"Ethiopic verbs"

15: Verbs: Frequentative - Perfective


The third type of stem is the frequentative stem, also called the called the “L-stem.” It correlates to Form-III in Arabic (فاعل). It’s characterized by a lengthening of the first radical in the root. This stem typically carries a frequentative meaning. For example, the simple verb ቀተለ (qetele) means "to kill" – the frequentative form, ቀተለ (qatele), means "to continuously kill, to persist in killing.”

ባረከ [bareke = to bless] – L-stem, Perfect
SINGULAR
PLURAL
1st Person
ባረኩ
barekku
ባረክነ
barekne
2nd Person
ባረከ
barekke (m.)
ባረክሙ
barekkəmu (m.)
ባረኪ
barekki (f.)
ባረክን
barekkən (f.)
3rd Person
ባረከ
bareke(m.)
ባረኩ
bareku (m.)
ባረከት
bareket(f.)
ባረካ
bareka (f.)







14: Verbs: Intensive - Perfective


The Intensive verb form, also called the “D-stem”, correlates to the D-stem in Aramaic (קִטֵּל), the Pi’el in Hebrew (פִעֵל) and the Form-II in Arabic (فعّل). It’s characterized by a doubling of the second radical in the root. Unlike these other scripts however, the Ethiopic script does not mark doubled sound (with a dagesh or shadda) which can cause some ambiguity. The intensive form of the verb typically denotes some kind of intensity, but this is not always the case. For example, the simple verb ቀተለ (qetele) means "to kill" -- the intensive form, ቀተለ (qettele), means "to annihilate, to kill off completely" etc.

ገሠጸ [geššeşe = to teach] – D-stem, Perfect

SINGULAR
PLURAL
1st Person
ገሠጽኩ
geššeşku
ገሠጽነ
geššeşne
2nd Person
ገሠጽከ
geššeşke (m.)
ገሠጽክሙ
geššeşkəmu (m.)
ገሠጽኪ
geššeşki (f.)
ገሠጽክን
geššeşkən (f.)
3rd Person
ገሠጸ
geššeşe(m.)
ገሠጹ
geššeşu (m.)
ገሠጸት
geššeşet(f.)
ገሠጻ
geššeşa (f.)










Here’s a list of some oft-appearing D-stem verbs to get started with. From now on, I’ll put [D] next to new verbs that occur in this stem.
ነጸረ
neşşere
to look, to watch

ነጸርኩ፡ሀገረ፡እምዲበ፡ድብር።
I looked at the city from the hill.
ነስሐ
nesseḥe
to repent

ነሰሐ፡እምነ፡ኀጢአቱ።
He repented for his sin.
ፈነወ
fennewe
to send

ፈነወት፡ንግሥትነ፡ማየ፡ለአግበርታ።
Our queen sent the water to her servants.
ሀለወ
hellewe
to exist

ሀለወት፡ሀገር፡ህየ።
There was a town here.
ጸውዐ
şewwəºe
to call, to proclaim

ጸውዑ፡ሰብአ፡ደቂቆሙ።
The men called their children.





























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10: Verbs: Simple - Perfective

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The vast majority of Ge’ez verbs are triliteral i.e. they have three root letters and a fair amount are quadriliteral i.e. they have four root letters. A small minority of verbs has two or five root letters. All verbs fall into three broad categories or stems. The best way to think of these stems is as vowel templates in which the root-letters are fixed. Unlike other Semitic languages, these stems in Ge'ez are not derivative from each other i.e. most roots appear in only one stem.

The majority of verbs appear in the simple stem or the basic stem [B-stem], which correlates with the G-stem in Aramaic (קטל); the Pa'al in Hebrew (פעל) and Form-I in Arabic (فعل).

«The Perfective = The Past Tense»

With three letter roots (R1R2R3) the Simple stem has two slight variations in the perfective aspect. The perfective aspect denotes completed actions i.e. usually it correlates to what we would think of as the past tense.

R1eR2eR3e – usually used for action verbs e.g. ሐነጸ (ḥeneşe = to build)
R1eR2R3e – usually used for stative verbs e.g. ፈርሀ (ferhe = to be afraid)

There are many exceptions to these generalizations, and for the most part in classical Ge'ez the difference in meaning of these two variations has become blurred. In any case, this difference in form is slight and is only even noticeable in the 3rd person perfective forms. Here are the conjugation charts:

ሐነጸ [ḥeneşe = to build] – B-stem1, Perfective:
SINGULAR
PLURAL
1st Person
ሐነጽኩ
ḥeneşku

ሐነጽነ
ḥeneşne
2nd Person
ሐነጽከ
ḥeneşke (m.)

ሐነጽክሙ
ḥeneşkəmu (m.)
ሐነጽኪ
ḥeneşki (f.)

ሐነጽክን
ḥeneşkən (f.)
3rd Person
ሐነጸ
ḥeneşe(m.)

ሐነጹ
ḥeneşu (m.)
ሐነጸት
ḥeneşet(f.)

ሐነጻ
ḥeneşa (f.)






ገብረ [gebre = to do] – B-stem2, Perfective:
SINGULAR
PLURAL
1st Person
ገበርኩ
geberku

ገበርነ
geberne
2nd Person
ገበርከ
geberke (m.)

ገበርክሙ
geberkəmu (m.)
ገበርኪ
geberki (f.)

ገበርክን
geberkən (f.)
3rd Person
ገብረ
gebre(m.)

ገብሩ
gebru (m.)
ገብረት
gebret(f.)

ገብራ
gebra (f.)












Here’s a list of some common B-stem verbs for you to get started with. From now on, I’ll put [B] next to new verbs that occur in this stem.

ነበረ
nebere
to live, to sit, to remain

ነበርኩ፡በዛሀገር።
I lived in this city.
ሐነጸ
ḥeneşe
to build, to construct

ሐነጸ፡ንጉሥ
The king built…
ወረደ
werede
to descend, to go down

ወረደ፡እምዲበ፡ድብር።
He came down from on the mountain.
ረከበ
rekebe
to find, to acquire

ረከብኪ
You [f.] found…
ሰበከ
sebeke
to preach

ሰበክነ፡በዋንጌል።
We preached the Gospel.
ጸሐፈ
şeḥefe
to write, to compose

ጸሐፈ፡ጸሓፌ፡ንጉሥ
The king’s scribe wrote…
ኅለፈ
xelefe
to pass

ኀለፍኩ፡ምስለ፡ሀገር።
I passed through the town.
ሰአለ
se’ele
to ask, to inquire

ሰእሉ: ሊቃነ፡ሀገር
The elders of the city asked…
ገብረ
gebre
to do, to act, to create

ገብረ፡እግዚአብሔር
God created…
በጽሐ
beşḥe
to arrive

በጽሓ
They [f.] arrived…
ወፅዐ
weðºe
to depart

ወፅዑ፡ካህናት።
The priests derparted.
መርሐ
merḥe
to guide, to lead

መረሕክሙ
You all [m.] guided…
መጽአ
meş’e
to come

መጽአነ፡እምዛሀገር።
We came from this city.
ሖረ
ḥore
to go

ሖሩ፡ወሉደ፡ንግሥት፡ለሀገር።
The queen’s son went to the city.
ረእየ
re’ye
to see

ረእየ፡ብእሲ
The man saw…
ሰምዐ
semºe
to hear

ሰምዐት፡ብእሲት
The woman heard…
ኮነ
kone
to become

ኮነ፡ካህን
The priest became…
ሞተ
mote
to die

ሞተት፡ንግሥት።
The queen died.