LingoflySinhala grammar
Sinhala grammar explained in plain words. In everyday speech the verb does not change for person. What is harder: a written language quite far from the spoken one, the verb at the end, and postpositions instead of prepositions.
Notes
- The verb always comes last📐The verb always comes lastTo say "I eat rice", put the verb at the very end: මම බත් කනවා (mama bat kanavā) — word for word "I rice eat".
- The verb does not change for person📐The verb does not change for person"I go", "you go", "we go" — the verb is one and the same, යනවා (yanavā). Only the pronoun in front of it changes.
- 📐A question is the particle දTo turn anything into a question, add -ද to the word. There is no separate word order for questions, and even the…
- No gender, but animate and inanimate📐No gender, but animate and inanimateSinhala has no gender and no articles, and the link "to be" is simply not said in the present. මගේ නම නිමල් (magē nama Nimal) — "my name…
- 📐Two Sinhalas: spoken and writtenSinhala is spoken one way and written another, and the gap between them is wide.
- 📐Comparison: the other thing comes before වඩා (vaḍā)To say "this is dearer than that", Sinhala takes the word වඩා (vaḍā) — "by comparison". The thing you measure against gets the…
- 📐Animate and inanimate: two “there is” and two pluralsSinhala sorts words not by gender but into animate and inanimate, and both "there is" and the plural follow that…
- Where it lies: an ending instead of a preposition📐Where it lies: an ending instead of a prepositionSinhala has no words for "in" and "on" — an ending does that work. Native words take -ේ: රෝහල (rōhala) → රෝහලේ (rōhalē) ("at the…
- 📐The past tense: the verb finally changesThe present takes a minute to learn: one form in -නවා for every person. The past is where the work is — there is no…
- 📐Requests and address: leave the pronouns aloneA request is made with the ending -න්න: කියන්න (kiyanna) ("say"), දෙන්න (denna) ("give"), ඉන්න (inna) ("wait"). It is polite as it stands; there…
- The future: the present plus “tomorrow”📐The future: the present plus “tomorrow”To say "tomorrow I go to Colombo", the present tense and the word for "tomorrow" are enough: හෙට (heṭa) මම (mama) කොළඹ (koḷamba) යනවා (yanavā). Spoken…
- 📐To me, me, my: one stem and three endingsSinhala has no separate words for "to me", "me" and "my" — three endings on one stem cover all of it. Learn them once…
- Definiteness: no article, but the difference is there📐Definiteness: no article, but the difference is thereSinhala has no articles, and still it keeps "some room" apart from "that room" — by an ending. කාමරය (kāmaraya) is "the room"…
- 📐The plural: shorter for things, longer for living beingsThere is not one plural in Sinhala but two. Things have theirs, living beings have theirs, and a swap is heard at once.
- Need, can, cannot: ඕන (ōna), පුළුවන් (puḷuvan), බෑ📐Need, can, cannot: ඕන (ōna), පුළුවන් (puḷuvan), බෑThree words carry "need", "can" and "cannot", and all three stand at the end, after the verb. The verb beside them…
- This, that and that over there: මේ, ඒ, අර (ara)📐This, that and that over there: මේ, ඒ, අර (ara)English gets by with "this" and "that"; Sinhala needs three. මේ is what is in my hands. ඒ is what is beside you, or…
- Very, a little, too much: the strength of a quality📐Very, a little, too much: the strength of a qualitySinhala puts the strength of a quality in a word in front of it. From the bottom up: ටිකක් (ṭikak) ("a little"), හරි (hari) ("very"…
- Not “I” but “to me”📐Not “I” but “to me”Half of what English says with "I", Sinhala says with "to me" — the form in -ට. මට (maṭa) ඕන (ōna) is "I need", මට බඩගිනියි (maṭa baḍaginiyi) is "I am…
- Cause, condition and time: නිසා (nisā), නම් (nam), කොට (koṭa)📐Cause, condition and time: නිසා (nisā), නම් (nam), කොට (koṭa)Cause, condition and time — in all three the linking word comes AFTER the thought, not before it like English "because"…
- “Which”: the description goes in front📐“Which”: the description goes in frontEnglish says "the man who works at the bank". Sinhala builds the same with no word for "who": බැංකුවේ (bæṁkuvē) වැඩ (væḍa) කරන (karana) මිනිහා (minihā)…
- Much, little, all, about: exactly how much📐Much, little, all, about: exactly how muchQuantity is shown by a word in front of the noun, and the noun itself changes nothing. From the bottom up: ටිකක් (ṭikak) ("a…
- If: නම් (nam) and the ending -ොත්📐If: නම් (nam) and the ending -ොත්In Sinhala "if" does not come first. It comes at the end of the part that carries the condition.
