkə yannə.
2. noona mahattea eloolu gannəkoṭə mee kaḍeeṭə ennə.

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3. mamə wæḍə kərənəkoṭə oyaa gaməṭə yannə.

4. lamea pot kiyəwənəkoṭə ṭælifooŋ kəraawi.
D. Transform into the negative, according to the model
maṭə wæḍə kərannə puluwaŋ. → maṭə wæḍə kərannə bææ.
1. ee lameaṭə kaar eləwannə puluwaŋ.
2. noona mahatteaṭə siŋhələ puluwaŋ.
3. oyaaṭə suruṭṭu bonnə puluwaŋ.
4. ee mahatteaṭə waḍuwæḍə puluwaŋ.
E. Transform according to the model using the ‘am to’, ‘supposed to’
construction
mamə kaḍeeṭə yanəwa. → maṭə kaḍeeṭə yannə tiyenəwa.
1. mahattea heṭə yaapəneeṭə yanəwa.
2. mamə adə rææ næṭumak balannə yanəwa.
3. waḍuwa heṭə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
4. murəkaarea adə rææ geeṭṭuwə laŋ̌gə innəwa.
F. Transform according to the model, implying certainty
mamə kaḍeeṭə yanəwa. → mamə kaḍeeṭə yanəwa may.
1. mahattea heṭə gedərə enəwa.
2. murəkaarea adə rææ geeṭṭuwə laŋ̌gə innəwa.
3. lamea taamə wæḍəpəlee wæḍə kərənəwa.
4. mahattea dæŋ kantooruwə wahanəwa.
5. noona adə rææ næṭumak balannə yanəwa.
G. Say in Sinhala
1. Is the master still in the office?
2. Yes. But (he) will come by five.
3. Do you want to meet the master?
4. Yes.
5. You can’t meet him today.
6. Today the master has a lot of work.
7. Isn’t the master at home tonight?
8. No. Tonight (he) is going to Colombo for a dinner.
9. Will he be home tomorrow?
10. I can’t say.
11. OK. I’ll telephone tomorrow.
12. Come, sit down.
13. Do you want to see me?
14. Yes. Can you give me a job, sir?

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15. What can you do?

16. My carpentry is good.
17. I have two carpenters now.
18. But I want a good boy to drive my car.
19. Can you drive?
20. Yes, sir.
21. You come later. If I want a driver, I’ll tell you.
22. Can you come tomorrow?
23. Sir, I have to go to see my father tomorrow morning.
24. I can come tomorrow night.
25. OK. Then come.
26. Thank you, sir.
H. Read
Text of Lesson 10
1. ඉසමකෝල මප ත් තිමයන්මන මක මතන් ද?
2. අර කවුන්ටමර් ලඟට යන්න.
3. මහත්තය ට මප ත් මම කුත් ඕන ද?
4. සිංහල ඉමගනගන්න මහ ඳ මප ත් මම නව ද?
5. මහත්තය සිංහල මක ච්චචර දන්නව ද?
6. ටිකක් කත කරන්න පුලුවන්. අකුරු දන්නව .
7. මට ඉක්මනට සිංහල ඉමගනගන්න ඕන.
8. පත්තමර් කියවනව ද?
9. කියවනව . නමුත් මත්මරන්මන මබ මහ ම ටිකයි.
10. මම් මප ත කියවන්න පුලුවන් ද?
11. කියවන්න පුලුවන්. මත්මරනව මදි.
12. මම්ක?
13. මම්ක තරමක් මත්මරනව .
14. එමහම ද? ඕක තුන්ව නි පන්තිමය මප තක්.
15. මහත්තය තුන්ව නි පන්තිමයන් පටන්ගන්න.
16. එමහනම් මට තුන්ව නි පන්තිමය මප ත් මදකක් මදන්න.
17. මහත්තය ට මම් මදක මහ ඳයි.
18. කීයද ග න?
19. රුපියල් තුනක් මදන්න.
Text of Lesson 11
1. මහත්තය උඩරට න ටුම් බලන්න ක මති ද?
2. ඔව්, ඔව්. ඇයි, මමමහ න ටුමක් තිමයනව ද?
3. අද රෑ අමප් ගමම් මහ ඳ න ටුමක් තිමයනව .
4. මබ මහ ම ප්‍රසද්ද න ට්ටුමව එනව .
5. මට එන්න පුලුවන්.
6. අද මට මවන ව ඩක් න . කීයට ද එන්න ඕන?

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7. නමම්ට විතර එන්න. මහත්තය ප ර දන්නව ද?

8. න , මම ප ර දන්මන න .
9. එමහනම්, අමප් පුත ත් එක්ක එන්න. එය ඉන්මන අර කමඩ්.
10. එමහට ක ර් එක මගනියන්මන පුලුවන් ද?
11. අමප් මගදර ලඟට ක ර් එක මගනියන්න අම රුයි. ක ර් එක වත්මත නවත්තන්න.
12. හ බ යි, වත්මත ඉඳල පයින් යන්න ඕන.
13. වත්මත මුරක රමයක් ඉන්නව ද?
14. ඔව්, මුරක රමයක් ඉන්නව . ක ර් එක මග්ට්ටුව ඉසසරහ නවත්තන්න පුලුවන්.
15. න ටුම් ඉවර මවන මක ට රෑ මවනව ද?
16. ඔව්, එලි මවන කිං නටනව . ඒ නිස අමප් මගදර නවතින්න ඕන.
17. මම කුත් මග්න්න ඕන ද?
18. මහත්තය ලඟ ක මර වක් තිමයනව , මන්?
19. ඔව්.
20. ඒක මග්න්න.
21. මහ ඳ පින්තුර ටිකක් ගන්න පුලුවන්.
22. මහ ඳයි, ලමය යන මක ට මට කත කරන්න කියන්න.
Text of Lesson 12
1. මහත්තය මගදර ඉන්නව ද?
2. න . ත ම කන්මතෝරුමව.
3. කීයට ද මගදර එන්මන?
4. කන්මතෝරුව වහන්මන හනරට. පහට විතර මගදර ඒවි.
5. ඇයි, මහත්තය හම්බ මවන්න ඕන ද?
6. ඔව්, මට මහත්තය ටිකක් හම්බ මවන්න ඕන.
7. හරියට ම පහට ඒවි ද?
8. කියන්න බ .
9. සමහර දවසවල එන මක ට රෑ මවනව .
10. හම්බ මවන්න ඕන නම් ටිකක් ඉන්න.
11. එන්න. මමමහන් ව ඩිමවන්න.
12. ද න් මවල ව තුනයි.
13. කීයද?
14. තුනයි.
15. තව හුඟක් මවල තිමයනව , මන් ද? මට ටවුමට යන්න තිමයනව .
16. මම පසමස එන්නම්. මම පහට එන්නම්.
17. මහත්තය ට කියන්න. න ත්තිං මහත්තය මක මහ වත් ය වි.
18. මහත්තය මග නම?
19. මජෝන් මපමර්ර .
20. මහ ඳයි. මම කියන්නම්. මහත්තය හය මවන මක ට එනව මයි.
21. අද රෑ ක මට මක මහ වත් යන්මන න .
22. ඒ නිස හම්බ මවන්න අම රුවක් න .
23. මහ ඳයි. මම එනව නම් ට ලිමෆෝන් කරන්නම්.

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Review 3
A. Substitute orally
1. oyaa ................. maṭə kiyannə. [when working, when going by bus, when
going to Colombo, when buying cigars, when reading novels, when servicing
my car, when buying any books, when going to the garage in the afternoon]
2. mamə ................ koləm̌bə yanəwa. [with the son, with your daughter, with his
uncles, with (my) father, with the boy, with the gentleman, with the lady, with
John]
3. mamə heṭə .................... [will go to Colombo, will come here, will go by this
car, will buy a novel, will speak a little, will come at once, will be late, will
service the car, will go by an Austin, will go back to the garage, will buy some
books, will speak a little Sinhala, will learn the alphabet, will read the
newspaper, will read a third grade book, will start from the fourth grade, will
give three rupees, will see the upland dances]
4. mahattea ....................... [will (probably) go to Colombo, will (probably) see
the dance, will (probably) tell a famous dancer, will (probably) do some other
work, will (probably) come at about nine, will (probably) tell you the road, will
(probably) come with (my) son, will (probably) take the car up to your house,
will (probably) stop the car at the estate, will (probably) go on foot, will
(probably) stay in front of the gate, will (probably) dance till dawn, will
(probably) bring something, will (probably) bring my camera, will (probably)
take some pictures, will (probably) come to the office, will (probably) close the
office at four, will (probably) meet him, will (probably) work till late in the
evening, will (probably) sit down here, will (probably) go to town, will
(probably) come later, will (probably) go somewhere, will (probably) come
home for dinner (i.e., for the night meal), will (probably) telephone you]
5. adə ....................... [let’s work, let’s dance, let’s go somewhere, let’s stay at
home, let’s go to eat later, let’s meet the master, let’s take some pictures, let’s
work in the afternoon, let’s come by six o’clock, let’s go by this bus]
6. kaar-ekə ...................... nawəttannə. [near the shop, near the gate, near the
house, in front of the shop, in front of the gate, in front of the house, in the
town, in Mr. Perera’s estate, near the office, in front of the office]
7. lamea .......................... gedərə eewi. [by six o’clock, by nine o’clock, by four
o’clock, by twelve o’clock, by eleven o’clock, by seven o’clock, by ten
o’clock, by five o’clock]

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8. ee lameaṭə ......................... [can work, wants to work, doesn’t want to work,

can’t work, has to dance, can’t dance, has to read the paper, has to go to eat,
wants to go to eat, wants to go by car, can dance, can’t service cars]
9. ............................. mamə nawətinnaŋ. [if the gentleman is going, if you are
coming, if you are going by bus, if you are dancing, if you are going to school,
if you are buying any books, if you want to see me, if there is a lot of time yet]
10. ............................. kiyannə. [a book good to read, a place good to see, a town
good to go to, a book good for learning Sinhala, a dance good to see, a bus
good to go in, a garage good to service my car]
B. Say the following sentences with kiiyak or kiidenek ‘how many’ as required
by the construction
1. metənə pot .................... tiyenəwa də?
2. lamay ....................... koləm̌bə yanəwa də?
3. pereera mahatteaṭə watu ..................... tiyenəwa də?
4. mahattea laŋ̌gə nawəkataa pot ..................tiyenəwa də?
5. ṭawməṭə yannə hoňdə bas ................... tiyenəwa də?
6. wæḍə kərannə hoňdə lamay ......................innəwa də?
7. oyaaṭə kaar ................... oonə də?
8. ee lameaṭə pot ................... kiyəwannə puluwaŋ də?
9. putaaṭə kantooru ....................... tiyenəwa də?
10. lamea akuru ................. dannəwa də?
C. Say the following sentences with the numeral as required by the
construction
1. mamə laŋ̌gə pot (10) .......... tiyenəwa.
2. mee pot (the 12)........... kiiyə də?
3. ee kaḍee lamay (7) ............... innəwa.
4. ee lamay (7)................. -ge naŋ dannəwa də?
5. putaage kaar (2) ......... gæreej-ekee.
6. arə bas (4) .............kohaaṭə də?
7. oyaage puttu (the 8) ............. watte innəwa.
8. oyaa enə koṭə puttu (the 3) ......... -t ekkə ennə.
9. mee rupiyal (6) ....... mahatteage də?
10. mahattea gedərə enə koṭə nawəkataa pot (the 2) .............. geennə.
D. Transform into emphatic sentences, selecting any appropriate form to be
the emphasized item.
1. mamə laŋ̌gə siŋhələ nawəkataa potak tiyenəwa.
2. maṭə pot dekak dennə puluwaŋ.
3. ee lamea mage kaar-ekə səəwis kərənəwa.
4. mamə adə bas-ekeŋ yanəwa.

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5. oyaaṭə osṭin-ekak tiyenəwa də?

6. mage putaa wookar gæreej-ekee wæḍə kərənəwa.
7. dæŋ mamə gæreej-ekee nawətinnə oonə.
8. ee lamea arə kaunṭəree laŋ̌gə innəwa.
9. eyaa mee poteŋ siŋhələ igenəgannəwa.
10. maṭə ṭikak kataakərannə puluwaŋ.
11. ee mahattea akuru dannəwa.
12. maṭə tuŋwæni pantiye potak oonə.
13. oyaa uḍəraṭə næṭuŋ balannə kæməti də?
14. mehe nætumak tiyenəwa də?
15. mamə putat ekkə enəwa.
E. Transform by adding madi ‘not enough’ to the following sentences
1. maṭə pot tiyenəwa.
2. lamea kaar-ekə səəwis kərənəwa.
3. taatta gaməṭə yanəwa.
4. apee gamee næṭuŋ tiyenəwa.
5. maṭə wæḍə tiyenəwa.
6. ee lamea kantooruwe nawətinəwa.
7. eyaa siŋhələ igenəgannəwa.
8. mamə pattəree balənəwa.
F. Transform according to the model by adding paṭaŋ gannəwa ‘start’
api wæḍə kərənəwa. → api wæḍə kərannə paṭaŋ gannəwa.
1. mahattea kantooruwəṭə yanəwa.
2. putaa pattəree balənəwa.
3. hatərəṭə kantooruwə wahanəwa.
4. eyaa heṭə siŋhələ igenəgannəwa.
5. pereera mahattea wattəṭə yanəwa.
6. ee miniha adə naṭənəwa.
7. mamə passe potak kiyəwənəwa.
G. Say in Sinhala
1. Now it is two o’clock.
2. Now it is three o’clock.
3. It is four o’clock.
4. What’s the time now?
5. What’s the time?
6. At what time?
7. At about what time?
8. At three o’clock.
9. At about eleven o’clock.

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10. At about twelve o’clock.

11. At ten o’clock.
12. It is nine o’clock.
13. He is still in the office.
14. Come up to the gate.
15. I haven’t any books to read.
16. Therefore I must come.
17. Are you getting late?
18. Is that all right?
19. You’ll be late, won’t you?
20. Where are the school books?
21. What are the books good for learning English?
22. I understand this somewhat.
23. You must walk from near the gate.
24. Do you have a camera?
25. Tell the boy to call me when he is going.
26. I want to see him for a little while.
27. There is still time.
28. Otherwise, he is likely to go somewhere.
29. What’s your name?
30. I’ll telephone this afternoon.
H. Conversations
1. A wants to buy a camera and goes to a shop to look at some. The clerk shows
him one and tells him that it is very good. A asks the price, the clerk quotes
one, and they discuss it. A buys, or does not buy, the camera.
2. A goes to a bookstore to buy a book that a friend has recommended to him for
learning Sinhala. He gets talked into buying ten books. He hasn’t enough
money, but the clerk tells him that doesn’t matter, he can get the money later.
I. Read
1. මම ලඟ මහ ඳ මප තක් තිමයනව . ඔමහ ලඟ මම් ජ තිමය මප තක් තිමයනව ද?
න ත්තිං මම් මප ත මගනියන්න. පසමස එනමක ට මග්න්න. මම්මක මහ ඳ
නවකත වක් තිමයනව . මහත්තය මම්කට හුඟක් ක මතියි. මහත්තය නවකත
මප ත් හුඟක් කියවනව ද?
2. අමප් ත ත්ත මම් දවසවල මක ලඹ. මක ලඹ ද න් මම් දවසවල හුඟක් ව ඩ තිමයනව .
ත ත්ත ද න් ගමට එනව මදි. ඒ නිස අපි මහට මක ලඹ යනව . එනමක ට ත ත්ත
බලන්න පුලුවන්. ත ත්ත හම්බමවන්න ඕන නම් අපිත් එක්ක එන්න. උමද්ට අමප්
වත්තට එන්න පුලුවන් ද? අමප් ක ර් එමකන් යමු. ඒක මල්සයි.

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 Appendix: Noun and verb forms

Appendix: Noun and verb forms

1. Noun forms
1.1 Regular nouns
1.11 The singular
Regular nouns in the singular may be divided into five classes, depending on their
inflection.
Class 1
Nouns of Class 1 are characterized by a direct singular definite form in එක (ekə).
The endings are as follows:
definite indefinite
dir. -ə බස එක bas-ekə ‘bus’ -ak බස එකක් bas-ekak
dat. -əṭə බස එකට bas-ekəṭə -əkəṭə බස එකකට bas-ekəkəṭə
gen. -ee බස එමක් bas-ekee -əkə බස එකක bas-ekəkə
inst. -eŋ බස එමකන් bas-ekeŋ -əkiŋ බස එකකින් bas-ekəkiŋ
Class 2
Nouns of Class 2 are characterized by the following endings:
definite indefinite
dir. -ə මප ත potə ‘book’ -ak මප තක් potak
dat. -əṭə මප තට potəṭə -əkəṭə මප තකට potəkəṭə
gen. -ee මප මත් potee -əkə මප තක potəkə
inst. -eŋ මප මතන් poteŋ -əkiŋ මප තකින් potəkiŋ

Note that the endings of Class2 are like those of Class 1 but nouns of Class 2 do
not add -ek-.
Class 3
Nouns of Class 3 are characterized by the following endings:
definite indefinite
dir. -ə මගදර gedərə ‘house’ -ak මගදරක් gedərak
dat. -əṭə මගදරට gedərəṭə -əkəṭə මගදරකට gedərəkəṭə
gen. -ə මගදර gedərə -əkə මගදරක gedərəkə
inst. -iŋ මගදරින් gedəriŋ -əkiŋ මගදරකින් gedərəkiŋ

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Note that Class 3 nouns have -iŋ in the definite instrumental and that the definite direct
and genitive are identical. Otherwise, the endings are like those of Classes l and 2.
Class 4
Nouns of Class 4 are characterized by the following endings:
definite indefinite
dir. -e(e) කමඩ් kaḍee ‘shop’ -eak කඩයක් kaḍeak
dat. -e(e)ṭə කමඩ්ට kaḍeeṭə -e(e)kəṭə කමඩ්කට kaḍeekəṭə
gen. -e(e) කමඩ් kaḍee -e(e)kə කමඩ්ක kaḍeekə
inst. -eŋ කමඩන් kaḍeŋ -e(e)kiŋ කමඩ්කින් kaḍeekiŋ

If a noun has -ee in the direct definite (e.g., කමඩ් kaḍee) it will have -ee- in the
other places in which -e(e)- appears above. If a noun has -e in the direct definite
(e.g., ඉසමකෝමල iskoole) it will have -e- in the other places in which -e(e)- appears
above.
Note the Sinhala spelling of the direct indefinite.
Class 5
Class 5 nouns include only those that are animate, and are characterized by the
following endings:
definite indefinite
dir. - මිනිහ miniha ‘man’ -ek මිනිමහක් minihek
dat. -ṭə මිනිහට minihaṭə -ekuṭə මිනිමහකුට minihekuṭə
gen. -ge මිනිහමග minihage -ekuge මිනිමහකුමග minihekuge
inst. -geŋ මිනිහමගන් minihageŋ -ekugeŋ මිනිමහකුමගන් minihekugeŋ

1.12 The plural

Except for Class 1, in which the plural may be obtained by removing the එක (-ekə)
of the direct definite, the direct plurals of nouns are not predictable from the singular
and must be learned for individual nouns. They are thus given in the Glossary.
However, once the direct plural is known, the other plural case endings may be
predicted.
1.121 Inanimate plurals (Classes 1–4)
The following case endings are added to the direct plural form to make the other
case forms:
dir. - මප ත් pot ‘books’
dat. -wələṭə මප ත්වලට potwələṭə
gen. -wələ මප ත්වල potwələ
inst. -wəliŋ මප ත්වලින් potwəliŋ

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1.122 Animate plurals (Class 5)

For animate plurals in -ල (-la), the same animate case endings used in the singular
are added without any other change:
dir. - මනෝන ල noonala ‘ladies’
dat. -ṭə මනෝන ලට noonalaṭə
gen. -ge මනෝන ල මග noonalage
inst. -geŋ මනෝන ල මගන් noonalageŋ

For other animate plurals, -න් (-n) is added to the direct plural to form an oblique
stem and the same endings as above are then added. If the direct plural ends in -o,
this is replaced by -a-:
dir. - මිනිසසු minissu ‘men’
dat. -nṭə මිනිසසුන්ට minissunṭə
gen. -nge මිනිසසුන්මග minissunge
inst. -ngeŋ මිනිසසුන්මගන් minissungeŋ

dir. - දරුමව daruwo ‘children’

dat. -nṭə දරුවන්ට daruwanṭə
gen. -nge දරුවන්මග daruwange
inst. -ngeŋ දරුවන්මගන් daruwangeŋ

1.2 Irregular nouns

Nouns which do not follow the pattern discussed above are classified as irregular
nouns.

Class 1
There are no irregular Class 1 nouns.

Class 2
A few nouns like අත (atə) ‘hand’ which otherwise show the characteristics of
Class 2 have an instrumental ending in -iŋ: අතින් (atiŋ).

Class 3
Some nouns which otherwise have the endings characteristic of Class 3 end in a
vowel other than -ə in the direct singular. Like Class 3 nouns the definite direct and
genitive are the same and -ට (-ṭa) is added to form the dative case, but unlike other
Class 3 nouns, the final vowel of the stem is not lost before the addition of the
instrumental -iŋ. This applies to the noun රෑ (rææ) ‘night’ and any noun ending
in -ද (-da) ‘day’. Note the -යි- (-yi-) in the spelling of the instrumental:

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Colloquial Sinhala

dir. රෑ rææ ‘night’ සඳුද saňduda ‘Monday’

dat. රෑට rææṭə සඳුද ට saňdudaṭə
gen. රෑ rææ සඳුද saňduda
inst. රෑයින් rææyiŋ සඳුද යින් saňdudayiŋ

Class 4
The noun මග් (gee) ‘house’ has the irregular genitive definite form මගයි (gey).

