Advanced Ge’ez (ግዕዝ) Grammar

10: Verbs: Simple – Perfective

The vast majority of Ge’ez verbs are triliteral i.e. they have three root letters and a fair amount are quadriliteral i.e. they have four root letters. A small minority of verbs has two or five root letters. All verbs fall into three broad categories or stems. The best way to think of these stems is as vowel templates in which the root-letters are fixed. Unlike other Semitic languages, these stems in Ge’ez are not derivative from each other i.e. most roots appear in only one stem.

The majority of verbs appear in the simple stem or the basic stem [B-stem], which correlates with the G-stem in Aramaic (קטל); the Pa’al in Hebrew (פעל) and Form-I in Arabic (فعل).

«The Perfective = The Past Tense»

With three letter roots (R¹R²R³) the Simple stem has two slight variations in the perfective aspect. The perfective aspect denotes completed actions i.e. usually it correlates to what we would think of as the past tense.

R¹eR²eR³e – usually used for action verbs e.g. ሐነጸ (ḥänäşä) to build
R¹eR²R³e – usually used for stative verbs e.g. ፈርሀ (färhä) to be afraid

There are many exceptions to these generalizations, and for the most part in classical Ge’ez the difference in meaning of these two variations has become blurred. In any case, this difference in form is slight and is only even noticeable in the 3rd person perfective forms. Here are the conjugation charts:

ሐነጸ (ḥänäşä) to build – B-stem¹, Perfective:

ገብረ (gäbrä) to do – B-stem², Perfective:

Here’s a list of some common B-stem verbs for you to get started with. From now on, I’ll put [B] next to new verbs that occur in this stem.

11: The Accusative Case

The normal word order in Gəʿəz is: Verb + Subject + Object i.e. “The man reads books” becomes “Reads the man the books” in Gəʿəz. This word order can be manipulated to nuance the meaning of the sentence.

The last vital piece of the puzzle, at this stage, is the accusative case. For those of you not familiar with declensions, the accusative case marks a word as the direct object of a transitive verb. Itʾs usually a change in the ending of the word, similar to how the word he changes to him in the sentence: “the girl saw him.” In Gəʿəz, the accusative case also marks the destination of a motion verb (where we would otherwise expect to find “to” to “into” etc) and sometimes to designate a period of time adverbially (at night, in the evening etc). The accusative form, youʾll notice, closely resembles the construct state:

11.1: For most singular and plural words, the accusative case is marked with the ending “-ä”:

11.2: For words that end with “-i”, the accusative case is marked with an “-e” ending:

11.3: For words that end with other vowels the accusative ending is not marked. This also includes the vowel “-e” i.e. if a word is in the construct state and the object of an action, it will not be marked for the accusative case:

11.4 Proper names i.e. names of people, places, groups, typically do not take an accusative case ending. In some texts, they take a special ending: “-ha”

11.5: And here are the accusative versions of the demonstrative pronouns:

12: Posession

As in other Semitic languages, possession in Ge’ez is typically indicated through a set of pronominal suffixes added directly on to the noun:

12.1: Here are all the possessive pronominal suffixes. Some of them have accusative forms which are indicated in the parenthesis: <X>

12.2: Nouns that end in a vowel take a helping consonant -h- in all the 3^rd person possessions. For instance, with the word “ምንዳቤ“ (məndabe =  anguish, suffering, affliction.) There are no distinct accusative forms for nouns that end in vowels:

12.3: The only exceptions are nouns that end in the vowel –i. In 2^nd person possessions, the accusative form replaces the -i with an -e:

12.4: All plurals, both regular and broken, take the vowel –i(h)- before for all pronomial suffixes above (12.1). They have no distinct accusative forms:

12.5: Most biconsonantal nouns take the vowel –u(h)- before the pronominal suffixes above (12.1). In the accusative form, they vowel changes to –a(h)-.

