Not “I” but “to me”: impersonal turns
Half of what English says through 'I', Sinhala says through 'to me' — through the -ට form. This is not a rarity and not politeness but the basic way to speak about oneself: මට ඕන 'I need', මට බඩගිනියි 'I am hungry', මට තේරෙනවා 'I understand', මට අවුරුදු තිහයි 'I am thirty'. There is no subject in the usual sense in such phrases at all: there is a person to whom something happens. For example: “මට මේක තේරෙන්නේ නෑ”…
How it works
Half of what English says through 'I', Sinhala says through 'to me' — through the -ට (-ṭa) form. This is not a rarity and not politeness but the basic way to speak about oneself: මට ඕන (maṭa ōna) 'I need', මට බඩගිනියි (maṭa baḍaginiyi) 'I am hungry', මට තේරෙනවා (maṭa tērenavā) 'I understand', මට අවුරුදු තිහයි (maṭa avurudu tihayi) 'I am thirty'. There is no subject in the usual sense in such phrases at all: there is a person to whom something happens.
The rule is simple: if the state arrives on its own — hunger, pain, age, understanding, ability, receiving — the person stands in the -ට form. If the person acts — goes, eats, repairs — they stand in the ordinary form: මම කනවා (mama kanavā), but මට බඩගිනියි. English is inconsistent here ('I am hungry', yet 'it is cold to me' sounds odd), while Sinhala is not.
Separately memorize පුළුවන් (puḷuvan) and බෑ (bǣ): 'can' and 'cannot' are impersonal too. මට එන්න පුළුවන් (maṭa enna puḷuvan) — 'it is possible for me to come', මට එන්න බෑ (maṭa enna bǣ) — 'it is impossible for me to come'. The verb inside stands in the -න්න form and does not change by person.
There are also turns with no person at all. වහිනවා (vahinavā) — 'it rains': there is no subject and none can be. මගේ බෑග් එක හොරකම් කළා (magē bǣg eka horakam kaḷā) — 'my bag was stolen': who stole is not named, and English too goes impersonal here. Signs and rules are phrased the same way: දුම් බීම තහනම් (dum bīma tahanam) — 'smoking is forbidden'.
Finally, තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) and ඉන්නවා (innavā) paired with -ට give 'I have': මට ෆෝන් එකක් තියෙනවා (a thing), මට ළමයි දෙන්නෙක් ඉන්නවා (the animate). Sinhala needs no verb 'to have'.
Table
| English says “I” | Sinhala says මට | Word for word |
|---|---|---|
| I want tea | මට තේ ඕන | to me tea is needed |
| I cannot come | මට එන්න බෑ | to me to come is impossible |
| I understand | මට තේරෙනවා | to me it is understood |
| I am thirty years old | මට අවුරුදු තිහයි | to me are thirty years |
| I received the parcel | මට පාර්සලය ලැබුණා | to me the parcel arrived |
| my head hurts | මට ඔලුව රිදෙනවා | to me the head aches |
| I have a phone | මට ෆෝන් එකක් තියෙනවා | to me a phone is present |
By example
- මට මේක තේරෙන්නේ නෑmaṭa mēka tērennē nǣI do not understand this
- මට හෙට එන්න පුළුවන්maṭa heṭa enna puḷuvanI can come tomorrow
- එයාට වයස කීයද?eyāṭa vayasa kīyada?How old is he?
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
Not “I” but “to me”: how does it work in Sinhala?
Half of what English says through 'I', Sinhala says through 'to me' — through the -ට form. This is not a rarity and not politeness but the basic way to speak about oneself: මට ඕන 'I need', මට බඩගිනියි 'I am hungry', මට තේරෙනවා 'I understand', මට අවුරුදු තිහයි 'I am thirty'. There is no subject in…
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මට මේක තේරෙන්නේ නෑ” (maṭa mēka tērennē nǣ) — I do not understand this. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.