SAVANT ACADEMY

BASIC KNOWLEDE OF TENSES

This book comprises:

1. Types of Tenses
2. Forms of each Tense
3. Active & Passive forms
4. The Amharic Meaning of each Tense
5. Examples
6. Some Important Notes

ማንኛዉም ተማሪ ሉያዉቀዉ የሚገባ ትምህርት

Prepared by: Mohammed Fentaye (Teacher of Savant) 0

09-38-36-32-57
Date: 18/04/2015 E.C.
1. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE – ACTIVE 2. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Subject + V1 / V1-s/-es + Object Form: Subject + am/is/are + V3

Examples:
Example 1:
Coffee is made.
She makes coffee. ቡና ይፈሊል፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊሇች፡፡
Coffee isn’t made.
She doesn’t make coffee. ቡና አይፈሊም፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና አታፈሊም፡፡
Is coffee made?
Does she make coffee? ቡና ይፈሊልንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊሇችንዴ?
Isn’t coffee made?
Doesn’t she make coffee? ቡና አይፈሊምንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና አታፈሊምንዴ?

Example 2:

They make coffee.

(እነሱ) ቡና ያፈሊለ፡፡

They don’t make coffee.

(እነሱ) ቡና አያፈለም፡፡

Do they make coffee?

(እነሱ) ቡና ያፈሊለንዴ?

Don’t they make coffee?

(እነሱ) ቡና አያፈለምንዴ?

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3. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE – ACTIVE 4. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Sub+ am/is/are + V-ing + Obj Form: Sub+ am/is/are + being + V3

Example 1: Examples:
She is making coffee. Coffee is being made.
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች ነዉ፡፡ ቡና እየተፈሊ ነው፡፡

She isn’t making coffee. Coffee isn’t being made.

(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች አይደሇም፡፡ ቡና እየተፈሊ አይደሇም፡፡
Is coffee being made?
Is she making coffee? ቡና እየተፈሊ ነውንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች ነዉንዴ?
Isn’t coffee being made?
Isn’t she making coffee? ቡና እየተፈሊ አይደሇምንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች አይደሇምንዴ?
Example 2:

I am making coffee.
(እኔ) ቡና እያፈሊሁኝ ነዉ፡፡
I am not making coffee.
(እኔ) ቡና እያፈሊሁኝ አይደሇም፡፡
Am I making coffee?
(እኔ) ቡና እያፈሊሁኝ ነዉንዴ?
Am I not making coffee?
(እኔ) ቡና እያፈሊሁኝ አይደሇምንዴ?
Example 3:

They are making coffee.

(እነሱ) ቡና እያፈለ ነዉ፡፡
They aren’t making coffee.
(እነሱ) ቡና እያፈለ አይደሇም፡፡
Are they making coffee?
(እነሱ) ቡና እያፈለ ነዉንዴ?
Aren’t they making coffee?
(እነሱ) ቡና እያፈለ አይደሇምንዴ?

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5. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE – ACTIVE 6. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Sub+ have/has + V3 + Obj Form: Sub+ have/has + been + V3

Example 1: Examples:
She has made coffee. Coffee has been made.
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታሇች፡፡ ቡና ተፈልቷል፡፡

She hasn’t made coffee. Coffee hasn’t been made.

(እሷ) ቡና አሊፈሊችም፡፡ ቡና አልተፈሊም፡፡

Has she made coffee? Has coffee been made?

(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታሇችንዴ? ቡና ተፈልቷልንዴ?

Hasn’t she made coffee? Hasn’t coffee been made?

(እሷ) ቡና አሊፈሊችምንዴ? ቡና አልተፈሊምንዴ?

Example 2:
I have made coffee.
(እኔ) ቡና አፍልቻሇሁ፡፡
I haven’t made coffee.
(እኔ) ቡና አሊፈሊሁም፡፡
Have I made coffee?
(እኔ) ቡና አፍልቻሇሁንዴ?
Haven’t I made coffee?
(እኔ) ቡና አሊፈሊሁምንዴ?

