6: The Copula

6.1: To review, personal pronouns act as copulas when they appear after a noun:

ነቢይ፡አንተ።	nebiy ente	You are a prophet.
ነቢያት፡አሙንቱ።	nebiyat emuntu	They are prophets.
ንግሥት፡አነ።	nəgəšt ene	I am the queen.

6.2: For emphasis, the pronoun can appear twice – at both ends of the sentence:

አንተ፡ንጉሥ፡አንተ።	ente nəguš ente	You surely are a king!
ውእቱ፡ከውከብ፡ውእቱ።	wə’ətu kewkeb wə’ətu	It is definitely a star!

6.3: In certain texts the 3^rd person masculine pronoun [ውእቱ / wə’ətu] appears as the sole copula, irrespective of person, number or gender of the actual subject:

አንተ፡ንጉሥ፡ውእቱ።	ente nəguš wə’ətu	You are a king.
አነ፡ንግሥት፡ውእቱ።	ene nəgešt wə’ətu	I am a queen.
ንሕነ፡እማት፡ውእቱ።	neḥne əmat wə’ətu	We are mothers.

6.4: If the subject is another noun i.e. “Noun-1 is a/the Noun-2” then there are three possibilities:

(a) Noun-1 + Noun-2 (As in Arabic and Hebrew)

ብእሲ፡ንጉሥ።	bə’əsi nəguš	The man is a/the king.
ማክዳ፡ንግሥት።	makda nəgəšt	Makda is a/the queen.

(b) Noun-1 + 3^rd pers. pron + Noun-2

ብእሲ፡ውእቱ፡ንጉሥ።	bə’əsi wə’ətu nəguš	The man is a/the king.
ማክዳ፡ይእቲ፡ንግሥት።	makda yə’əti nəgəšt	Makda is a/the queen.

(c) Noun-1 + Noun-2 + 3rd pers. pron.

ብእሲ፡ንጉሥ፡ውእቱ።	bə’əsi nəguš wə’ətu	The man is a/the king.
ማክዳ፡ንግሥት፡ይእቲ።	makda nəgəšt yə’əti	Makda is a/the queen.