Class 5
Some nouns that otherwise are similar to Class 5 add මකමනක් (kenek) to form a
“respectful indefinite.” This applies to kinship terms and also to the nouns මද්සතර
(dostərə), ඇ ප්තිකරි (æpotikəri), ඩ්‍රයිවර් (Draywər), and to other such occupation
terms borrowed from English or other Western languages.
With some nouns such as මහත්තය (mahattea) the respectful indefinite is optional,
and when used indicates greater respect. මහත්තය is irregular in that it adds an -න්
(-ŋ) before මකමනක්. Thus it has the indefinite form මහත්තයන් මකමනක්
(mahatteaŋ kenek) as well as මහත්තමයක් (mahattaek). Many speakers pronounce
this as mahattæŋ kenek.
The noun හ මුදුරුමව (haamuduruwo) ‘Buddhist monk’ has another type of
respectful indefinite හ මුදුරු නමක් (haamuduru namak) indicating very high
respect.

2. Verb forms
2.1 Regular verbs
For regular verbs, all of the forms that occur in this book are formed on three
stems: the present stem, the past stem, and the past participial stem.
2.11 The present stem
The present stem is obtained by removing the -nawə of the present tense simple
form. Verbs are either Class 1, Class 2 or Class 3 depending on the final vowel of
the present tense stem; those with -a- are Class 1, those with -i- are Class 2, and
those with -e- are Class 3:
Class 1: කපනව kapənəwa ‘cut’
Class 2: අදිනව adinəwa ‘draw, pull’
Class 3: මත්මරනව teerenəwa ‘understand’
The following verb forms, in addition to the simple form, are made from the present
tense stem:

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suffix class 1 (-a-) class 2 (-i-) class 3 (-e-)

present simple -nəwa කපනව අදිනව මත්මරනව
kapənəwa adinəwa teerenəwa
infinitive -nna කපන්න අදින්න මත්මරන්න
kapannə adinnə teerennə
present emphatic -nne කපන්මන අදින්මන මත්මරන්මන
kapanne adinne teerenne
-wi form* -Vwi කප වි අදීවි මත්මර්වි
kapaawi adiiwi teereewi
present verbal -nə කපන අදින මත්මරන
adjective kapənə adinə teerenə
-nnaŋ form -nnaŋ කපන්නම් අදින්නම් මත්මරන්නම්
kapannaŋ adinnaŋ teerennaŋ
-mu form -mu කපමු අදිමු මත්මරමු
kapəmu adimu teeremu

* The stem final vowel is lengthened before -wi.

NOTE: Those Class 3 verbs that take a dative case subject, such as මත්මරනව
(teerenəwa) do not usually occur in -nnaŋ or -mu forms, since those forms rarely
occur with a first person direct case subject expressed or implied.
Two forms are made from the present tense verbal adjective form; that is, the
present temporal gerund (with koṭə) and a verbal noun in ekə:
class 1 (-a-) class 2 (-i-) class 3 (-e-)
present temporal කපන මන ට අදින මන ට මත්මරන මන ට
gerund kapənə koṭə adinə koṭə teerenə koṭə
verbal noun කපන එක අදින එක මත්මරන එක
kapənə ekə adinə ekə teerenə ekə

2.12 The past stem

To form a past stem, verbs of all classes change the vowels in the stem as follows:
a is replaced by æ o is replaced by e
aa is replaced by ææ
a>æ o>e oo is replaced by ee
ə is replaced by e u is replaced by i
ə>e u>i uu is replaced by ii
Also:
• Verbs of Class 1 with a present stem ending in -yə- or -wə- replace the -yə-
or -wə- by -ww-. Other verbs of Class 1 replace the stem-final vowel by
-uw-.

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Colloquial Sinhala

• Verbs of Class 2 double the final consonant of the present stem (-ňd-
becomes -nd-) and lose the final vowel.
• Verbs of Class 3 replace the final vowel of the stem by -un-.
Thus:
present tense present stem past stem
class 1 (-a-) කියනව kiyənəwa කිය- kiyə- කිව්ව්- kiww-
එලවනව eləwənəwa එලව- eləwə- එමලව්ව්- eleww-
කපනව kapənəwa කප- kapə- ක පුව්- kæpuw-
class 2 (-i-) අදිනව adinəwa අදි- adi- ඇද්ද්- ædd-
class 3 (-e-) මත්මරනව teerenəwa මත්මර- teere- මත්රුන්- teerun-
The following forms are made from the past stem:
suffix class 1 (-a-) class 2 (-i-) class 3 (-e-)
past simple -a ක පුව ඇද්ද මත්රුන
kæpuwa ædda teeruna
past emphatic -e ක පුමව ඇද්මද මත්රුමන
kæpuwe ædde teerune
past conditional -ot ක පුමව ත් ඇද්මද ත් මත්රුමන ත්
kæpuwot æddot teerunot
past temporal -omə ක පුමව ම ඇද්මද ම මත්රුමන ම
gerund kæpuwomə æddomə teerunomə
past verbal -ə ක පුව | ක පු ඇද්ද මත්රුන | මත්රුනු
adjective kæpuwə | kæpu æddə teerunə | teerunu
past concessive -at ක පුවත් ඇද්දත් මත්රුනත්
kæpuwat æddat teerunat
-we form -we ක පුවමව ඇද්දමව මත්රුනමව
kæpuwawe æddawe teerunawe

2.13 The past participial stem

The past participial stem is formed from the present stem as follows:
• For Class 1 verbs, the past participial stem is the same as the present tense
stem. Some dialects, however, lengthen the -a- of the present stem to -aa-.
• Class 2 verbs change the stem vowel as for the past tense, but do not
double the last consonant of the stem, and replace the final -i- of the stem
by -ə-.
• Class 3 verbs replace the final -e of the present stem by -i. If the stem is
two syllables and the first syllable is not long, there is an alternate form
with -ii-.
Thus:

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 Appendix: Noun and verb forms

present stem past participial stem

class 1 (-a-) කප- kapə- කප- or කප - kapə- or kapa-
class 2 (-i-) අදි- adi- ඇද- ædə-
class 3 (-e-) මත්මර- teere- මත්රි- teeri-
ව මත- wæte- ව ති- or ව තී- wæti- or wætii-
The following forms are made from the past participial stem:
suffix class 1 (-a-) class 2 (-i-) class 3 (-e-)
past participle -la කපල , කප ල ඇදල මත්රිල ව තිල්, ව තීල
kapəla, kapala ædəla teerila wætila, wætiila
past participial -pu | කපපු, කප පු ඇදපු මත්රිච්චච ව තිච්චච
adjective -ccə kapəpu, kapapu ædəpu teericcə wæticcə
reduplicated :: කප කප ඇද ඇද මත්රි මත්රි
form kapə kapə ædə ædə teeri teeri

NOTE: The past participial adjective for Class 3 verbs always has a short -i- before
-cca- whether or not there are alternate forms of the past participial stem.

2.2 Irregular verbs

There is in Sinhala a group of irregular verbs which is characterized by the fact that
the form of the past stem, the past participle and/or the past participial adjective is
not predictable from the present stem. Each of these forms must be learned
separately. However, those forms that are made (from the present stem can be
formed by the regular process of dropping -නව (-nəwa) from the simple present to
get the present stem and adding the usual endings. Also, those forms made from the
past stem may be formed by adding the appropriate endings to the past stem which
is obtained by dropping the -a or -aa (i.e. ා ) of the simple past. Verbs of this type
that have occurred in this text are shown on the next page.
There is a very small group of irregular verbs with an occasional irregularity other
than those specified on the next page. Those that have occurred in this text are:
-wi forms -mu forms
ගන්නව gannəwa ගනිවි ganiwi ගනිපු ganipu or ගම්මු gammu
ඉන්නව innəwa ඉඳීවි iňdiiwi ඉඳීපු iňdiipu
මබ නව bonəwa මබ යි boy
මග්නව geenəwa මගමන්වි geneewi
මප්නව peenəwa මපමන්වි peneewi
දන්නව dannəwa දනීඅ daniiwi

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Colloquial Sinhala

past participial
simple present simple past past participle adjective
be (anim.) ඉන්නව උන්න ඉඳල ඉඳපු
innəwa unna iňdəla iňdəpu
be (inan.) තිමයනව තිබුන තීල | තිබිල තීච්චච
tiyenəwa tibuna tiila | tibila tiiccə | tibiccə
become මවනව උන මවල මවච්චච
wenəwa una wela weccə
bring මග්නව මගන ව මගන ල්ල | මගන ත් මගන පු
geenəwa genaawa genælla | genæt genaapu
burn දනව දව දල ද පු | ද ච්චච
danəwa dæwa daala daapu | daaccə
come එනව ආව ඇවිල්ල ආපු
enəwa aawa æwilla aapu
drink මබ නව බිව්ව බීල බීපු
bonəwa biwwa biila biipu
eat කනව කව කල ක පු
kanəwa kæwa kaala kaapu
enter* මගවදිනව මගවදුන මගවදීල්ල මගවදීච්චච
gewədinəwa gewəduna gewədiila gewədiiccə
get ගන්නව ගත්ත අරගන | අරමගන | අරන් අරගත්ත
gannəwa gatta arəgənə | arəgenə | aran arəgattə
give මදන්නව දුන්න දීල දීපු
dennəwa dunna diila diipu
go යනව ගිය ගිහිල්ල | ගිහින් ගියපු
yanəwa giya gihilla | gihin giyəpu
put ද නව ද ම්ම දල ද පු
daanəwa dæmma daala daapu
see මප්නව මපනුන මපනිල මපනිච්චච
peenəwa penuna penila peniccə
stay නවතිනව න වතුන න වතිල න වනිච්චච
nawətinəwa næwətuna næwətila næwəniccə
take away මගනව මගනිව්ව මගනිහිල්ල | මගනිහින් මගනිච්චච
geniyanəwa geniwwa genihilla | genihin geniccə
* මගවදිනව gewədinəwa means to enter a new house.

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 Key to exercises

Key to exercises
Lesson 1
A.
1. mehe iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə bas-ekak tiyenəwa də?
2. nææ, mahattea.
3. mee bas-ekə yanne koheeṭə də?
4. meekə yanne kalutərəṭə.
5. kalutərə iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə bas-ekak tiyenəwa də?
6. ow.
7. ow, mahattea.
8. nitərəmə tiyenəwa.
9. meekeŋ kalutərəṭə yannə.
10. meekə dæŋ yanəwa.
11. kalutərə iňdəla koləm̌bə bas-ekakiŋ yannə.
12. hoňday.
13. kiiyə də kalutərəṭə?
14. rupiyal dekay.
15. mennə.
16. ṭikæṭ-ekak dennə.
B.
1. meekə, mee bas-ekə, bas, mee bas
2. bas-ekəkiŋ, bas-ekeŋ, mee bas-ekeŋ, meekeŋ
3. ṭikæṭ-ekak, ṭikæṭ, bas, bas-ekə, bas-ekak
4. bas-ekak, bas, mee bas-ekə, mee bas, meekə, koləm̌bə bas-ekə, koləm̌bə bas-
ekak, koləm̌bə bas
5. nitərəmə, kalutərəṭə, koləm̌bəṭə, mehe iňdəla, kalutərə iňdəla, koləm̌bə iňdəla,
mehe iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə, mehe iňdəla kalutərəṭə, koləm̌bə iňdəla kalutərəṭə,
kalutərə iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə
6. bas-ekeŋ, bas-ekəkiŋ, mee bas-ekeŋ, meekeŋ, koləm̌bəṭə, kalutərəṭə, bas-ekəkiŋ
koləm̌bəṭə, meekeŋ koləm̌bəṭə, bas-ekeŋ kalutərəṭə, mee bas-ekeŋ kalutərəṭə
C.
1. mehe iňdəla bas tiyenəwa də?
2. mee bas-ekə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa də?
3. meekə dæŋ yanəwa də?
4. nitərəmə yanəwa də?
5. dæŋ bas-ekak tiyenəwa də?
6. mee bas-ekə kalutərəṭə də?
7. mehe iňdəla bas-ekak dæŋ yanəwa də?
8. mee bas-ekə yanne koləm̌bəṭə də?

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D.
1. kalutərəṭə yanne mee bas-ekə.
2. bas-ekak tiyenne dæŋ.
3. bas-ekə yanne dæŋ.
4. kalutərəṭə tiyenne bas-ekak.
5. mee bas yanne koləm̌bəṭə.
E.
1. mee bas-ekə kalutərəṭə yanəwa də?
2. nææ, mahattea.
3. meekə yanne koheeṭə də?
4. mee bas-ekə yanne koləm̌bəṭə.
5. koləm̌bə iňdəla kalutərəṭə bas tiyenəwa də?
6. ow, mahattea.
7. bas nitərəmə tiyenəwa.
8. kiiyə də koləm̌bəṭə?
9. rupiyal dekay.
10. hoňday. mennə.
11. ṭikæṭ-ekak dennə.
12. mennə, mahattea.

Lesson 2
A.
1. mehe næwikəṭ tiyenəwa də?
2. nææ, mahattea.
3. næwikəṭ nææ.
4. oyə monəwa də?
5. mee triiroos.
6. eekə hoňdə sigəræṭ jaatiyak də?
7. ow, mahattea. huŋ̌gak denaa triiroos paawicci kərənəwa.
8. mahattea suruṭṭu bonəwa də?
9. api laŋ̌ga hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa.
10. laŋkaawe suruṭṭu də?
11. ow, maatalee suruṭṭu.
12. meekə rasay.
13. meekə bohomə rasay.
14. mennə. suwəňdə balannə.
15. aa, meekə bohomə særay.
16. ow, meekə bohomə rasay.
17. arə sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekak dennə.
18. oyə suruṭṭu dennə.

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B.
1. suruṭṭuwak, suruṭṭuwə, sigəræṭ-ekak, meekə, sigəræṭ-ekə, sigəræṭ, næwikəṭ-ekak,
triiroos-ekə, triiroos-ekak, pækæṭ-ekak, laŋkaawe sigəræṭ-ekak, ṭikæṭ-ekak
2. mee sigəræṭ-ekee, mee næwikəṭ-ekee, meeke, mee laŋkaawe sigəræṭ-ekee, mee
matalee suruṭṭuwe, mee suruṭṭu jaatiye
3. mee, oyə, arə, ee, meekə, eekə, ookə, arəkə
4. mee suruṭṭuwə, meekə, oyə suruṭṭu, ee suruṭṭuwə, arəkə, ookə, eekə, mee
maatəlee suruṭṭu, hoňdə sigəræṭ, ee sigəræṭ
5. arə bas-ekə, ee laŋkaawe bas-ekə, arə bas, arə jaatiyə, oyə sigəræṭ jaatiyə
C.
1. meekə yanne koləm̌bəṭə.
2. arəkə laŋkaawe suruṭṭuwak.
3. meekə yanne dæŋ.
4. eekə kalutərəṭə.
5. ookə maṭə dennə.
6. eekə næwikaṭ sigəræṭ.
7. ookə triiroos də?
8. meekeŋ yannə.
9. ooke suwəňdə balannə.
10. arəkəṭə yannə.
11. eeke suwəňdə hoňday
D.
1. arə hoňdə bas-ekak.
2. mee maatəlee suruṭṭu.
3. ee hoňdə jaatiyak.
4. oyə laŋkaawe rupiyəlak.
E.
1. mehe næwikəṭ tiyenəwa.
2. huŋ̌gak denaa triiroos paawicci kərənəwa.
3. mahattea maatəlee suruṭṭu bonəwa.
4. api laŋ̌gə hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa.
5. mahattea kalutərəṭə yanəwa.
6. mee mahattea laŋkaawe suruṭṭu bonəwa.
7. mehe særə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa.
8. mahattea laŋ̌gə triiroos tiyenəwa.
9. mahattea maṭə ṭikæṭ-ekak denəwa.
F.
1. mahattea yanne kalutərəṭə də? OR kalutərəṭə yanne mahattea də?
2. mee bas-ekə yanne koləm̌bəṭə də? OR koləm̌bəṭə yanne mee bas-ekə də?
3. mehe tiyenne hoňdə suruṭṭu də? OR hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenne mehe də?
4. maṭə denne ṭikæṭ-ekak də? OR ṭikæṭ-ekak denne maṭə də?

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G.
1. mehe laŋkaawe suruṭṭu tiyenəwa də?
2. ow, mahattea. api laŋ̌gə hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa.
3. maatalee suruṭṭu də?
4. ow, mahattea. mee maatalee suruṭṭu.
5. maatalee suruṭṭu bohomə særay.
6. ow, mahattea. suwəňdə balannə.
7. mee suwəňdə bohomə hoňday.
8. ow, meekə hoňdə suruṭṭuwak.
9. mee jaatiyə kiiyə də?
10. rupiyal dekay.
11. mennə. pækæṭ-ekak dennə.
12. hoňday, mennə mahattea.
13. mee bas-ekə maatəleeṭə yanəwa də?
14. nææ, mahattea. arəkə maatəleeṭə yanəwa.
15. eekə dæŋ yanəwa də?
16. ow, eekə dæŋ yanəwa.
17. mahattea yanne maatəleeṭə də?
18. ow, maatəleeṭə.
19. ee bas-ekəṭə yannə.
20. hoňday, mennə.
21. maatəleeṭə ṭikæṭ-ekak dennə.

Lesson 3
A.
1. pækæṭ-ekee, kaḍee, api laŋ̌gə, koləm̌bə, mehe, alləpu kaḍee
2. me keselgeḍi, næwikəṭ, arəkə, triiroos, triiroos sigəræṭ, æpəl
3. rasay, suwəňday, særay, maatalee suruṭṭu, hoňday, satə tunay
4. kalutərəṭə, alləpu kaḍeeṭə, koləm̌bəṭə, arə bas-ekəṭə, maatəleeṭə, ee kaḍeeṭə,
kaḍeeṭə, eekəṭə, bas-ekəṭə, arəkəṭə
B.
1. meekə ekak satə tunə də?
2. mee næwikəṭ-ekə rasə də?
3. mee keselgeḍiyə suwəňdə də?
4. oyə paləturu bohomə hoňdə də?
5. mee ṭikæṭ-ekə rupiyal dekə də?
6. kalutərəṭə rupiyal tunə də?
7. mehe tiyenne eloolu witərə də?

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C.
1. ee kaḍə hoňday.
2. arə suruṭṭu suwəňday.
3. mee sigəræṭ særay.
4. oyə æpəl rasay.
D.
1. arə kaḍee hoňday.
2. arə paləturu jaatiyə rasay.
3. oyə sigəræṭ-ekə særay.
4. ee bas-ekə hoňday.
E.
1. eloolu, keselgeḍi ṭikak, paləturu, æpəl ṭikak, keselgeḍi, ṭikæṭ-ekak, paləturu
ṭikak, arə pækæṭ-ekə, eloolu ṭikak, ee suruṭṭu jaatiyə
2. gannə yannə, koləm̌bə(ṭə) yannə, eloolu gannə, kalutərə(ṭə) yannə, suruṭṭu
gannə, kaḍeeṭə yannə, laŋkaawe sigəræṭ gannə, bas-ekeŋ yannə, maatəlee
suruṭṭu bonnə
F.
maṭə eloolu oonə nææ.
maṭə keselgeḍi ṭikak oonə nææ.
maṭə paləturu oonə nææ.
maṭə æpəl ṭikak oonə nææ.
maṭə keselgeḍi oonə nææ.
maṭə ṭikæṭ-ekak oonə nææ.
maṭə paləturu ṭikak oonə nææ.
maṭə arə pækæṭ-ekə oonə nææ.
maṭə eloolu ṭikak oonə nææ.
maṭə ee suruṭṭu jaatiyə oonə nææ.

maṭə eloolu epaa.

maṭə keselgeḍi ṭikak epaa.
maṭə paləturu epaa.
maṭə æpəl ṭikak epaa.
maṭə keselgeḍi epaa.
maṭə ṭikæṭ-ekak epaa.
maṭə paləturu ṭikak epaa.
maṭə arə pækæṭ-ekə epaa.
maṭə eloolu ṭikak epaa.
maṭə ee suruṭṭu jaatiyə epaa.

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G.
maṭə gannə yannə oonə nææ.
maṭə koləm̌bə(ṭə) yannə oonə nææ.
maṭə eloolu gannə oonə nææ.
maṭə kalutərəṭə yannə oonə nææ.
maṭə suruṭṭu gannə oonə nææ.
maṭə kaḍeeṭə yannə oonə nææ.
maṭə laŋkaawe sigəræṭ gannə oonə nææ.
maṭə bas-ekeŋ yannə oonə nææ.
maṭə maatəlee suruṭṭu bonnə oonə nææ.
H.
1. mahatteaṭə koləm̌bəṭə yannə oonə.
2. apiṭə eloolu gannə oonə.
3. apiṭə bas-ekeŋ yannə oonə.
4. maṭə keselgeḍi ṭikak gannə oonə.
5. mahatteaṭə alləpu kaḍeeṭə yannə oonə.
I.
1. mahattea sigəræṭ oonə də?
2. maṭə sigəræṭ oonə nææ. suruṭṭu ṭikak dennə.
3. mee suruṭṭu ekak satə dekay.
4. laŋkaawe suruṭṭu də?
5. ow. mee suruṭṭu bohomə suwəňday.
6. hoňday. pækæṭ-ekak dennə.
1. mehe hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa də?
2. nææ, mahattea. suruṭṭu tiyenne alləpu kaḍee.
3. mehe tiyenne sigəræṭ witərə də?
4. ow, mahattea. sigəræṭ witəray.
5. mahatteaṭə sigəræṭ oonə də?
6. nææ. mamə bonne suruṭṭu witərəy.
7. alləpu kaḍeeṭə yannə.
8. hoňday.
1. mee keselgeḍi kiiyə də?
2. meekə ekak satə dekay.
3. arəkə ekak satə tunay.
4. ookə dekak satə tunay.
5. mee keselgeḍi hoňdə də?
6. arəkə bohomə rasay.
7. eekə gannə.
8. hoňday. eekeŋ tunak dennə.
9. wenə monəwa də oonə?
10. wenə mokut epaa.

