LingoflyMy, your, mother’s: the ending -ගේ
One ending, -ගේ, makes "my", "your" and "mother's" alike. It hangs on anybody: මම (mama) → මගේ (magē), ඔයා (oyā) → ඔයාගේ (oyāgē), අම්මා (ammā) → අම්මාගේ (ammāgē). Neither sex nor number changes the form. For example: “මේ මගේ (magē) අයියාගේ (ayiyāgē) බයිසිකලේ” (bayisikalē) — This is my brother’s bicycle. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
One ending, -ගේ (-gē), makes "my", "your" and "mother's" alike. It hangs on anybody: මම (mama) → මගේ (magē) (magē), ඔයා (oyā) → ඔයාගේ (oyāgē) (oyāgē), අම්මා (ammā) → අම්මාගේ (ammāgē) (ammāgē). Neither sex nor number changes the form.
The order is rigid: the owner always comes before the thing. මගේ (magē) ෆෝන් එක (fōn eka) (magē fōn eka), අම්මාගේ (ammāgē) බෑග් එක (bǣg eka) (ammāgē bǣg eka). Swap them and nobody can tell whose is whose.
One correction: -ගේ belongs to living beings. A thing or a place takes -ේ instead: කාමරයේ යතුර (kāmarayē yatura) is "the key of the room". Another: ෆෝන් එකේ කැමරාව (fōn ekē kæmarāva), "the camera of the phone".
Two exceptions turn up every day: "my" is not මමගේ but මගේ (magē), and "our" is not අපිගේ but අපේ (apē). "Whose?" is කාගේද (kāgēda): මේක (mēka) කාගේද (kāgēda) (mēka kāgēda)?
Table
| Who or what | Stem | Whose | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | මම (mama) | මගේ (magē) | මගේ (magē) ෆෝන් එක (fōn eka) — my phone |
| you | ඔයා (oyā) | ඔයාගේ (oyāgē) | ඔයාගේ (oyāgē) ලිපිනය (lipinaya) — your address |
| he, she | එයා (eyā) | එයාගේ (eyāgē) | එයාගේ (eyāgē) අක්කා (akkā) — his sister |
| we | අපි (api) | අපේ (apē) | අපේ (apē) ගෙදර (gedara) — our house |
| mother (animate) | අම්මා (ammā) | අම්මාගේ (ammāgē) | අම්මාගේ (ammāgē) බෑග් එක (bǣg eka) — mother’s bag |
| room (a thing) | කාමරය (kāmaraya) | කාමරයේ (kāmarayē) | කාමරයේ යතුර (kāmarayē yatura) — the key of the room |
By example
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
My, your, mother’s: how does it work in Sinhala?
One ending, -ගේ, makes "my", "your" and "mother's" alike. It hangs on anybody: මම (mama) → මගේ (magē), ඔයා (oyā) → ඔයාගේ (oyāgē), අම්මා (ammā) → අම්මාගේ (ammāgē). Neither sex nor number changes the form.
What does it look like in a Sinhala example sentence?
“මේ මගේ (magē) අයියාගේ (ayiyāgē) බයිසිකලේ” (bayisikalē) (mē magē ayiyāgē bayisikalē) — This is my brother’s bicycle. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.