12.6: The preposition “la-” has a distinct set of pronominal suffixes:

14: Verbs: Intensive – Perfective

The Intensive verb form, also called the “D-stem”, correlates to the D-stem in Aramaic (קִטֵּל), the Pi’el in Hebrew (פִעֵל) and the Form-II in Arabic (فعّل). It’s characterized by a doubling of the second radical in the root. Unlike these other scripts however, the Ethiopic script does not mark doubled sound (with a dagesh or shadda) which can cause some ambiguity. The intensive form of the verb typically denotes some kind of intensity, but this is not always the case. For example, the simple verb ቀተለ (qätälä) means “to kill” — the intensive form, ቀተለ (qättälä), means “to annihilate, to kill off completely” etc.

ገሠጸ [gäššäşä = to teach] – D-stem, Perfect

Here’s a list of some oft-appearing D-stem verbs to get started with. From now on, I’ll put [D] next to new verbs that occur in this stem.

14: Verbs: Frequentative – Perfective

The third type of stem is the frequentative stem, also called the called the “L-stem.” It correlates to Form-III in Arabic (فاعل). It’s characterized by a lengthening of the first radical in the root. This stem typically carries a frequentative meaning. For example, the simple verb ቀተለ (qätälä) means “to kill” – the frequentative form, ቃተለ (qatälä), means “to continuously kill, to persist in killing.”

ባረከ [baräkä = to bless] – L-stem, Perfect

16: Verbs: Quadriliterals – Perfective

The fourth category of verbs are those which have four (quadriliteral) or sometimes five (quinquiliteral) root consonants. These are fairly common in Ge’ez and the form itself has no particular meaning / effect. Quadriliteral verbs often emerge from borrowed terms from other languages. For instance, the verb መንኰሰ (mänkʷäsä) “to become a monk, to retreat into asceticism” probably came from the Greek term μοναχός (monakhos) “solitary”.

መንኰሰ [mänkʷäsä = to become a monk] – Q-stem, Perfect

19: Adjectives

The majority of adjectives in Gəʿəz, as in other Semitic languages, are verbal participles. A smaller number are denominal. They appear in a few different patterns and I’ve explained these patterns further below. Adjectives always reflect the number, gender and case of the nouns they modify and all the patterns follow, more or less, the following scheme:

As in other Semitic languages, adjectives usually adjectives appear after the noun(s) they modify, so:

ሐነጹ፡ንጉሥ፡ምሁር፡ወአግብርቱ፡ጠበብት፡ሀገረ፡ሠናይተ፡ለካህናት፡ጻድቃን።
ḥänäṣu nəguš məhur wäʾägbərtu ṭäbäbt hägärä šännaytä läkahnat ṣadəqan //
The learned king, and his skilled servants, built a beautiful city for the pious priests.

ዴገነት፡ንግሥትነ፡ክብርት፡ሊቃነ፡ዕልዋነ፡ወእሙንቱ፡ጐዩ፡ብሔረ፡ባዕደ።
degänät nəgəštnä kəbərt liqanä ʿələwanä wäʾəmuntu gʷäyyu bḥerä baʿədä //
Our mighty queen pursued the rebellious elders and they fled to another land.

Similarly, cardinal / ordinal numbers and some quantifying adjectives generally precede the noun(s) they modify.

ቀለመ፡ብዙኃነ፡መጻሐፍተ፡ወተርጐመ፡ጸሓፊሁ፡ክታቦ፡ቅዱሰ፡ለካልእተ፡ልሳነ።
qälämä bəzuxanä mäṣaḥəftä wätärgʷämä ṣäḥafihu kətabo qəddusa läkalʾətä ləsanä //
He authored many books and his scribe translated his sacred writing into another language.

And, as you would expect, adjectives are also fully functioning nouns. They can thus appear as predicates or in the construct state:

ራትዕ፡ነቢይክሙ።ኢራትዓን፡አንትሙ።እኩያነ፡ለብ፡ወነዳያነ፡መንፈስ፡አንትሙ።
ratʿə näbiykəmu // ʾiratʿan ʾäntəmu // ʾəkuyanä ləbb wänäddayanä mänfäs äntəmu //
Your prophet is righteous. You all are not righteous. You all are evil of heart and poor of spirit.