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7. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS – ACTIVE
Form: Sub+ have/has + been + V-ing + Obj
8. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS – PASSIVE
Form: Sub+ have/has + been + being + V3
Example 1:
She has been making coffee. Examples:
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዛሇች፡፡ Coffee has been being made.
ቡና መፈሊት ይዟል፡፡
She hasn’t been making coffee.
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት አልያዘችም፡፡ Coffee hasn’t been being made.
ቡና መፈሊት አልያዘም፡፡
Has she been making coffee?
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዛሇችንዴ? Has coffee been being made?
ቡና መፈሊት ይዟልንዴ?
Hasn’t she been making coffee?
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት አልያዘችምንዴ? Hasn’t coffee been being made?
ቡና መፈሊት አልያዘምንዴ?
Example 2:
I have been making coffee.
(እኔ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዣሇሁ፡፡ Note: The present perfect
continuous tense is not frequently
I haven’t been making coffee. used in passive voice.
(እኔ) ቡና ማፍሊት አልያዝኩም፡፡
Have I been making coffee?
(እኔ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዣሇሁንዴ?
Haven’t I been making coffee?
(እኔ) ቡና ማፍሊት አልያዝኩምንዴ?

Note: The present continuous tense and

the present perfect continuous tense can
have similar Amharic meaning.

Examples

I am doing my homework.
(እኔ) የቤት ስራዬን እየሰራሁ ነዉ፡፡
I have been doing my homework
(እኔ) የቤት ስራዬን እየሰራሁ ነዉ፡፡
However, the above two examples have
different uses.

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9. SIMPLE PAST TENSE – ACTIVE
Form: Subject + V2 + Object
10. SIMPLE PAST TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Subject + was/were + V3

Examples:
Examples:
She made coffee.
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ ነበር፡፡ Coffee was made.
ቡና ተፈልቶ ነበር፡፡
She didn’t make coffee.
(እሷ) ቡና አሊፈሊችም ነበር፡፡ Coffee wasn’t made.
ቡና አልተፈሊም ነበር፡፡
Did she make coffee?
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ ነበረንዴ? Was coffee made?
ቡና ተፈልቶ ነበረንዴ?
Didn’t she make coffee?
(እሷ) ቡና አሊፈሊችም ነበረንዴ? Wasn’t coffee made?
ቡና አልተፈሊም ነበረንዴ?

Note: The meaning of a tense

depends on its use. See the following
examples.
Example 1:
She always made coffee.
(እሷ) ሁልጊዜ ቡና አፍልታ ነበር፡፡ (ስህተት)
(እሷ) ሁልጊዜ ቡና ታፈሊ ነበር፡፡ (ትክክል)
Example 2:
She made coffee.
(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊ ነበር፡፡ (ስህተት)
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ ነበር፡፡ (ትክክል)

Example 1 shows past habitual action,

but example 2 shows a single completed
action in the past.

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11. PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE – ACTIVE 12. PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Sub+ was/were + V-ing + Obj Form: Sub+ was/were + being + V3

Example 1: Examples:
She was making coffee. Coffee was being made.
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች ነበር፡፡ ቡና እየተፈሊ ነበር፡፡

She wasn’t making coffee. Coffee wasn’t being made.

(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች አልነበረም፡፡ ቡና እየተፈሊ አልነበረም፡፡
Was coffee being made?
Was she making coffee? ቡና እየተፈሊ ነበረንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች ነበረንዴ?
Wasn’t coffee being made?
Wasn’t she making coffee? ቡና እየተፈሊ አልነበረምንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች አልነበረምንዴ?

Example 2:

They were making coffee.

(እነሱ) ቡና እያፈለ ነበር፡፡
They weren’t making coffee.
(እነሱ) ቡና እያፈለ አልነበረም፡፡
Were they making coffee?
(እነሱ) ቡና እያፈለ ነበረንዴ?
Weren’t they making coffee?
(እነሱ) ቡና እያፈለ አልነበረምንዴ?

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13. PAST PERFECT TENSE – ACTIVE 14. PAST PERFECT TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Sub+ had + V3 + Obj Form: Sub + had + been + V3

Examples: Examples:
She had made coffee. Coffee had been made.
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ ነበር፡፡ ቡና ተፈልቶ ነበር፡፡

She hadn’t made coffee. Coffee hadn’t been made.

(እሷ) ቡና አሊፈሊችም ነበር፡፡ ቡና አልተፈሊም ነበር፡፡

Had she made coffee? Had coffee been made?

(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ ነበረንዴ? ቡና ተፈልቶ ነበረንዴ?

Hadn’t she made coffee? Hadn’t coffee been made?