- Like and just the same: වගේ (vagē), වගේම (vagēma)📐Like and just the same: වගේ (vagē), වගේම (vagēma)To compare with a model, put වගේ (vagē) after it — "like": මේ ගෙදර (gedara) හෝටලයක් වගේ (vagē) — "this house is like a hotel".
- As much and more: තරම් (taram), වඩා (vaḍā)📐As much and more: තරම් (taram), වඩා (vaḍā)To say "not as X as", put තරම් (taram) after the model — most often heard in a negative: මං තරම් (taram) උස (usa) නෑ — "not as tall as I am".
- The most: the tag -ම📐The most: the tag -ම"The most" is made with a single letter: the tag -ම joins the quality. හොඳ (honda) → හොඳම (hondama) ("best"), ලොකු (loku) → ලොකුම (lokuma), උස (usa) → උසම, ලාභ…
- 📐Who did it does not matter: verbs in pairsEnglish has "they closed the shop" and "the shop closed". Sinhala manages with one thing: half the verbs come in pairs…
- Someone else’s words: කියලා (kiyalā) closes what was said📐Someone else’s words: කියලා (kiyalā) closes what was saidReporting runs backwards for you. English puts "that" before the words; Sinhala puts කියලා (kiyalā) after them, at the very end.…
- 📐Already, still, while: how far the action has gotMore often than "when", you need something else: is it done already, or still going on? Sinhala has tails for that, and…
- 📐Probably, hardly, certainly: where the doubt standsHow sure you are lives at the very end of a Sinhala sentence, behind the verb. English puts "probably" in front…
- 📐Two thoughts and the linker between themA linker in Sinhala almost always stands at the end of the part that explains, and that part comes first. Learning the…
- 📐A quality: bare before a noun, with -යි at the endA quality has two shapes, and the choice comes from its place in the sentence, not from its sense. Before a noun it is…
- The feeling is given to you: මට (maṭa) instead of මම (mama)📐The feeling is given to you: මට (maṭa) instead of මම (mama)English says "I am afraid", "I want", "I understand". Sinhala says half of the feelings otherwise: not "I" but "to me".…
- 📐Kitchen forms: -න්න, -මු and එපා (epā)A recipe, a request at table and an invitation rest on three shapes, all made from the dictionary form in -නවා.
