Unit 9

Finding Your Way Around

Learning Objectives
At the end of this unit you will be able to: Ask for directions and tell locations of notable landmarks Locate places in relation to other places Name different modes of transportaion Ask questions about modes of transportation Ask arrival or departure times Ask a driver to stop, slow down or drive carefully Use direct and indirect objects in the imperative, simple past, and compound imperfect tenses

xQ Aktaa Directions

gra

q"

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Grammar Point
Bst- is a prefix attached to compass points or any object used to indicate relative location and means of or towards. Observe the following examples: Kenya kItyopya bstdbub tgall. (Kenya is located south of Ethiopia. tgall =is located) bSt Bst can also be added to G gra = left and q" k = right. Thus we can say: kTMHRT b@t$ bStq" Kl!n!K xl Ktmhrt betu bStq" bstk clinic all. there is a clinic to the right of the school. Note: here bSt bst means to the as in to the left
k@N kx!T bStdb#B TglC

Note: It is common to give the direction of a place in relation to other places/notable land marks. Some of the common landmarks you may use are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Tmhrt bet school betkrstian church mSg!D msgid mosque mNgD wanna mngd main road DLDY dldy bridge l!S b! polis tabiya police station
TMHRT b@T b@tKRStEN

Look at the following example: yn@ XHT TMHRT b@t$ yT nW? yne hit, tmhrt betu yt nw? Passerby Tigist kl!S b!W bStq" nW kpolis tabiyaw bstk nw.

Vocabulary
Asking for Directions yT nW? Yt nw? byT bk#L nW? Byt bkul nw? yT YgL? Yt ygal? bz!H Sk@L? Bzih yaskedal? Which way is it? In which direction is it? Where is it located? Does this way take to ?

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Grammar Point
Reviewing the Imperative

Infinitive

Imperative D Hid mD Mhed [d hed] to go ! Hiji* Y Yhidu (xKBT akbrot) Hidu (Bz# bzu) m-F Mtatf [-f tatf -F Tatf ] to turn - Tatfi Y- Yitatfu (xKBT akbrot) - Tatfu (Bz# bzu) * Note the second person feminine imperative palatalizes following the pattern previously discussed.

Practice:
Conjugate the verb mmlS mmls [tmlS tmls] (return) as in the table above. _____ tmlS tmls_ xKBT akbrot Bz# bzu

Vocabulary
Giving directions q_ BlH D/! kt blh hid/hiji go straight forward wdG -F/ wdgra tatf/i turn left bz!H wd Y D/! bzih wdlaay hid/hiji go up this way bz!H wd Y W/ W bzih wdlaay wuta/wu i go up this way bz!H wdC D/! bzih wdta hid/hiji go down this way bz!H wdC WrDWr! bzih wdta wurd/ji go down this way bz!H/bz! bk#L nW bzih/bziya bkul nw this/that way W yaw there it is DLDN tgR/ dldyun tagr/i cross the bridge Xz! xb! STdRS -YQ ziya akababi stdrs tyk ask someone else when you reach there x-gB atgb beside Q ruk far QRB krb not far away/ near jR jrba behind, at the back T lT fit l fit in front of N gon at the side of / beside 74

k tlo next to / next WS_ wst in, inside of xb! akababi around GT magt (xg ag) to find
q_l

Ways to Express Direction:

kTMHRT b@t$ x-gB

Ktmhrit betu atgb

kSpEl# T lT

S b@T yT nW? Posta

Khospitalu fit l fit

bet yt nw?

Yaw

Bz!H bk#L nW

Bzih bkul nw.

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Dialog 1
Susan is trying to find her way to the police station. Read the following dialog and see how Kebede is trying to help her. Susan Kebede: Susan Kebede Susan
YQR l!S b!W yT nW?

Ykrta polis tabiyaw yt nw? Bzih bkul kt bl stheji posta bet tagiyal. l!S b!W kS b@t$ bStjR nW Polis tabiyaw kposta betu bstjrba nw. Q nW? Ruk nw? xr QRB nW! r krb nw! xmsGh# Amsgnallhu
bz!H bk#L q_ Bl> ST! S b@T gl>

Note: XN nde! and xr r! are multipurose terms used to express surprise, disbelief, disagreement. Listen for it in conversations.

