Two thoughts in one sentence: නිසා, නම්, කොට, කියලා
Sinhala joins thoughts the other way round. The linking word comes after the part that explains, and that part goes first. ට්රැෆික් එක නිසා මම පරක්කු වුණා is "traffic jam because-of I was late". For example: “ට්රැෆික් එක නිසා මම පරක්කු වුණා” — Because of the traffic jam I was late. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Sinhala joins thoughts the other way round. The linking word comes after the part that explains, and that part goes first. ට්රැෆික් එක නිසා මම පරක්කු වුණා (ṭræfik eka nisā mama parakku vuṇā) is "traffic jam because-of I was late".
Cause is නිසා (nisā): වැස්ස නිසා ("because of the rain"), ඒක නිසා ("that is why").
Condition is නම් (nam): ඔයා එනවා නම් මට කෝල් කරන්න (oyā enavā nam maṭa kōl karanna) — "if you come, call me". The verb before it does not change. Time is කොට (koṭa): එන කොට (ena koṭa) — "when he comes".
Somebody else's words are closed off by කියලා (kiyalā): එයා කිව්වා හෙට එනවා කියලා (eyā kivvā heṭa enavā kiyalā) — "he said he would come tomorrow". The trap: the tense inside stays as the speaker said it, because Sinhala never shifts it.
Table
| Word | Meaning | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| නිසා | because, because of | after the cause | ට්රැෆික් නිසා පරක්කු වුණා — late because of the jam |
| නම් | if | after the condition | ඔයා එනවා නම් කෝල් කරන්න — if you come, call me |
| කොට | when | after the clause | මම ආපු කොට එයා නිදාගෙන — when I came, he was asleep |
| කියලා | that (someone’s words) | at the very end of the report | එයා කිව්වා එනවා කියලා — he said he would come |
| -න්න | in order to | on the purpose verb | ෆොටෝ ගන්න කැමරාව ගත්තා — took the camera to take photos |
By example
- ට්රැෆික් එක නිසා මම පරක්කු වුණාṭræfik eka nisā mama parakku vuṇāBecause of the traffic jam I was late
- ඔයා එනවා නම් මට කෝල් කරන්නoyā enavā nam maṭa kōl karannaIf you come, call me
- එයා කිව්වා හෙට එනවා කියලාeyā kivvā heṭa enavā kiyalāHe said he would come tomorrow
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
Two thoughts in one sentence: how does it work in Sinhala?
Sinhala joins thoughts the other way round. The linking word comes after the part that explains, and that part goes first. ට්රැෆික් එක නිසා මම පරක්කු වුණා is "traffic jam because-of I was late".
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“ට්රැෆික් එක නිසා මම පරක්කු වුණා” (ṭræfik eka nisā mama parakku vuṇā) — Because of the traffic jam I was late. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.