LingoflyAlready, still, while: how far the action has got
More often than "when", you need something else: is it done already, or still going on? Sinhala has tails for that, and every one of them hangs on the verb. For example: “මම (mama) ලියකියවිලි (liyakiyavili) ඔක්කොම (okkoma) දීලා (dīlā) තියෙනවා” (tiyenavā) — I have already handed in all the documents. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
More often than "when", you need something else: is it done already, or still going on? Sinhala has tails for that, and every one of them hangs on the verb.
-ලා තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) (-lā tiyenavā) means done, with the result in plain sight. මම (mama) ලියකියවිලි (liyakiyavili) ඔක්කොම (okkoma) දීලා (dīlā) තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) (mama liyakiyavili okkoma dīlā tiyenavā) is "I have handed in all the papers". The other side is මම (mama) තාම (tāma) ගිහින් (gihin) නෑ (mama tāma gihin nǣ) — "I have not gone yet".
-ගෙන ඉන්නවා (innavā) means right now: මම (mama) උත්තරයක් (uttarayak) බලාගෙන ඉන්නවා (balāgena innavā) (mama uttarayak balāgena innavā) — "I am waiting for an answer". Plain බලනවා (balanavā) means rather "I watch, as a habit".
-න ගමන් (gaman) means alongside another job: කන (kana) ගමන් (gaman) ටීවී (ṭīvī) බලනවා (balanavā) (kana gaman ṭīvī balanavā) — "he watches TV while eating". The trap: ඉවරයි (ivarayi) ("finished") is a quality, not a verb, and it ends the sentence bare: වැඩ (væḍa) ඉවරයි (ivarayi) (væḍa ivarayi).
Table
| Tail | What it means | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ලා තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) | already done | මම (mama) වීසා (vīsā) එකට (ekaṭa) අයදුම් (ayadum) කරලා (karalā) තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) | I have already applied for the visa |
| -ලා නෑ | not yet done | මම (mama) තාම (tāma) ගිහින් (gihin) නෑ | I have not gone yet |
| -ගෙන ඉන්නවා (innavā) | in progress now | මම (mama) උත්තරයක් (uttarayak) බලාගෙන ඉන්නවා (balāgena innavā) | I am waiting for an answer |
| -න ගමන් (gaman) | on the side, meanwhile | කන (kana) ගමන් (gaman) ටීවී (ṭīvī) බලනවා (balanavā) | he watches TV while eating |
| -මින් | the same, but literary | කමින් සිටියි | is at table, eating |
| පටන් ගන්නවා (paṭan gannavā) | to begin | වැස්ස (væssa) පටන් (paṭan) ගත්තා (gattā) | the rain began |
| ඉවරයි (ivarayi) | finished | වැඩ (væḍa) ඉවරයි (ivarayi) | the work is finished |
By example
- මම මාසයක් තිස්සේ උත්තරයක් බලාගෙන ඉන්නවාmama māsayak tissē uttarayak balāgena innavāI have been waiting for an answer for a month
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
Already, still, while: how does it work in Sinhala?
More often than "when", you need something else: is it done already, or still going on? Sinhala has tails for that, and every one of them hangs on the verb.
What does it look like in a Sinhala example sentence?
“මම (mama) ලියකියවිලි (liyakiyavili) ඔක්කොම (okkoma) දීලා (dīlā) තියෙනවා” (tiyenavā) (mama liyakiyavili okkoma dīlā tiyenavā) — I have already handed in all the documents. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.