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Unit 5
Amharic
The complete set of Perfective personal endings is:
| Singular | Plural: | ||
| 1st p. | -hu / -ku* | 1st p. | -n/-ın (after consonants only) |
| 2nd p.m. | -h / -k* | 2nd p. | -accıhu*** |
| 2nd p.f. | -š** | 3rd pers. | -u*** |
| 2nd p.pol. | -u** | ||
| 3rd p.masc. | -ə after consonants -zəro after /ə/ and /a/ |
||
| 3rd p.fem. | -əc(c) **after consonants -c(c) **after /ə/ and /a/ |
||
| 3rd p.m. and f. (pol.) |
-u*** |
--------------------
| *) | /-hu/ after /g/, /k/, /K/, and vowels; otherwise /-hu/ or /-ku/ /-h/ after /g/, /k/, /K/, and vowels; otherwise /-h/ or /-k/ | |
| **) | Before Verb Suffix Pronouns these endings are: | |
| 2nd p.f. 3rd p.f. |
/-šı-/ /-eccı-/ after consonants, /-əccı-/ after consonants, /-ccı-/ after vowels | |
| ***) | Vowel Stems drop their final vowel and the suffix is affixed directly to the preceding consonant. | |
-------------------- The verb /allə/ 'he exists, is present' denotes the present tense but takes the personal endings of the Perfect:
| alləhu | 'I am present' | |
| alləh | 'you (m) are present' | |
| alləš | 'you (f) are present' | |
| allə | 'he is present' | |
| alləc | 'she is present' | |
| allən | 'we are present' | |
| allaccıhu | 'you (pl.) are present' | |
| allu | 'they (he, she, you -pol.) are present' |
Note 5.2 Verb: Verb forms /alləc/ 'she exists', /yalləccım/ 'she does not exist' as equivalents to English 'have' and 'have not' with feminine object (see also Note 4.2).
Since the third person feminine of the verb /allə/ is /alləccı-/ before Verb Suffix Pronouns (Note 5.1), the equivalents of 'have' and 'have not' when what is possessed is feminine are as follows: (The construction is, literally, 'something (feminine) is to me, to you, etc'.).
| alləccıñ | 'I have' | |
| alləccıh | 'you (m) have' | |
| alləccıš | 'you (f) have' | |
| alləccıwo | 'you (pol.) have' | |
| alləccıw | 'he has' | |
| alləccat | 'she has' | |
| alləccın | 'we have' | |
| alləccaccıhu | 'you have' | |
| alləccaccəw | 'they have' |
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