LingoflyNot “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 hungry", මට අවුරුදු තිහයි (maṭa avurudu tihayi) is "I am thirty". For example: “මට (maṭa) මේක (mēka) තේරෙන්නේ (tērennē) නෑ” — I do not understand this. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Half of what English says with "I", Sinhala says with "to me" — the form in -ට (-ṭa). මට (maṭa) ඕන (ōna) (maṭa ōna) is "I need", මට බඩගිනියි (maṭa baḍaginiyi) is "I am hungry", මට අවුරුදු තිහයි (maṭa avurudu tihayi) is "I am thirty".
The rule: when the state comes to a person by itself — hunger, pain, age, understanding — that person stands with -ට. When he acts, the form is the ordinary one: මම (mama) කනවා (kanavā) (mama kanavā), but මට බඩගිනියි (maṭa baḍaginiyi).
"Can" and "cannot" are built without "I" too: මට (maṭa) එන්න (enna) පුළුවන් (puḷuvan) (maṭa enna puḷuvan), මට (maṭa) එන්න (enna) බෑ (maṭa enna bǣ). The verb inside keeps its shape in -න්න whoever is speaking.
"I have" is made the same way: මට (maṭa) ෆෝන් (fōn) එකක් (ekak) තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) (maṭa fōn ekak tiyenavā) about a thing, මට (maṭa) ළමයි (ḷamayi) දෙන්නෙක් (dennek) ඉන්නවා (innavā) (maṭa ḷamayi dennek innavā) about people. A word for "to have" is not needed at all.
Table
| English says “I” | Sinhala says මට (maṭa) | Word for word |
|---|---|---|
| I want tea | මට (maṭa) තේ ඕන (ōna) | to me tea is needed |
| I cannot come | මට (maṭa) එන්න (enna) බෑ | to me to come is impossible |
| I understand | මට (maṭa) තේරෙනවා (tērenavā) | to me it is understood |
| I am thirty years old | මට අවුරුදු තිහයි (maṭa avurudu tihayi) | to me are thirty years |
| I received the parcel | මට (maṭa) පාර්සලය (pārsalaya) ලැබුණා (læbuṇā) | to me the parcel arrived |
| my head hurts | මට (maṭa) ඔලුව රිදෙනවා (oluva ridenavā) | to me the head aches |
| I have a phone | මට (maṭa) ෆෝන් (fōn) එකක් (ekak) තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) | to me a phone is present |
By example
- මට මේක තේරෙන්නේ නෑmaṭa mēka tērennē nǣI do not understand this
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
Not “I” but “to me”: how does it work in Sinhala?
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 hungry", මට අවුරුදු තිහයි (maṭa avurudu tihayi) is "I am thirty".
What does it look like in a Sinhala example sentence?
“මට (maṭa) මේක (mēka) තේරෙන්නේ (tērennē) නෑ” (maṭa mēka tērennē nǣ) — I do not understand this. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.