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 Key to exercises

Lesson 4
A.
1. hætæpmə dekak, hætæpmə tunak, hætæpmə hatərak, hætæpmak
2. keselgeḍi tunak, æpəl hatərə, paləturu ṭikak, mee æpəl tunə, ṭikæṭ dekak,
næwikəṭ pækæṭ-ekak, oyə triiroos pækæt-ekə, hoňdə sigəræṭ jaatiyak, suruṭṭu
pækæṭ dekak, keselgeḍi jaati tunak, arə sigəræṭ, mee keselgeḍi jaatiyə
3. metənə, arə paare, mehe, ee handiye, atənə, mee hooṭəlee, kaḍee, goolfees
hooṭəlee, oyə kaḍee, etənə
4. mehe, etənə, ohe, atənə, arəhe, mee handiye, ehe, ee paare, metənə, mee
hooṭəlee laŋ̌gə, otənə, alləpu kaḍee laŋ̌gə
B.
1. api eloolu gannə oonə.
2. mahattea bas-ekeŋ yannnə oonə.
3. mamə suruṭṭu bonnə oonə.
4. mamə arə handiyəṭə yannə oonə.
5. mahattea ṭæksiyak nawattənnə oonə.
6. mamə sigəræṭ pækæt-ekak gannə oonə.
C.
1. maṭə rasə suruṭṭu bonnə oonə.
2. apiṭə hoňdə keselgeḍi ṭikak gannə oonə.
3. mahatteaṭə koləm̌bə bas-ekeŋ yannə oonə.
4. maṭə sigəræt pækæṭ tunak gannə oonə.
5. mahatteaṭə dæŋ kalutərəṭə yannə oonə.
6. noonaṭə nitərəmə ee kaḍeeṭə yannə oonə.
D.
1. maṭə bas-ekə nawattənnə puluwaŋ.
2. mahatteaṭə arə kaḍee hoňdə suruṭṭu gannə puluwaŋ.
3. maṭə etenṭə ṭæksiyəkiŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
4. noonaṭə arə handiye kaḍee keselgeḍi gannə puluwaŋ.
5. mahatteaṭə dæŋ lankaawe sigəræṭ bonnə puluwaŋ.
6. apiṭə alləpu kaḍeeṭə yannə puluwaŋ.
E.
1. kalutərəṭə tiyenne hætæpmə tunay.
2. mahattea ganne keselgeḍi dekay.
3. ee kaḍee tiyenne eloolu ṭikay.
4. mee pækæṭ-ekee tiyenne sigəræṭ hatəray.
5. maṭə oonə rupiyal dekay.

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Colloquial Sinhala

F.
1. mehe iňdəla maatəleeṭə huŋ̌gak durə də?
2. ow, mahattea. hætæpmə hatərərak tiyenəwa.
3. bas-ekeŋ yannə oonə.
4. bas-ekak metənə nawattanna puluwan də?
5. nææ, mahattea. arə handiyəṭə yannə oonə.
6. hoňday. istutiy.
7. bas-ekak ganne kohomə də kiyannə.
8. bas arə handiye nawətinəwa.
9. atenṭə yannə.
10. arə enne bas-ekak.
11. mee bas-ekə yanne kohaaṭə də?
12. koləm̌bəṭə.
13. maṭə kalutərəṭə yannə oonə.
14. meekeŋ kalutərəṭə yannə puluwan də?
15. ow, mahattea.
16. hoňday. ṭikæṭ-ekak dennə.
17. mahatteaṭə koləm̌bəṭə yannə oonə də?
18. ow. dæŋ bas-ekak tiyenəwa də?
19. dæŋ bas nææ. ṭæksiyak gannə oonə.
20. ṭæksi nawətinne arə handiye.
21. arə paarəṭə yannə.
22. istutiy.
23. mahatteaṭə ṭikæṭ kiiyak oonə də?
24. (maṭə) hatərak dennə puluwaŋ.
25. hatərak oonə nææ. dekak dennə.
26. ṭikæṭ dekak kiiyə də?
27. rupiyal hatəray, mahattea.
28. mennə.
29. mahattea yanne goolfees hooṭəleeṭə də?
30. ow. huŋ̌gak durə də?
31. ow. hætæpmə hatərak tiyenəwa.
32. goolfees hooṭəlee hoňda hooṭəlayak də?
33. ow, mahattea. eekə bohomə hoňday.
34. etenṭə yanne kohomə də kiyannə.
35. ṭæksiyak gannə oonə.
36. arəkə ṭæksiyak də?
37. nææ. ṭæksi tiyenne arə handiye.
38. atentə yannə. etəkoṭə ṭæksiyak gannə puluwaŋ.
39. istutiy.

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 Key to exercises

Review 1
A.
1. api laŋ̌gə, mee kaḍee, arə kaḍee, koləm̌bə, metənə, eeke, kalutərə, laŋkaawe,
handiye, arə paare, maatəlee, alləpu kaḍee, handiyə laŋ̌gə
2. alləpu kaḍee, maatəlee, kaḍee, arə handiye, atənə, metənə, api laŋ̌gə
3. mee ṭikæṭ-ekə, ṭikæṭ dekak, paləturu ṭikak, suruṭṭuwak, triiroos pækæṭ-ekak,
rupiyal dekak, satə hatərak, keselgeḍi tunak, keselgeḍi huŋ̌gak, sigəræṭ kiiyak,
suruṭṭu jaati tunak, suwaňdə suruṭṭuwak, rasə paləturu ṭikak, hoňdə bas-ekak,
rupiyal kiiyak
4. suruṭṭu dekay, keselgeḍi tunay, bas hatəray, sigəræṭ jaati dekay, næwikəṭ
pækæṭ dekay
B.
1. mahattea ganne eloolu.
2. paləturu tiyenne alləpu kaḍee.
3. kaḍeak tiyenne arə handiye.
4. mahattea bonne suruṭṭuwak.
5. mamə balənne meekə.
6. api paawicci kəranne laŋkaawe suruṭṭu.
C.
1. mamə keselgeḍiyak gannəwa.
2. handiye ṭæksi-ekak tiyenəwa.
3. api kaḍeak balənəwa.
4. mamə bas-ekak nawattənəwa.
5. mahattea sigəræṭ-ekak bonəwa.
6. mahatteaṭə ṭikæṭ-ekak dennə.
7. atənə hooṭələyak tiyenəwa.
8. mehe paarak tiyenəwa də?
D.
1. mahatteaṭə keselgeḍi hatərak gannə puluwaŋ.
2. apiṭə meekeŋ kalutərəṭə yannə puluwaŋ.
3. maṭə mee eloolu gannə puluwan.
4. mahatteaṭə arə ṭæksiyeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
5. maṭə handiyəṭə ṭæksiyeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
6. mahatteaṭə alləpu kaḍee paləturu gannə puluwaŋ.
E.
1. mee kaḍee tiyenne eloolu də?
2. arə bas-ekə yanne maatəleeṭə də?
3. ṭæksi tiyenne arə handiye də?
4. atənə tiyenne laŋkaawe suruṭṭu də?
5. arə kaḍee tiyenne mee sigəræṭ jaatiyə də?

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Colloquial Sinhala

F.
1. noonaṭə æpəl tunak gannə oonə.
2. maṭə ṭæksiyəkiŋ koləm̌bəṭə yannə oonə.
3. maṭə triiroos sigəræṭ bonnə oonə.
4. mahatteaṭə hoňdə bas-ekeŋ yannə oonə.
5. maṭə bas-ekak nawattannə oonə.
6. mahatteaṭə handiye kaḍee suruṭṭu gannə oonə.
G.
1. mahattea mehe iňdəla bas-ekeŋ yannə oonə.
2. mamə dæŋ laŋkaawe sigəræṭ bonnə oonə.
3. noona alləpu kaḍeeṭə yannə oonə.
4. mamə ṭikæṭ dekak mahatteaṭə dennə oonə.
5. noona mahattea paləturu gannə oonə.
6. mamə eekə aayet kiyanna oonə.
H.
1. bas-ekak ganne kohomə də kiyannə.
2. mahattea yanne kohaaṭə də?
3. maṭə maatəleeṭə yannə oonə.
4. maatəlee bas nawətinne atənə.
5. nættaŋ arə handiyəṭə yannə.
6. etəkoṭə bas-ekak gannə puluwaŋ.
7. maatəleeṭə huŋ̌gak durə də?
8. ow. bohomə duray.
9. bas-ekakiŋ yannə oonə.
10. bas nitərəmə tiyenəwa.
11. istutiy.
12. lamea kaḍeeṭə yanəwa də?
13. ow, mahattea: monəwa də oonə?
14. sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekak oonə.
15. mahattea bonne monəwa də?
16. triiroos.
17. triiroos pækæṭ-ekak kiiyə də?
18. rupiyal dekay.
19. ee kaḍee triiroos tiyenəwa də?
20. ow. tiyenəwa.
21. hoňday.

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 Key to exercises

Lesson 5
A.
1. dawas kiiyak, dawasak, dawas dekak, dawas hatərak, dawas tunak
2. nawətinnə hooṭəleak, nawətinnə hooṭələ, balannə tænak, balannə tæŋ, gannə
paləturu, gannə paləturu ṭikak, bonnə sigəræṭ, yannə tænak, nawətinnə tænak
3. ṭæksiyak ganne kohomə də, siigiriyəṭə yanne kohomə də, keselgeDi kiiyə də,
mee bas-ekə yanne kohaaṭə də, mee monəwa də
4. yannə, anuraadəpuree balannə, kaar-ekak gannə, dawas tunak nawətinnə, bas-
ekak nawattannə, siigiriyəṭə yannə, rupiyal dekak dennə, arə kaDee triiroos
gannə
B.
1. mee kaḍee suruṭṭu nææ.
2. dæŋ bas-ekak nææ.
3. anuraadəpuree kaar nææ.
4. api laŋ̌gə hoňdə paləturu nææ.
5. etənə hoňdə taanaayəmak nææ.
C.
1. mee paləturu huŋ̌gak rasə də?
2. taanaayəmə ṭikak durə də?
3. mee pækæṭ-ekə rupiyal dekak də?
4. eekə bohomə særə də?
5. siigiriye taanaayəmə huŋ̌gak hoňdə də?
D.
1. mahatteaṭa ee taanaayəmee nawətinnə puluwaŋ.
2. apiṭa anuraadəpuree balənnə puluwaŋ.
3. maṭə siigiriyəṭə kaar-ekeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
4. mahatteaṭa koləm̌bə iňdəla anuraadəpureeṭə koocciyeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
5. maṭə siigiri galə laŋ̌gə nawətinnə puluwaŋ.
E.
1. mahatteaṭə siigiriyəṭə yannə oonə də?
2. ow. etenṭə yanne kohomə də kiyannə.
3. kaar-ekeŋ yannə oonə.
4. nættaŋ anuraadəpureeṭə koocciyeŋ yannə.
5. ehe iňdəla ṭæksiyak gannə.
6. hoňday. (maṭə) kaar-ekeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
7. siigiriyə huŋ̌gak durə də?
8. ow, mahattea. ṭikak duray.
9. mehe taanaayəmak tiyenəwa də?
10. nææ, mahattea. taanaayəmə tiyenne anuraadəpuree.

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11. mehe nawattinnə hooṭələyak tiyenəwa.

12. nættaŋ anuraadəpureeṭə yannə puluwaŋ.
13. anuraadəpureeṭə bas-ekak tiyenəwa də?
14. nææ. ṭæksiyak gannə oonə.
15. ṭæksiyak ganne kohomə də kiyannə.
16. ṭæksi hooṭəlee laŋ̌gə tiyenəwa.
17. etenṭə yannə.
18. istutiy.
19. mahattea nawattinne taanaayəmee də?
20. taanaayəmə hoňdə də?
21. ow. huŋ̌gak denaa taanaayəməṭə yanəwa.
22. taanaayəməkə dawas kiiyak nawattinnə puluwaŋ də?
23. dawas tunak nawattinnə puluwaŋ.
24. wenə tænak tiyenəwa də?
25. nawattinnə də?
26. ow.
27. hooṭəlee nawattinnə puluwaŋ.
28. monəwa də ganne?
29. keselgeḍi ṭikak.
30. mehe keselgeḍi kiiyə də?
31. ekak satə hatəray.
32. mee keselgeḍi hoňdə də?
33. ow.
34. bohomə hoňdə keselgeḍi arə kaḍee tiyenəwa.
35. ehe keselgeḍi ekak satə tunay.
36. etentə yannə. mamə etənə palaturu gannəwa.
F.
1. rasə 6. satə 11. dawəsəṭə
2. mamə 7. galə 12. galəkə
3. maṭə 8. dawəsə 13. hatərə
4. mə 9. galəṭə 14. hatərəkə
5. də 10. dawəsəkə

Lesson 6
A.
1. mahatteek, lamea, mage putaa, puttu denna, duula dennek, lamay tuŋ denek,
minissu dennek, maamala hatərə denek
2 . heṭə, heṭə iňdəla, udee iňdəla, udee, heṭə udee, uḍəraṭə iňdəla, koləm̌bə bas-
ekeŋ, ṭæksiyəkiŋ, gamə iňdəla, mage wattəṭə, nitərəmə, wæḍəpələṭə
3. bas dekak, puttu denna, lamay dennek, minissu kiidenek, ṭæksi tunak, bas
hatərə, bas kiiyak, mahatturu hatərə denaa

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B.
1. waḍuwek wæḍə kərənəwa.
2. maama kenek kaḍee kərənəwa.
3. minihek suruṭṭuwak bonəwa.
4. duwek iskoole yanəwa.
5. putek wæḍəpəlee innəwa.
6. lameek koocciyeŋ yanəwa.
7. lameekuṭə rupiyal dekak dennə.
8. mahatteekuṭə paləturu ṭikak oonə.
9. putekuṭə iskoole yannə puluwəŋ də?
C.
1. metənə inne lamay tuŋ denay.
2. maṭə oonə sigəræṭ pækæṭ dekay.
3. koləm̌bəṭə yanne mee minissu hatərə denay.
4. wæḍə kərənne minissu denna.
5. mee kaḍee tiyenne eloolu jaati hatəray.
6. ṭæksiyəkiŋ yanne duwəla tuŋ denaa.
7. iskoole yanne puttu denna.
D.
1. apee puttu inne uḍəraṭə.
2. minissu dennek koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
3. noonala kiidenek etənə innəwa də?
4. waḍuwo denna inne koləm̌bə.
5. mee mahatturu hatərə denaa yanne maatəleeṭə.
6. koocci tunak isṭeesəmee tiyenəwa.
7. lamay hatərə denaa wattəṭə yanəwa.
E.
1. oyaage putaa iskooleeṭə yanəwa də?
2. nææ. putaa yanne nææ. duula denna yanne.
3. oyaage putaa wæḍə kərənəwa də?
4. ow. wæḍə kəranne mage wæḍəpəlee.
5. ee lameaṭə waḍuwæḍə kərannə puluwaŋ də?
6. ow. puluwaŋ.
7. ehenaŋ (maṭə) hoňdə wassaawak dennə puluwaŋ.
8. oyaage watte də?
9. ow.
10. hoňday. istutiy.
11. oyaa laŋ̌gə sigəræṭ tiyenəwa də?
12. ow. sigəræṭ-ekak oonə də?
13. ow. sigəræṭ-ekak dennə.

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14. mennə.
15. istutiy.
16. mahattea wæḍəpəlee næddə?
17. nææ. dæŋ mahattea inne uḍəraṭə.
18. heṭə wæḍəpələṭə enəwa də?
19. nææ. heṭə mahattea koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
20. mahatteage putaa gamee də?
21. ow. putaa wæḍəpələ balaagannəwa.
22. oyaaṭə anuraadəpureeṭə yannə oonə də?
23. ow. yannə kohomə də kiyannə.
24. koocciyeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
25. mee isṭeesəmee iňdəla koocci tiyenəwa də?
26. ow. mehe iňdəla maatəleeṭə koocciyeŋ yannə oonə.
27. etənə iňdəla anuraadəpureeṭə koocci tiyenəwa.
28. bas næddə?
29. ow, tiyenəwa. (oyaaṭə) bas-ekeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
30. duula kiidenek innəwa də?
31. dennek innəwa.
32. puttu næddə?
33. puttu dennek innəwa.
34. iskoole yanəwa də?
35. ow, tuŋ denaa iskoole yanəwa.
36. poḍi duwə yanne nææ.
37. oyaage taatta dæŋ gamee də?
38. nææ. taatta uḍəraṭə.
39. watte waḍuwædə kəranəwa.
40. oyaa dæn wædə kərənəwa də?
41. mamə poḍi wædəpələkə wædə kərənəwa.
F.
1. gamə 10. yanəwa 19. rassaawak 28. maamaṭə
2. gaməkə 11. balənəwa 20. dawəsak 29. balannə
3. gamak 12. gaməṭə 21. dawəsəkə 30. kərənəwa
4. palaatə 13. kaḍəwal 22. yannə 31. kərannə
5. palaat 14. wattə 23. taatta 32. gannə
6. palaatak 15. wattəkə 24. taattala 33. gannəwa
7. galə 16. wattak 25. taattaṭə 34. balaa gannəwa
8. galak 17. wattəkəṭə 26. maama 35. rassaawak kərənəwa
9. galəkə 18. rassaawə 27. maamala 36. taanaayəməkə

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G.
1. paarəṭə yannə.
2. palaatə balannə.
3. mamə gaməṭə yanəwa.
4. taatta kaḍəwal balaa gannəwa.
5. satə hatərak gannə.
6. bas wattəṭə yanəwa də?
7. bas hatərak yanəwa.
8. taanaayəməṭə yanəwa də?
9. mamə gamee rassaawak kərənəwa.
10. maamala rassaawak kərənəwa də?

Lesson 7
A.
1. bas-ekəkiŋ, isṭeesəməkəṭə, kaḍeekəṭə, osṭin-ekeŋ, alləpu kaḍeeṭə, koocciyəkiŋ,
koliijiyəkəṭə, yaapənee iňdəla, taanaayəməkəṭə, heṭə iňdəla
2. mahattekuṭə, arə minihaṭə, mage putaaṭə, lameekuṭə, mage noonaṭə, arə
noonage putaaṭə, oyaage maamaṭə, watte waḍuwaṭə, arə mahatteage duwəkuṭə
3. sumaanə dekak, dawas tunak, heṭə uḍee, heṭə iňdəla, sumaanə hatərak
4. eləwannə, mage kaar-ekə eləwannə, koocciyeŋ yannə, mage kaar-ekə
koləm̌bəṭə geniyannə, siigiriye sumaaneak nawətinnə, uḍee ennə, heṭə iňdəla
wæḍə kərannə, meekə kaḍeeṭə gannə, heṭə uḍee atenṭə yannə, lamay denna
balaagannə
B.
1. eloolu tiyenne kaḍee.
2. iskoolə tunə tiyenne gamee.
3. daruwo kiidenek innəwa də?
4. waḍuwo hatərə denaa inne mee watte.
5. watte inne puttu denna witəray.
6. oyaa inne mehe də?
7. kaar-ekə metənə dawas tunak tiyennə oonə.
C.
1. mahattea koləm̌bəṭə yanne kaar-ekeŋ.
mahattea kaar-ekeŋ yanne koləm̌bəṭə.
koləm̌bəṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne mahattea.
2. mahattea siigiriye nawətinne dawas dekay.
mahattea dawas dekak nawətinne siigiriye.
siigiriye dawas dekak nawətinne mahattea.
3. ṭæksi tunak tiyenne arə paare.
arə paare tiyenne ṭæksi tunay.

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Colloquial Sinhala

4. arə handiye kaḍee tiyenne eloolu.

eloolu tiyenne arə handiye kaḍee.
5. oyaa bonne laŋkaawe suruṭṭu də?
laŋkaawe suruṭṭu bonne oyaa də?
6. mahattea ee taanaayəmee nawətinne heṭə iňdəla.
mahattea heṭə iňdəla nawətinne ee taanaayəmee.
heṭə iňdəla ee taanaayəmee nawətinne mahattea.
7. mage putaa yanne rooyal koliijiyəṭə.
rooyal koliijiyəṭə yanne mage putaa.
8. api laŋ̌gə tiyenne hoňdə paləturu.
hoňdə paləturu tiyenne api laŋ̌gə.
D.
1. oyaage kaar-ekə osṭin-ekak də?
2. ow.
3. maṭə osṭin eləwannə puluwaŋ.
4. mahattea kaar-ekə eləwannə kenek oonə də?
5. nææ. dæŋ minihek (or kenek) innəwa.
6. ee minihage wæḍə bohoma hoňday.
7. waḍuwæḍə kərannə puluwaŋ də?
8. nææ, mahattea. maamaṭə puluwaŋ.
9. maama dæŋ gedərə.
10. mahatteaṭə waḍuwek oonə də?
11. ow. (oyaage) maamaṭə wæḍəṭə ennə puluwaŋ də?
12. puluwaŋ mahattea.
13. hoňday. heṭə iňdəla ennə puluwaŋ də?
14. puluwaŋ, mahattea.
15. hoňday.
16. mahatteaṭə kaar-ekak eləwanna kenek oonə də?
17. apiṭə mehe hoňda minihek innəwa.
18. ee minihaṭə heṭə iňdəla ennə puluwaŋ də?
19. ow, puluwaŋ. ee minihage wædə bohomə hoňday.
20. eyaaṭə osṭin-ekak eləwannə puluwaŋ də?
21. ow. puluwaŋ. mahatteage kaar-ekə osṭin-ekak də?
22. ow.
23. mahatteage wattəṭə kohomə də ennə kiyannə.
24. maatəleeṭə bas-ekeŋ ennə.
25. etənə iňdəla hætæpmə tunay.
26. (eyaa) ṭæksiyak gannə oonə.
27. minihaṭə mee rupiyal hatarə dennə.
28. istutiy, mahattea.
29. mahatteay noonay heṭə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
30. kaar-ekeŋ yanəwa də?