ADJECTIVAL PATTERNS

1. The most frequently appearing adjectival pattern is characterized by an /-u/ on the second radical, so: ቅቱል (qətul) from B-verbs; ቅቱል (qəttul) from D-verbs and ቁቱል (qutul) from L verbs. Note that the –u is absent in the feminine singular inflection:

መሀረ mähärä = to teach :
ምሁር məhur = educated / learned

ነጸሐ näṣäḥä = to be pure :
ንጹሕ nəṣuḥ = pure / innocent / sincere

ሰበሐ säbbäḥ = to praise :
ስቡሕ səbbuḥ = honorable / glorious / praised

ሠነየ šännäyä = to be beautiful :
ሥኑይ šännuy = adorned / decorated

ለበወ läbbäwä = to understand :
ልብው ləbbəw = wise / prudent

2. Another adjectival pattern is characterized by an /-a/ on the first radical, so: ቃትል (qatəl). The ordinal numbers appear in this pattern (ኃምስ xaməs = fifth), which inflects quite simply:

ረትዐ rätʿä = to be righteous :
ራትዕ ratəʿ = righteous / just

ብዕለ bəʿlä = to be / become wealthy :
ባዕል baʿəl = rich / wealthy

3. The third adjectival pattern includes few, albeit important, adjectives and is characterized by a /-i/ on the second radical, so: ቀቲል (qätil) from B-verbs and ቀቲል (qättil) for D-verbs. Note that the feminine form does not contain a /-t/ and that there is a common plural form:

ሐደሰ ḥäddäsä = to restore :
ሐዲስ ḥädis = new

ዐብየ ʿäbyä = to enlarge :
ዐቢይ ʿäbiy = large

4. The fourth adjectival pattern contains a characteristic doubling and elongation of the second radical, so: ቀታል (qättal). Note that this form resembles the f. sing. form in the previous pattern.

ኄረወ xeräwä = to be good :
ኄር xer = good

ሠነየ šännäyä = to be beautiful :
ሠናይ šännay = beautiful

5. Gəʿəz also derives adjectives from nouns. Whereas a few denominal adjectives have idiosyncratic patterns, e.g. ዐብድ ʿabd = ignorant, from ዐብድ ʿabd = a fool, most denominal adjectives are formed with the suffix –awi or –ay.

ዓለም ʿaläm = the world :
ዓለማዊ ʿalämawi = worldly

መንፈስ mänfäs = the spirit / the essence :
መንፈሳዊ mänfäsawi = spiritual

20: Object Suffixes

In Gəʿəz, pronominal suffixes on transitive verbs typically denote a direct object, i.e. a noun in the accusative case. To review the direct object, have another look at the entry on the accusative case.

ሐነጸ፡ንጉሥ፡ሀገረ። → ሐነጾ፡ንጉሥ።
ḥänäṣä nəguš hägärä // → hänäṣo nəguš //
The king built a city. → The king built it.

ዴገነት፡ወለታ፡ሊቃነ፡ዘመድ። → ዴገነቶሙ፡ወለታ።
degänät wälätta liqanä zämäd // → degänätomu wälätta //
Her daughter pursued the tribe’s elders. → Her daughter pursued them.

These same suffixes however may also denote indirect objects, particularly when affixed to verbs of speaking (addressing, telling, asking etc), verbs of giving (surrendering, depriving etc) and verbs of motion (going, befalling etc), so:

መጠወ፡ጳጳስ፡ሀገረነ፡ለአፍርንጅ። → መጠዎሙ፡ጳጳስ፡ሀገረነ።
mäṭṭäwä pappas hägäränä läʾäfrənj // → mäṭṭäwomu pappas hägäränä //
The bishop surrendered our city to the Romans. → The bishop surrendered our city to them.

ነገረ፡ዘንተ፡ስመ፡ለካህን። → ነገሮ፡ዘንተ።
nägärä zäntä səmä läkahən// → nägäro zäntä //
He told this name to the priest. → He told this to him.

Oftentimes, as in Aramaic / Syriac, these suffixes will anticipate an object which appears later in the sentence, prefixed with the lä- preposition. Lambdin terms this the “qätälo lä-nəguš construction.” This type of anticipatory-suffix infuses the object with greater specificity and definiteness. Note that, in this construction, the object affixed with the lä- is not marked in the accusative case.

