My, your, mother’s: the ending -ගේ
Sinhala has no separate words for 'my', 'your', 'his'. There is one ending, -ගේ, which hangs on anyone: මම → මගේ 'my', ඔයා → ඔයාගේ 'your', එයා → එයාගේ 'his, her', අම්මා → අම්මාගේ 'mother’s', අයියා → අයියාගේ 'brother’s'. Nothing has to agree: the form is one for any gender and number. For example: “මේ මගේ අයියාගේ බයිසිකලේ” — This is my brother’s bicycle. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not…
How it works
Sinhala has no separate words for 'my', 'your', 'his'. There is one ending, -ගේ (-gē), which hangs on anyone: මම (mama) → මගේ (magē) 'my', ඔයා (oyā) → ඔයාගේ (oyāgē) 'your', එයා (eyā) → එයාගේ (eyāgē) 'his, her', අම්මා (ammā) → අම්මාගේ (ammāgē) 'mother’s', අයියා (ayiyā) → අයියාගේ (ayiyāgē) 'brother’s'. Nothing has to agree: the form is one for any gender and number.
The order is rigid: the owner always comes before the thing. මගේ ෆෝන් එක (magē fōn eka), අම්මාගේ බෑග් එක (ammāgē bǣg eka), එයාගේ ලිපිනය (eyāgē lipinaya). It cannot be swapped — Sinhala will not work out whose is whose.
One important correction: -ගේ for the animate, -ේ for the inanimate. For a person or an animal — අම්මාගේ, බල්ලාගේ (ballāgē). For a thing or a place — simply the long -ේ: කාමරයේ යතුර (kāmarayē yatura) 'the key of the room', ෆෝන් එකේ කැමරාව (fōn ekē kæmarāva) 'the phone’s camera', ගෙදර වහලය (gedara vahalaya) 'the roof of the house'. This is the same animate/inanimate split you saw with තියෙනවා (tiyenavā) and ඉන්නවා (innavā), and it runs through the whole language.
Two exceptions are worth learning by heart, because they come up daily: 'my' is not මමගේ but මගේ; 'our' is not අපිගේ but අපේ (apē).
Possession can be stacked: මගේ අයියාගේ බයිසිකලේ (magē ayiyāgē bayisikalē) — 'my brother’s bicycle'. Every link takes its own -ගේ, and the chain reads right to left. The question 'whose?' is කාගේද (kāgēda): මේක කාගේද (mēka kāgēda)? — 'whose is this?'.
Table
| Who or what | Stem | Whose | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | මම | මගේ | මගේ ෆෝන් එක — my phone |
| you | ඔයා | ඔයාගේ | ඔයාගේ ලිපිනය — your address |
| he, she | එයා | එයාගේ | එයාගේ අක්කා — his sister |
| we | අපි | අපේ | අපේ ගෙදර — our house |
| mother (animate) | අම්මා | අම්මාගේ | අම්මාගේ බෑග් එක — mother’s bag |
| room (a thing) | කාමරය | කාමරයේ | කාමරයේ යතුර — the key of the room |
By example
- මේ මගේ අයියාගේ බයිසිකලේmē magē ayiyāgē bayisikalēThis is my brother’s bicycle
- අපේ ගෙදර වහලය පරණයිapē gedara vahalaya paraṇayiThe roof of our house is old
- මේක කාගේද?mēka kāgēda?Whose is this?
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
My, your, mother’s: how does it work in Sinhala?
Sinhala has no separate words for 'my', 'your', 'his'. There is one ending, -ගේ, which hangs on anyone: මම → මගේ 'my', ඔයා → ඔයාගේ 'your', එයා → එයාගේ 'his, her', අම්මා → අම්මාගේ 'mother’s', අයියා → අයියාගේ 'brother’s'. Nothing has to agree: the form is one for any gender and number.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මේ මගේ අයියාගේ බයිසිකලේ” (mē magē ayiyāgē bayisikalē) — This is my brother’s bicycle. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.