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 Key to exercises

31. nææ. koocciyeŋ.

32. kaar-ekə ganne nææ.
33. mahatteage putaa iskooleṭə yanne kaar-ekeŋ.
34. mehe iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə koocci tiyenəwa də?
35. nææ. mehe iňdəla maatəleṭə bas-ekəkiŋ yannə. maatəle iňdəla koocci tiyenəwa.
36. mehe isṭeesəmak nææ.
E.
1. nææ 10. witərə 19. mahattea 28. næddə
2. kiiyə 11. putaa 20. ṭæksiyak 29. pawlə
3. durə 12. duray 21. mahatteaṭə 30. pawulak
4. sigəræṭ 13. hætæpmə 22. wattəkəṭə 31. pawul
5. suruṭṭuwə 14. duwə 23. tunak 32. tunak
6. særay 15. ṭæksi 24. tunəkə 33. wæḍə
7. pækæṭ 16. wæssə 25. daruwa 34. ṭikak
8. rupiyalə 17. lameaṭə 26. duula 35. puluwaŋ
9. paləturu 18. ṭæksikyə 27. puttu 36. handiyə
F.
1. bas nitərəmə yanəwa.
2. mahattea sigəræṭ ṭikak gannəwa.
3. mahatteaṭə kalutərəṭə yannə puluwaŋ.
4. rasə suruṭṭu gannə!
5. puttu wæḍəpələṭə yanəwa.
6. namut maṭə dawas tunak nawattinnə puluwaŋ.
7. lamea waḍuwæḍə kərənəwa də?
8. taatta pawlay kaḍay balaa gannəwa.
9. puttuy duway kalutərə wæḍə kərənəwa.
10. daruwaṭə siigiri galə balannə yannə puluwaŋ.
11. kalutərəṭə bas yanəwa də?
12. kalutərəṭə bas nææ, mahattea.
13. namut ṭæksi gannə puluwaŋ.
14. handiyəṭə yannə.
15. kiiyədə kalutərəṭə?
16. rupiyal tunay.
17. lamea wæḍəpələṭə yanəwa də?
18. nææ, mamə wattəṭə yanəwa.
19. wattəṭə wæḍə kərannə yanəwa də?
20. nææ, paarə balannə yanəwa.

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Colloquial Sinhala

Lesson 8
A.
1. liyumak, liyuŋ tunak, paarsal, pooskaaṭ, paarsəleakuy pooskaaṭ dekəkuy,
keselgeḍi, rejisṭər liyumak, paarsəleakuy rejisṭər liyumakuy
2. muddəreak, muddərə tunak, rupiyal pahee muddəreak, satə pahee suruṭṭu,
muddəreakuy pooskaaṭ-ekəkuy, muddərə dekəkuy pooskaaṭ tunəkuy, rupiyal
dekee muddərə ṭikak, rupiyal tunee muddərə dekak, ee rupiyal hatəre
muddəree, satə dekee muddəreak, rupiyal dekee ṭikæṭ tunak, oyə satə hatəre
muddərə, paarsəleey muddərə dekəkuy, muddərə ṭikəkuy pooskaaṭ pækæṭ-
ekəkuy, æpəl tunak witərak, hoňdə keselgeḍi ṭikak, ṭikæṭ hatərak, rupiyal pahak
3. aŋgəharuwaada, saňduda, senəsuraada, badaada, sikuraada, brahaspətinda, irida
4. nætiwenəwa, tiyenəwa, nææ, nætiwennə nææ, bedənəwa, bedannə nææ,
næddə?, tiyenəwa də?
5. bedənəwa, balaaporottuweŋ innəwa, geniyənəwa, denəwa, bedannə nææ,
balaaporottuweŋ nææ, geniyannə nææ, geenəwa, geennə nææ
6. maṭə, lameaṭə, mahatteaṭə, putaaṭə, noonaṭə, daruwaṭə
7. sumaaneak witərə, sumaaneak witərak, dawas tunak witərə, dawas hatərak
witərak, saňduda witərak
8. koləm̌bəṭə witəray, koləm̌bəṭə witərə, bas-ekeŋ witəray, dawas tunak witəray,
mee kaar-ekeŋ witəray, hætæpmə pahak witəray
9. dawas dekak, dawas tunak witərak, sumaaneak witərə, dawas hatərak witərə,
koləm̌bəṭə witərak, handiyə laŋgəṭə witərak
B.
1. api laŋ̌gə tiyenne næwikəṭ witəray.
2. mamə laŋ̌gə inne lamea witəray.
3. liyuŋ bedanne lameay mamay.
4. oyə lameaṭə puluwaŋ liyuŋ bedannə witərə də?
C.
1. mahatteaṭə liyumak nææ.
2. ee lameaṭə putek nææ.
3. noonaṭə liyumak nææ.
4. maamaṭə kaar dekak næddə?
5. duwəṭə keselgeḍi næddə?

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 Key to exercises

D.
1. mahatteaṭə liyuŋ dekak æti.
2. ee noonaṭə lamay æti.
3. apee kaḍee paləturu æti.
4. ee lameaṭə kaḍeak æti.
5. apee taattaṭə kaar-ekak æti.
6. oyə lameage maamaṭə duwek æti.
7. mee lameaṭə ṭikæṭ æti.
8. dæŋ bas æti.
9. putaa laŋ̌gə rupiyal pahak æti.
E.
1. ee lamea liyuŋ bedənəkoṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ.
2. duwə iskoole yanəkoṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ.
3. mamə eloolu geniyənəkoṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ.
4. putaa keselgeḍi geenəkoṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ.
5. maama gaməṭə yanəkoṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ.
6. mahattea yaapəneeṭə yanəkoṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ.
7. noona kaḍeeṭəya nəkoṭə kaar-ekeŋ yanne nææ.
F.
1. mage puttu denna koləm̌bə.
2. ee lameage maamala denna kaḍee innəwa.
3. mage daruwo dennekuṭə wæḍə æti.
4. oyə lameaṭə lamay pas denek innəwa də?
G.
1. (oyaaṭə) badaada koləm̌bəṭə yannə puluwaŋ də?
2. heṭə irida nee?
3. ow. heṭə.
4. heṭə wæḍə tiyenəwa.
5. heṭə mage duwə gamee enəwa.
6. brahaspətinda yannə puluwaŋ də?
7. ow, brahaspətinda yannə puluwaŋ.
8. hoňday.
9. (oyaa) siigiriyəṭə yanəkoṭə taanaayəmee nawətinnə puluwaŋ.
10. taanaayəmə hoňdə də?
11. ow. siigiriye taanaayəmə bohomə hoňday.
12. mamə siigiriye dawas tunak nawatinnə oonə.
13. bas-ekeŋ yanəwa də?
14. nææ. mage kaar-ekə gannəwa.
15. lamay iskooleṭə yanəwa, nee (də)?
16. maṭə kaar dekak tiyenəwa.

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H
1. liyumə 10. geenəwa 19. salli 28. nætiwenəwa
2. mee 11. noona 20. koocciyə 29. widyaale
3. menna 12. kohaaṭə 21. pooskaaṭ 30. senəsuraada
4. monəwa 13. hooṭəlee 22. tiyenəwa 31. balaaporottuwa
5. meekə 14. heṭə 23. teerunne nææ 32. kiidenek
6. mehe 15. trii roos 24. paawicci kərənəwa 33. brahaspətinda
7. sumaane 16. gool pees 25. saməharəviṭə 34. wædeeṭə
8. kenek 17. rejisṭar liyumak 26. tiyenne 35. taanaayəmee
9. bedənəwa 18. parsəlee 27. badaada 36. kohomə
I.
1. siigiriye taanaayəmə kohee də?
2. ṭikak duray.
3. hætæpmə kiiyak tiyenəwa də?
4. taanaayəməṭə hætæpmak tiyenəwa.
5. mage ṭæksiya tiyenəwa.
6. taanaayəmə kiiyak gannəwa də?
7. rupiyal denna mahattea.
8. maṭə liyumak tiyenəwa də?
9. nææ, noona mahattea, liyumak nææ.
10. paarsəleekuy pooskaaṭ dekəkuy tiyenəwa.
11. rejisṭar liyumak næddə?
12. nææ noona mahattea.
13. mee kaḍee paləturu tiyenəwa də?
14. mehe tiyenne keselgeḍi witəray.
15. wenə mokut næddə?
16. nææ noona mahattea, wenə paləturu geenne heṭə.
17. mee bas yanne kohaaṭə də?
18. meekə maatəleeṭə yanəwa, meekə kalutərəṭə yanəwa.
19. meekə siigiriyəṭə yanne næddə?
20. nææ, siigiriyəṭə bas yanne nææ.

Review 2
A.
1. anuraadəpuree, uḍəraṭə, maatəle, oyaage gamee, koləm̌bə, mage watte, ee
pætte, yaapənee, mee pætte, sumaaneak witərə
2. koocciyak, koocci, bas-ekak, bas, kaar-ekak, ṭæksiyak, liyumak, liyuŋ
3. koocciyeŋ yannə, koocciyəkiŋ yannə, ṭæksiyakəṭə yannə, gaməṭə yannə, wæḍə
kərənnə, hooṭəlee nawətinnə, taanaayəmee nawətinnə, kaar-ekə gannə,
muddarə pahak geennə, liyuŋ dekə geennə, paarsal dekə gannə

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4. bas-ekeŋ yanəkoṭə, mee koocciyeŋ yanəkoṭə, uḍəraṭəṭə enəkoṭə,

anuraadəpureeṭə yanəkoṭə, taanaayəmee navətikoṭə, siigiriye taanaayəmee
innəkoṭə, poḍi osṭin-ekə eləwənakoṭə, wæḍə kərənnəkoṭə, watte wæḍə
kərənnəkoṭə, liyuŋ bedənəkoṭə, pawlə balaaporottuweŋ innəkoṭə, mee kaar-ekə
wæḍə kərənnəkoṭə, bas-ekee innəkoṭə
5. putaa, lamay kiidenek, lamay paha denek, maamala dennek, maamek, wæḍə
kərənnə kenek, waḍuwek
6. sigəræṭ kiiyak, liyuŋ, kaar dekak, paarsal tunak, liyumak, regisṭər liyumak
B.
1. bas dekə anuraadəpureeṭə yanəwa.
2. siigiriyəṭə koocciyeŋ yannə puluwaŋ də?
3. heṭə enəkoṭə poḍi kaar-ekə geennə.
4. mamə rejisṭar liyumə balaaporottuweŋ innəwa.
5. saňduda muddəree geennə.
6. mahatteaṭə pooskaaṭ-ekay paarsəley oonə də?
7. hætæpmə paha ṭæksiyeŋ yannə.
8. irida mage kaar-ekee wæḍə karannə puluwaŋ də?
9. puttu denna rooyal koliijiyəṭə yanəwa.
C.
1. mamə enne dawas dekay.
2. ee lamea koləm̌bə yanne sumaanə dekay.
3. mee gamee tiyenne hooṭəleak.
4. maṭə puttu inne hatərə denay.
5. oyaaṭə yannə puluwaŋ koocciyəkiŋ də?
6. mamə nawətinnə oonə etənə.
7. maama kəranne rassaawak.
8. maṭə ennə puluwaŋ heṭə iňdəla.
9. mahatteaṭə tiyenne rejisṭar liyumak.
D.
1. maṭə lamay dennek nææ.
2. bas tunə handiye nææ.
3. ṭæksiyə paare næddə?
4. putaa kaḍee næddə?
5. mamə siigiriyəṭə yannə oonə nææ.
6. maṭə suruṭṭuwak oonə nææ.
7. ee waḍuwage wæḍə hondə nææ.
8. ee noona eloolu ganne næddə?
9. oyaa yaapəneeṭə yanne næddə?

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E.
1. bas-ekay koocciyay anuraadəpureeṭə yanəwa.
2. paarsəleekuy pooskaaṭ-ekəkuy kaḍee æti.
3. saňduday aŋgəharuwaaday liyuŋ bedanne nææ.
4. aday heṭay mamə nawətinəwa.
F.
1. mehe laŋ̌ga nawattinnə tænə tiyenəwa də?
2. taanaayəmee nawətinnə puluwaŋ.
3. taanaayəmə hoňdə də?
4. ow. siigiriyə taanaayəmə bohomə hoňday.
5. taanaayəmə mee tænə iňdəla huŋ̌gak durə də?
6. ow. hætæpmə tunak witərə.
7. ehenaŋ mamə ṭæksiyak gannə oonə, nee də?
8. ow. arə handiyəṭə yannə.
9. hooṭəlee laŋ̌gə ṭæksi æti.
10. hoňday. istuti.
11. sumaaneak mage kaar-ekə eləwənnə yannə puluwaŋ də?
12. ow. matə dæŋ wæḍak nææ.
13. (oyaa) yaapəneeṭə kaar-ekə ganne næddə?
14. nææ. (mage) noonay lamayiy yanne nææ.
15. lamay dæŋ iskoole yanəwa.
16. lamay kaar-ekəkiŋ iskooleṭə yannəwa də?
17. ow. oyaa sanduda iňdəla wæḍə ennə oonə.
18. puluwaŋ də?
19. ow. iskoole laŋ̌gə kaar-ekə nawattinnə puluwaŋ də?
20. ow.
H.
1. ookə mage liyumə də?
2. maṭə potak dennə.
3. mamə siigiriyəṭə yanəwa.
4. maama wattəkəṭə yanəwa də?
5. gaməṭə yanəwa də?
6. taatta gaməṭə yanne nææ.
7. maṭə rassaawak dennə.
8. ṭæksiyə nawattannə.
9. mehe bas nææ.
10. mamə yanne koocciyeŋ.
11. koocciyə dæŋ yanəwa?
12. mahatteala yanne kalutərəṭə də?
13. maṭə yannə puluwaŋ də?
14. mamə kalutərəṭə yanəwa.

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15. mamə kalutərəṭə yanne nææ.

16. mamə mehe nawətinəwa.
17. hooṭəleeṭə bas tiyenəwa.
18. sigəræṭ bonəwa də?
19. mamə bonne suruṭṭu.
20. sigəræṭ paawicci kəranne nææ.
I.
1. mamə heṭə siigiriyəṭə yanəwa.
2. siigiriye nawətinne dawas kiiyak də?
3. maṭə dawas dekak witərə nawətinnə puluwaŋ.
4. siigiriye nawətinnə tænak tiyenəwa də?
5. taanaayəmak tiyenəwa.
6. namut mahatteaṭə mage watte nawətinnə puluwaŋ.
7. dawas dekak nawətinəkoṭə siigiriyə balannə puluwaŋ.
8. lamea waḍuwæḍə kərənəwa də?
9. puluwaŋ mahattea.
10. maṭə lameaṭə rassaawak dennə puluwaŋ.
11. mage watte wæḍəpəlak tiyenəwa. namut waḍuwek nææ.
12. heṭə wæḍə kərannə wæḍəpələṭə yannə.
13. maṭə liyumak tiyenəwa də?
14. liyumak nææ noona, namut paarsal dekak tiyenəwa.
15. rejisṭar liyumak næddə?
16. nææ noona, paarsal witəray.

Lesson 9
A.
1. pot mokut, eloolu mokut, mokut, sigəræṭ mokut, liyuŋ mokut, pooskaaṭ mokut,
muddərə mokut, kiyannə pot mokut, bonnə suruṭṭu mokut, dennə keselgeḍi
mokut
2. dæŋ, heṭə, hawəsə, heṭə witərə, sikuraada, senəsuraada witərak
3. potak toorə gannə, keselgeḍi gannə, osṭin-ekak eləwənnə, mee potə kiyannə,
iŋgirisi pot kiyannə, siŋhələ nawəkataawak kiyannə, yaapəneeṭə bil-ekə gannə,
taanaayəmee nawətinnə, liyuŋ bedannə, kaḍeekə wæḍə kərannə
4. yanne, enne, aapəhu enne, koləm̌bə(ṭə) yanne, koləm̌bə(ṭə) aapəhu yanne,
koləm̌bə iňdəla aapəhu enne, yaapənee iňdəla aapəhu enne, kaḍeeṭə aapəhu
yanne, kaar-ekə aapəhu geenne
5. kaḍeeṭə yamu, liyuŋ bedannə yamu, kaar-ekeŋ yamu, nawəkataawak kiyannə,
wæḍə kərəmu, mee kaar-ekə səəwis kərəmu, metənə nawətimu, mokut bomu

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B.
1. api koləm̌bəṭə bas-ekeŋ yamu.
2. api wæḍə kərəmu.
3. api wookar gærej-ekəṭə yamu.
4. api saňduda gaməṭə emu.
5. ohey mamay adə gedərə iňdimu.
C.
1. putaaṭə nawəkataa pot mokut oonə də?
2. maṭə kiyəwanna pot mokut dennə.
3. mamə eloolu mokut gannə yanəwa.
4. mehe iňdəla bas mokut tiyenəwa də?
5. koləm̌bəṭə yanəkoṭə salli mokut oonə də?
D.
1. wookar gærej-ekee kaar repeaar kəranne næddə?
2. lameaṭə kiyəwannə mokut oonə næddə?
3. mahattea koləm̌bəṭə yanəkoṭə handiye nawətinne næddə?
4. lameay mamay heṭə wæḍə kəranne næddə?
5. ee mahattea laŋ̌gə hoňdə pot næddə?
E.
1. mamə adə kiyəwanne iŋgirisi potak.
2. heṭə hawəsə api yaapəneeṭə yanne kaar-ekeŋ.
3. lamay denna yanne wisaaka widyaaleṭə.
4. noonay daruwoy nawətinne yaapənee.
5. api bomu triiroos.
6. adə repeaar kərəmu mee kaar-ekə.
F.
1. yaapəneeṭə yanəkoṭə siigiriye dawas dekak nawətinnə puluwaŋ də?
2. ow. puluwaŋ.
3. osṭin-ekak eləwənnə puluwaŋ də?
4. ow. mamə dæŋ eləwənne osṭin-ekak.
5. oyaaṭə mage kaar-ekə dawas tunak paawicci kərənnə puluwaŋ.
6. kaar-ekə ganne næddə?
7. nææ. bas-ekeŋ yanəwa.
8. lamay yanne næddə?
9. nææ. lamay iskoole yanəwa.
10. iŋgirisi pot kiyəwənnə puluwaŋ də?
11. ow. puluwaŋ.
12. maṭə siŋhələ nawəkataa nææ.
13. kamak nææ. maṭə iŋgirisi nawəkataawə dennə.
14. hoňday. hawəsə ennə.

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15. gærej-ekətə yanakoṭə ennə puluwaŋ.

16. mamə dæn kaḍee innəwa. kaḍeeṭə ennə.
G.
Text of Lesson 1:
1. mehe iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə bas-ekak tiyenəwa də?
2. nææ, mahattea.
3. mee bas-ekə yanne kohaaṭə də?
4. meekə yanne kalutərəṭə.
5. kalutərə iňdəla koləm̌bəṭə bas tiyenəwa də?
6. ow, nitərəmə tiyenəwa.
7. meekeŋ kalutərəṭə yannə.
8. meekə dæŋ yanəwa.
9. kalutərə iňdəla koləm̌bə bas-ekəkiŋ yannə.
10. hoňday. kiiyə də kalutərəṭə?
11. rupiyal dekay.
12. mennə. ṭikæṭ-ekak dennə.
Text of Lesson 2:
1. mehe næwikəṭ tiyenəwa də?
2. næwikəṭ nææ, mahattea.
3. oyə monəwa də?
4. mee triiroos.
5. eekə hoňdə sigəræṭ jaatiyak də?
6. ow, mahattea.
7. huŋ̌gak denaa triiroos paawicci kərənəwa.
8. mahattea suruṭṭu bonəwa də?
9. api laŋ̌gə hoňdə suruṭṭu tiyenəwa.
10. laŋkaawe suruṭṭu də?
11. ow, maatəlee suruṭṭu.
12. meekə bohomə rasay.
13. mennə. suwəňdə balannə.
14. aa, meekə bohomə særay!
15. maṭə arə sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekak dennə.
Text of Lesson 3:
1. lamea mehe paləturu tiyenəwa də?
2. nææ, noona mahattea. paləturu tiyenne alləpu kaḍee.
3. mehe tiyenne eloolu witərə də?
4. ow. eloolu witəray.
5. maṭə paləturu ṭikak gannə oonə.
6. hoňday. noona mahatteaṭə monəwa də oonə?

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7. hoňdə keselgeḍi tiyenəwa də?

8. tiyenəwa, noona.
9. noona mahatteaṭə keselgeḍi oonə də?
10. meekə ekak satə tunay.
11. arəkə ekak satə hatəray.
12. meekeŋ tunak dennə.
13. æpəl tiyenəwa də?
14. æpəl nææ.
15. noona mahatteaṭə wenə monəwa də oonə?
16. wenə mokut epaa.