- 📐The tail -ලා: one action after anotherEnglish joins actions with "and": "went to the shop and bought". Sinhala hangs the tail -ලා on every verb but the last…
- 📐It broke by itself or someone broke it: -වෙනවා and -කරනවාTalk about breakages rests on one pair. -වෙනවා says it happened by itself, -කරනවා says somebody did it: ඕෆ් (ōf) වෙනවා (venavā) is…
- Weather with nobody doing it: වහිනවා (vahinavā), අව්වයි (avvayi), රස්නෙයි (rasneyi)📐Weather with nobody doing it: වහිනවා (vahinavā), අව්වයි (avvayi), රස්නෙයි (rasneyi)English weather needs somebody to hold it up: "it is raining", "it is cold". Sinhala does without, and it has three…
- 📐Where and to where: a tail on the noun, a word after itSinhala has no prepositions. Two things do that work. One is a tail grown onto the noun. The other is a separate word…
- Can, know, have a knack: පුළුවන් (puḷuvan), බැහැ (bæhæ), දන්නවා (dannavā)📐Can, know, have a knack: පුළුවන් (puḷuvan), බැහැ (bæhæ), දන්නවා (dannavā)English "can" carries skill and chance in one word. Sinhala keeps them apart, and it usually puts the person into the…
- 📐Talking about the future with no future tenseThe Sinhala verb has no future tense. There is a past — කළා (kaḷā), ගියා (giyā), ආවා (āvā) — and the -නවා shape, which means both "I do"…
- 📐Three tails of conversation: -ද, -නේ, -කෝTo ask again, to soften, to beg a small favour — Sinhala does all three with tails. They are short, and without them…
- ගොවියා (goviyā), තරගකරු (taragakaru), පාන් හදන කෙනා (pān hadana kenā): how a deed becomes a person📐ගොවියා (goviyā), තරගකරු (taragakaru), පාන් හදන කෙනා (pān hadana kenā): how a deed becomes a personHalf the names of trades need not be learned by heart. Sinhala builds the name of the person out of the name of the…
- 📐From where, from whom, with what: the tail -ෙන් and -ගෙන්To say "took it from the client", "paid by card" and "by law", you need the tail -ෙන්.
- The name of an action: -ීම, “...න එක” (eka) and the written -නය📐The name of an action: -ීම, “...න එක” (eka) and the written -නයSinhala turns a verb into a name in three ways, and they do not stand in for one another.
- Two nouns in a row: පොත් කඩේ (pot kaḍē), කතා පුවත (katā puvata), ගායක කණ්ඩායම (gāyaka kaṇḍāyama)📐Two nouns in a row: පොත් කඩේ (pot kaḍē), කතා පුවත (katā puvata), ගායක කණ්ඩායම (gāyaka kaṇḍāyama)English links two nouns with "of" or a hyphen. Sinhala links them with nothing at all: the nouns simply stand side by…
- An English word in Sinhala: when එක (eka) is needed📐An English word in Sinhala: when එක (eka) is neededA borrowed word is a full member of the language, and it needs a tail before it can take an ending. Having none of its…
- 📐ලීටර් (līṭar) දෙකක් (dekak): the measure first, the number after itTo ask for two litres, Sinhala puts the measure first and the number behind it: ලීටර් (līṭar) දෙකක් (dekak). The same goes for මීටර් (mīṭar)…
- How it is done: -ෙන්, -ට, -ව and “ඇඟට හොඳයි” (ængaṭa hondayi)📐How it is done: -ෙන්, -ට, -ව and “ඇඟට හොඳයි” (ængaṭa hondayi)Sinhala has few ready words for "by hand", "with effort", "easily". It makes them on the spot, out of a noun or a…
- 📐Four “no”s: නෑ, නෙවෙයි (neveyi), නැති (næti) and නො-Four negatives do four different jobs, and in an argument නෑ alone will not carry you.
- What did not happen: කිව්වා (kivvā) නම් (nam) and කරන්න තිබුණා (karanna tibuṇā)📐What did not happen: කිව්වා (kivvā) නම් (nam) and කරන්න තිබුණා (karanna tibuṇā)"If they had told me earlier", "I should have called" — this is about what can no longer happen. Sinhala has no special…
- 📐To whom one bows: වහන්සේ, හාමුදුරුවෝ and the polite pluralSinhala keeps a separate tier of words for a monk, for a god and for an elder. Saying එයා (eyā) ආවා (āvā) about a monk is as wrong…
- ගොරෝසු (gorōsu), බිඳෙනසුලු (bindenasulu), බරකම (barakama): tails that describe a thing📐ගොරෝසු (gorōsu), බිඳෙනසුලු (bindenasulu), බරකම (barakama): tails that describe a thingSinhala does not keep a hundred separate describing words. It builds them with tails out of nouns and verbs.
- උඩින් (uḍin), උඩට (uḍaṭa), උඩ (uḍa): three tails of place📐උඩින් (uḍin), උඩට (uḍaṭa), උඩ (uḍa): three tails of placeSinhala has no prepositions. The word of place comes after the noun and changes its own tail, and the tails are three.
