RESOURCES FOR LEARNING GE'EZ: THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE OF ETHIOPIA

RESOURCES FOR LEARNING GE'EZ-- THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE OF ETHIOPIA

May 9, 2013

26: Verbs: The Causative Form


26.1: Most verbs take on a causative sense when the suffix <<  >> (a-) is added to them. This sense includes causing directly, ordering, permitting, suggesting etc.  This suffix can give a causative sense to any of the verbal bases, producing Bc, Dc, Lc, Qc.

BASE
CAUSATIVE
B
ሞተ
to die
Bc
ሞተ
to put to death
ሐዘነ
to be sad
ዘነ
to sadden
ሐየወ
to live
ሕየወ
to restore to life
ነበረ
to reside
ንበረ
to deposit
ሮጸ
to run
ሮጸ
to cause to run
ርእየ
to see
ርአየ
to show
ሰምዐ
to hear
ስምዐ
to announce
ነደ
to burn
ንደደ
to set aflame

Note in the Bc construction the medial vowel disappears, so: ወደቀ (wadaqa – he fell) becomes ውደቀ (awdaqa– he cast down).

BASE
CAUSATIVE

D
ሠነየ
to be beautiful
Dc
ነየ
to decorate
ገበረ
to pay taxes
ገበረ
to impose tribute
ነሰሐ
to repent
ሰሐ
to lead to repentance
L
ማሰነ
to perish
Lc
ማሰነ
to destroy
ቤዘወ
to redeem
ቤዘወ
to have someone redeemed
Q
ደንገፀ
to be disturbed
Qc
ደንገፀ
to disturb


26.2: Note the slight phonetic change in the negation of causative verbs from “iʾa” to “iya”:

የት፡ቤቶ።         :         ኢየሠነየት፡ቤቶ።
ašannayat beto                               iyašannayat beto
She decorated his house             She didn’t decorate his house.

ርአይክዎ፡ሎቱ።     :         ኢየርአይክዎ፡ሎቱ።
arʾaykəwwo lotu                              iyarʾaykəwwo lotu
I showed it to him                            I did not show it to him


26.3: Consider the following sentences that use causative verbs:

አሕዘነት፡ሞቱ፡ነገዶ፡ወአቅበርዎ፡ኀበ፡ሞተ።
aḥzanat motu nagado wa-aqbarəwwo xaba mota

His death saddened his family and they had him buried where he died.


አማሰነ፡ንጉሥ፡ሀገረ፡ወአቅተሎሙ፡ለንቡራን፡ወአገበረ፡በምድር፡ዘሞዐ።
amāsana nəguš hagara wa-aqtala nəburānā wa-agabbara ba-mdər za-moʿa.

The king destroyed the city and ordered all its inhabitants killed, and he imposed a tax on the land he conquered.


አንበረ፡እግዚእነ፡አብርሃምሃ፡ውስተ፡ግብጽ፡ወአርከቦ፡ብዙኀ፡እጓለ፡ወብዕለ።
anbara əgzi’əna abrəhāmha wəsta gəbṣ wa-arkabo bəzuxa əgʷala wa-bʿəla

Our Lord settled Abraham in Egypt and he caused him to acquire great progeny and wealth.


አስምዕኩ፡ቃላተ፡ነቢይነ፡ለንቡራነ፡ሀገርየ፡ወባሔቱ፡ኢየብከይዎሙ።
asməʿku qālāta nabiyna la-nəburāna hagar wa-bāḥəttu iyabkayewwomu.

I announced the words of our prophet to the residents of the city but they did not move them to tears.


አንደደ፡ኵሎሙ፡ተርጐምያተ፡ዋንጌል፡እለ፡አጽሕፎሙ።
andadna kʷəllomu targʷamyāta wāngel əlla aṣḥafomu.

All the translations that he has ordered written, we set on fire.


3 comments:

  1. Prolific!!! Thai is wonderful Hamza. Please continue this great work

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