Lesson 10 
A.
1. koten də, metənə, atənə, otənə, kaḍee, mee kawnṭəree, arə kawnṭəree, alləpu
kaḍee
2. kawnṭəree, mahattea, kaḍeekəṭə, handiyəkəṭə, yaapəneeṭə, potwələṭə, noonaṭə,
mage putaaṭə, arə kaḍeeṭə, ee kawnṭəreeṭə
3. kiyəwənnə hoňdə, gannə hoňdə, iŋgirisi igenəgannə hoňdə, maṭə hoňdə, gedərə
gannə hoňdə, yaapəneeṭə gannə hoňdə, iskooləṭə geennə hoňdə, lameaṭə dennə
hoňdə
4. siŋhələ, iŋgirisi, kaar jaati, lamay, kaḍə, gaŋ, iskoole pot, mage daruwo,
mahattəru, maamala
5. adə, ikmənəṭə, saňduda, hawəsə, adə ikmənəṭə, mee hawəsə, saňduda rææ,
senasuraada, iiye, iiye udee
6. rupiyal dekee, rupiyal dolahe, rupiyal pahee, rupiyal hatəre, rupiyal hatee, rupiyal
hayee, rupiyal ekolahe, rupiyal aṭee, rupiyal dahee, rupiyal namee, rupiyal tunee
B.
1. meekə koləm̌bəṭə yannə hoňdə bas-ekak.
2. arakə yaapəneeṭə geniyannə hoňdə kaar-ekak.
3. meekə mahatteaṭə bonnə hoňdə sigəræṭ.
4. arəkə lameaṭə gannə hoňdə eloolu.
C.
1. mamə geniyanne kaar dekay.
2. arə ḍraiwar eləwanne bas dekay.
3. taata ganne sigəræṭ pækæṭ hayay.
4. mamə denne maatəlee suruṭṭu nameay.
5. ee miniha kiyəwanne pot dahayay.

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D.
1. api pot kiyəwənəwa madi.
2. lamea akuru dannəwa madi.
3. noona eloolu gannəwa madi.
4. maṭə siŋhələ teerenəwa madi.
E.
1. apiṭə pot madi.
2. mee kaḍee hoňdə eloolu madi.
3. api laŋ̌gə hoňdə suruṭṭu madi.
4. mahatteaṭə kaar-ekak madi.
F.
1. (oyaa) siŋhələ dannəwa də?
2. (oyaaṭə) siŋhələ koccərə teerenne də?
3. pot kiyəwənəwa.
4. namut teerenəwa madi.
5. hooḍiyə dannəwa də?
6. ow. hooḍiyə (or akuru) kiyəwannə puluwaŋ.
7. oyaa heṭə enəkoṭə oyaage potə geennə.
8. dæŋ pot dekak paawicci kərənəwa.
9. ee monəwa də?
10. tuŋ wæni pantiye pot də?
11. ow.
12. (oyaa) heṭə yaapəneeṭə yanəwa də?
13. ow. namut kaar-ekə geniyanne nææ.
14. kamak nææ. mage kaar-ekeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
15. æy? oyaa heṭə yanəwa də?
16. ow.
17. hoňday. lamay yanne næddə?
18. nææ. noonay daruwoy gamee nawətinəwa.
19. oyaa yanəkoṭə maṭə kiyannə.
G.
Text of Lesson 4:
1. gool-fees hooṭəlee huŋ̌gak durə də?
2. ṭikak duray.
3. hætæpmə kiiyak tiyenəwa də?
4. metənə iňdəla hætæpmə tunak tiyenəwa.
5. ṭæksiyəkiŋ yannə oonə.
6. maṭə teerune nææ.
7. aayet kiyannə.
8. metənə iňdəla hætæpmə tunak tiyenəwa.
9. ṭæksiyəkiŋ yannə oonə.

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10. teeruna də?

11. ow, teeruna.
12. ṭæksiyak ganne kohomə də kiyannə.
13. arə paarəṭə yannə.
14. etəkoṭə ṭæksiyak nawattannə puluwaŋ.
15. nættaŋ arə handiyəṭə yannə. etənə ṭæksi tiyenəwa.
16. arə enne ṭæksiyak.
17. bohomə istutiy.
Text of Lesson 5:
1. dæŋ anuraadəpuree wæssə tiyenəwa də?
2. nææ. dæŋ ee pætte wæssə nææ.
3. æy? mahatteaṭə anuraadəpureeṭə yannə oonə də?
4. ow. maṭə ee palaatə balannə oonə.
5. anuraadəpureeṭə koocci tiyenəwa də?
6. ow. koocciyeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
7. anuraadəpuree iňdəla kaar-ekak gannə oonə.
8. anuraadəpuree dawas kiiyak nawətinnə oonə də?
9. dawas dekak nawətinnə.
10. balannə tæŋ huŋ̌gak tiyenəwa.
11. anuraadəpuree kaar-ekak gannə puluwaŋ də?
12. puluwaŋ. ehe ṭæksi tiyenəwa.
13. anuraadəpuree isṭeesəmə laŋ̌gə hooṭəleak tiyenəwa.
14. etenṭə yannə. etənə ṭæksi tiyenəwa.
15. etənə nawətinnə puluwaŋ də?
16. ow. nawətinnə puluwaŋ.
17. siigiriye hoňdə hooṭələ tiyenəwa də?
18. nawətinnə də?
19. ow.
20. siigiriye taanaayəmə huŋ̌gak hoňday.
21. taanaayəmə tiyenne siigiri galə laŋ̌gə.
Text of Lesson 6:
1. dæŋ oyaage kaḍee næddə?
2. nææ, mahattea. dæŋ kaḍee kəranne maama.
3. oyaa?
4. mamə uḍəraṭə poḍi rassaawak kərənəwa.
5. pawlə inne uḍəraṭə də?
6. nææ. gamee.
7. pawlə balaaganne taatta.
8. lamay kiidenek innəwa də?
9. tuŋ denek innəwa, mahattea.
10. iskoole yanne næddə?

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11. iskoole yanne duwə witəray.

12. puttu denna yanne nææ.
13. oyaaṭə gamee rassaawak kərannə puluwaŋ də?
14. puluwaŋ mahattea.
15. rassaawak tiyenəwa də?
16. oyaaṭə waḍuwæḍə puluwaŋ də?
17. puluwaŋ. mamə dæŋ kəranne waḍuwæḍə.
18. ehenaŋ mage watte wæḍak dennə puluwaŋ.
19. watte waḍuwek innəwa.
20. namut ee minihage wæḍə hoňdə nææ.
21. bohomə istutiy, mahattea.
22. maṭə heṭə iňdəla ennə puluwaŋ.
23. hoňday. ehenaŋ heṭə ennə.
24. arə tiyenne wæḍəpələ.
25. udee etenṭə ennə.
26. hoňday mahattea.

Lesson 11 
A.
1. ekəṭə witərə, dekəṭə, hatərəṭə, hayəṭə witərə, adə rææ, pahaṭə, aṭəṭə witərə,
kiiyəṭə də?, dolahaṭə witərə
2. mee potəṭə, næṭumə balannə, sigəræṭ pækæṭ-ekəkəṭə gannə, liyuŋ bedannə,
mee muddəreeṭə, muddərə gannə, næṭuwaṭə, nameeṭə witərə ennə, adə rææ
yannə, osṭin-ekəṭə, ṭæksiyeŋ yannə, gool-fees hooṭəlee nawətinnə, maatəlee
suruṭṭu bonnə, alləpu kaḍeeṭə, laŋkaawəṭə
3. mage puutat ekkə, mage duulat ekkə, mage maamat ekkə, lameat ekkə, maat
ekkə, areat ekkə, oyaat ekkə, arealat ekkə, meyaat ekkə, eyaat ekkə, meyaalat
ekkə, eyaage putat ekkə, eyaalat ekkə, murəkaareekut ekkə, murəkaareage
putat ekkə, lameekut ekkə, duula dennat ekkə, maamekut ekkə
4. geeṭṭuwə issərəha, kaḍee issərəha, ee tænə issərəha, wattak issərəha, mage
kaḍee laŋ̌gə, pereera mahatteage watte, ape geeṭṭuwə laŋ̌gə, maatalee, kaḍeak
laŋ̌gə, taanaayəmə issərəha, siigiri galə laŋ̌gə, nameeṭə witərə
5. maṭə kiyannə, lameaṭə kiyannə, mage puttu dennaṭə kiyannə, eyaage maamaṭə
kiyannə, ape maamage lameaṭə kiyannə, pereera mahatteaṭə kiyannə, næṭuwo
tuŋ dennaṭə kiyannə, murakaareaṭə kiyannə, noonaṭə kiyannə, taattaṭə kiyannə

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B.
1. mee areage kaḍee.
2. maama yanne eyaage gedərəṭə.
3. meyaaṭə siŋhələ puluwaŋ.
4. eyaa iskoole innəwa.
5. meyaa næṭuŋ balanna kæmətii.
6. mama areaṭə kæmətii.
7. areaṭə salli dennə.
8. areala taanaayəmee nawətinəwa.
C.
1. mahattea maṭə salli dennə kiyannə.
2. noona eloolu gannə kiyannə.
3. lamea magee kaar-ekə səəwis kərannə kiyannə.
4. ee mahattea siŋhələ kataa kərannə kiyannə.
5. noona mahattea pot dekak gannə kiyannə.
6. eyaa heṭə rææ mehee ennə kiyannə.
7. pereera ṭæksiyak nawəttannə kiyannə.
8. maama kaar-ekə handiyəṭə geniyannə kiyannə.
9. taatta maat ekkə koləm̌bə yannə kiyannə.
D.
1. oyaa laŋ̌gə nawəkataa pot tiyenəwa də?
2. ow. maṭə oyaaṭə potak dennə puluwaŋ.
3. oyaaṭə monəwa də oonə?
4. maṭə iŋgirisi potak denna puluwaŋ də?
5. ow, puluwaŋ. oyaaṭə adə rææ aṭəṭə witərə ennə də?
6. ow. namut mamə paarə danne nææ.
7. oyaage maama paarə dannəwa. eyaat ekkə ennə.
8. hoňday.
9. eyaaṭə kaar-ekak tiyenəwa, nee?
10. ow.
11. hoňday.
12. oyaa bandaṭə kæməti də?
13. ow. eyaage wæḍə hoňday.
14. namut eyaa tunəṭə witərə gedərə yanəwa.
15. eyaa hoňdə næṭṭuwek.
16. eyaa nitərə naṭannə kæməti.
17. eyaa iskoole yanne næddə?
18. ow, yanəwa. namut ekəṭə witərə gedərə enəwa.
19. banda heṭə enəkoṭə, eyaage putat ekkə ennə kiyannə.
20. eyaage naṭannə bohomə hoňday.
21. hoňday.

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E.
1. næṭumə
2. prasiddə
3. næṭṭuwa
4. lameat ekkə
5. geniyənəwa
6. amaaru
7. hæbæy
8. murakaareaṭə
9. iwərəwenəkoṭə
10. eliwenəkaŋ
11. hoňdə
12. kæməraawak
13. payiŋ yanəwa
14. geeṭṭuwə
15. ræækiŋ
16. mahattea uḍəraṭə næṭum balannə kæməti də?
17. ow. kæməti. æy hoňdə næṭumak tiyenəwa də?
18. adə rææ apee watte bohomə hoňdə næṭumak tiyenəwa.
19. eekəṭə prasiddə næṭṭuwo enəwa də?
20. ow. ee næṭṭuwo bohomə prasiddə.
21. ehenaŋ maṭə pintuurə ṭikak gannə oonə.
22. hoňdə pintuurə gannə puluwaŋ. kæməraawə geennə.
23. hoňday. mamə enəkoṭə mage kæməraawə geenəwa.
F.
Text of Lesson 7:
1. dæŋ lamea gamee də?
2. ow, mahattea. dæŋ wæḍak nææ.
3. oyə lameaṭə kaar eləwannə puluwaŋ, nee də?
4. puluwaŋ, mahattea.
5. sumaaneak mage kaar-ekə eləwannə ennə.
6. mamə heṭə yaapəneeṭə yanəwa.
7. sumaaneak yaapənee innə oonə.
8. etəkoṭə maṭə kaar-ekee wæḍə kərannə kenek oonə.
9. ennə puluwaŋ, mahattea. kaar-ekə yaapəneeṭə geniyənəwa də?
10. nææ. kaar-ekə gamee tiyennə oonə.
11. lamay iskoole yanne kaar-ekeŋ.
12. ehenaŋ yaapəneeṭə yanne mahattea witəray, nee?
13. ow, mamə witəray. noonay daruwoy gamee nawətinəwa.
14. lamay iskoole yanne koləm̌bə də?
15. ow, puttu denna yanne rooyal koliijiyəṭə. duwə wisaaka widyaaleṭə.
16. mahatteage kaar-ekə osṭin-ekak, nee də?

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17. ow. oyaaṭə osṭin eləwannə puluwaŋ, nee?

18. ow. puluwaŋ, mahattea.
19. heṭə udee iňdəla wæḍəṭə ennə puluwaŋ də?
20. puluwaŋ, mahattea.
21. hoňday, ehenaŋ udee ennə.
Text of Lesson 8:
1. maṭə adə liyuŋ næddə?
2. liyuŋ nææ, mahattea.
3. paarsəleekuy, pooskaaṭ-ekəkuy tiyenəwa.
4. paarsəleekuy, pooskaaṭ-ekəkuy?
5. rejisṭər liyumak næddə?
6. nææ, mahattea. rejisṭər liyumak nææ.
7. mamə dæŋ sumaaneak witərə rejisṭər liyumak balaaporottuweŋ innəwa.
8. liyuŋ nætiwenəwa də?
9. rejisṭər liyuŋ nætiwenne nææ.
10. saməharəwiṭə heṭə æti.
11. heṭə liyuŋ bedanne nææ, mahattea.
12. heṭə irida, nee?
13. mahatteaṭə muddərə oonə də?
14. epaa. maṭə adə muddərə tiyenəwa.
15. saňduda enəkoṭə rupiyal pahee muddəreak geennə.
16. mennə salli.
17. nææ. salli saňduda gannə puluwaŋ.
Text of Lesson 9:
1. oyaa laŋ̌gə hoňdə nawəkataa pot næddə?
2. potak dennə puluwaŋ.
3. hawəsə apee gedərəṭə ennə puluwaŋ də?
4. maṭə dæŋ kiyəwannə pot mokut nææ.
5. ee nisaa ennə oonə.
6. mamə laŋ̌gə huŋ̌gak tiyenne iŋgirisi nawəkataa pot.
7. eekəṭə kamak nææ.
8. oyaa gedərə yanəkoṭə parakku wenəwa də?
9. nææ. mamə dæŋ yanəwa.
10. maṭə dæŋ ennə puluwaŋ. kamak næddə?
11. nææ. ennə. eekə leesiy.
12. hoňdə potak toorə gannə puluwaŋ.
13. ikmənəṭə ennə.
14. mamə adə yanne bas-ekeŋ.
15. nææ. mage kaar-ekə tiyenəwa.
16. ennə. kaar-ekeŋ yannə puluwaŋ.
17. ehemə də? eekə hoňday.

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18. adə mage kaar-ekə gærej-ekee.

19. æy, repeaar-ekak də?
20. nææ. səəwis kərənəwa. aapəhu gannə puluwaŋ hawəsə.
21. oyaaṭə tiyenne osṭin-ekak, nee?
22. ow.
23. ehenaŋ səəwis kəranne wookar gærej-ekee.
24. ow.
25. dæŋ yanəkoṭə gærej-ekee nawətinnə oonə də?
26. nææ. dæŋ gedərə yamu. oyaaṭə parakku wenəwa, nee?
27. maṭə passe ennə puluwaŋ.

Lesson 12 
A.
1. ekə wenəkoṭə, dekə wenəkoṭə, hatərə wenəkoṭə, hayə wenəkoṭə, aṭə wenəkoṭə,
dahee wenəkoṭə, ekolaha wenəkoṭə, namee wenəkoṭə, tunə wenəkoṭə, hatə
wenəkoṭə, paha wenəkoṭə, doləha, hariyəṭə mə dolahaṭə
2. adə, saňduda, heṭə, taamə, aday heṭay, hayə wenəkoṭə, adə rææ, hariyəṭə mə
pahaṭə, saməharə dawaswələ
3. (oyaa) koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa naŋ, eyaa kantooruwe yanəwa naŋ, mahattea
ṭawməṭə yanəwa naŋ, (oyaa) koheewat yanəwa naŋ, (oyaa) passe enəwa naŋ,
mahattea ṭælifooŋ kərənəwa naŋ, Pereerə kaar-ekeŋ yanəwa naŋ, (oyaa) wæḍə
kərənəwa naŋ, yaapəneeṭə yanəkoṭə, kaar-ekə səəwis kərənəkoṭə
4. ṭælifooŋ kərannaŋ, ennaŋ, koləm̌bəṭə yannaŋ, wædə kərannaŋ, kaḍeeṭə yannaŋ,
kantooruwə yannaŋ, mahattea balannaŋ, hayə wenəkoṭə ennaŋ, mee potə
kiyəwannaŋ, oyaaṭə nawəkataa potak dennaŋ
B.
1. ee lamea adə rææ wæḍə kəraawi.
2. eyaa hayə wenəkoṭə koheewat yaawi.
3. noona kææməṭə eewi.
4. api adə rææ næṭuməṭə yannaŋ.
5. mamə adə kææməṭə gedərə yannaŋ.
6. api kæməraawə geennaŋ.
7. apee putaa hayəṭə witərə eewi.
8. ee lamea adə næṭumə balannə yaawi də?
C.
1. mahattea yaapəneeṭə yanəwa naŋ lameat ekkə yannə.
2. noona mahattea eloolu gannəwa naŋ mee kaḍeeṭə ennə.
3. mamə wæḍə kərənəwa naŋ oyaa gaməṭə yannə.
4. lamea pot kiyəwənəwa naŋ ṭælifooŋ kəraawi.

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D.
1. ee lameaṭə kaar eləwannə bææ.
2. noona mahatteaṭə siŋhələ bææ.
3. oyaaṭə suruṭṭu bonnə bææ.
4. ee mahatteaṭə waḍuwæḍə bææ.
E.
1. mahattea heṭə yaapəneeṭə yannə tiyenəwa.
2. mamə adə rææ næṭumak balannə tiyenəwa.
3. waḍuwa heṭə koləm̌bəṭə yannə tiyenəwa.
4. murəkaarea adə rææ geeṭṭuwə laŋ̌gə innə tiyenəwa.
F.
1. mahattea heṭə gedərə enəwa may.
2. murəkaarea adə rææ geeṭṭuwə laŋ̌gə innəwa may.
3. lamea taamə wæḍəpəlee wæḍə kərənəwa may.
4. mahattea dæŋ kantooruwə wahanəwa may.
5. noona adə rææ næṭumak balannə yanəwa may.
G.
1. Mahattea taamə kantooruwe innəwa də?
2. Ow. Namut paha wenəkoṭə enəwa.
3. (oyaaṭə) mahattea hambə wennə oonə də?
4. ow.
5. adə hambə wennə bææ.
6. adə mahatteaṭə huŋ̌gak wædə tiyenəwa.
7. mahattea adə rææ gedərə næddə?
8. nææ. adə rææ kææməṭə koləm̌bəṭə yanəwa.
9. heṭə gedərə innəwa də?
10. kiyannə bææ.
11. hoňday. heṭə tælifooŋ kərannaŋ.
12. ennə. waaḍi wennə.
13. (oyaaṭə) maṭə hambə wennə oonə də?
14. ow. mahatteaṭə maṭə rassaawak dennə puluwaŋ də?
15. (oyaaṭə) monəwa də puluwaŋ?
16. mage waḍuwæḍə hoňday.
17. maṭə dæŋ waḍuwo denna innəwa.
18. namut maṭə mage kaar-ekə eləwannə hoňdə lamea oonə.
19. (oyaaṭə) eləwannə puluwaŋ də?
20. ow, mahattea.
21. passe ennə. ḍrayvər onnə naŋ, oyaaṭə kiyannaŋ.
22. heṭə ennə puluwaŋ də?
23. mahattea, mamə heṭə udee taattaṭə hambə wennə oonə.

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24. maṭə heṭə rææ ennə puluwaŋ.

25. hoňday. ehenaŋ ennə.
26. stutiy, mahattea.
D.
Text of Lesson 10:
1. iskoolə pot tiyenne koten də?
2. arə kawnṭəree laŋ̌gəṭə yannə.
3. mahatteaṭə pot mokut oonə də?
4. siŋhələ igenəgannə hoňdə pot monəwa də?
5. mahattea siŋhələ koccərə dannəwa də?
6. ṭikak kataa kərannə puluwaŋ. akuru dannəwa.
7. maṭə ikmənəṭə siŋhələ igenəgannə oonə.
8. pattəree kiyəwənəwa də?
9. kiyəwənəwa. namut teerenne bohomə ṭikay.
10. mee potə kiyəwannə puluwaŋ də?
11. kiyəwannə puluwaŋ. teerenəwa madi.
12. meekə?
13. meekə tarəmak teerenəwa.
14. ehemə də? ookə tuŋwæni pantiye potak.
15. mahattea tuŋwæni pantiyeŋ paṭaŋ gannə.
16. ehenaŋ maṭə tuŋwæni pantiye pot dekak dennə.
17. mahatteaṭə mee dekə hoňday.
18. kiiyədə gaanə?
19. rupiyal tunak dennə.
Text of Lesson 11:
1. mahattea uḍəraṭə næṭuŋ balannə kæməti də?
2. ow, ow. æy, mehe næṭumak tiyenəwa də?
3. adə rææ apee gamee hoňdə næṭumak tiyenəwa.
4. bohomə prəsiddə næṭṭuwo enəwa.
5. maṭə ennə puluwaŋ.
6. adə maṭə wenə wæḍak nææ. kiiyəṭə də ennə oonə?
7. nameeṭə witərə ennə. mahattea paarə dannəwa də?
8. nææ, mamə paarə danne nææ.
9. ehenaŋ, apee putat ekkə ennə. eyaa inne arə kaḍee.
10. eheṭə kaar-ekə geniyannə puluwaŋ də?
11. apee gedərə laŋ̌gəṭə kaar-ekə geniyannə amaaruy. kaar-ekə watte nawattannə.
12. hæbæy, watte iňdəla payiŋ yannə oonə.
13. watte murəkaareek innəwa də?
14. ow, murəkaareek innəwa. kaar-ekə geeṭṭuwə issərəha nawattannə puluwaŋ.
15. næṭuŋ iwərə wenəkoṭə rææ wenəwa də?
16. ow, eli wenə kaŋ naṭənəwa. ee nisaa apee gedərə nawətinnə oonə.