(እሷ) ቡና አሊፈሊችም ነበረንዴ? ቡና አልተፈሊም ነበረንዴ?

ማስታወሻ፡ Simple past tense እና past

perfect tense ተመሳሳይ የአማርኛ ትርጉም
አሊቸዉ፡፡ ነገር ግን ጥቅማቸዉ ሊይ ይሇያያለ፡፡

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15. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS – ACTIVE 16. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS – PASSIVE
Form: Sub+ had + been + V-ing + Obj Form: Sub+ had + been + being + V3

Examples: Examples:
She had been making coffee. Coffee had been being made.
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዛ ነበር፡፡ ቡና መፈሊት ይዞ ነበር፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና ስታፈሊ ነበር፡፡ ቡና ሲፈሊ ነበር፡፡

She hadn’t been making coffee. Coffee hadn’t been being made.
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት አልያዘችም ነበር፡፡ ቡና መፈሊት አልያዘም ነበር፡፡
ቡና ሲፈሊ አልነበረም፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና ስታፈሊ አልነበረም፡፡
Had coffee been being made?
Had she been making coffee?
ቡና መፈሊት ይዞ ነበረንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዛ ነበረንዴ?
ቡና ሲፈሊ ነበረንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና ስታፈሊ ነበረንዴ?
Hadn’t coffee been being made?
Hadn’t she been making coffee?
ቡና መፈሊት አልያዘም ነበረንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት አልያዘችም ነበረንዴ?
ቡና ሲፈሊ አልነበረምንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና ስታፈሊ አልነበረምንዴ?

Note: The past perfect continuous

tense is not frequently used in
Note: The past continuous tense and the passive voice.
past perfect continuous tense can have
similar Amharic meaning.

Examples
I was doing my homework.
(እኔ) የቤት ስራዬን እየሰራሁ ነበር፡፡
I had been doing my homework
(እኔ) የቤት ስራዬን እየሰራሁ ነበር፡፡

However, the above two examples

have different uses.

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17. SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE – ACTIVE 18. SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Subject + will + V1 + Object Form: Subject + will + be + V3

Examples:
Examples:
Coffee will be made.
She will make coffee. ቡና ይፈሊል፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊሇች፡፡
Coffee won’t be made.
She won’t make coffee. ቡና አይፈሊም፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና አታፈሊም፡፡
Will coffee be made?
Will she make coffee? ቡና ይፈሊልንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊሇችንዴ?
Won’t coffee be made?
Won’t she make coffee? ቡና አይፈሊምንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና አታፈሊምንዴ?

Note: The simple present tense and the

simple future tense have the same
Amharic meaning though they have
different grammatical uses.

See the following examples

I drink coffee. (simple Present)

(እኔ) ቡና እጠጣሇሁ፡፡ (present habit)
I will drink coffee. (simple future)
(እኔ) ቡና እጠጣሇሁ፡፡ (future action)

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19. FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE – ACTIVE 20. FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Sub+ will + be + V-ing + Obj Form: Sub+ will + be + being + V3

Examples: Examples:
She will be making coffee. Coffee will be being made.
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች ይሆናል፡፡ ቡና እየተፈሊ ይሆናል፡፡

She won’t be making coffee. Coffee won’t be being made.

(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች አይሆንም፡፡ ቡና እየተፈሊ አይሆንም፡፡
Will coffee be being made?
Will she be making coffee? ቡና እየተፈሊ ይሆናልነዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች ይሆናልንዴ?
Won’t coffee be being made?
Won’t she be making coffee? ቡና እየተፈሊ አይሆንምንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና እያፈሊች አይሆንምንዴ?

Note: The future continuous tense

is not frequently used in passive
Note that the future continuous tense voice.
can be translated as follow.

Tomorrow this time, she will be making coffee.