ሐነጸ፡ንጉሥ፡ሀገረ። → ሐነጾ፡ንጉሥ፡ለሀገር።
ḥänäṣä nəguš hägärä // → hänäṣo nəguš lähägär//
The king built a city. → The king built [it,] the city.

ተርጐሙ፡ዛተ፡መጻሕፍተ። → ተርጐምዋ፡ለዛቲ፡መጻሕፍት።
tärgʷämu zatä mäṣahəftä // → tärgʷäməwwa läzati mäṣaḥəft //
They translated these books. → They translated [them,] these books.

The pronominal suffixes are, for the most part, fairly easy to spot and decipher. Here’s a general overview of how they appear

Some predictable phonetic changes occur to accommodate the 3rd person suffixes. Importantly, a helping “-h-” appears if they are affixed to stems ending in –a. If they are affixed to stems ending in –u or -ə, they appear beginning with -əww and -əyy, respectively, so:

ቀተላ፡አነስት፡አርዌ፡ምድር። → ቀተላሁ።
qätäla ʾänäst ʾärwe–mədr // → qätälahu //
The women killed a snake. → They killed it.

ነጸሩ፡ዕብራዊያን፡መልእክተ። → ነጸርዎሙ።
näṣṣäru ʿəbrawiyan mälaʾəktä // → näṣṣärəwwomu //
The Hebrews saw angels. → They saw them.

21: Verbs: The Passive Voice etc.

21.1: Most active verbs assume the passive voice when the prefix << ተ >> (tä-) is added to them. This prefix also sometimes produces a reflexive or a reciprocal meaning. The tä-prefix be added to any of the four types of verbs, making Bt, Dt, Lt and Qt.

Note that oftentimes, in Bt, the medial vowel disappears, so: ሰገደ (sägädä – he worshipped) becomes ተሰግደ (täsägdä – he was worshipped). Also, not every Bt, Dt, Lt and Qt form verb has a corresponding “active” form.

21.2: Dt verbs, especially those derived from stative verbs, can also have the meaning of “to show / regard oneself as something,” so:

21.3: Lt verbs that are derived from B verbs often denote reciprocal, repeated or iterated actions, so:

21.4: Some nouns appear verbalized in Dt form, so:

25: Relative Clauses

25.1: Relative clauses are formed with the following relative pronouns (i.e. who, which etc):

ሞተ፡ንጉሥ፡ዘሐነጸ፡ሀገረ።
mota nəguš zä-hänäşä hägärä.
The king who built the city died

ሞተት፡ንግሥት፡እንተ፡ሐነጸት፡ሀገረ።
motät nəgəšt əntä hänäşät hägärä.
The queen who built the city died.

ሞቱ፡ንጉሥ፡ወንግሥት፡እለ፡ሐነጹ፡ሀገረ።
motu nəguš wä-nəgəšt əllä hänäşu hägärä.
The king and queen who built the city died.

You’ll notice that the masculine singular relative pronoun is written as a proclitic. It is used frequently like a preposition marking a genitive relationship, especially in cases where a construct cannot be made due to an adjective, suffix or proper names.

ስም፡ቅዱስ፡ዘነቢይነ፡ዮሐንስ።
səm qəddus zä-näbiynä yoḥännəs.
The holy name of our prophet is John.

ዴገንዎ፡እምጋሊላ፡ዘአሕዛብ።
degänəwwo əm-galila zä-äḥzab.
They chased out of the Galilee of the Gentiles.

ተወለደ፡በቤተልሔም፡ዘይሁዳ።
täwälädä bä-betälḥem zä-yhuda.
He was born in the Bethlehem of Judah.

25.2: Similar to Arabic, when the relative pronoun marks a direct object, the verb (usually) takes on a resumptive pronoun. The same is true for when a relative pronoun is in a prepositional relationship i.e. whose, to whom, of which etc.

ነቢይ፡ዘቀተልዎ፡ተነበየ፡በሀገርየ።
näbiy zäqätäləwwo tänäbbäyä bä-hägäryä.
The prophet whom they killed prophesied in my city.

