Chapter - 2

Morphological Analysis

Department of Computer Science

School of Computing
Dire Dawa Institute of Technology
Dire Dawa University

T e ssfu Ge te ye ( Ph D)

2020/2021- Se m est e r- II
 Terminologies
Introduction
Kinds of Mo rphemes
English
Morphological
Morphology
Types
Amharic Morphology
Morphological Rules
Introduction: Terminologies

Morphology ((ስነ ምእላድ) - the study of the structure of words.

Morpheme (ምእላድ )- minimal units of morphology, e.g. helpfulness. and ልጅነት
Stem (አምድ)- part of the word that never changes even when morphologically
inflected. For example, walk is the stem for the words walk, walks, walking, and
walked. ሰበር is the stem for the words ሰበርኩ፣ ሰበርሽֹּ ፣ ሰበርን፣ ሰበራችሁ፣ etc.
Root/Lemma ( ስር)- citation form of a set of words, e.g. break is the root form for
the words break, breaks, breaking, broke, and broken. Amharic root form is
usually a sequence of three consonants known as radicals. For example, ስብር is
the root form for ሰበር፣ ሰብር፣ ስበር፣ አሰበር፣ ተሰበር፣ ሰባበር፣ etc.
Part-of-Speech/Lexical Category/Word Class (የቃል ክፍል ) - a linguistic category of
words that explains how the word is used in a sentence. Although different
languages may have different classification schemes, English and Amharic words
are usually classified into eight lexical categories: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb,
adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection. Morphologically important
parts-of-speech in English and Amharic include: nouns, adjectives and verbs.
Morphological Analysis - the process of finding morphemes of a word. It is an
important component of Spelling Correction, Machine Translation, Information
Retrieval, Text Generation and other natural language systems.
Morphological Generation - the process of generating different words from a
morpheme.
Lemmatisation - the process of finding the root/lemma of a word.
Stemming - the process of finding the stems of a word.

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Terminologies
Introduction
Kinds of Mo rphemes
English
Morphological
Morphology
Types
Amharic Morphology
Morphological Rules
Introduction: Kinds of Mo rph e mes

Morphemes can be classified in two ways:

1 Free versus Bound
2 Roots, Affixes versus Combining Forms

Free versus Bound

Free morphemes - morphemes that can stand on their own to give meaning.
e.g. friend in friendly
large in enlarge
help in helpfulness
perform in performance
ָልጅ in ልጅነት ָ
ቤት in ቤቶች[ቤ(ትኦ)ች]
ቤት in ከቤት

Bound morphemes -
morphemes that cannot stand
on their own as a word.
e.g. -ly in friendly
en- in enlarge
-ful and -ness in
helpfulness
-ance in
performance
Department- of
ነትComputer
in ָ ልጅነት
Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis
 Terminologies
Introduction
Kinds of Mo rphemes
English
Morphological
Morphology
Types
Amharic Morphology
Morphological Rules
Introduction: Kinds of M orphe me s

Roots, Affixes versus Combining Forms

Roots - morphemes (within a non-compound word) that makes the the most precise and
concrete contribution to the words meaning, and is either the sole morpheme
or else the only one that is not an affix.
e.g. break in breaks
help in unhelpfulness
ስብር in ሰበር
ስብር i n ተሰ በረ ች
Affixes - bound morphemes that either precede, follow or are inserted inside the
root or stem.
e.g. Prefix: en- in enlarge is an affix that precedes the root large
Suffix: -ly in largely is an affix that follows the root large
Infix: -ና- in ትናን ሽ ֹּ is an affix that is inserted inside the root ትንሽ
Circumfix: አል …… ኧም in አ ል ሰ በ ረ ም [አልሰበ(ር ኧ)ም]is an affix that precedes
and follows the stem ሰበር
Combining Forms - morphemes that are formed from two bound or free-like roots.
e.g. two free roots: photo and graph in photograph
two bound roots: electro- and -lysis in electrolysis
bound and free roots: Ethio- and America in Ethio-
American

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Terminologies
Introduction
Kinds of Mo rphemes
English
Morphological
Morphology
Types
Amharic Morphology
Morphological Rules
Introduction: Morphological Types

There are three types of morphological structures:

1 Isolating
2 Agglutinative
3 Inflectional

Isolating
Languages with isolating morphological structures have morphemes representing
words in the language in most cases. There is little or no morphological change in
words, and such languages do not require extensive study on morphological analysis.

