Two thoughts and the linker between them
A linker in Sinhala almost always stands at the end of the part that explains, and that part comes first. Learning the word is not enough; learn its place. For example: “මහන්සි උනත් මම වැඩට ගියා” — Although I was tired, I went to work. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A linker in Sinhala almost always stands at the end of the part that explains, and that part comes first. Learning the word is not enough; learn its place.
The tail sits straight on the verb: මහන්සි උනත් මම වැඩට ගියා (mahansi unat mama væḍaṭa giyā) — "tired though I was, I went to work". යන්න කලින් (yanna kalin) is "before leaving", ඉවර වුණාට පස්සේ (ivara vuṇāṭa passē) is "after it was over", ආ ගමන්ම (ā gamanma) is "the moment he came".
After a noun come නිසා ("because of"), නොතකා ("despite"), වෙනුවට ("instead of"): වැස්ස නොතකා අපි ගියා (væssa notakā api giyā). First the thing spoken of, then the little word.
Only the imported words go in front: මොකද ("because"), හැබැයි ("however"). The trap hides in them. With those the sentence falls into English order, and the native one never becomes a habit.
Table
| Meaning | Linker | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| although | උනත් | a tail on the verb, the clause first | මහන්සි උනත් මම ආවා |
| despite | නොතකා | after the noun | වැස්ස නොතකා අපි ගියා |
| because of | නිසා / හින්දා | after the cause | ට්රැෆික් නිසා පරක්කු වුණා |
| before | කලින් | after the -න්න verb | යන්න කලින් කෝල් කරන්න |
| after | වුණාට පස්සේ | after the past verb | ඉවර වුණාට පස්සේ යමු |
| as soon as | ගමන්ම | a tail on the verb | එයා ආ ගමන්ම කියන්න |
| in order to | -න්න | on the purpose verb itself | වීසා දිගු කරගන්න ගියා |
| however | හැබැයි | in front of the second sentence | ඒක හොඳයි. හැබැයි ගාණ වැඩියි |
By example
- මහන්සි උනත් මම වැඩට ගියාmahansi unat mama væḍaṭa giyāAlthough I was tired, I went to work
- වීසා එක දිගු කරගන්න ඕෆිස් එකට ගියාvīsā eka digu karaganna ōfis ekaṭa giyāI went to the office to extend the visa
- ලියකියවිලි දුන්නාට පස්සේ මාසයක් බලාගෙන හිටියාliyakiyavili dunnāṭa passē māsayak balāgena hiṭiyāAfter handing in the documents, I waited 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
Two thoughts and the linker between them: how does it work in Sinhala?
A linker in Sinhala almost always stands at the end of the part that explains, and that part comes first. Learning the word is not enough; learn its place.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මහන්සි උනත් මම වැඩට ගියා” (mahansi unat mama væḍaṭa giyā) — Although I was tired, I went to work. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.