LingoflySomeone else's words: කියලා
To report what someone said, add කියලා (kiyalā) at the very end: එයා (eyā) කිව්වා (kivvā) හෙට (heṭa) එනවා (enavā) කියලා (kiyalā) — "he said he would come tomorrow". For example: “එයා (eyā) කිව්වා (kivvā) හෙට (heṭa) එනවා (enavā) කියලා” (kiyalā) — He said he would come tomorrow. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
To report what someone said, add කියලා (kiyalā) at the very end: එයා (eyā) කිව්වා (kivvā) හෙට (heṭa) එනවා (enavā) කියලා (kiyalā) (eyā kivvā heṭa enavā kiyalā) — "he said he would come tomorrow".
The trap: Sinhala never shifts the tense inside. It stays "comes" (එනවා (enavā)), not a shifted "would come", however long ago it was said.
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
Someone else's words: how does it work in Sinhala?
To report what someone said, add කියලා (kiyalā) at the very end: එයා (eyā) කිව්වා (kivvā) හෙට (heṭa) එනවා (enavā) කියලා (kiyalā) — "he said he would come tomorrow".
What does it look like in a Sinhala example sentence?
“එයා (eyā) කිව්වා (kivvā) හෙට (heṭa) එනවා (enavā) කියලා” (kiyalā) (eyā kivvā heṭa enavā kiyalā) — He said he would come tomorrow. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.