Agglutinative
Languages with agglutinative morphological structures have words formed from lots of
morphemes that are glued together. Words in these language groups have lots of
easily separable morphemes.

Inflectional
In languages with inflectional morphological structures, morphemes are fused together
and require complex morphological analyzer to separate morphemes. Morphemes may
be fused together in several ways such as affixation and doubling all or part of a word.

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Terminologies
Introduction
Kinds of Mo rphemes
English
Morphological
Morphology
Types
Amharic Morphology
Morphological Rules
Introduction: Morphological Rules

Words can be formed from morphemes in two ways:

1 Derivational Morphology
2 Inflectional Morphology

Derivational Morphology
Derivational Morphology is a morphology concerned with the way in which words are
derived from morphemes through processes such as affixation or compounding. This
derivation process usually changes the part-of-speech category.

Inflectional Morphology
Inflectional Morphology is a morphology that deals with the combination of a word with
a morpheme, usually resulting in a word of the sa me class as the original stem, and
serving same syntactic function. They do not change the part-of-speech category but
the grammatical function.
Inflection can by achieved by marking a word category for person (first, second, third),
gender (feminine, neuter, masculine), number (singular, plural), case (subjective/
nominative, objective/accusative/dative, possessive/genitive), definiteness (definite,
indefinite), degree (positive, comparative, superlative), tense (past, present, future),
aspect(perfective, imperfective/continuous), politeness (impolite, polite), etc.

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
English Morphology: Nou n s

Derivation
English nouns can be derived from:
Nouns: e.g. book – > booklet (by affixing -let)
prince – > princess (by affixing -ss)
Ethiopia – > Ethiopian (by affixing -n)
child – > childhood (by affixing -hood)
art – > artist (by affixing -ist)
Adjectives: e.g. equal –>equality (by affixing -ity)
good – > goodness (by affixing -ness) radical – >
radicalism (by affixing -ism)
Verbs: e.g. perform – > performance (by affixing -ance)
move – > movement (by affixing -ment)
build – > building (by affixing -ing)
build – > builder (by affixing -er)
construct – > construction (by affixing -ion) arrive – >
arrival (by affixing -al)
sing – > song (by changing a vowel)
defend – > defense (by changing the last consonant)
Compound words: e.g. shoe maker – > shoemaker
(compounding two nouns)
black board – > blackboard (compounding adjective and noun) play time –
> playtime (compounding verb and noun)
over coat – > overcoat (compounding preposition and noun)
Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis
 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
English Morphology: Nou n s

Inflection
English nouns can be marked for:
Gender: e.g. actor – > actress (by affixing -ess)
hero – > heroine (by affixing -ine)
Number: e.g. cow – > cows (by affixing -s)
ox – > oxen (by affixing -en)
child – > children (by affixing -ren) tooth – > teeth
(by changing vowels)

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
English Morphology: Adjectives

Derivation
English adjectives can be derived from:
Nouns: e.g. help – > helpful (by affixing -ful)
help – > helpless (by affixing -less)
person – > personal (by affixing -al)
child – > childish (by affixing -ish)
Adjectives: e.g. readable – > unreadable (by affixing un-)
edible – > inedible (by affixing in-)
legible – > illegible (by affixing il-)
responsible – > irresponsible (by affixing ir-)
possible – > impossible (by affixing im-)
Verbs: e.g. interest – > interesting (by affixing -ing)
damage – > damaged (by affixing -ed)
drink – > drunk (by vowel change)
write – > written (by affixing -en)
read – > readable (by affixing -able)
converse – > conversant (by affixing -ant) repulse – >
repulsive (by affixing -ive)
Compound words: e.g. hand written – > handwritten (compounding noun and adjective)
blue black – > blue-black (compounding two adjectives)
ever green – > evergreen (compounding adverb and adjective)
over active – > overactive (compounding prep. and adjective)

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
English Morphology: Adjectives

Inflection
Most English adjectives are marked for degree as shown below.
e.g. fast (positive degree) – > faster: comparative degree (by affixing -er)
fastest: superlative degree (by affixing -est)

S o me others have irregular forms.

