The past tense: the verb finally changes
The present of spoken Sinhala is learned in a minute: one form in -නවා for all persons. The past is where the work begins: there is no single regular scheme, and the frequent verbs are simply memorized in pairs. For example: “ඊයේ මම වෙළඳපොළට ගියා” — Yesterday I went to the market. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The present of spoken Sinhala is learned in a minute: one form in -නවා for all persons. The past is where the work begins: there is no single regular scheme, and the frequent verbs are simply memorized in pairs.
A general guideline still exists: the ending -නවා drops away, and in its place appears -ා with a changed stem. කරනවා (karanavā) → කළා ('did'), කනවා (kanavā) → කෑවා ('ate'), බොනවා (bonavā) → බිව්වා ('drank'), යනවා (yanavā) → ගියා ('went'), එනවා (enavā) → ආවා ('came'). By person the form still does not change: මම කළා (mama kaḷā), අපි කළා (api kaḷā), එයා කළා (eyā kaḷā).
Negation in the past is built differently than in the present: the verb takes a form in -ේ, and නෑ (nǣ) comes last. මම ගියේ නෑ (mama giyē nǣ) — 'I did not go', not 'මම ගියා නෑ (mama giyā nǣ)'. The same -ේ form is needed in a question too: ඔයා කොහෙද ගියේ (oyā koheda giyē)? — 'where did you go?'.
The pair තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) → තිබුණා (tibuṇā) and ඉන්නවා (innavā) → හිටියා (hiṭiyā) keeps the animate/inanimate split in the past as well: වතුර තිබුණා (vatura tibuṇā) — the water was there, අම්මා හිටියා (ammā hiṭiyā) — mother was there.
Table
| Now | Before | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| කරනවා | කළා | do → did |
| යනවා | ගියා | go → went |
| කනවා | කෑවා | eat → ate |
| එනවා | ආවා | come → came |
| ඉන්නවා | හිටියා | am (of a person) → was |
| තියෙනවා | තිබුණා | there is → there was |
By example
- ඊයේ මම වෙළඳපොළට ගියාīyē mama veḷandapoḷaṭa giyāYesterday I went to the market
- මම ඊයේ ගියේ නෑmama īyē giyē nǣYesterday I did not go
- ගිය අවුරුද්දේ වැස්ස වැඩි තිබුණාgiya avuruddē væssa væḍi tibuṇāLast year there was much rain
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
The past tense: how does it work in Sinhala?
The present of spoken Sinhala is learned in a minute: one form in -නවා for all persons. The past is where the work begins: there is no single regular scheme, and the frequent verbs are simply memorized in pairs.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“ඊයේ මම වෙළඳපොළට ගියා” (īyē mama veḷandapoḷaṭa giyā) — Yesterday I went to the market. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.