(እሷ) ነገ በዚህ ሰዐት (ሇተወሰነ ጊዜ) ቡና የምታፈሊ ይሆናል፡፡

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21. FUTURE PERFECT TENSE – ACTIVE 22. FUTURE PERFECT TENSE – PASSIVE
Form: Sub+ will + have + V3 + Obj Form: Sub+ will + have + been + V3

Examples: Examples:
She will have made coffee. Coffee will have been made.
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ ይሆናል፡፡ ቡና ተፈልቶ ይሆናል፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና የምታፈሊ ይሆናል፡፡ (የተሻሇ) ቡና የሚፈሊ ይሆናል፡፡ (የተሻሇ)

She won’t have made coffee. Coffee won’t have been made.
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ አይሆንም፡፡ ቡና ተፈልቶ አይሆንም፡፡
ቡና የሚፈሊ አይሆንም፡፡ (የተሻሇ)
(እሷ) ቡና የምታፈሊ አይሆንም፡፡ (የተሻሇ)
Will coffee have been made?
Will she have made coffee?
ቡና ተፈልቶ ይሆናልንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ ይሆናልንዴ?
ቡና የሚፈሊ ይሆናልንዴ?(የተሻሇ)
(እሷ) ቡና የምታፈሊ ይሆናልንዴ? (የተሻሇ)
Won’t coffee have been made?
Won’t she have made coffee?
ቡና ተፈልቶ አይሆንምንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና አፍልታ አይሆንምንዴ?
ቡና የሚፈሊ አይሆንምንዴ? (የተሻሇ)
(እሷ) ቡና የምታፈሊ አይሆንምንዴ? (የተሻሇ)

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23. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS – ACTIVE
Form: Sub+ will + have + been + V-ing + Obj
24. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS – PASSIVE
Examples: Form: Sub+ will + have + been + being + V3

She will have been making coffee. Examples:

(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዛ ይሆናል፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና የምታፈሊ ይሆናል፡፡ Coffee will have been being made.
ቡና መፈሊት ይዞ ይሆናል፡፡
She won’t have been making coffee. ቡና የሚፈሊ ይሆናል፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዛ አይሆንም፡፡
Coffee won’t have been being made.
(እሷ) ቡና የምታፈሊ አይሆንም፡፡ ቡና መፈሊት ይዞ አይሆንም፡፡
Will she have been making coffee?
ቡና የሚፈሊ አይሆንም፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዛ ይሆናልንዴ Will coffee have been being made?
(እሷ) ቡና የምታፈሊ ይሆናልንዴ? ቡና መፈሊት ይዞ ይሆናልንዴ?
Won’t she have been making coffee?
ቡና የሚፈሊ ይሆናልንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና ማፍሊት ይዛ አይሆንምንዴ? Won’t coffee have been being made?
(እሷ) ቡና የምታፈሊ አይሆንምንዴ? ቡና መፈሊት ይዞ አይሆንምንዴ?
ቡና የሚፈሊ አይሆንምንዴ?

Note: The future perfect

continuous tense is not frequently
used in passive voice.

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25. PRESENT CONDITIONAL – ACTIVE 26. PRESENT CONDITIONAL – PASSIVE
Form: Subject + would + V1 + Object Form: Subject + would + be + V3

Examples:
Examples:
Coffee would be made.
She would make coffee. ቡና ይፈሊ ነበር፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊ ነበር፡፡
Coffee wouldn’t be made.
She wouldn’t make coffee. ቡና አይፈሊም ነበር፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና አታፈሊም ነበር፡፡
Would coffee be made?
Would she make coffee? ቡና ይፈሊ ነበረንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊ ነበረንዴ?
Wouldn’t coffee be made?
Wouldn’t she make coffee? ቡና አይፈሊም ነበረንዴ?
(እሷ) ቡና አታፈሊም ነበረንዴ?

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27. PERFECT CONDITIONAL – ACTIVE
Form: Sub+ would + have + V3 + Obj
28. PERFECT CONDITIONAL – PASSIVE
Examples: Form: Sub+ would + have + been + V3

She would have made coffee. Examples:

(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊ ነበር፡፡
Coffee would have been made.
She wouldn’t have made coffee. ቡና ይፈሊ ነበር፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና አታፈሊም ነበር፡፡ Coffee wouldn’t have been made.
Would she have made coffee? ቡና አይፈሊም ነበር፡፡
(እሷ) ቡና ታፈሊ ነበረንዴ? Would coffee have been made?
ቡና ይፈሊ ነበረንዴ?
Wouldn’t she have made coffee? Wouldn’t coffee have been made?
(እሷ) ቡና አታፈሊም ነበረንዴ? ቡና አይፈሊም ነበረንዴ?

ማስታወሻ፡ የእያንዳንዱ ቴንስ ጥቅም

ሲቀየር ፤ የአማርኛ ትርጉማቸዉም አብሮ
ሉቀየር ይችሊል፡፡

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