Unit 3
Amharic
| bad | məTfo |
| They are bad | məTfó naccəw. |
| he or she (polite) | ırsaccəw |
| big | tıllıK |
| He or she (polite) is big. | ırsaccəw tıllíK naccəw. |
Grammatical Notes
Note 3.1 Pronoun: Independent Pronouns.
| ıne amerikawi nəñ. | I am an American |
| anci Konjó nəš. | You (fem.sing.) are pretty. |
| ırsıwo. | you (polite) |
| ırsaccəw tıllíK naccəw. | He or she (polite) is big. |
These are examples of Independent Pronouns that have occured in the Basic or Structure Sentences. As one can see from the above sentences, there are two genders, masculine and feminine. Gender is distinguished only in the second and third person singular pronouns (familiar forms). All other pronouns are indeterminate of gender.
As the personal ending (or other affix) of the verb indicates the person involved, the Independent Pronouns are much less used in Amharic than they are in English. When used, they are slightly emphatic. Attention is drawn to the fact that this particular person is, or these persons are doing so-and-so.
The complete set of such pronouns is:
| ıne | I | |
| antə | you (masc. fam.) | |
| anci | you (fem. fam.) | |
| ırsıwo / ıssıwo | you (polite) | |
| ırsu / ıssu | he | |
| ırswa / ısswa | she | |
| ırsáccəw / ıssáccəw | he or she (polite) | |
| ıñña | we | |
| ınnantə | you (pl.) | |
| ınnəssu / ınnərsu | they |
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