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17. mokut geennə oonə də?

18. mahattea laŋ̌gə kæməraawak tiyenəwa, nee?
19. ow.
20. eekə geennə.
21. hoňdə pintuurə ṭikak gannə puluwaŋ.
22. hoňday, lamea yanəkoṭə maṭə kataa kərannə kiyannə.
Text of Lesson 12:
1. mahattea gedərə innəwa də?
2. nææ. taamə kantooruwe.
3. kiiyəṭə də gedərə enne?
4. kantooruwə wahanne hatərəṭə. pahaṭə witərə gedərə eewi.
5. æy, mahattea hambə wennə oonə də?
6. ow, maṭə mahattea ṭikak hambə wennə oonə.
7. hariyəṭə mə pahaṭə eewi də?
8. kiyannə bææ.
9. saməharə dawaswələ enəkoṭə rææ wenəwa.
10. hambə wennə oonə naŋ ṭikak innə.
11. ennə. meheŋ waaḍi wennə.
12. dæŋ welaawə tunay.
13. kiiyə də?
14. tunay.
15. tawə huŋ̌gak welaa tiyenəwa, nee də? maṭə ṭawməṭə yannə tiyenəwa.
16. mamə passe ennaŋ. mamə pahaṭə ennaŋ.
17. mahatteaṭə kiyannə. nættaŋ mahattea koheewat yaawi.
18. mahatteage namə?
19. joon pereera.
20. hoňday. mamə kiyannaŋ. mahattea hayə wenəkoṭə enəwa may.
21. adə rææ kææməṭə koheewat yanne nææ.
22. ee nisaa hambə wennə amaaruwak nææ.
23. hoňday. mamə enəwa naŋ ṭælifooŋ kərannaŋ.

Review 3 
A.
1. wæḍə kərənəkoṭə, bas-ekeŋ yanəkoṭə, koləm̌bəṭə yanəkoṭə, suruttu gannəkoṭə,
nawəkataa pot kiyəwənəkoṭə, mage kaar-ekə səəwis kərənəkoṭə, pot mokut
gannəkoṭə, hawəsə gærej-ekəṭə yanəkoṭə
2. putat ekkə, oyaage duwat ekkə, eyaage maamalat ekkə, taattat ekkə, lameat
ekkə, mahatteat ekkə, noonat ekkə, jonut ekkə

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3. koləm̌bəṭə yannaŋ, mehee ennaŋ, mee kaar-ekeŋ yannaŋ, nawəkataa potak

gannaŋ, ṭikak kataa kərannaŋ, ikmənəṭə ennaŋ, parakku wennaŋ, kaar-ekə
səəwis kərannaŋ, osṭin-ekəkiŋ yannaŋ, gærej-ekəṭə aapəhu yannaŋ, pot ṭikak
gannaŋ, ṭikak siŋhələ kataa kərannaŋ, hooḍiyə (or akuru) igenə gannaŋ,
pattəree kiyəwannaŋ, tuŋwæni pantiye potak kiyəwannaŋ, hatərəwæni pantiyeŋ
paṭaŋ gannaŋ, rupiyal tunak dennaŋ, uḍəraṭə næṭuŋ balannaŋ
4. koləm̌bəṭə yaawi, næṭumə balaawi, prəsiddə næṭṭuwek kiyaawi, wæḍə mokut
kəraawi, nameeṭə witərə eewi, oyaaṭə paarə kiyaawi, putat ekkə eewi, oyaage
gedərə laŋ̌gəṭə kaar-ekə geniyaawi, watte kaar-ekə nawattaawi, payiŋ yaawi,
geeṭṭuwə issərəha nawatiiwi, eli wenə kaŋ naṭaawi, mokut geewi, mage
kæməraawə geewi, ṭikak pintuurə ganiiwi, kantooruwəṭə yaawi, kantooruwə
hatərəṭə wahaawi, eeya hambə weewi, rææ wenəwa wæḍə kəraawi, meheŋ
waaḍi weewi, ṭawməṭə yaawi, passe eewi, koheetwat yaawi, rææ kææməṭə
gedərə eewi, oyaaṭə ṭælifooŋ kəraawi
5. wæḍə kərəmu, naṭəmu, koheewat yamu, gedərə nawətimu, passe kannə yamu,
mahattea hambə wemu, ṭikak pintuurə gammu (or ganimu), hawəsə wæḍə
kərəmu, hayə wenəkoṭə emu, mee bas-ekeŋ yamu
6. kaḍee laŋ̌gə, geeṭṭuwə laŋ̌gə, gedərə laŋ̌gə, kaḍee issərəha, geeṭṭuwə issərəha,
gedərə issərəha, ṭawme, pereera mahatteage watte, kantooruwə laŋ̌gə,
kantooruwə issərəha
7. hayə wenəkoṭə, namee wenəkoṭə, hatərə wenəkoṭə, dolaha wenəkoṭə, ekolaha
wenəkoṭə, hatə wenəkoṭə, dahayə wenəkoṭə, paha wenəkoṭə
8. wædə karannə puluwaŋ, wæḍə karannə oonə, wæḍə karannə oonə nææ, wæḍə
karannə bææ, naṭannə tiyenəwa, naṭannə bææ, pattaree kiyəwannə tiyenəwa,
kannə yannə tiyenəwa, kannə yannə oonə, kaar-ekeŋ yannə oonə, naṭannə
puluwaŋ, kaar səəwis kərannə bææ
9. mahattea yanəwa naŋ, (oyaa) enəwa naŋ, (oyaa) bas-ekeŋ yanəwa naŋ, (oyaa)
naṭanəwa naŋ, (oyaa) iskoole yanəwa naŋ, (oyaa) mokut pot gannəwa naŋ,
(oyaaṭə) maṭə hambə wenəwa naŋ, tawə huŋ̌gak welaa tiyenəwa naŋ
10. kiyəwannə hoňdə potak, balannə hoňdə tænak, yannə hoňdə ṭawmak, siŋhələ
igenəgannə hoňdə potak, balannə hoňdə næṭumak, yannə hoňdə bas-ekak,
mage kaar-ekə səəwis kərannə hoňdə gærej-ekak
B.
1. metənə pot kiiyak tiyenəwa də?
2. lamay kiidenek koləm̌bə yanəwa də?
3. pereera mahatteaṭə watu kiiyak tiyenəwa də?
4. mahattea laŋ̌gə nawəkataa pot kiiyak tiyenəwa də?
5. ṭawməṭə yannə hoňdə bas kiiyak tiyenəwa də?
6. wæḍə kərannə hoňdə lamay kiidenek innəwa də?

187
Colloquial Sinhala

7. oyaaṭə kaar kiiyak oonə də?

8. ee lameaṭə pot kiiyak kiyəwannə puluwaŋ də?
9. putaaṭə kantooru kiiyak tiyenəwa də?
10. lamea akuru kiiyak dannəwa də?
C.
1. mamə laŋ̌gə pot dahayak tiyenəwa.
2. mee pot doloha kiiyə də?
3. ee kaḍee lamay hatədenek innəwa.
4. ee lamay hatədenaage naŋ dannəwa də?
5. putaage kaar dekə gæreej-ekee.
6. arə bas hatərə kohaaṭə də?
7. oyaage puttu aṭədenaa watte innəwa.
8. oyaa enə koṭə puttu tuŋdenaat ekkə ennə.
9. mee rupiyal hayə mahatteage də?
10. mahattea gedərə enə koṭə nawəkataa pot dekə geennə.
D.
1. mamə laŋ̌gə tiyenne siŋhələ nawəkataa potak.
siŋhələ nawəkataa potak tiyenne mamə laŋ̌gə.
2. maṭə dennə puluwaŋ pot dekak.
pot dekak dennə puluwaŋ maṭə.
3. ee lamea səəwis kəranne mage kaar-ekə.
mage kaar-ekə səəwis kəranne ee lamea.
4. adə bas-ekeŋ yanne mamə.
mamə bas-ekeŋ yanne adə.
mamə adə yanne bas-ekeŋ.
5. oyaaṭə tiyenne osṭin-ekak də?
osṭin-ekak tiyenne oyaaṭə də?
6. wookar gæreej-ekee wæḍə kəranne mage putaa.
mage putaa wæḍə kəranne wookar gæreej-ekee.
7. mamə gæreej-ekee nawətinnə oonə dæŋ.
dæŋ gæreej-ekee nawətinnə oonə mamə.
dæŋ mamə nawətinnə oonə gæreej-ekee.
8. arə kaunṭəree laŋ̌gə inne ee lamea.
ee lamea inne arə kaunṭəree laŋ̌gə.
9. mee poteŋ siŋhələ igenəganne eyaa.
eyaa siŋhələ igenəganne mee poteŋ.
eyaa mee poteŋ igenəganne siŋhələ.
10. ṭikak kataakərannə puluwaŋ maṭə.
maṭə kataakərannə puluwaŋ ṭikak.
11. akuru danne ee mahattea.
ee mahattea danne akuru.

188
 Key to exercises

12. tuŋwæni pantiye potak oonə maṭə.

maṭə oonə tuŋwæni pantiye potak.
13. oyaa balannə kæməti uḍəraṭə næṭuŋ də?
uḍəraṭə næṭuŋ balannə kæməti oyaa də?
14. nætumak tiyenne mehe də?
mehe tiyenne nætumak də?
15. putat ekkə enne mamə.
mamə enne putat ekkə.
E.
1. maṭə pot madi.
2. lamea kaar-ekə səəwis kərənəwa madi.
3. taatta gaməṭə yanəwa madi.
4. apee gamee næṭuŋ madi.
5. maṭə wæḍə madi.
6. ee lamea kantooruwe nawətinəwa madi.
7. eyaa siŋhələ igenəgannəwa madi.
8. mamə pattəree balənəwa madi.
F.
1. mahattea kantooruwəṭə yannə paṭaŋ gannəwa.
2. putaa pattəree balannə paṭaŋ gannəwa.
3. hatərəṭə kantooruwə wahannə paṭaŋ gannəwa.
4. eyaa heṭə siŋhələ igenəgannə paṭaŋ gannəwa.
5. pereera mahattea wattəṭə yannə paṭaŋ gannəwa.
6. ee miniha adə naṭannə paṭaŋ gannəwa.
7. mamə passe potak kiyəwannə paṭaŋ gannəwa.
G.
1. dæŋ dekay.
2. dæŋ tunay.
3. dæŋ hatəray.
4. dæŋ (welaawə) kiiyə də?
5. welaawə kiiyə də?
6. kiiyətə də?
7. kiiyəṭə witərə də?
8. tunəṭə.
9. ekolahaṭə witərə.
10. dolahaṭə witərə.
11. dahayəṭə.
12. dæŋ nameay.
13. eyaa taamə kantooruwe.
14. geeṭṭuwa laŋ̌gəṭə ennə.
15. maṭə kiyəwannə pot mokut nææ.

189
Colloquial Sinhala

16. ee nisaa ennə oonə.

17. oyaaṭə parakku wenəwa də?
18. kamak næddə?
19. oyaaṭə parakku wenəwa, nee də?
20. iskoole pot tiyenne koteŋ də?
21. iŋgirisi igenəgannə hoňdə pot monəwa də?
22. (maṭə) meekə tarəmak teerenəwa.
23. geeṭṭuwə laŋ̌ge iňdəla payiŋ yannə oonə.
24. kæməraawak tiyenəwa də?
25. lamea yanəkoṭə maṭə kataa kərannə kiyannə.
26. maṭə eyaa ṭikak hambə wennə oonə.
27. tawə welaa tiyenəwa.
28. nættaŋ eyaa koheewat yaawi.
29. oyaage namə?
30. mee hawəsə ṭælifooŋ kərannaŋ.
I.
1. mamə laŋ̌gə hoňdə potak tiyenəwa. ohee laŋ̌gə mee jaatiye potak tiyenəwa də?
nættaŋ mee potə geniyannə. passe enəkoṭə geennə. meekə hoňdə
nawəkataawak tiyenəwa. mahattea meekəṭə huŋ̌gak kæmətiy. mahattea
nawəkataa pot huŋ̌gak kiyəwənəwa də?
2. apee taatta mee dawaswələ koləm̌bə. koləm̌bə dæŋ mee dawaswələ huŋ̌gak
wæḍə tiyenəwa. taatta dæŋ gaməṭə enəwa madi. ee nisaa api heṭə koləm̌bə
yanəwa. enəkoṭə taatta balannə puluwaŋ. taatta hambəwennə oonə naŋ apit
ekkə ennə. udeeṭə apee wattəṭə ennə puluwaŋ də? apee kaar.ekeŋ yamu. eekə
leesiy.

190
 Glossary

Glossary
This glossary has two parts: Sinhala-English and English-Sinhala. In both, the class
of Sinhala nouns is indicated using n1, n2, etc., and the plurals are given (except
for nouns of Class 1 for which the plural may be predicted as stated in Lesson 2).
Genitives are given for nouns of Class 2, since these cannot be predicted.
Regular verb classes are indicated as v1, v2, etc., and irregular verbs classes as vi1,
vi2, etc. Past tense and past participle forms are supplied in addition to the present
tense, both those that may be predicted from the stem vowels, and those that are
irregular. Other abbreviations should be self-explanatory.
In this text, enough of the Sinhala writing system has been included to write
Colloquial Sinhala. (For the Literary language, other letters, not included in this
book, are necessary.) For the alphabet as used here, the alphabetical order follows
the usual Sinhala practice, with the order of letters as follows:
අ ආ ඇ ඈ ඉ ඊ උ ඌ එ ඒ ඔ ඕ ාිං
ක ග ඟ ච ජ
ට ඩ ඬ
ත ද න ඳ
ප බ ම ඹ
ය ර ල ව ශ ෂ ස හ
This should cause no difficulty, but the following points should be noted:
1. The vowels precede the consonants as a set, and for each vowel, the short form
precedes the long.
2. ාිං never occurs at the beginning of a word. It is alphabetized between the
vowels and the other consonants. Thus ක (ka) will precede කිං (kaŋ) which will
precede කග (kaga), and all of them will be followed by ක (kaa), ක ිං (kaaŋ),
ක ග (kaaga), in that order.
3. ඟ follows ග and ඬ follows ඬ. The other half-nasals follow the full nasal
produced in the same position in the mouth. Thus ඳ follows න and ඹ follows
ම.

191
Colloquial Sinhala
Sinhala-English
අ-a
අකුර akurə Sinhalese letter (n2: gen.
අකුමර, pl. අකුරු) [10]
අඟහරුව ද aŋgəharuwaada Tuesday
(n3: no pl.) [8]
අට aṭə eight (අට-) [10]
අද adə today (n3: no pl.) [8]
අද රෑ adə rææ tonight [11]
අනුර දපුමර් anuraadəpuree
Anuradhapura (n4: no pl.) [5]
අපි api we, us [2]
අම රු amaaru difficult [11]
අම රුව amaaruwə difficulty (n2: gen.
අම රුමව, pl. අම රු) [12]
අර arə that, those (distal) [2]
අරක arəkə that one (distal) [2]
අල්ලපු alləpu next, adjoining [3]
ආ - aa
ආ aa oh [2]
ආපහු aapəhu back [9]
ආමයත් aayet again [4]
ඇ-æ
ඇති æti might be (v.aux) [8]
ඇපල් æpəl apples (n.pl.) [3]
ඇයි æy why [5]
ඉ-i
ඉිංගිරිස iŋgirisi English (n2: gen.
ඉිංගිරිසමය, no pl.) [9]
ඉක්මනට ikmənəṭə at once, right now,
quickly [9]
ඉමගනගන්නව igenəgannəwa learn
(vi7: see ගන්නව ) [10]
192
ඉන්නව innəwa be (anim.), stay (anim.)
(vi9: උන්න , ඉඳල ) [6]
ඉඳල iňdəla from (w/ gen.) [1]
ඉරිද irida Sunday (n3: no pl.) [8]
ඉවර iwərə done, finished [11]
ඉවර මවනව iwərə wenəwa come to an
end (vi5: see මවනව ) [11]
ඉසමකෝල මප ත iskoolə potə school
book (n2: see මප ත) [10]
ඉසමකෝමල iskoole school (n4: pl.
ඉසමකෝල) [6]
ඉසමට්සම isṭeesəmə station (n2: gen.
ඉසමට්සමම්, pl. ඉසමට්සම්) [5]
ඉසතුතියි istutiy thank you (also:
සතුතියි) [4]
ඉසසරහ issərəha in front of [11]
උ-u
උඩරට uḍəraṭə up-country (n3: no pl.)
[6]
උමද් udee morning (n4: pl. උමද්) [6]
එ-e
එකක් ekak each [3]
එමක ලහ ekolaha eleven
(එමක මල ස-) [10]
එක්ක ekkə with (N-ත් එක්ක) [11]
එතමක ට etəkoṭə then [4]
එතන etənə there (topical specific) [4]
එනව enəwa come (vi3: ආව ,
ඇවිල්ල / ඇවින්) [4]
එප epaa no, don’t (want) [3]
එය eyaa he, she [11]
එලවනව eləwənəwa drive (v1:
එමලව්ව , එලවල ) [7]
එලි මවන කිං eli wenə kaŋ until dawn
[11]

එලි මවනව eli wenəwa get light (vi5:
see මවනව ) [11]
එලිය eliyə light (n2: gen. එලිමය, pl.
එලි) [27]
එමලෝලු eloolu vegetables (n.pl.) [3]
එමහනන් ehenaŋ in that case, then, if
that is so [6]
එ - ee
ඒ ee that (topical) [2]
ඒ නිස ee nisaa therefore, because of
that [9]
ඒක eekə that one (topical) [2]
ඔ-o
ඔය oyə that, those (medial) [2]
ඔය oyaa you (sg.) [6]
ඔව් ow yes [1]
ඔසටින් එක osṭin-ekə Austin (n1) [7]
ඔමහ ohee you (sg. fml.) [6]
ඕ - oo
ඕක ookə that one (medial) [2]
ඕන1 oonə want (v.aux: w/ dat; cf. ඕන2
‘must’ w/ dir) [3]
ඕන2 oonə must, have to (v.aux: w/ dir;
cf. ඕන1 ‘can’ w/ dat) [4]
ක - ka
කමඩ් kaḍee shop (n4: pl. කඩ /
කඩවල්) [3]
කත කරනව kataa kərənəwa speak,
call (vi10: see කරනව ) [10]
කන්මතෝරුව kantooruwə office (n2:
gen. කන්මතෝරුමව, pl. කන්මතෝරු)
[12]
කරනව kərənəwa do, make (vi10:
කළ , කරල ) [2]
193
Sinhala-English
කලුතර kalutərə Kalutara (n3: no pl.)
[1]
කවුන්ටමර් kawnṭaree counter (n4: pl.
කවුන්ටර) [10]
ක ර් එක kaar-ekə car (n1) [5]
ක මති kæməti like, “partial (to)” [11]
ක මර ව kæməraawə camera (n2: gen.
ක මර මව, pl. ක මර ) [11]
ක ම kææmə food (n2: gen. ක මම, pl.
ක ම) [12]
කියනව kiyənəwa say (v1: කිව්ව ,
කියල ) [4]
කීමදමනක් kiidenek how many (anim.)
[6]
කීය kiiyə how much [1]
කීයක් kiiyak how many (inan.) [4]
කීයට kiiyəṭə at what time [11]
කියවනව kiyəwənəwa read (v1:
කිමයව්ව , කියවල ) [9]
මකන kenaa person (n5: no pl.) [7]
මකමසල් මගඩිය keselgeḍiyə banana
(n2: gen. …මගඩිමය, pl. ...මගඩි) [3]
මක ච්චචර koccərə how much, how many
[10]
මක තන kotənə where? (specific) [10]
මක ලඹ koləm̌bə Colombo (n3: no pl.;
also මක ළඹ) [1]
මක ලීජිය koliijiyə college (n2: gen.
මක ලීජිමය, pl. මක ලීජි) [7]
මක හ ට kohaaṭə where to? [1]
මක මහවත් koheewat somewhere,
anywhere [12]
මක මහ ම kohomə how [4]
මකෝච්චිය koocciyə train (n2: gen.
මකෝච්චිමය, pl. මකෝච්චි) [5]
ග - ga
ගන්නව gannəwa buy, get, take (vi7:
ගත්ත , අරගන / අරන්) [3]
ගම gamə village (n2: gen. ගමම්, pl.
ගම්) [6]
Colloquial Sinhala
ගල galə stone (n2: gen. ගමල්, pl.
ගල්) [5]
ග න gaanə price (n2: gen. ග මන, pl.
ගනන්) [10]
ග මරජ් එක gærej-ekə garage (n1) [9]
මගදර gedərə house, home (n3: pl.
මගදරවල්) [9]
මගදර එනව gedərə enəwa come home
(vi3: see එනව ) [12]
මගනියනව geniyənəwa take away
(vi2c: මගනිච්චච , මගනිහිල්ල ) [7]
මග්ට්ටුව geeṭṭuwə gate (n2: gen.
මග්ට්ටුමව, pl. මග්ට්ටු) [11]
මග්නව geenəwa bring (vi3c:
මගන ව , මගනල්ල ) [8]
මගෝල් මෆස gool-fees Galle-Face (nx:
no pl.) [4]
ජ - ja
ජ තිය jaatiyə kind (n2: gen. ජ තිමය,
pl. ජ ති) [2]
ට - ṭa
ටවුම ṭawmə town (n2: gen. ටවුමම, pl.
ටවුම්) [12]
ට ක්සය ṭæksiyə taxi (n2: gen.
ට ක්සමය, pl. ට ක්ස) [4]
ට ලිමෆෝන් කරනව ṭælifooŋ kərənəwa
call (on the telephone) (vi10: see
කරනව ) [12]
ටිකක් ṭikak few, some [3]
ටික ට් එක ṭikæṭ-ekə ticket (n1) [1]
ත - ta
තරමක් tarəmak somewhat, to some
extent [10]
තව tawə still (remaining amount), yet
[12]
194
ත ත්ත taatta father (n5: pl.
ත ත්ත ල ) [6]
ත න යම taanaayəmə rest house (n2:
gen. ත න යමම්, pl. ත න යම්) [5]
ත ම taamə still (unchanged state), yet
[12]
ත න tænə place (n3: pl. ත න්) [5]
තිමයනව tiyenəwa be (inan.), stay
(inan.) (vi15: තිබුන , තිල / තිබිල )
[1]
තුන tunə three (stem: තුන්-) [3]
තුන් මදමනක් tuŋ denek three (anim.)
[6]
මත්මරනව teerenəwa understand (v3:
මත්රුන , මත්රිල ) [4]
මතෝර ගන්නව toorə gannəwa choose,
select (vi7: see ගන්නව ) [9]
ද - da
ද də question marker [1]
දන්නව dannəwa know (vi8:
ද නගත්ත , ද නමගන) [10]
දරුව daruwa child, offspring (one’s
own) (n5: pl. දරුමව ) [7]
දවස dawəsə day (n2: gen. දවමස, pl.
දවස) [5]
දමහ dahee ten (දහ-) [10]
ද න් dæŋ now [1]
දුර durə far [4]
දුව duwə daughter (n5: pl. දුවල or
දූල ) [6]
මදක deka two (stem: මද-) [1]
මදනව denəwa give (vi4: දුන්න ,
දීල ) [1]
මදන denaa people [2]
මදන්න denna two (anim.) [6]
මද ලහ dolaha twelve (මද මල ස-)
[10]

