LingoflyTwo 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 (mahansi) උනත් (unat) මම (mama) වැඩට (væḍaṭa) ගියා” (giyā) — 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 (mahansi) උනත් (unat) මම (mama) වැඩට (væḍaṭa) ගියා (giyā) (mahansi unat mama væḍaṭa giyā) — "tired though I was, I went to work". යන්න (yanna) කලින් (kalin) (yanna kalin) is "before leaving", ඉවර (ivara) වුණාට පස්සේ (vuṇāṭa passē) (ivara vuṇāṭa passē) is "after it was over", ආ ගමන්ම (gamanma) (ā gamanma) is "the moment he came".
After a noun come නිසා (nisā) ("because of"), නොතකා (notakā) ("despite"), වෙනුවට (venuvaṭa) ("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 (mokada) ("because"), හැබැයි (hæbæyi) ("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 (unat) | a tail on the verb, the clause first | මහන්සි උනත් මම ආවා (mahansi unat mama āvā) |
| despite | නොතකා (notakā) | after the noun | වැස්ස නොතකා අපි ගියා (væssa notakā api giyā) |
| because of | නිසා (nisā) / හින්දා (hindā) | after the cause | ට්‍රැෆික් (ṭræfik) නිසා (nisā) පරක්කු (parakku) වුණා (vuṇā) |
| before | කලින් (kalin) | after the -න්න verb | යන්න (yanna) කලින් (kalin) කෝල් (kōl) කරන්න (karanna) |
| after | වුණාට පස්සේ (vuṇāṭa passē) | after the past verb | ඉවර (ivara) වුණාට පස්සේ (vuṇāṭa passē) යමු (yamu) |
| as soon as | ගමන්ම (gamanma) | a tail on the verb | එයා (eyā) ආ ගමන්ම (gamanma) කියන්න (kiyanna) |
| in order to | -න්න | on the purpose verb itself | වීසා (vīsā) දිගු (digu) කරගන්න (karaganna) ගියා (giyā) |
| however | හැබැයි (hæbæyi) | in front of the second sentence | ඒක හොඳයි. හැබැයි ගාණ වැඩියි (ēka hondayi. hæbæyi gāṇa væḍiyi) |
By example
- 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 a Sinhala example sentence?
“මහන්සි (mahansi) උනත් (unat) මම (mama) වැඩට (væḍaṭa) ගියා” (giyā) (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.