Positive Comparative Superlative
good better best
bad worse worst
little less least
much more most

many

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
English Morphology: Verbs

Derivation
English verbs can be derived from:
Nouns: e.g. bug – > debug (by affixing de-)
organ – > organize (by affixing -ize/-ise)
beauty – > beautify (by affixing -ify)
power – > empower (by affixing em-)
throne – > enthrone (by affixing en-)
breath – > breathe (by affixing the
vowel -e)
Adjectives: e.g. national – > nationalize (by affixing -ize/-ise)
bold – > embolden (by affixing em-...-en)
pure – > purify (by affixing -ify)
tight – > tighten (by affixing -en)
large – > enlarge (by affixing en-)
Verbs: e.g. do – > redo (by affixing re-)
do – > undo (by affixing un-)
compose – > decompose (by affixing de-) satisfy – >
dissatisfy (by affixing dis-)
Compound words: e.g. stir fry – > stir-fry (compounding
two verbs)
hand wash – > hand-wash (compounding noun and verb) dry clean – >
dry-clean (compounding adjective and verb) over act – >
overact (compounding preposition and verb)
Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis
 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
English Morphology: Verbs

Inflection
English verbs can be marked for aspect and tense (and person and number for
present tense). For example, the verb give has the following inflected forms:
give: present tense for plural, first person singular, or second person singular
gives: present tense for third person singular
gave: past tense
given: perfective aspect
giving: imperfective/continuous aspect
With a special case, the verb be can be inflected for tense, aspect, person and
number as shown below.
am: present tense for first person singular
is: present tense for third person singular
are: present tense for first person plural,
second person, or third person plural
was: past tense for first person singular, or third person singular
were: past tense for plural, or second person singular
been: perfective aspect
being: imperfective/continuous aspect

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: Nou ns

Derivation
Amharic nouns can be derived from:
i. Verbal Roots by infixing vowels between consonants (C) as shown below
Verbal Root (Examples) Pattern of Derivation Derived Noun
ጥ -ቅ -ም CእCእC ጥእቅእም[ጥቅም]
ም-ር-ት CእCC ምእርት [ምርት]
ም-ል-ስ CኧCC ምኧልስ [መልስ]
ን-ግ-ር CኧCኧC ንኧግኧር [ነገር]
ድ-ክ-ም CእCኣC ድእክኣም [ድካም]
ህ -ም-ም CእCኧC ህእምኧም [ህመም]
ግ -ብ-ዕ CእC ግእብ [ግብ]
ጥ -ው -ም CኦC ጥኦም [ጦም]
ቅ -ው-ር-ጥ CኡCC ቅኡርጥ [ቁርጥ]
ድ-ብብ-ቅ ድእብብእቅ [ድብቅ]
CእC 1 C 1 እC
ii. Adjectives by suffixing bound morphemes
Adjective (Examples) Morpheme Derived Noun
ድግ -ነ ት ደግ-ነት [ደግንት]
ቅር ብ -ኧት ቅርብ-ኧት [ቅርበት]
ብልህ -ኣ ት ብልህ-ኣት [ብልሃት]
ብልጥ -ኦ ብልጥ-ኦ [ብልጦ]

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: No un s

Derivation
iii. Stems by prefixing or suffixing bound morphemes
Stem (Examples) Morpheme Derived Noun
ው ርድ- -ኧት ድ -ድኧት [ውርደት]
ውርድ
ቅዳስ- -ኤ ቅዳስ-ኤ [ቅዳሴ]
እ ርጅ - -እ ና እርጅ-እና [እርጅና]
ሽልም- -ኣ ት ሽልም-ኣት [ሽልማት]
ስ ርቅ - -ኦ ሽ ስርቅ-ኦሽ [ስርቆሽ]
ችል- -ኦ ታ ችል-ኦታ [ችሎታ]
ው ጥ- -ኤት ውጥ-ኤት [ውጤት]
ፍለግ - -ኣ ፍለግ-ኣ [ፍለጋ]
ናፍቅ- -ኦ ት ናፍቅ-ኦት [ናፍቆት]
ድር ግ- -ኢ ት ድርግ-ኢት [ድርጊት]
ሰ ባክ- -ኢ ሰባክ-ኢ [ሰባኪ]
ዝር ፍ- -ኢ ያ ዝርፍ-ኢያ [ዝርፊያ]
ጠቀም- -ኤታ ጠቀም-ኤታ [ጠቀሜታ]
-ሄድ መ- መ-ሄድ [መሄድ]

iv. Stem-like Verbs by suffixing the bound morpheme -ታ

Stem-like Verb (Examples) Morpheme Derived Noun
ዝም- -ታ ዝም-ታ [ዝምታ]
-ታ ደስ-ታ [ደስታ]
ደስ-