- තුනෙන් එක (tunen eka), දෙගුණයකින් (deguṇayakin), ගෙඩියට (geḍiyaṭa): how Sinhala counts📐තුනෙන් එක (tunen eka), දෙගුණයකින් (deguṇayakin), ගෙඩියට (geḍiyaṭa): how Sinhala countsA fraction is read from the bottom up: first the lower number with the tail -ෙන්, then the upper one. තුනෙන් එක (tunen eka) is "one…
- වැඩේට බහිනවා (væḍēṭa bahinavā), කල් ඇදෙනවා (kal ædenavā): which phase, and whose fault📐වැඩේට බහිනවා (væḍēṭa bahinavā), කල් ඇදෙනවා (kal ædenavā): which phase, and whose faultSinhala has no prefixes, so a second verb or an adverb shows the phase — begun, broken off, taken up. ආයෙත් පටන් ගන්නවා (āyet paṭan gannavā)…
- ඔප්පු කිරීම (oppu kirīma), සොයාගැනීම (soyāgænīma): the name of an action📐ඔප්පු කිරීම (oppu kirīma), සොයාගැනීම (soyāgænīma): the name of an actionHalf of the written words are verbs turned into names, and one tail does the turning.
- දිනපතා (dinapatā), නිතිපතා (nitipatā), ඉඳහිට (indahiṭa): how Sinhala says “how often”📐දිනපතා (dinapatā), නිතිපතා (nitipatā), ඉඳහිට (indahiṭa): how Sinhala says “how often”Sinhala says "how often" in four ways, and all four are built from ordinary words.
- වාහන දුම (vāhana duma), කසළ ගොඩ (kasaḷa goḍa), බඩු ලේඛනය (baḍu lēkhanaya): a name made of two names📐වාහන දුම (vāhana duma), කසළ ගොඩ (kasaḷa goḍa), බඩු ලේඛනය (baḍu lēkhanaya): a name made of two namesAlmost every second word about nature and production is glued out of two simple ones. There is no joiner: the names…
- 📐When there is no word: a description instead of a termHalf of the working words on the island are not single words. Where English keeps a term, Sinhala describes.
- කියලා (kiyalā): the word all reported speech rests on📐කියලා (kiyalā): the word all reported speech rests onReported speech rests on one word, කියලා (kiyalā). The order runs: what was said, then කියලා (kiyalā), then the verb of speaking.
- 📐-කම, -ත්වය, -ශීලී: naming a characterA person's qualities are gathered with the same tails as a thing's. The only question is which tail goes where.
- Āyubōvan and suba udǣsanak: what to say, and when📐Āyubōvan and suba udǣsanak: what to say, and whenආයුබෝවන් (āyubōvan) means "long life to you" and works at any hour; the palms are folded in front of the chest. It is respectful…
- Samāvenna and karuṇākara: an apology and a request are different words📐Samāvenna and karuṇākara: an apology and a request are different wordsසමාවෙන්න (samāvenna) is "forgive me". In shape it is a request, but it lives as a ready exclamation. It apologises for something…
What works differently from what you know
Written and spoken Sinhala differ so much that they are effectively two systems: in the spoken one the verb does not agree with the subject at all; in the written one it does. A child learns the written language at school almost as a second language.
James W. Gair, «Sinhalese Diglossia», Anthropological Linguistics, 1968
What is hard about Sinhala and what comes for free
Hard: a written language quite far from the spoken one, the verb at the end, and postpositions instead of prepositions.
Easy: in everyday speech the verb does not change for person.
This is not a verdict on the language but a hint on where to spend effort. The hard parts are best taken a little at a time and often; the easy parts — left alone while they work by themselves.
Frequently asked
Is the grammar of Sinhala complicated?
A written language quite far from the spoken one, the verb at the end, and postpositions instead of prepositions is the main difficulty. In return, in everyday speech the verb does not change for person.
Should grammar be learned separately?
Not as a separate course. A rule learned before you need it is forgotten before you meet it. It is more useful to work it out at the moment you stumble over it.