“Which”: the description goes in front
English says "the man who works at the bank". Sinhala builds the same with no word for "who": බැංකුවේ වැඩ කරන මිනිහා — "at-the-bank working man". The description stands in front of the thing it describes. For example: “බැංකුවේ වැඩ කරන මිනිහා මගේ අයියා” — The man who works at the bank is my brother. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English says "the man who works at the bank". Sinhala builds the same with no word for "who": බැංකුවේ වැඩ කරන මිනිහා (bæṁkuvē væḍa karana minihā) — "at-the-bank working man". The description stands in front of the thing it describes.
The verb changes its ending for this. About now: කරනවා (karanavā) → කරන (karana), යනවා (yanavā) → යන (yana). About the past: කරනවා → කරපු (karapu), ගන්නවා (gannavā) → ගත්ත (gatta), එනවා (enavā) → ආපු (āpu). One form serves any number.
මම ගත්ත පොත (mama gatta pota) is "the book I bought". ඊයේ ආපු ලියුම (īyē āpu liyuma) is "the letter that came yesterday". The doer sits inside the description: මම (mama) belongs there, not in front of it.
The trap is the order. English unrolls the chain to the right, Sinhala to the left. Read මම ඊයේ බැංකුවෙන් ගත්ත ලෝන් එක (mama īyē bæṁkuven gatta lōn eka) from the end: "the loan", "taken", "at the bank", "yesterday", "by me".
Table
| Verb | Present participle | Past participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| කරනවා — to do | කරන | කරපු | වැඩ කරන කෙනා — the one who works |
| යනවා — to go | යන | ගිය | ගිය අවුරුද්දේ — in the year gone by |
| එනවා — to come | එන | ආපු | ඊයේ ආපු ලියුම — the letter that came yesterday |
| ගන්නවා — to take | ගන්න | ගත්ත | මම ගත්ත පොත — the book I bought |
| කියනවා — to say | කියන | කියපු | දොස්තර කියපු බෙහෙත — the medicine the doctor named |
| දෙනවා — to give | දෙන | දුන්න | ගුරුවරයා දුන්න වැඩේ — the task the teacher gave |
By example
- බැංකුවේ වැඩ කරන මිනිහා මගේ අයියාbæṁkuvē væḍa karana minihā magē ayiyāThe man who works at the bank is my brother
- මම ඊයේ ගත්ත පෙළ පොත මෙන්නmama īyē gatta peḷa pota mennaHere is the textbook I bought yesterday
- කුලියට දෙන ගෙදර ලොකුයිkuliyaṭa dena gedara lokuyiThe house that is let is big
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
“Which”: how does it work in Sinhala?
English says "the man who works at the bank". Sinhala builds the same with no word for "who": බැංකුවේ වැඩ කරන මිනිහා — "at-the-bank working man". The description stands in front of the thing it describes.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“බැංකුවේ වැඩ කරන මිනිහා මගේ අයියා” (bæṁkuvē væḍa karana minihā magē ayiyā) — The man who works at the bank is my brother. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.