Someone else’s words: කියලා closes what was said
Reporting runs backwards for you. English puts "that" before the words; Sinhala puts කියලා after them, at the very end. එයා කිව්වා එනවා කියලා is "he said he would come". For example: “ගයිඩ්වරයා කිව්වා ටිකට් එකක් ඕන කියලා” — The guide said a ticket is needed. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Reporting runs backwards for you. English puts "that" before the words; Sinhala puts කියලා (kiyalā) after them, at the very end. එයා කිව්වා එනවා කියලා (eyā kivvā enavā kiyalā) is "he said he would come".
Inside the report nothing shifts. It stays exactly as the person said it: මම හෙට එනවා (mama heṭa enavā) keeps එනවා (enavā), where English would move to "would come".
A question keeps its -ද (-da) particle too: එයා ඇහුවා මම එනවද කියලා (eyā æhuvā mama enavada kiyalā) — "he asked whether I would come". A request takes the -න්න shape: එයා කිව්වා ඉක්මනට එන්න කියලා (eyā kivvā ikmanaṭa enna kiyalā).
The same කියලා closes a thought or a rumour. මට හිතෙනවා ඒක කටකතාවක් කියලා (maṭa hitenavā ēka kaṭakatāvak kiyalā) is "it seems to me this is a rumour". One trap: leave කියලා off the end and the sentence hangs.
Table
| What is reported | How it sounds | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| a statement | එයා කිව්වා එනවා කියලා | he said he would come |
| a negation | එයා කිව්වා එන්නේ නෑ කියලා | he said he would not come |
| a question | එයා ඇහුවා මම එනවද කියලා | he asked whether I would come |
| a request | එයා කිව්වා එන්න කියලා | he said to come |
| a thought | මම හිතුවා ලාභයි කියලා | I thought it was cheap |
| a rumor | මට ආරංචියි එයා ගියා කියලා | I heard that he left |
By example
- ගයිඩ්වරයා කිව්වා ටිකට් එකක් ඕන කියලාgayiḍvarayā kivvā ṭikaṭ ekak ōna kiyalāThe guide said a ticket is needed
- එයා ඇහුවා මම ඡන්දය දුන්නද කියලාeyā æhuvā mama chandaya dunnada kiyalāHe asked whether I had voted
- මට හිතෙනවා ඒක කටකතාවක් කියලාmaṭa hitenavā ēka kaṭakatāvak kiyalāIt seems to me that this is a rumor
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?
Reporting runs backwards for you. English puts "that" before the words; Sinhala puts කියලා after them, at the very end. එයා කිව්වා එනවා කියලා is "he said he would come".
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“ගයිඩ්වරයා කිව්වා ටිකට් එකක් ඕන කියලා” (gayiḍvarayā kivvā ṭikaṭ ekak ōna kiyalā) — The guide said a ticket is needed. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.