Already, still, while: duration and completion
So far the verb answered 'when': කරනවා, කළා, කරයි. But more often another thing is needed — is it already done, or still being done. For this Sinhala has three tails, and all three hang on the verb. For example: “මම ලියකියවිලි ඔක්කොම දීලා තියෙනවා” — I have already handed in all the documents. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
So far the verb answered 'when': කරනවා (karanavā), කළා (kaḷā), කරයි (karayi). But more often another thing is needed — is it already done, or still being done. For this Sinhala has three tails, and all three hang on the verb.
-ලා තියෙනවා (-lā tiyenavā) — already done, and the result is there to see. මම අයදුම් කරලා තියෙනවා (mama ayadum karalā tiyenavā) — 'I have applied'. Not 'I applied yesterday' but 'I applied, and the application is lying there'. The negation is කරලා නෑ (karalā nǣ): මම තාම කරලා නෑ (mama tāma karalā nǣ) 'I have not done it yet'. The same turn answers questions about experience: ඔයා ඉන්දියාවට ගිහින් තියෙනවද? 'have you ever been to India?'.
-ගෙන ඉන්නවා — in progress right now. මම බලාගෙන ඉන්නවා (mama balāgena innavā) 'I am waiting', එයා ටීවී බලාගෙන ඉන්නවා (eyā ṭīvī balāgena innavā) 'he is watching TV'. English splits 'I watch' and 'I am watching' with its -ing; Sinhala does it with this turn, while the plain බලනවා (balanavā) rather means 'I watch in general, usually'.
-මින් and -න ගමන් — on the side, at the same time as another affair. කන ගමන් කතා කරනවා (kana gaman katā karanavā) — 'he talks while eating'. The form -මින් (කමින්) means the same but is literary: in speech ගමන් (gaman) is taken.
The beginning and the end of an action are separate verbs after the main one: පටන් ගන්නවා (paṭan gannavā) 'to begin' and ඉවර වෙනවා (ivara venavā) 'to end'. වැස්ස පටන් ගත්තා (væssa paṭan gattā) 'the rain began', වැඩ ඉවරයි (væḍa ivarayi) 'the work is finished'. Note: ඉවරයි (ivarayi) is not a verb but a feature, and therefore it stands at the very end without any -නවා.
Table
| Tail | What it means | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ලා තියෙනවා | already done | මම වීසා එකට අයදුම් කරලා තියෙනවා | I have already applied for the visa |
| -ලා නෑ | not yet done | මම තාම ගිහින් නෑ | I have not gone yet |
| -ගෙන ඉන්නවා | in progress now | මම උත්තරයක් බලාගෙන ඉන්නවා | I am waiting for an answer |
| -න ගමන් | on the side, meanwhile | කන ගමන් ටීවී බලනවා | he watches TV while eating |
| -මින් | the same, but literary | කමින් සිටියි | is at table, eating |
| පටන් ගන්නවා | to begin | වැස්ස පටන් ගත්තා | the rain began |
| ඉවරයි | finished | වැඩ ඉවරයි | the work is finished |
By example
- මම ලියකියවිලි ඔක්කොම දීලා තියෙනවාmama liyakiyavili okkoma dīlā tiyenavāI have already handed in all the documents
- මම මාසයක් තිස්සේ උත්තරයක් බලාගෙන ඉන්නවාmama māsayak tissē uttarayak balāgena innavāI have been waiting for an answer for a month
- එයා වැඩ කරන ගමන් ඉගෙන ගන්නවාeyā væḍa karana gaman igena gannavāHe studies while working
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
Already, still, while: how does it work in Sinhala?
So far the verb answered 'when': කරනවා, කළා, කරයි. But more often another thing is needed — is it already done, or still being done. For this Sinhala has three tails, and all three hang on the verb.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මම ලියකියවිලි ඔක්කොම දීලා තියෙනවා” (mama liyakiyavili okkoma dīlā tiyenavā) — I have already handed in all the documents. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.