Sinhala Grammar #17: Expressing Position

Today, we will be learning how to express something’s position in relation to

another object. 

Let’s start with talking about inanimate objects:

My book is under the table.

Magē potha mēsaya yaṭa (thiyenawaa).

මගේ පොත මේසය යට (තියෙනවා).

When talking in casual Sinhala, you can omit ‘thiyenawaa’, as it is implied that

the object is there. You don’t necessarily need to express it, but it’s up to you.

My book is on (above) the table.

Magē potha mēsaya uda thiyenawaa.

මගේ පොත මේසය උද (තියෙනවා).

My book is in the room.

Magē potha kāmarayē (thiyenawaa.)

මගේ පොත කාමරයේ (තියෙනවා).

Now that we’ve learned how to talk about inanimate objects, let’s move on to

talking about live subjects:

I am behind Dilshan.

Mama Dilshan piṭipase (innawaa).

මම ඩිල්ෂාන් ඩිල්ෂාන් ඉන්නවා.

One really important thing to remember about expressing existence is that ‘innawaa’

is used for animate, live objects, while ‘thiyenawaa’ is used for inanimate objects.

I am in front of Dilshan.

Mama Dilshan isaraha (innawaa).

මම ඩිල්ෂාන් ඉස්සරහ ඉන්නවා.

I am next to (close to) Dilshan.

Mama Dilshan langa(innawaa).

මම ඩිල්ෂාන් ළඟ  ඉන්නවා.

I am right of Dilshan.

Mama Dilshan dakuṇu pæththē (innawaa).

මම ඩිල්ෂාන් දකුණු පැත්තේ  ඉන්නවා.

‘Paththe’ means ‘direction’.  So when we talk about right and left, we are saying

something along the lines of ‘in the right direction’ and ‘in the left direction’.

I am left of Dilshan.

Mama Dilshan vam paththē (innawaa).

මම ඩිල්ෂාන් වම් පැත්තේ  ඉන්නවා.

That’s it for today’s lesson! Like always, comment below if you have any questions or

comments. Thanks for reading!