The past tense: the verb finally changes
The present takes a minute to learn: one form in -නවා for every person. The past is where the work is — there is no single pattern, and frequent verbs are learned in pairs. For example: “ඊයේ මම වෙළඳපොළට ගියා” — Yesterday I went to the market. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The present takes a minute to learn: one form in -නවා for every person. The past is where the work is — there is no single pattern, and frequent verbs are learned in pairs.
The rough guide: -නවා goes, the stem shifts, and -ා lands at the end. කරනවා (karanavā) → කළා ("did"), කනවා (kanavā) → කෑවා ("ate"), යනවා (yanavā) → ගියා ("went"), එනවා (enavā) → ආවා ("came"). Person makes no difference again: මම කළා (mama kaḷā), අපි කළා (api kaḷā).
Negation works differently here: the verb takes the tail -ේ and නෑ (nǣ) comes last. මම ගියේ නෑ (mama giyē nǣ) is "I did not go", and a question wants the same form: ඔයා කොහෙද ගියේ (oyā koheda giyē)?
The animate split holds in the past too: තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) → තිබුණා (tibuṇā) for things, ඉන්නවා (innavā) → හිටියා (hiṭiyā) for people.
Table
| Now | Before | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| කරනවා | කළා | do → did |
| යනවා | ගියා | go → went |
| කනවා | කෑවා | eat → ate |
| එනවා | ආවා | come → came |
| ඉන්නවා | හිටියා | am (of a person) → was |
| තියෙනවා | තිබුණා | there is → there was |
By example
- ඊයේ මම වෙළඳපොළට ගියාīyē mama veḷandapoḷaṭa giyāYesterday I went to the market
- මම ඊයේ ගියේ නෑmama īyē giyē nǣYesterday I did not go
- ගිය අවුරුද්දේ වැස්ස වැඩි තිබුණාgiya avuruddē væssa væḍi tibuṇāLast year there was much rain
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The past tense: how does it work in Sinhala?
The present takes a minute to learn: one form in -නවා for every person. The past is where the work is — there is no single pattern, and frequent verbs are learned in pairs.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“ඊයේ මම වෙළඳපොළට ගියා” (īyē mama veḷandapoḷaṭa giyā) — Yesterday I went to the market. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.