න - na
නටනව naṭənəwa dance (v1: ක තුව ,
නතල ) [11]
නම namə name (n2: gen. නමම්, pl.
නම්) [12]
නමුත් namut but [6]
නමම් namee nine (නම-) [10]
නම් naŋ if [12]
නවකත මප ත nawəkataa potə novel
(book) (n2: see මප ත) [9]
නවකත ව nawəkataawə novel (n2:
gen. නවකත මව, pl. නවකත ) [9]
නවතිනව nawətinəwa stop (intr.), stay
(v2: න වතුන , න වතිල ) [5]
නවත්තනව nawattənəwa stop (trans.)
(v1: න ව ත්තුව , නවත්තල ) [4]
න ටුම næṭumə dance (n2: gen.
න තුමම, pl. න තුම්) [11]
න ට්ටුව næṭṭuwa dancer (n5: pl.
න ට්ටුමව ) [11]
න තිමවනව nætiwenəwa get lost
(vi5c: න තිවුන , න තිමවල ) [8]
න ත්තන් nættaŋ or, or else [4]
න ද්ද næddə isn’t there? [6]
න විකට් එක næwikəṭ-ekə Navy Cut
(cigarette) (n1) [2]
න nææ no [1]
නිතරම nitərəmə always [1]
මන් nee isn’t it? [7]
මන් ද nee də isn’t it? [7]
මනෝන noona lady, wife; madam (n5:
pl. මනෝනල ) [3]
ප - pa
පතන්ගන්නව pataŋ gannəwa begin,
start (vi7: see ගන්නව ) [10]
පත්තමර් pattəree newspaper (n4: pl.
පත්තර) [10]
195
Sinhala-English
පන්තිය pantiyə grade, level (n2: gen.
පන්තිමය, pl. පන්ති) [10]
පයින් payiŋ on foot [11]
පරක්කු මවනව parakku wenəwa get
late (vi5: see මවනව ) [9]
පලතුරු paləturu fruit(s) (n.pl.) [3]
පල ත palaatə province, part of country
(n2: gen. පල මත, pl. පල ත්) [5]
පවුල pawlə family (n2: gen. පවුමල,
pl. පවුල්) [6]
පසමස passe later [9]
පහ paha five (පස-) [8]
ප ර paarə road, street (n2: gen. ප මර,
pl. ප රවල්) [4]
ප ර්සමල් paarsəlee parcel (n4: pl.
ප ර්සල්) [8]
ප විච්චි කරනව paawicci kərənəwa
use (vi10c: see කරනව ) [2]
ප විච්චිය paawicciyə use (n2: gen.
ප විච්චිමව්, pl. ප විච්චි) [2]
ප ක ට් එක pækæt-ekə pack (n1) [2]
ප ත්ත pættə area, locality (n2: gen.
ප ත්මත, pl. ප ති) [5]
පින්තූමර pintuure picture (n4: pl.
පින්තූර) [11]
පුත putaa son (n5: pl. පුත්තු or
පුත ල ) [6]
පුලුවන් puluwaŋ can (v.aux: w/ dat)
[4]
මප ඩි poḍi small, little [6]
මප ත potə book (n2: gen. මප මත්, pl.
මප ත්) [9]
මපෝසක ට් එක pooskaaṭ-ekə postcard
(n1) [8]
ප්රසද්ද / ප්‍රසද්ද prəsiddə famous [11]
බ - ba
බද ද badaada Wednesday (n3: no pl.)
[8]
බලනව balənəwa look, notice (v1:
බ ලුව , බලල ) [2]
Colloquial Sinhala
බල ගන්නව balaagannəwa tend, take
care of (vi7: see ගන්නව ) [6]
බල මප මර ත්තුව balaaporottuwə
expectation (n2: gen.
බල මප මර ත්තුමව, pl.
බල මප මර ත්තු) [8]
බල මප මර ත්තුමවන් ඉන්නව
balaaporottuweŋ innəwa expect (vi9:
see ඉන්නව ) [8]
බස එක bas-ekə bus (n1) [1]
බ bææ can’t (v.aux: w/ dat) [12]
මබදනව bedənəwa distribute, deliver
(of mail) (v3: මබදුව , මබදිල ) [8]
මබ නව bonəwa drink, smoke (vi6:
බිව්ව , බීල ) [2]
මබ මහ ම bohomə very [2]
බ්රහසපතින්ද brəhaspətinda Thursday
(n3: no pl.) [8]
ම - ma
මදි madi not enough, insufficiently [10]
මයි may surely [12]
මහත්තය mahattea gentleman; sir
(n5: pl. මහත්තරු) [1]
ම තමල් maatəlee Matale (n4: no pl.)
[2]
ම ම maama maternal uncle (n5: pl.
ම ම ල ) [6]
මිනිහ miniha man (n5: pl. මිනිසසු)
[6]
මුද්දමර් muddəree stamp (n4: pl.
මුද්දර) [8]
මුරක රය murəkaarea watchman (n5:
pl. මුරක රමය ) [11]
මමතන metənə here (specific) [4]
මමන්න mennə here you are [1]
මමමහ mehe here [1]
මම් mee this, these [1]
මම්ක meekə this one (gen. මම්මක)
[1]
196
මම කුත් mokut anything, something
[3]
මම නව monəwa what [2]
ය - ya
යනව yanəwa go (vi2: ගිය , ගිහිල්ල
/ ගිහින්) [1]
ය පමන් yaapənee Jaffna (n4: no pl.)
[7]
ර - ra
රස rasə tasty [2]
රසස ව rassaawə position, job (n2:
gen. රසස මව, pl. රසස වල්) [6]
රෑ rææ night (n3: pl. රෑ) [11]
රෑ මවනව rææ wenəwa be late in the
afternoon, towards night (vi5: see
මවනව ) [12]
රුපියල rupiyələ rupee (n2: gen.
රුපියමල්, pl. රුපියල්) [1]
මරජිසටර් ලියුම rejisṭər liyumə
registered letter (n2: see ලියුම) [8]
මරමපය ර් එක repeaar-ekə repair
(n1) [9]
මරෝයල් මක ලීජිය rooyal koliijiyə
Royal College (n2: see මක ලීජිය) [7]
ල - la
ලිංක ව laŋkaawə Sri Lanka (n2: gen.
ලිංක මව, no pl.) [2]
ලඟ laŋ̌gə near, with [2]
ලමය lamea child, boy, girl (n5: pl.
ලමයි) [3]
ලියුම liyumə letter (n2: gen. ලියුමම,
pl. ලියුම්) [8]
මල්ස leesi easy [9]

ව - wa
වඩුව waḍuwa carpenter (n5: pl.
වඩුමව ) [6]
වඩුව ඩ waḍuwæḍə carpentry (n2: gen.
වඩුව මඩ්, no pl.) [6]
වත්ත wattə estate (n2: gen. වත්මත,
pl. වතු) [6]
වහනව wahanəwa close (v1: ව හුන ,
වහල ) [12]
ව ඩි මවනව waaḍi wenəwa sit (down)
(vi5: see මවනව ) [12]
ව ඩපල wæḍəpələ workshop (n2: gen.
ව ඩපමල්, pl. ව ඩපලවල්) [6]
ව මඩ් wæḍee work, job (n4: pl. ව ඩ) [6]
ව සස wæssə rain (n2: gen. ව සමස,
pl. ව හි) [5]
විතර witərə only; about, approximately
[3]
විදය මල widyaale high school (n4: pl.
විදය ල) [7]
විස ක විදය මල wisaaka widyaale
Visaka College (n4: see විදය මල) [7]
මවන wenə else [3]
මවනව wenəwə become (vi5: උන ,
මවල ) [9]
මවල ව welaawə time (n2: gen.
මවල මව, pl. මවල ) [12]
මවෝකර් ග මරජ එක wookar gærej-ekə
Walker garage (n1) [9]
ස - sa
සමත් satee cent (n4: pl. සත) [3]
සඳුද saňduda Monday (n3: no pl.) [8]
සමහර දවසවල saməharə dawaswələ
on some days [12]
සමහරවිට saməharəwiṭə perhaps [8]
සර්විස කරනව səəwis kərənəwa
service (a car) (vi10: see කරනව ) [9]
සල්ලි salli money (n.pl.) [8]
ස ර særə strong [2]
197
Sinhala-English
සිංහල siŋhələ Sinhala (n2: gen.
සිංහමල්, no pl.) [10]
සකුර ද sikuraada Friday (n3: no pl.)
[8]
සගරැට් එක sigəræṭ-ekə cigarette (n1)
[2]
සීගිරි ගල siigiri galə Sigiriya rock (n2:
gen. ...ගමල්, no pl.) [5]
සීගිරිය siigiriyə Sigiriya (n2: gen.
සීගිරිමය, no pl.) [5]
සුම මන sumaane week (n4: pl.
සුම න) [7]
සුරුට්ටුව suruṭṭuwa cigar (n2: gen.
සුරුට්ටුමව, pl. සුරුට්ටු) [2]
සුවඳ suwəňdə aroma, fragrance (n2:
gen. සුවමඳ, pl. සුවඳවල්) [2]
මසනසුර ද senəsuraada Saturday (n3:
no pl.) [8]
හ - ha
හත hatə seven (හත්-) [10]
හතර hatərə four (stem: හතර-) [3]
හන්දිය handiyə corner (n2: gen.
හන්දිමය, pl. හන්දි) [4]
හම්බමවනව hambə wenəwa meet, see
(to speak with) (vi5: see මවනව ) [12]
හය hayə six (හය-) [10]
හය මවනමක ට hayə wenəkoṭə towards
six [12]
හරියට hariyəṭə exactly [12]
හරියට ම hariyəṭə mə exactly (emphatic)
[12]
හවස hawəsə afternoon (n3: no pl.) [9]
හ ත ප්ම hætæpmə mile (n2: gen.
හ ත ප්මම, pl. හ ත ප්ම) [4]
හ බ යි hæbæy however [11]
හුඟක් huŋ̌gak many [2]
මහට heṭə tomorrow (n3: no pl.) [6]
මහ ඳ hoňdə good, fine [1]
මහෝටමල් hooṭəlee hotel (n4: pl.
මහෝටල) [4]
Colloquial Sinhala

English-Sinhala
boy ලමය lamea (n5: pl. ලමයි) [3]
A bring මග්නව geenəwa (vi3c:
about විතර witərə [3]
මගන ව , මගනල්ල ) [8]
bus බස එක bas-ekə (n1) [1]
adjoining අල්ලපු alləpu [3]
but නමුත් namut [6]
afternoon හවස hawəsə (n3: no pl.) [9]
buy ගන්නව gannəwa (vi7: ගත්ත ,
again ආමයත් aayet [4]
always නිතරම nitərəmə [1]
අරගන / අරන්) [3]
Anuradhapura අනුර දපුමර්
anuraadəpuree (n4: no pl.) [5] C
anything මම කුත් mokut [3]
call (on the telephone) ට ලිමෆෝන්
anywhere මක මහවත් koheewat [12]
apples ඇපල් æpəl (n.pl.) [3]
කරනව ṭælifooŋ kərənəwa (vi10: see
approximately විතර witərə [3]
කරනව ) [12]
call කත කරනව kataa kərənəwa
area ප ත්ත pættə (n2: gen. ප ත්මත,
(vi10: see කරනව ) [10]
pl. ප ති) [5]
camera ක මර ව kæməraawə (n2: gen.
aroma සුවඳ suwəňdə (n2: gen. සුවමඳ,
pl. සුවඳවල්) [2]
ක මර මව, pl. ක මර ) [11]
can පුලුවන් puluwaŋ (v.aux: w/ dat)
at once ඉක්මමනට ikmənəṭə [9]
[4]
at what time කීයට kiiyəṭə [11]
can’t බ bææ (v.aux: w/ dat) [12]
Austin ඔසටින් එක osṭin-ekə (n1) [7]
car ක ර් එක kaar-ekə (n1) [5]
carpenter වඩුව waḍuwa (n5: pl.
B වඩුමව ) [6]
carpentry වඩුව ඩ waḍuwæḍə (n2: gen.
back ආපහු aapəhu [9]
banana මකමසල් මගඩිය keselgeḍiyə
වඩුව මඩ්, no pl.) [6]
cent සමත් satee (n4: pl. සත) [3]
(n2: gen. …මගඩිමය, pl. ...මගඩි) [3]
child ලමය lamea (n5: pl. ලමයි) [3]
be (anim.) ඉන්නව innəwa (vi9:
child දරුව daruwa (n5: pl. දරුමව )
උන්න , ඉඳල ) [6]
[7]
be (inan.) තිමයනව tiyenəwa (vi15:
choose මතෝර ගන්නව toorə gannəwa
තිබුන , තිල / තිබිල ) [1]
(vi7: see ගන්නව ) [9]
be late in the afternoon රෑ මවනව rææ
cigar සුරුට්ටුව suruṭṭuwa (n2: gen.
wenəwa (vi5: see මවනව ) [12]
සුරුට්ටුමව, pl. සුරුට්ටු) [2]
because of that ඒ නිස ee nisaa [9]
cigarette සගරැට් එක sigəræṭ-ekə (n1)
become මවනව wenəwə (vi5: උන , [2]
මවල ) [9] close වහනව wahanəwa (v1: ව හුන ,
begin පතන්ගන්නව pataŋ gannəwa වහල ) [12]
(vi7: see ගන්නව ) [10] college මක ලීජිය koliijiyə (n2: gen.
book මප ත potə (n2: gen. මප මත්, pl. මක ලීජිමය, pl. මක ලීජි) [7]
මප ත්) [9]

198

Colombo මක ලඹ koləm̌bə (n3: no pl. ;
also මක ළඹ) [1]
come home මගදර එනව gedərə enəwa
(vi3: see එනව ) [12]
come to an end ඉවර මවනව iwərə
wenəwa (vi5: see මවනව ) [11]
come එනව enəwa (vi3: ආව ,
ඇවිල්ල / ඇවින්) [4]
corner හන්දිය handiyə (n2: gen.
හන්දිමය, pl. හන්දි) [4]
counter කවුන්ටමර් kawnṭaree (n4: pl.
කවුන්ටර) [10]
D mə [12]
dance න ටුම næṭumə (n2: gen.
න තුමම, pl. න තුම්) [11]
dance නටනව naṭənəwa (v1: ක තුව ,
නතල ) [11]
dancer න ට්ටුව næṭṭuwa (n5: pl.
න ට්ටුමව ) [11]
daughter දුව duwə (n5: pl. දුවල or
දූල ) [6]
day දවස dawəsə (n2: gen. දවමස, pl.
දවස) [5]
deliver (of mail) මබදනව bedənəwa
(v3: මබදුව , මබදිල ) [8]
difficult අම රු amaaru [11]
difficulty අම රුව amaaruwə (n2: gen.
අම රුමව, pl. අම රු) [12]
distribute මබදනව bedənəwa (v3:
මබදුව , මබදිල ) [8]
do කරනව kərənəwa (vi10: කළ ,
කරල ) [2]
done ඉවර iwərə [11]
don’t (want) එප epaa [3]
drink මබ නව bonəwa (vi6: බිව්ව ,
බීල ) [2]
drive එලවනව eləwənəwa (v1:
එමලව්ව , එලවල ) [7]
199
English-Sinhala
E
each එකක් ekak [3]
easy මල්ස leesi [9]
eight අට aṭə (අට-) [10]
eleven එමක ලහ ekolaha
(එමක මල ස-) [10]
else මවන wenə [3]
English ඉිංගිරිස iŋgirisi (n2: gen.
ඉිංගිරිසමය, no pl.) [9]
estate වත්ත wattə (n2: gen. වත්මත,
pl. වතු) [6]
exactly (emphatic) හරියට ම hariyəṭə
exactly හරියට hariyəṭə [12]
expect බල මප මර ත්තුමවන් ඉන්නව
balaaporottuweŋ innəwa (vi9: see
ඉන්නව ) [8]
expectation බල මප මර ත්තුව
balaaporottuwə (n2: gen.
බල මප මර ත්තුමව, pl.
බල මප මර ත්තු) [8]
F
family පවුල pawlə (n2: gen. පවුමල,
pl. පවුල්) [6]
famous ප්රසද්ද prəsiddə [11]
far දුර durə [4]
father ත ත්ත taatta (n5: pl.
ත ත්ත ල ) [6]
few ටිකක් ṭikak [3]
fine මහ ඳ hoňdə [1]
finished ඉවර iwərə [11]
five පහ paha (පස-) [8]
food ක ම kææmə (n2: gen. ක මම, pl.
ක ම) [12]
four හතර hatərə (stem: හතර-) [3]
fragrance සුවඳ suwəňdə (n2: gen.
සුවමඳ, pl. සුවඳවල්) [2]
Friday සකුර ද sikuraada (n3: no pl.)
[8]
Colloquial Sinhala
from ඉඳල iňdəla (w/ gen.) [1]
fruit(s) පලතුරු paləturu (n.pl.) [3]
G මගදරවල්) [9]
Galle-Face මගෝල් මෆස gool-fees (nx:
no pl.) [4]
garage ග මරජ් එක gærej-ekə (n1) [9]
gate මග්ට්ටුව geeṭṭuwə (n2: gen.
මග්ට්ටුමව, pl. මග්ට්ටු) [11]
gentleman මහත්තය mahattea (n5: pl.
මහත්තරු) [1]
get late පරක්කු මවනව parakku
wenəwa (vi5: see මවනව ) [9]
get light එලි මවනව eli wenəwa (vi5:
see මවනව ) [11]
get lost න තිමවනව nætiwenəwa
(vi5c: න තිවුන , න තිමවල ) [8]
get ගන්නව gannəwa (vi7: ගත්ත ,
අරගන / අරන්) [3]
girl ලමය lamea (n5: pl. ලමයි) [3]
give මදනව denəwa (vi4: දුන්න ,
දීල ) [1]
go යනව yanəwa (vi2: ගිය , ගිහිල්ල
/ ගිහින්) [1]
good මහ ඳ hoňdə [1]
grade පන්තිය pantiyə (n2: gen.
පන්තිමය, pl. පන්ති) [10]
H job ව මඩ් wæḍee (n4: pl. ව ඩ) [6]
have to ඕන2 oonə (v.aux: w/ dir; cf.
ඕන1 ‘can’ w/ dat) [4]
he එය eyaa [11]
here (specific) මමතන metənə [4]
here you are මමන්න mennə [1]
here මමමහ mehe [1]
high school විද මල widyaale (n4: pl.
විද ල) [7]
home මගදර gedərə (n3: pl.
මගදරවල්) [9]
200
hotel මහෝටමල් hooṭəlee (n4: pl.
මහෝටල) [4]
house මගදර gedərə (n3: pl.
how many (anim.) කීමදමනක් kiidenek
[6]
how many (inan.) කීයක් kiiyak [4]
how many මක ච්චචර koccərə [10]
how much මක ච්චචර koccərə [10]
how much කීය kiiyə [1]
how මක මහ ම kohomə [4]
however හ බ යි hæbæy [11]
I
if that is so එමහනන් ehenaŋ [6]
if නම් naŋ [12]
in front of ඉසසරහ issərəha [11]
in that case එමහනන් ehenaŋ [6]
insufficiently මදි madi [10]
isn’t it? මන් ද nee də [7]
isn’t it? මන් nee [7]
isn’t there? න ද්ද næddə [6]
J
Jaffna ය පමන් yaapənee (n4: no pl.)
[7]
job රසස ව rassaawə (n2: gen.
රසස මව, pl. රසස වල්) [6]
K
Kalutara කලුතර kalutərə (n3: no pl.)
[1]
kind ජ තිය jaatiyə (n2: gen. ජ තිමය,
pl. ජ ති) [2]
know දන්නව dannəwa (vi8:
ද නගත්ත , ද නමගන) [10]

