Planning to/Trying to: Sinhala Grammar #43

Ayubowan!

Today’s lesson will be about expressing things we are planning or trying to do

with the verb “hadanawa”. Let’s jump right into the lesson with the first example.

I am planning to go to the store.

මම කඩේ යන්න හදන්නේ. 

Mama kade yanna hadanne.

Depending on the context of the situation, the meaning of hadanne changes a bit.

In this sentence, hadane suggests that the speaker is going to try to go to the store. 

The direct translation of this sentence is “I am making on going to the store”. This idea

of making is what gives this sentence a sense of certainty in the speaker's mind.

Let's take a look at a few more examples.

(Are you) trying to be hidden?

හැංගිලා හදන්නේද ?

Hangila* hadanneda?

In this context, we see this same idea of but in a slightly different way. Similarly to the

previous sentence we have this idea of attempting something. In this case, the person

who the speaker is referring to is trying to (or was planning to) stay hidden.

*In proper grammatical terms, I believe that hangila is the past participle of hanginawaa/හන්ගිනවා

(Hidden vs. Hide)

I am planning to become a doctor.

මම දොක්ටෝර් කෙනෙක් වෙන්න හදන්නේ.

Mama doctor kenek venna hadanne.

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

leave them down in the comments below.

The next lesson will be up on February 1st at 12 AM PST.

Thank you for reading!

That is why/ This is the reason: Sinhala Grammar #42

Hello everyone!

Today’s lesson will be an extension of a previous concept.

If you would like to visit Lesson 14, click here:

https://learnsinhalawithme.blogspot.com/2019/10/sinhala-grammar-14-because.html

So today’s lesson will be expanding the use of the “Hinda” phrase that we learned

in the previous lesson. More specifically, this new concept can help us explain a situation.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Let’s pretend that someone saw you at the doctor’s office and asked you why you were there.

You might reply:

Mage ænga riduna. Eka hinda mama doktor kenek *langata giya.

මගේ ඇඟ රිදුන. එක හින්ද මම දොක්ටෝර් කෙනෙක් ලඟට ගිය.

My body hurts. That is why I went to the doctor’s.

*This literally translates to “ near the doctor”. Langata in this case essentially means

Towards the doctor. 

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The new addition to this grammar concept is the “eka”. When you use eka hinda,

you are marking this phrase as a result of a previous action.

Eka hinda + Result of an action

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Let’s look at a few more examples to practice this:

Mama padam kare næ. Eka hindha mama vibhahagaya *pass kare næ.

මම පාඩම් කරේ නැ. එක හින්ද මම විබහගය පැස් කරේ නැ.

I didn’t study. That is why I didn’t pass the exam.

*Many Sinhala speakers will mix many English words in their Sinhala. This is one

of the cases where using the English word is more practical than the formal word.

Dæn rǣ vela. Eka hinda kade yanna bæ.

දැන් රෑ වෙලා. එක හින්ද කඩේ යන්න බැ.

It’s nighttime now. That’s why (I) can’t go to the store.

That’s all for this lesson! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to

leave them down below. Let me know if there is anything I can clarify about this post.

The next lesson will be posted on January 18th at 12 AM PST. Thank you for reading!