Two thoughts and a linker between them: where it stands
A complex sentence is not a list of conjunctions but a question of place. English puts the conjunction between the two parts, and both parts stay whole. Sinhala almost always puts the linker at the end of the subordinate clause, and the subordinate clause — first. Learn the word but not the place, and you will never use it. For example: “මහන්සි උනත් මම වැඩට ගියා” — Although I was tired, I went to work. A rule from…
How it works
A complex sentence is not a list of conjunctions but a question of place. English puts the conjunction between the two parts, and both parts stay whole. Sinhala almost always puts the linker at the end of the subordinate clause, and the subordinate clause — first. Learn the word but not the place, and you will never use it.
A tail on the verb. Concession -උනත් (-unat): වැස්සත් අපි ගියා (væssat api giyā) 'although it rained, we went'. Condition නම් (nam): ඔයා එනවා නම් (oyā enavā nam) 'if you come'. Time -න කොට and -න අතරතුර: මම කන අතරතුර (mama kana ataratura) 'while I was eating'. Precedence -න්න කලින්: යන්න කලින් (yanna kalin) 'before leaving'. Sequence -ාට පස්සේ: ඉවර වුණාට පස්සේ (ivara vuṇāṭa passē) 'after it ended'. Immediacy ගමන්ම (gamanma): ආ ගමන්ම (ā gamanma) 'as soon as he came'.
A postposition after the noun. Reason නිසා (nisā) and the colloquial හින්දා (hindā): වැස්ස නිසා (væssa nisā) 'because of the rain'. Concession නොතකා (notakā): වැස්ස නොතකා (væssa notakā) 'despite the rain'. Substitution වෙනුවට (venuvaṭa): තේ වෙනුවට (tē venuvaṭa) 'instead of tea'. Note that in every case the thing talked about comes first, and only then the linker. The English order 'because of the rain' here coincides deceptively, but 'despite the rain' already does not.
Purpose manages without any linker at all. The -න්න form is enough: වීසා එක දිගු කරගන්න ගියා (vīsā eka digu karaganna giyā) — 'he went to extend the visa'. No 'in order to' appears in the sentence, nor should it.
Only the borrowed and literary ones stand in front. මොකද (mokada) 'because', හැබැයි (hæbæyi) 'however', the literary නමුත් (namuta) — all arrived under European influence and therefore behave in a European way: they open the sentence. They are handy, and exactly for that reason one should not start with them: the native order is the clause first, the linker at its end.
And the paragraph linkers: ඒක නිසා (ēka nisā) 'therefore', ඒ වුණාට (ē vuṇāṭa) 'still', අනිත් පැත්තෙන් (anit pætten) 'on the other hand', කොහොම වුණත් (kohoma vuṇat) 'all the same' — they stand at the start of a new sentence and tie not parts of one phrase but two phrases in a row. Their place matches English, and they create no confusion.
Table
| Meaning | Linker | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| although | උනත් | a tail on the verb, the clause first | මහන්සි උනත් මම ආවා |
| despite | නොතකා | after the noun | වැස්ස නොතකා අපි ගියා |
| because of | නිසා / හින්දා | after the cause | ට්රැෆික් නිසා පරක්කු වුණා |
| before | කලින් | after the -න්න verb | යන්න කලින් කෝල් කරන්න |
| after | වුණාට පස්සේ | after the past verb | ඉවර වුණාට පස්සේ යමු |
| as soon as | ගමන්ම | a tail on the verb | එයා ආ ගමන්ම කියන්න |
| in order to | -න්න | on the purpose verb itself | වීසා දිගු කරගන්න ගියා |
| however | හැබැයි | in front of the second sentence | ඒක හොඳයි. හැබැයි ගාණ වැඩියි |
By example
- මහන්සි උනත් මම වැඩට ගියාmahansi unat mama væḍaṭa giyāAlthough I was tired, I went to work
- වීසා එක දිගු කරගන්න ඕෆිස් එකට ගියාvīsā eka digu karaganna ōfis ekaṭa giyāI went to the office to extend the visa
- ලියකියවිලි දුන්නාට පස්සේ මාසයක් බලාගෙන හිටියාliyakiyavili dunnāṭa passē māsayak balāgena hiṭiyāAfter handing in the documents, I waited a month
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
Two thoughts and a linker between them: how does it work in Sinhala?
A complex sentence is not a list of conjunctions but a question of place. English puts the conjunction between the two parts, and both parts stay whole. Sinhala almost always puts the linker at the end of the subordinate clause, and the subordinate clause — first. Learn the word but not the place…
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මහන්සි උනත් මම වැඩට ගියා” (mahansi unat mama væḍaṭa giyā) — Although I was tired, I went to work. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.