L must ඕන2 oonə (v.aux: w/ dir; cf. ඕන1
lady මනෝන noona (n5: pl.
මනෝනල ) [3]
later පසමස passe [9]
learn ඉමගනගන්නව igenəgannəwa
(vi7: see ගන්නව ) [10]
letter ලියුම liyumə (n2: gen. ලියුමම,
pl. ලියුම්) [8]
level පන්තිය pantiyə (n2: gen.
පන්තිමය, pl. පන්ති) [10]
light එලිය eliyə (n2: gen. එලිමය, pl.
එලි) [27]
like (partial to) ක මති kæməti [11]
little මප ඩි poḍi [6]
locality ප ත්ත pættə (n2: gen.
ප ත්මත, pl. ප ති) [5]
look බලනව balənəwa (v1: බ ලුව ,
බලල ) [2]
M nawəkataa potə (n2: see මප ත) [9]
madam මනෝන noona (n5: pl.
මනෝනල ) [3]
make කරනව kərənəwa (vi10: කළ ,
කරල ) [2]
man මිනිහ miniha (n5: pl. මිනිසසු)
[6]
many හුඟක් huŋ̌gak [2]
Matale ම තමල් maatəlee (n4: no pl.)
[2]
maternal uncle ම ම maama (n5: pl.
ම ම ල ) [6]
meet හම්බමවනව hambə wenəwa
(vi5: see මවනව ) [12]
might be ඇති æti (v.aux) [8]
mile හ ත ප්ම hætæpmə (n2: gen.
හ ත ප්මම, pl. හ ත ප්ම) [4]
Monday සඳුද saňduda (n3: no pl.) [8]
money සල්ලි salli (n.pl.) [8]
morning උමද් udee (n4: pl. උමද්) [6]
201
English-Sinhala
‘can’ w/ dat) [4]
N
name නම namə (n2: gen. නමම්, pl.
නම්) [12]
Navy Cut (cigarette) න විකට් එක
næwikəṭ-ekə (n1) [2]
near ලඟ laŋ̌gə [2]
newspaper පත්තමර් pattəree (n4: pl.
පත්තර) [10]
next අල්ලපු alləpu [3]
night රෑ rææ (n3: pl. රෑ) [11]
nine නමම් namee (නම-) [10]
no න nææ [1]
no එප epaa [3]
not enough මදි madi [10]
notice බලනව balənəwa (v1: බ ලුව ,
බලල ) [2]
novel (book) නවකත මප ත
novel නවකත ව nawəkataawə (n2:
gen. නවකත මව, pl. නවකත ) [9]
now ද න් dæŋ [1]
O
office කන්මතෝරුව kantooruwə (n2:
gen. කන්මතෝරුමව, pl. කන්මතෝරු)
[12]
offspring (one’s own) දරුව daruwa
(n5: pl. දරුමව ) [7]
oh ආ aa [2]
on foot පයින් payiŋ [11]
on some days සමහර දවසවල
saməharə dawaswələ [12]
only විතර witərə [3]
or else න ත්තන් nættaŋ [4]
or න ත්තන් nættaŋ [4]
Colloquial Sinhala
P Royal College මරෝයල් මක ලීජිය
pack ප ක ට් එක pækæt-ekə (n1) [2]
parcel ප ර්සමල් paarsəlee (n4: pl.
ප ර්සල්) [8]
part of country පල ත palaatə (n2: gen.
පල මත, pl. පල ත්) [5]
people මදන denaa [2]
perhaps සමහරවිට saməharəwiṭə [8]
person මකන kenaa (n5: no pl.) [7]
picture පින්තූමර pintuure (n4: pl.
පින්තූර) [11]
place ත න tænə (n3: pl. ත න්) [5]
position රසස ව rassaawə (n2: gen.
රසස මව, pl. රසස වල්) [6]
postcard මපෝසක ට් එක pooskaaṭ-ekə
(n1) [8]
price ග න gaanə (n2: gen. ග මන, pl.
ගනන්) [10]
province පල ත palaatə (n2: gen.
පල මත, pl. පල ත්) [5]
Q
question marker ද də [1]
quickly ඉක්මනට ikmənəṭə [9]
R gen. ...ගමල්, no pl.) [5]
rain ව සස wæssə (n2: gen. ව සමස,
pl. ව හි) [5]
read කියවනව kiyəwənəwa (v1:
කිමයව්ව , කියවල ) [9]
registered letter මරජිසටර් ලියුම rejisṭər
liyumə (n2: see ලියුම) [8]
repair මරමපය ර් එක repeaar-ekə
(n1) [9]
rest house ත න යම taanaayəmə (n2:
gen. ත න යමම්, pl. ත න යම්) [5]
right now ඉක්මමනට ikmənəṭə [9]
road ප ර paarə (n2: gen. ප මර, pl.
ප රවල්) [4]
202
rooyal koliijiyə (n2: see මක ලීජිය)
[7]
rupee රුපියල rupiyələ (n2: gen.
රුපියමල්, pl. රුපියල්) [1]
S
Saturday මසනසුර ද senəsuraada (n3:
no pl.) [8]
say කිමයනව kiyənəwa (v1: කිව්ව ,
කියල ) [4]
school book ඉසමකෝල මප ත iskoolə
potə (n2: see මප ත) [10]
school ඉසමකෝමල iskoole (n4: pl.
ඉසමකෝල) [6]
see (to speak with) හම්බමවනව hambə
wenəwa (vi5: see මවනව ) [12]
select මතෝර ගන්නව toorə gannəwa
(vi7: see ගන්නව ) [9]
service (a car) සර්විස කරනව səəwis
kərənəwa (vi10: see කරනව ) [9]
seven හත hatə (හත්-) [10]
she එය eyaa [11]
shop කමඩ් kaḍee (n4: pl. කඩ /
කඩවල්) [3]
Sigiriya rock සීගිරි ගල siigiri galə (n2:
Sigiriya සීගිරිය siigiriyə (n2: gen.
සීගිරිමය, no pl.) [5]
Sinhala සිංහල siŋhələ (n2: gen.
සිංහමල්, no pl.) [10]
Sinhalese letter අකුර akurə (n2: gen.
අකුමර, pl. අකුරු) [10]
sir මහත්තය mahattea (n5: pl.
මහත්තරු) [1]
sit (down) ව ඩි මවනව waaḍi wenəwa
(vi5: see මවනව ) [12]
six හය hayə (හය-) [10]
small මප ඩි poḍi [6]
smoke මබ නව bonəwa (vi6: බිව්ව ,
බීල ) [2]

some ටිකක් ṭikak [3]
something මම කුත් mokut [3]
somewhat තරමක් tarəmak [10]
somewhere මක මහවත් koheewat [12]
son පුත putaa (n5: pl. පුත්තු or
පුත ල ) [6]
speak කත කරනව kataa kərənəwa
(vi10: see කරනව ) [10]
Sri Lanka ලිංක ව laŋkaawə (n2: gen.
ලිංක මව, no pl.) [2]
stamp මුද්දමර් muddəree (n4: pl.
මුද්දර) [8]
start පතන්ගන්නව pataŋ gannəwa
(vi7: see ගන්නව ) [10]
station ඉසමට්සම isṭeesəmə (n2: gen.
ඉසමට්සමම්, pl. ඉසමට්සම්) [5]
stay (anim.) ඉන්නව innəwa (vi9:
උන්න , ඉඳල ) [6]
stay (inan.) තිමයනව tiyenəwa (vi15:
තිබුන , තිල / තිබිල ) [1]
stay නවතිනව nawətinəwa (v2:
න වතුන , න වතිල ) [5]
still (unchanged state) ත ම taamə [12]
still (remaining amount) තව tawə [12]
stone ගල galə (n2: gen. ගමල්, pl.
ගල්) [5]
stop (intr.) නවතිනව nawətinəwa (v2:
න වතුන , න වතිල ) [5]
stop (trans.) නවත්තනව nawattənəwa
(v1: න ව ත්තුව , නවත්තල ) [4]
street ප ර paarə (n2: gen. ප මර, pl.
ප රවල්) [4]
strong ස ර særə [2]
Sunday ඉරිද irida (n3: no pl.) [8]
surely මයි may [12]
T today අද adə (n3: no pl.) [8]
take away මගනියනව geniyənəwa
(vi2c: මගනිච්චච , මගනිහිල්ල ) [7]
203
English-Sinhala
take care of බල ගන්නව
balaagannəwa (vi7: see ගන්නව ) [6]
take ගන්නව gannəwa (vi7: ගත්ත ,
අරගන / අරන්) [3]
tasty රස rasə [2]
taxi ට ක්සය ṭæksiyə (n2: gen.
ට ක්සමය, pl. ට ක්ස) [4]
ten දමහ dahee (දහ-) [10]
tend බල ගන්නව balaagannəwa (vi7:
see ගන්නව ) [6]
thank you ඉසතුතියි istutiy (also:
සතුතියි) [4]
that (distal) අර arə [2]
that (medial) ඔය oyə [2]
that (topical) ඒ ee [2]
that one (distal) අරක arəkə [2]
that one (medial) ඕක ookə [2]
that one (topical) ඒක eekə [2]
then එතමක ට etəkoṭə [4]
then එමහනන් ehenaŋ [6]
there (topical specific) එතන etənə [4]
therefore ඒ නිස ee nisaa [9]
these මම් mee [1]
this මම් mee [1]
this one මම්ක meekə (gen. මම්මක)
[1]
those (distal) අර arə [2]
those (medial) ඔය oyə [2]
three (anim.) තුන් මදමනක් tuŋ denek
[6]
three තුන tunə (stem: තුන්-) [3]
Thursday බ්රහසපතින්ද brəhaspətinda
(n3: no pl.) [8]
ticket ටික ට් එක ṭikæṭ-ekə (n1) [1]
time මවල ව welaawə (n2: gen.
මවල මව, pl. මවල ) [12]
to some extent තරමක් tarəmak [10]
tomorrow මහට heṭə (n3: no pl.) [6]
tonight අද රෑ adə rææ [11]
towards night රෑ මවනව rææ wenəwa
(vi5: see මවනව ) [12]
Colloquial Sinhala
towards six හය මවනමක ට hayə
wenəkoṭə [12]
town ටවුම ṭawmə (n2: gen. ටවුමම, pl.
ටවුම්) [12]
train මකෝච්චිය koocciyə (n2: gen.
මකෝච්චිමය, pl. මකෝච්චි) [5]
Tuesday අඟහරුව ද aŋgəharuwaada
(n3: no pl.) [8]
twelve මද ලහ dolaha (මද මල ස-)
[10]
two (anim.) මදන්න denna [6]
two මදක deka (stem: මද-) [1]
U what මම නව monəwa [2]
understand මත්මරනව teerenəwa (v3:
මත්රුන , මත්රිල ) [4]
until dawn එලි මවන කිං eli wenə kaŋ
[11]
up-country උඩරට uḍəraṭə (n3: no pl.)
[6]
us අපි api [2]
use ප විච්චි කරනව paawicci
kərənəwa (vi10c: see කරනව ) [2]
use ප විච්චිය paawicciyə (n2: gen.
ප විච්චිමව්, pl. ප විච්චි) [2]
V yes ඔව් ow [1]
vegetables එමලෝලු eloolu (n.pl.) [3]
very මබ මහ ම bohomə [2]
village ගම gamə (n2: gen. ගමම්, pl.
ගම්) [6]
Visaka College විස ක විද මල
wisaaka widyaale (n4: see විද මල)
[7]
204
W
Walker garage මවෝකර් ග මරජ එක
wookar gærej-ekə (n1) [9]
want ඕන1 oonə (v.aux: w/ dat; cf. ඕන2
‘must’ w/ dir) [3]
watchman මුරක රය murəkaarea (n5:
pl. මුරක රමය ) [11]
we අපි api [2]
Wednesday බද ද badaada (n3: no pl.)
[8]
week සුම මන sumaane (n4: pl.
සුම න) [7]
where? (specific) මක තන kotənə [10]
where to? මක හ ට kohaaṭə [1]
why ඇයි æy [5]
wife මනෝන noona (n5: pl.
මනෝනල ) [3]
with ලඟ laŋ̌gə [2]
with එක්ක ekkə (N-ත් එක්ක) [11]
work ව මඩ් wæḍee (n4: pl. ව ඩ) [6]
workshop ව ඩපල wæḍəpələ (n2: gen.
ව ඩපමල්, pl. ව ඩපලවල්) [6]
Y
yet ත ම taamə [12]
yet තව tawə [12]
you (sg. fml.) ඔමහ ohee [6]
you (sg.) ඔය oyaa [6]

Index
A epaa ‘don’t want’ .......................... 29
ADDRESS
2nd PERSON PRONOUNS ..... 62, 120
lamea ......................................... 74
mahattea .................................... 13
noona ......................................... 26
æti ‘might’ ..................................... 85
AGREEMENT ..................................... 8
NUMERALS ................................. 60
ANIMATE vs INANIMATE .......... 58, 60
Anuradhapura ................................ 49
ASSERTION MARKER -y 18, 27, 28, 64
B kiiyak, kiidenek ........................ 110
bææ ‘can’t’ .................................. 132
by laŋ̌gə ................................. 17, 113
C if naŋ ........................................... 132
CASE
DATIVE ......................................... 5
DIRECT ......................................... 5
GENITIVE ........................ 15, 16, 26
INSTRUMENTAL ............................ 6
LOCATIVE ................................... 26
CASE SYSTEMS ................................. 4
CONJUNCTIONS
ekkə ‘with’ ............................... 121
-koṭə ‘WHEN’.............................. 86
naŋ ‘if’ ..................................... 132
-y … -y ‘and’ ........................ 75, 86
D
Days of the week ........................... 83
də QUESTION MARKER ............... 8, 35
DEFINITE and INDEFINITE ................ 3
E
each ekak ....................................... 28
ekak ‘each’ ..................................... 28
ekkə ‘with’ ................................... 121
205
Index
EQUATIONAL SENTENCES .............. 18
F
from … on iňdəla .......................... 64
G
gamə ‘village ................................. 63
H
have, has ........................................ 84
how many kiidenek ........................ 61
how many kiiyak............................ 38
how much, how many koccərə,
huŋgak ‘much, many’ .................... 38
I
INDEFINITE ....................................... 3
IN TIME PHRASES ....................... 51
RESPECTFUL ............................... 59
INDIRECT QUESTIONS ..................... 39
INFINITIVE AS MODIFIER
OF ADJECTIVES ........................ 113
OF NOUNS ................................... 51
OF VERBS ................................... 74
innəwa
stay, remain ............................... 74
vs tiyenəwa ................................ 60
INTERROGATIVES ............................. 9
issərəha ‘in front of’ .................... 122
K
kæməti ‘like, like to’ .................... 121
kamak nææ .................................. 100
kataa kərənəwa ‘speak, call’ ....... 122
kenek ‘person’ ............................... 59
kərənəwa ‘do’ ................................ 67
kiidenek ‘how many’ ..................... 61
kiiyak ‘how many’ ......................... 38
Colloquial Sinhala
kiiyə də ‘how much’ ........................ 9
kiiyəṭə də ‘at what time?’ ............. 122
kiyənəwa ‘tell (someone) to’ ....... 123
koccərə, kiiyak, kiidenek ‘how much,
how many’ ............................... 110
kohaaṭə də ‘where to’ ...................... 9
koten də ‘where (precisely)?’ ...... 110
L
laŋ̌gə ‘near, with, by’ ............. 17, 113
like, like to kæməti....................... 121
LOCATION SETS .............................. 18
mee....................................... 18, 64
meekə ......................................... 19
mehe........................................... 40
metənə ........................................ 40
meyaa....................................... 120
LOCATIONAL SENTENCES ............... 75
M ANIMATE FORMS ...................... 111
madi ‘not enough, insufficiently’ 112
may ‘certainly, surely’ ................. 134
mee, etc. ..............See LOCATION SETS
might æti ........................................ 85
MODALS
æti ‘might’ ................................. 85
bææ ‘can’t’ .............................. 132
kæməti ‘like, like to’ ................ 121
may ‘certainly, surely’ ............. 134
oonə ‘must’ ................................ 33
oonə ‘want’ ................................ 28
puluwaŋ ‘can’ ............................ 34
tiyenəwa ‘am (supposed) to’ .... 133
mokut ‘anything’.......................... 101
much, many huŋgak....................... 38
N
nææ ‘no, not’ ................................. 29
nædda ............................................ 65
naŋ ‘if’ ......................................... 132
near laŋ̌gə .................................... 113
near laŋ̌gə ...................................... 17
nee AND nee də .............................. 76
NEGATIVE FORMATIONS
nææ ............................................ 65
nææ and epaa ............................ 29
206
not enough, insufficiently madi ... 112
NOUN CLASSES
CLASS 1 .................. 13, 15, 16, 143
CLASS 2 ........................ 14, 15, 143
CLASS 3 .................. 14, 15, 83, 143
CLASS 4 .................. 14, 25, 57, 144
CLASS 5 .............................. 58, 144
NOUN CLASSES ............................... 13
NOUN COMPOUNDS ...................... 109
NOUNS
IRREGULAR .............................. 145
REGULAR ................................. 143
NOUNS, PLURAL ............................. 25
NUMERALS
1–4 ............................................. 60
5 paha ........................................ 87
6–12 ................................. 109, 111
AGREEMENT ............................... 60
CASE FORMS............................... 87
GENITIVE .................................... 88
O
oonə ‘must’ .................................... 33
oonə ‘want’ .................................... 28
P
parakku wenəwa ‘getting late’ .... 100
paṭaŋ gannəwa ‘begin’ ................ 113
PLURAL ............................................ 3
PLURAL NOUNS .............................. 25
PLURALS
ANIMATE (CLASS 5) ................. 145
INANIMATE (CLASSES 1–4) ...... 144
POSSESSION.................................... 84
POSTPOSITIONS ................................ 8
PREDICATE ATTRIBUTES ................ 18
PRONOUNS
1st PERSON ........................... 16, 62
2nd PERSON........................ 62, 120
3rd PERSON (meyaa, ETC.) ....... 120
puluwaŋ ‘can’ ................................ 34
Q
QUANTITY PHRASES ....................... 37
QUESTION MARKER də ............... 8, 35
 Index

QUESTIONS vs innəwa ................................... 60

INDIRECT .................................... 39
V
R VERB FORMS .................................... 7
remain, stay.................................... 74 INFINITIVE............................ 7, 147
Romanization schemes .................. 53 -mu (HORTATIVE) ............ 101, 147
-nnaŋ (1p FUTURE) .......... 131, 147
S
PAST CONCESSIVE .................... 148
SENTENCE TYPES
PAST CONDITIONAL.................. 148
EQUATIONAL .............................. 18
PAST EMPHATIC ....................... 148
LOCATIONAL .............................. 75
PAST PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVE .. 149
Sigiriya .......................................... 49
PAST PARTICIPIAL STEM ........... 148
Sinhala writing system .................. 51
PAST PARTICIPLE...................... 149
CONSONANT COMBINATIONS ..... 78
PAST SIMPLE ............................ 148
CONSONANTS ................. 52, 66, 89
PAST STEM ............................... 147
FINAL -ea AND -eak ................... 78
PAST TEMPORAL GERUND ........ 148
FINAL -y ..................................... 78
PAST VERBAL ADJECTIVE......... 148
NASALS .................................... 102
PRESENT EMPHATIC ............. 7, 147
VOWEL ා ................................... 67
PRESENT SIMPLE .................. 7, 147
VOWEL, INHERENT ... 52, 66, 67, 90
PRESENT STEM ......................... 146
VOWELS ............................... 76, 88
PRESENT TEMPORAL GERUND ... 86,
VOWELS, INITIAL ...................... 102
147
some, a few ṭikak ........................... 38
PRESENT VERBAL ADJECTIVE .. 147
stay................................................. 74
REDUPLICATED ........................ 149
T VERBAL ADJECTIVE ................... 85
taamə AND tawə ‘still, yet’ .......... 134 VERBAL NOUN.......................... 147
teerenəwa ‘understand’ ............... 112 -we FORM ................................. 148
-wi (‘probably’) ............... 130, 147
Ṭ
VERBS
ṭikak ‘some, a few’ ........................ 38 IRREGULAR .............................. 149
T REGULAR ................................. 146
TIME EXPRESSIONS
W
‘at what time?’ kiiyəṭə də? ....... 122 waaḍi wenəwa ‘sit (down)’ ......... 135
‘what is the time?’ kiiyə də? .... 133 WHEN CLAUSES .............................. 86
WITH wenəwa ........................... 133
witərə ‘only’ AND ‘about’.............. 86
tiyenəwa with ekkə...................................... 121
‘be (supposed) to’ .................... 133 with laŋ̌gə .............................. 17, 113
stay, remain................................ 74

207