Subject: Third person (or: he, she, you - pol.) | |||
| fəlləguñ | 'they wanted me' | ayyuñ | 'they saw me' |
| fəlləguh | 'they wanted you(m)' | ayyuh | 'they saw you(m)' |
| fəlləguš | 'they wanted you(f)' | ayyuš | 'they saw you(f)' |
| fəlləguwot | 'they wanted you(pol)' | ayyuwot | 'they saw you(pol.)' |
| fəlləgut | 'they wanted him/it' | ayyut | 'they saw him/it' |
| fəlləguwat | 'they wanted her' | ayyuwat | 'they saw her' |
| fəlləgun | 'they wanted us' | ayyun | 'they saw us' |
| fəlləguwaccıhu | 'they wanted you(pl)' | ayyuwaccıhu | 'they saw you(pol.)' |
| fəlləguwaccəw | 'they wanted them/him, her(pol.)' | ayyuwaccəw | 'they saw them/him, her (pol.)' |
Note 5.4 Pronoun: Verb Suffix Pronouns used in apposition for emphasis.
| yıhın Kal yıdgəmut. | Repeat this word ('it')! |
The Verb Suffix Pronouns are used not only to indicate the direct or indirect object of the verb (Note 3.2.1) as in /yıdgəmut/ 'repeat it', but can also be used with a verb which already has a noun as a specific object, as in the sentence /yıhın Kal yıdgəmut/ above. The pronoun suffix is here in apposition to the preceding noun object, which must have a definite suffix. The use of this pronominal suffix on the verb is emphatic and may or may not be used by Amharic speakers, e.g. 'he saw the house' may be either /betun ayyə/ or /betun ayyəw/. The suffix is not used if the object of the verb is indefinite, e.g. /bet ayyə/ or /and bet ayyə/ 'he saw a house'.
It should be noted that with the verbs which may have both direct and indirect objects—for example 'to give something (direct object), to somebody (indirect object)—the suffix pronoun is usually the indirect object, and not an emphasizer.
Examples:
| məSıhafun səTTəw. | 'He gave him the book.' |
| məSıhafun asayyat. | 'He showed her the book.' |
but:
| məSıhafun ayyəw. | 'He saw the book (it), or: his book/ |
| Kalun dəggəməw. | 'He repeated the word (it), or: his word' |
Note 5.5 Prepositions /k(ə)-/ 'from'; /ısk(ə)-/ 'to', 'up to'; /l(ə)-/ 'for', 'to'.
| kəhulətt ıskassır bırr nəw. | 'It's from two to ten dollars.' |
| ləkəbbədə and sıni bunna səTTən. | 'We gave a cup of coffee to Kebbede. |
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