Practice
A student from another village has asked you where a high school in your town is. Create a dialog in which you tell her the directions. Use the expressions provided above. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

m Mguaguaa Transport
Vocabulary
Bahlawi mguaguaa Traditional Transportation frS frs horse bQl bklo mule xH ahya donkey U gari horse cart GmL gml camel N* tankua canoe zmE m Zmnawi mguaguaa Modern Transportation jL jlba boat mRkB mrkb ship b#R babur train xWPN awroplan airplane mk! mkina vehicle ymk! YnC Ymkina Aynto: Types of Vehicles xWb#S awtobus bus y+nT mk! ynt mkina truck/lorry Ks! taksi taxi J bajaj motorcycle taxi RYKL motorcycle motorcycle 76

Practice
Name the various means of transportation shown in the pictures below.

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Grammar Point
Review of Imperatives Infinitive mGT mgbat [g gba] to get on a vehicle Imperative G gba Gb! gbi YGb# ygbu (xKBT akbrot) Gb#gbu (Bz# bzu) wrd wrj YWr ywrdu (xKBT akbrot) Wr wrdu (Bz#bzu)
WrD WrJ

mWrD mwrd [wrd wrd] to get off/descend a vehicle, a stair, a ladder or a higher place

Vocabulary
wJ Wraj Use this word when you want to get off a vehicle. The word is a noun form of mWrD mwrd. xl Bota all? Have you got a spare seat? (Lit. Is there space?) yT nH Yt nh?/ n>n/ nW nw? Where does this vehicle go? ______ TlH thedallh? Do you go to_______? bSNT sT YnL? Bsnt sat ynsal? What time does it depart? YdRL? Ydrsal? What time does it arrive? XKH qS BlH N bakh ks blh nda. Please drive slowly.

Practice
Translate the following into Amharic. 1. Is there a bus in the afternoon? 2. What time does the bus leave? 3. How much is the fare? (use hisab) 4. What is the arrival time?

Safety and Security Notes

You will find that many drivers drive too fast. If you feel uncomfortable, you can politely ask the driver to slow down (XKH qS BlH N bakh ks blh nda) or to stop so you can get off. Ask for the fare before boarding a public transport vehicle (XSk sk _____ SNT nW snt nw?) After paying the fare, the conductor may not give you your change immediately. This is normal; however, ask for change before your arrival if it isnt given to you after some time.

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Once you are at your site ask your counterparts/colleagues which modes of transport are the safest in the locality.

Grammar Point
The Direct and Indirect Object Affixes In previous units, you encountered the concept of the direct object affix. Lju mstawotun sbrw. The boy broke the mirror. Xn@ mSt$N kfTk#T ne mskotun kftkut. I opened the window. sBl b@t$N x[CW Seble betun asdaw. Seble cleaned the house. xLZ bN TzUlC Almaz brun tzgawal. Almaz closes the door.
L mSwt$N snbrW

An indirect object is the person or thing to or for whom an action is done. For example, in the sentence Give it to me, me is the indirect object, while it is the direct object. In Amharic, direct and indirect objects are generally treated similarly, and context is used to determine which type of object is expressed. Also note that in the Amharic sentence, two objects cannot be indicated explicitly in the same verb; instead one is explicit and the other is implicit (from context). You saw in Unit 10 that the affixes w and t were used for singular male or neuter objects. Now we will present the direct and indirect object affixes for feminine, plural, and personal direct objects. Person Affix Xn@ ne -, n, or X a -n or n xNt anta -h or h xNcE Ani - or XRs rso -wo or wot XNt nnant -ah, -yah, or wah Xs# ssu -w, - w, - w, or t X* ssua -at, -yat, or wat XcW ssaw -aw, -yaw, -waw Xns# nnsu -aw, -yaw, -waw The placement of these affixes in the verb form depends on the tense of the verb used. Imperative Examples
**N S- S_

Kuasun st. Give the ball to me. (Lit. The ball, you () give to me.) st + - x- = st you () give + to me = give (it) to me ssuan wusdat. You () take her. WsD wusd + -xT -at = WsT wusdat you () take + her = you () take her

X*N WsT

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Note: Notice again the suffix un or -n on the direct object. The u marks definiteness (the) and the n marks that the noun is the direct object. Sometimes the direct object is omitted, as in simply WsT wusdat taken to mean you () take her.
X*N WsT

ssuan wusjat. You () take her. WsJ wusj + - xT-at = WsT wusjat you () take + her = you () take her

Ybet srahun assayun. You (plural) show us your homework. (Lit. Your(Pl) homework, show (it) to us.) Note: here, the n suffix on the direct object is attached after the possessive suffix: S sra + Ch# hu+ N n. x assayu + -N -n = xN assayun you (pl) show) + to us = you (pl) show to us
yb@T SCh#N x