ብእሲት፡እንተ፡ርእያ፡ሞተት።
bə’sit əntä rə’ya motät.
The woman whom he saw died.

ካህናት፡እለ፡ስሞሙ፡ቅድመክሙ፡ህየ፡ውእቱ።
kahnat əllä səmomu qədmäkəmu həyyä wə’ətu.
The priests whose names are before you are here.

ስመ፡ሀገር፡ዘሐነጹ፡ወስቴታ፡ሀይከሎሙ፡ኢየሩሳሌም፡ይእቲ።
səmä hägär zähänäşu wästeta häykälomu iyärusalem yə’əti.
The name of the city in which they built their temple is Jerusalem.

25.3: Relative clauses frequently appear as nominal units.

ዘቀተለ፡ተሠቀየ።
zä-qätälä täšäqqäyä.
The-one –who-killed (i.e. the killer) suffered.

ስመ፡እንተ፡ሰበሕዋ፡አርዳሚስ፡ይእቲ።
səmä əntä sebbeḥəwwa ärdamis yə’əti.
The name of the-one-whom they-worshipped-her (i.e. their goddess) is Artemis.

ዴገኑ፡እለ፡ነበሩ፡በምድር።
Degänu əllä näbäru bä-mdər
They persecuted the-ones-who-lived (i.e. the locals) in the land.

25.4: Relative pronouns can also function as absolute nouns on their own and form the first part of a construct.

ርእዩ፡እንተ፡ዮሐንስ፡በቤታ።
rə’yu əntä yoḥännəs bä-bäyta
They saw she-of John (i.e. John’s wife) in her house.

እለ፡አጋንንት፡መጽኡ፡ለቤተ ክርስቲያን።
əllä äganənt mäş’u lä-betä krstiyan
They-of demons (i.e. the possessed) came to the church.

ዝብእሲ፡ዘሰገል፡ውእቱ።
zä-bə’əsi zä-sägäl wə’ətu
This man is he-of divination (i.e. a diviner)

25.5: The relative pronoun of time is “አመ” (ämä) i.e. “when” in the non-interrogative sense. It can appear as a preposition, a conjunction or a relative adverb. The relative pronoun of place is “ኀበ” (xäbä) i.e. “where” in the non-interrogative sense.

አመ፡ቦእክሙ፡ቤት፡ኀበ፡ነበረ፡ኢረከብክምዎ።
ämä bo’əkəmu betä xäbä näbärä iräkäbkəməwwo?
When you entered the house where he lived, you did not find him?

ጐየት፡እምኀበ፡ዴገንዋ፡ወሮጸት፡እስከ፡አመ፡በልሐክዋ።
gʷäyyät əm-xäbä degänəwwa wä-roşät əskä ämä bälḥäkəwwa.
She fled from where the persecuted her and she ran until the-time-when I saved her.

ዝመካን፡ይእቲ፡ኀበ፡መሀርነ፡ቶማ፡ዋንጌል፡ዘእግዚእነ፡አመ፡ሀለውነ፡ደቅ።
zə-mäkan yə’əti xäbä mähärnä toma wangel zä-əgzi’ənä ämä hälläwnä däqq.
This is the location where Thomas taught us the gospel of our Lord when we were children.

26: Verbs: The Causative Form

26.1: Most verbs take on a causative sense when the suffix << አ >> (ä-) is added to them. This sense includes causing directly, ordering, permitting, suggesting etc.  This suffix can give a causative sense to any of the verbal bases, producing Bc, Dc, Lc, Qc.

Note in the Bc construction the medial vowel disappears, so: ወደቀ (wädäqä – he fell) becomes አውደቀ (‘äwdäqä – he cast down).

26.2: Note the slight phonetic change in the negation of causative verbs from “iʾä” to “iyä”:

26.3: Consider the following sentences that use causative verbs:

አሕዘነት፡ሞቱ፡ነገዶ፡ወአቅበርዎ፡ኀበ፡ሞተ።
äḥzänät motu nägädo wä-äqbärəwwo xäbä motä
His death saddened his family and they had him buried where he died.

