As/As much as possible: Sinhala Grammar #39

 Ayubowan! Today we will be learning how to express the idea of ‘as much as possible’.

Let’s jump in with the first example:

I’m not as tall as you.

Mama oyaa tharam usa næ.

මම ඔයා තරම් උස නැ.

When making a statement that would use “as”, we use the phrase 

tharam/තරම්. In the following examples, we will see some combinations of 

tharam and other words that we can use to express different ideas.

As much as possible

You should study as much as possible. 

Oyaa hæki tharam igennaganna one.

ඔයා හැකි තරම් ඉගෙන ගත ඕනේ.

Hæki is a form of “can do”. When combined with tharam, it means

 ‘as much as can be done’.

As much as wanted

Eat as much rice as you want.

Oyata ona tharam bath kanna.

ඔයට ඕන තරම් බත් කන්න.

As much as needed

Drink as much water as you need.

Oyata æthi tharam wathura bonna.

ඔයට ඇතයි තරම් වතුර බොන්න.

That’s all for this lesson! If you have any question, comments, or corrections,

please let me know in the comments down below. Stay tuned for the next lesson 

on December 21st!

Thank you for reading!

Most ___(Superlative Adjectives): Sinhala Grammar #38

Ayubowan! Today we will be learning about how to express something that has a

characteristic to the highest degree. In other words, we will learn how to talk about

superlatives. Let’s begin with the first sentence.

Everest is the tallest mountain.

Everest usama kanda.

එවරස්ට් උසම කන්ද. 

In order to form the superlative form of the adjective, we must swap the -yi sound in

usayi with -ma.

Usayi → Usama

I am the smallest daughter.

Mama thamayi* kudhaama duwa.

මම තමයි කුඩාම දුව.

* Thamayi here is optional. It is used for emphasis.

The same rule would apply here. We would change:

Kudhaayi → Kudhaama

This is the tastiest banana

Meya rasama kesel.

මෙය රසම කෙසෙල්.

Rasayi → Rasama

Where I’m from (In my city), January is the coldest month.

Mage nagareye, janawaari sithalama maasaya.

මගේ නගරයේ, ජනවාරි ශීතලම මාසය.

Sithalayi → Sithalama

That’s all for this lesson! If you have any questions or corrections, please let me

know in the comments down below. Stay tuned for the next lesson on November 30th!

Basic Grammar Review #1

 Hello everyone! 

Rather than introducing a new topic this week, I thought it might be 

helpful to go back and review some of the basic structures most commonly 

used in Sinhala. WIth university, I definitely haven’t gotten the chance to study 

Sinhala, so for me, this is much needed. All of these sentences relate to reading 

and books, but I would recommend plugging in your own worlds into these 

sentences to practice.

I like to read.                                              

Mama kiyavanna asayi/kæmathiyi.

මම කියවන්න  ආසයි/කැමතියි.

I want to read.

Mata kiyanvanna one.

මට කියවන්න ඕනෙ.

I can read.

Mata kiyavanna puluwan.

මට කියවන්න පුළුවන්

I cannot read. 

Mata kiyavanna bæ.

මට කියවන්න බැ.

I read that book.

Mama ē potha kiyevvaa.

මම ඒ පොත කියෙව්වා.

I did not read that book.

Mama ē potha kiyevvē næ.

මම ඒ පොත කියෙව්වේ නැ.

Read that book.

ē potha kiyavanda.

ඒ පොත කියවඩ.

This is my book.

Me mage potha (thamayi- For emphasis).

මේ මගේ පොත.

This is not my book.

Me mage potha nemeyi.

මෙ මගේ පොත නෙමෙයි.

When will you read the book?

Oyaa potha kiyavanne kavadaada?

ඔයා පොත කියවන්නේ කවදාද?

A: Where is the book?

     Potha koheda?

     පොත කොහෙද? 

B: The book is here?

      Potha me thiyenne.

     පොත මෙ තියෙන්නේ    

A: Where are you?

     Oyaa koheda (inne)?

     ඔයා කොහෙද (ඉන්නේ)?

B:  I am here.

     Mama me inne.

      මම මෙ ඉන්නේ.

That’s all for this entry! If you have any questions or comments, please

feel free to leave a comment down below. 

Stay tuned for a lesson on November 16th at 12AM PST!

Thank you for reading!