Where and to where: a tail on the noun and a word after it
Explaining the way means arranging things relative to each other, and here Sinhala is the mirror image of English. There are no prepositions at all. Two things work: a tail grown onto the noun, and a separate word that stands AFTER the noun, not before it. For example: “ෆාමසිය බැංකුව ඉදිරිපිට” — The pharmacy is opposite the bank. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Explaining the way means arranging things relative to each other, and here Sinhala is the mirror image of English. There are no prepositions at all. Two things work: a tail grown onto the noun, and a separate word that stands AFTER the noun, not before it.
The tails. -ට (-ṭa) — direction and addressee: ගෙදරට (gedaraṭa) 'home', කඩේට (kaḍēṭa) 'to the shop'. -ෙන් — from where and by what: ගෙදරින් (gedarin) 'from home', පාරෙන් (pāren) 'along the road, off the road', බස් එකෙන් (bas eken) 'by bus'. -ේ — where: ගෙදරේ 'at home', පාරේ (pārē) 'on the street'. Three tails cover almost every 'where to, where from, where at'.
The words after the noun. ළඟ (ḷanga) 'near', ඉදිරිපිට (idiripiṭa) 'opposite', පිටිපස්සේ (piṭipassē) 'behind', උඩ (uḍa) 'on top', යට (yaṭa) 'under', ඇතුළේ (ætuḷē) 'inside', දිගේ (digē) 'along', එහා (ehā) 'beyond'. All of them stand second: බැංකුව ඉදිරිපිට (bæṁkuva idiripiṭa) 'opposite the bank', ගෙදර පිටිපස්සේ (gedara piṭipassē) 'behind the house', පාර දිගේ (pāra digē) 'along the street'.
The beginner’s mistake is predictable: saying ඉදිරිපිට බැංකුව (idiripiṭa bæṁkuva), in the English order. A Sinhala speaker will take it as 'the front building of the bank' and ask again.
The tail and the postposition often work together: පාරෙන් එහා (pāren ehā) 'across the road' — first -ෙන් on the noun, then එහා. The same in ලයිට් එක ළඟින් (layiṭ eka ḷangin) 'past the traffic light' and ගහ යටින් (gaha yaṭin) 'under the tree (to pass)'.
And the last thing, purely Lankan: distance here is measured in time, not meters. To the question දුරද (durada)? ('is it far?') the answer will be පයින් විනාඩි දහයක් (payin vināḍi dahayak) or ටුක් ටුක් එකෙන් විනාඩි පහක් (ṭuk ṭuk eken vināḍi pahak). The number of meters will not be named even approximately.
Table
| English preposition | The Sinhala way | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| in, to (direction) | the tail -ට | කඩේට | to the shop |
| from, by (whence, by what) | the tail -ෙන් | පාරෙන් | along the road |
| in (location) | the tail -ේ | පාරේ | on the street |
| opposite | a word after the noun | බැංකුව ඉදිරිපිට | opposite the bank |
| behind | a word after the noun | ගොඩනැගිල්ල පිටිපස්සේ | behind the building |
| along | a word after the noun | පාර දිගේ | along the street |
| across | a tail plus a word | පාරෙන් එහා | across the road |
By example
- ෆාමසිය බැංකුව ඉදිරිපිටfāmasiya bæṁkuva idiripiṭaThe pharmacy is opposite the bank
- පාර දිගේ ගිහිල්ලා කොනෙන් හැරෙන්නpāra digē gihillā konen hærennaGo along the street and turn at the corner
- ඒක මෙතන ඉඳලා පයින් විනාඩි දහයක්ēka metana indalā payin vināḍi dahayakIt is ten minutes on foot from here
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
Where and to where: how does it work in Sinhala?
Explaining the way means arranging things relative to each other, and here Sinhala is the mirror image of English. There are no prepositions at all. Two things work: a tail grown onto the noun, and a separate word that stands AFTER the noun, not before it.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“ෆාමසිය බැංකුව ඉදිරිපිට” (fāmasiya bæṁkuva idiripiṭa) — The pharmacy is opposite the bank. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.