አማሰነ፡ንጉሥ፡ሀገረ፡ወአቅተሎሙ፡ለንቡራን፡ወአገበረ፡በምድር፡ዘሞዐ።
ämasänä nəguš hägärä wä-äqtälä nəburana wä-ägäbbärä bä-mdər zä-moʿä.
The king destroyed the city and ordered all its inhabitants killed, and he imposed a tax on the land he conquered.

አንበረ፡እግዚእነ፡አብርሃምሃ፡ውስተ፡ግብጽ፡ወአርከቦ፡ብዙኀ፡እጓለ፡ወብዕለ።
änbärä əgzi’ənä äbrəhamhä wəstä gəbş wä-ärkäbo bəzuxä əgʷälä wä-bʿəlä
Our Lord settled Abraham in Egypt and he caused him to acquire great progeny and wealth.

አስምዕኩ፡ቃላተ፡ነቢይነ፡ለንቡራነ፡ሀገርየ፡ወባሔቱ፡ኢየብከይዎሙ።
äsməʿku qalatä näbiynä lä-nəburanä hägär wä-baḥəttu iyäbkäyewwomu.
I announced the words of our prophet to the residents of the city but they did not move them to tears.

አንደደ፡ኵሎሙ፡ተርጐምያተ፡ዋንጌል፡እለ፡አጽሕፎሙ።
ändädnä kʷəllomu tärgʷämyatä wangel əllä äṣḥäfomu.
All the translations that he has ordered written, we set on fire.

27: Indicating Existence and Possession (contd.)

27.1: The Preposition «bä-» (by, with, in) has several important functions. Much like the preposition «lä-» (of, to, for) [see: 12.6], this preposition has a distinct set of pronominal suffixes:

27.2: The negative particle with this preposition is the enclitic አል «äl-», thus forming: አልቦሙ (älbomu = not in them) አልብነ (älbənä = not in us) etc.

27.3: The most important function of this preposition is that (with the 3rd m. sing. suffix) it indicates existence (there is…, there are…), just like the particle yeš in Hebrew, īt in Aramaic and thamma in Arabic. The following noun may sometimes decline in the accusative.

ቦ፡ቤት፡በዘሀገር።
bo bet bä-zä-hägär
There is a house in this city.

አልቦ፡አብያት፡በዘሀገር።
äl-bo äbyat bä-zä-hägär
There are no houses in this city.

ቦቱ፡ከዋክብት፡በስመይ።
botu käwakəbt bä-smäy
There are stars in the sky.

አልቦቱ፡ኮከበ፡በስመይ።
äl-botu kokäbä bä-smäy
There is no star in the sky.

27.4: Also, note these examples:

ቦ፡ዘረከበኒ፡ወባሕቱ፡ኢዜነወ፡ሊተ፡ስሞ።
bo zä-räkäbäni wäbaḥəttu i-zenäwä litä səmo
There is someone who found me but he did not tell me his name.

አልቦ፡ዘሰምዐ፡ቃላቶሙ፡አመ፡ቦኡ፡ሀገረ።
älbo zä-sämʿä qalatomu ämä boʾu hägärä
There was no one who heard their voices when they entered the city.

ቦ፡ዘጐዩ፡እምቤት፡ኀበ፡ደበዩ።
bo zä-gʷäyyu əm-bet xäbä däbäyu
There were those who fled from the house where they were hiding.

27.5: Another very common function of this preposition is that it indicates possession. The possessed object is usually declined in the accusative case, like the object of a verb.

ብነ፡ቤተ፡ዲበ፡ድብር።
bənä betä dibä dəbr
We have a house on the mountain.

ብየ፡ማየ፡ወአልብከ፡ማየ።
bəyä mayä wä-älbəkä mayä.
I have water and you have no water.

ንግሥት፡አልባ፡አግብርተ፡በጽርሓ።
nəgəšt älba ägbərtä bä-şərḥa.
The queen has no servants in her chamber.

ቦቱ፡ካህን፡ክርታሳኖ።
botu kahən kərtasano.
The priest has his scrolls.

አልቦሙ፡አራሚያን፡ሃይማኖተ።
älbomu äramiyan haymanotä.
The infidels have no faith.