If: නම් and the ending -ොත්
A condition in Sinhala is built in two ways, and both stand at the end of the clause, not at the beginning like English 'if'. For example: “උණ වැඩි නම්, දොස්තර ළඟට යන්න” — If the fever is high, go to the doctor. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A condition in Sinhala is built in two ways, and both stand at the end of the clause, not at the beginning like English 'if'.
The first and main one is the word නම් (nam) after the verb: සල්ලි තියෙනවා නම් (salli tiyenavā nam), මම ගන්නවා (mama gannavā) — 'if there is money, I will buy'. The verb before නම් stays in its ordinary form and changes in nothing, so this way never fails: it suits any tense and any person.
The second is the ending -ොත් right on the verb: වැස්සොත් 'if it rains', ගියොත් (giyot) 'if you go', ලැබුණොත් 'if it comes through'. It is shorter and sounds livelier, but it requires knowing the past stem, and that stem is its own for every verb. Start with නම්, and learn to recognize -ොත් by ear.
Separately learn නැත්නම් (nætnam) — 'if not, otherwise': ඉක්මනට එන්න (ikmanaṭa enna), නැත්නම් අපි යනවා (nætnam api yanavā) — 'come quickly, otherwise we leave'. It is one word, not two.
And the condition that did not come true — the English 'if only'. Sinhala adds තිබුණා (tibuṇā) to both halves: සල්ලි තිබුණා නම් (salli tibuṇā nam), මම ගන්නවා තිබුණා (mama gannavā tibuṇā) — 'if there had been money, I would have bought it'. There is no special mood form here; the past tense works in both parts.
The order of the halves is free, but the condition first is more usual, as in English. The comma is not always written, yet in speech a clear pause is heard between the halves.
Table
| How to say “if” | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| verb + නම් | ඔයා එනවා නම් | if you come |
| verb + නම් (past) | ලෙඩ වුණා නම් | if he fell ill |
| stem + ොත් | වැස්සොත් | if it rains |
| stem + ොත් | රස්සාව ලැබුණොත් | if they get the job |
| නැත්නම් | ඉක්මනට එන්න, නැත්නම් පරක්කු වෙනවා | come quickly, otherwise we will be late |
| නම් … තිබුණා | සල්ලි තිබුණා නම්, ගන්නවා තිබුණා | if there had been money, I would have bought it |
By example
- උණ වැඩි නම්, දොස්තර ළඟට යන්නuṇa væḍi nam, dostara ḷangaṭa yannaIf the fever is high, go to the doctor
- බෙහෙත් බිව්වොත් හෙටට සනීප වෙයිbehet bivvot heṭaṭa sanīpa veyiIf you take the medicine, by tomorrow you will be well
- දැන් යන්න, නැත්නම් ඩෙඩ්ලයින් එක මිස් වෙනවාdæn yanna, nætnam ḍeḍlayin eka mis venavāGo now, otherwise we will miss the deadline
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
If: how does it work in Sinhala?
A condition in Sinhala is built in two ways, and both stand at the end of the clause, not at the beginning like English 'if'.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“උණ වැඩි නම්, දොස්තර ළඟට යන්න” (uṇa væḍi nam, dostara ḷangaṭa yanna) — If the fever is high, go to the doctor. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.