Generalization: In the imperative tense, the object affixes are attached to the end of the verb form. Simple Past Examples Tnantna Abebe wuha st Yesterday, Abebe gave me water. s- st + = s- st he gave + to me = he gave (to) me Note: the noun W wuha is general, and does not take the n direct object suffix
TT xbb W s- lfW MNT ET LJaN wd TMHRT b@T wsT

Balfw samnt Dawit ljituan wd tmhrt bet wsdat Last week, Dawit took the girl to school. wsd wsd + xT -at = wsT wsdat he took + her = he took her Note: the a vowel in the suffix at supercedes the vowel at the end of the verb
lfW MNT LJaN wdTMHRT b@T wsdT

Balfw samnt Hana ljituan wd tmhrt bet wsdat. Last week, Hanna took the girl to school. wsdC wsd + - xT -at = wsdT wsdat she took + her = she took her Tarikun ngrahun You (pl) told us the story. ngCh# ngrahu + you (pl) told +
k#N ngCh#N

-N -n = ngCh#N ngrahun (to) us = you told us

Generalization: In the simple past tense, the object affixes are attached to the end of the verb form.

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Compound Imperfect Examples

kr Xs_lh# X

Krmela stallhu. I will give you () a candy. + s_ st + X> + xlh# alhu = Xs_lh# stalhu give to you () + Tarikun ngralhu. I will tell you () the story. ngr + X> + xlh# alhu = XnGRlh# ngralhu tell to you ()
nGR

k#N XnGRlh# X

Remember the formation of the compound imperfect tense: prefix + root verb + ending based on all. The prefix and the verb ending indicate the subject of the verb. The object affix falls between the root verb and the ending. Now observe how this works with other pronouns.
Tsl> T

Tsmial? Do you hear me? T + sM sm + x! i + xl> al hear me Wd hospital twsdatalh.

xT

= Tsl> tsmial You () take her to the = TwSlH twsdatalh

wd SpEL TwSlH

hospital. T T + wSD wsd + take

X gNzb#N XNsClN

at + xlH alh

her

a gnzbun nstahualn. We give you (plural) the + xCh# ahu + xlN aln = XNsClN nstahualn (to) you (pl)

money. XN n + s_ st give

Note: The second and third person plurals are irregular

xMST BR TkF*cCh#

Amst brr tkfluaawalaihu. + x# u +

xcW

You (plural) will pay

them five birr. T T + kFL kfl

tc$ mMHN Y-Bq$L

alaihu = TkFl#xcCh# tkfluaawalaihu Tmariwou mmhrun ytbkutal. The students

xCh# x#u

aaw +

wait for the teacher. Y Y + -BQ tbk + wait

t + xL al (for) him

= Y-Bq$L ytbkutal

An additional u falls before the object marker in these persons. The final -x#u disappears from the third person plural (Y-Bq$L ytbkutal, rather than Y-Bq$l#

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ytbkutalu). The -xCh#alaihu ending in the second person plural remains unchanged. Look at the example of mNgR mngr (ngr ngr), to tell, in the third person plural with and without indirect object affixes, below:
YnGl# Y

Yngralu. Y + nGR ngr

They tell (no object). + xl# alu They tell me. + x#u + + xL al They tell you (). + x#u + H h + xl al They tell you (). + x# u + > + xL al They tell us. + x#u + N n + xL al

YnGL

Yngrual. Y Y + nGR ngr Y Y Yngruhal. + nGR ngr Yngrual. + nGR ngr

YnGL Y

YnGL Y

YnGL

Yngrunal. Y Y + nGR ngr

Generalization: In the compound imperfect (present/future) tense, in general the object affix falls between the verb root and the ending based on all. Remember that in the second and third person plural forms, an additonal u is added before the object affix.

Practice
Fill in the appropriate forms for the verb mWdD mwdd (wdd wdd), to like/love. And also try the script version of the forms you are adding. I love you (): XwDlh# wdalhu I love you (): _____________________ I love you (pl): _____________________ I love you (pol): ____________________ I love him: ________________________ I love her: _________________________ I love them: _______________________ You () love me: ___________________ You () love us: ___________________ You () love her: ___________________ You () love him: __________________ You () love them: _________________ 82

Take this Challenge as well! We love you (plural): _ They love you (plural): You (plural) love them:

Application
Asking directions. Ask people on the road to show you the way to a bus station (if you already know it, pretend that you dont) Once you get to the bus station and find out from the driver or his assistant: a. Which bus goes to a town of your choice b. The bus fare and c. Arrival and departure times Report what you did (what was said and done) to your class.

Practice Reading and Pronouncing Script

-QY n!St&R mlS mNGST MKR b@T l!S b! q+N R wFM xStY xmlkT

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