Not “I” but “to me”
Half of what English says with "I", Sinhala says with "to me" — the form in -ට. මට ඕන is "I need", මට බඩගිනියි is "I am hungry", මට අවුරුදු තිහයි is "I am thirty". For example: “මට මේක තේරෙන්නේ 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 ඕන (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 කනවා (mama kanavā), but මට බඩගිනියි.
"Can" and "cannot" are built without "I" too: මට එන්න පුළුවන් (maṭa enna puḷuvan), මට එන්න බෑ (maṭa enna bǣ). The verb inside keeps its shape in -න්න whoever is speaking.
"I have" is made the same way: මට ෆෝන් එකක් තියෙනවා (maṭa fōn ekak tiyenavā) about a thing, මට ළමයි දෙන්නෙක් ඉන්නවා (maṭa ḷamayi dennek innavā) about people. A word for "to have" is not needed at all.
Table
| English says “I” | Sinhala says මට | Word for word |
|---|---|---|
| I want tea | මට තේ ඕන | to me tea is needed |
| I cannot come | මට එන්න බෑ | to me to come is impossible |
| I understand | මට තේරෙනවා | to me it is understood |
| I am thirty years old | මට අවුරුදු තිහයි | to me are thirty years |
| I received the parcel | මට පාර්සලය ලැබුණා | to me the parcel arrived |
| my head hurts | මට ඔලුව රිදෙනවා | to me the head aches |
| I have a phone | මට ෆෝන් එකක් තියෙනවා | to me a phone is present |
By example
- මට මේක තේරෙන්නේ නෑmaṭa mēka tērennē nǣI do not understand this
- මට හෙට එන්න පුළුවන්maṭa heṭa enna puḷuvanI can come tomorrow
- එයාට වයස කීයද?eyāṭa vayasa kīyada?How old is he?
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 ඕන is "I need", මට බඩගිනියි is "I am hungry", මට අවුරුදු තිහයි is "I am thirty".
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මට මේක තේරෙන්නේ 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.