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: No un s

Derivation
v. Nouns by suffixing bound morphemes
Noun (Examples) Morphem Derived Noun
e
ልጅ -ነ ት ልጅ- ነ ት [ልጅነ ት]
እ ግር -ኧኛ እ ግር- ኧኛ [እ ግረኛ ]
ክብር -ኧት ክብር- ኧት [ክብረት]
ከተማ -ኤ ከተማ- ኤ [ከተሜ]
ጢም -ኦ ጢም- ኦ [ጢሞ]
ኢ ትዩጵያ -ኣ ዊ ኢትዩጵያ- ኣ ዊ
[ኢትዩጵያዊ ]
እ ንግሊዝ -ኛ እ ንግ ሊዝ- ኛ [እንግሊዝኛ ]

vi. Compound Words (sometimes by affixing the vowels ኧ and ኦ )

Classes of Compound Words Example Derived Noun
Noun + Noun ብረት + ምጣድ ብረት ምጣድ
Noun + [ኧ] + Noun ቤት + [ኧ] + መንግስት ቤተ መንግስት
Noun + Verbal Stems ልብ + ወለድ - ልብ ወለድ
Verbal Stem + [ኦ] + Verbal Stem ሰርት- + [ኦ] + አደር- ሰርቶ አደር
Verbal Stem + [ኦ] + Noun ሰርት- + [ኦ] + አዳሪ ሰርቶ አዳሪ

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: No un s

Inflection
Amharic nouns can be marked for:
i. Number by affixation of morphemes (and vowel changes) or repetition of words
Noun in Singular Description of the Noun Morpheme Plural Form
Form (Examples)
በግ Ending with consonant -ኦች በግ-ኦች [በጎች]
ተማሪ Ending with vowel -ዎች ተማሪዎች
አንተ እነ- እነ-አንተ [እናንተ]
ከበደ Personal Pronoun
እነ- እነከበደ
Proper Noun
ቅጠል Plural formation by repetition ቅጠል ኣ ትጠል [ቅጠላቅጠል]
አንበሳ Loanwords from Geez (do not have አናብስት
ሕንፃ similar patterns for plural formation) ሕፃናት
መምህር መምህራን

ii. Definiteness by affixation of morphemes or vowels based on number, gender, and/or ending
of the noun.
Indefinite Noun Ending of Number Gender Definite Noun
(Examples) the
Noun
Feminine በግ-ዋ [በግዋ] / በግ-ኢቱ [በጊቱ]
Singular
በግ Consonant Masculine በግ-ኡ [በጉ]
Plural በጎች-ኡ [በጎቹ]
Feminine አህֱያ-ዋ [አֱህያዋ] / አህֱያ-ይቱ [አֱህያይቱ]
Singular
አህያ Vowel Masculine አህֱያ-ው [አህֱያው]
Plural አህֱያዎች-ኡ [አህֱያዎቹ]

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: No un s

Inflection
iii. Gender by affixation of the morpheme -ኢት, e.g. በግ --> በግ-ኢት [በጊት]
iv. Case
(a) Objective case by affixation of the morpheme -ን, e.g. በግ(subjective case) --> በግ-ን [በግን]
(b) Possessive case by affixation of morphemes or vowels based on person, number, gender,
and/or ending of the noun (personal pronouns by prefixing የ-, e.g. እኔ -->የ-እኔ [የእኔ/የኔ])
Subjective Case Ending of Person Number Gender Possessive
(Examples) the Case
Noun
Singular በግ-ኤ [በጌ]
First
Plural በግ-ኣችን [በጋችን]
Masculine በግ-ህ [በግֱህ]
Singular
Ending with S ec on d Feminine በግ-ሽּ [በግሽֹּ]
በግ
consonant Plural በግ-ኣችሁ [በጋችሁ]
Masculine በግ-ኡ [በጉ]
Singular
Third Feminine በግ-ዋ [በግዋ]
Plural በግ-ኣቸ ው [በጋቸው]
Singular አህያ-የ [አህያየ]
First አህያች-ኣችን [አህያችን]
Plural
Masculine አህይ-ህ [አህያህ]
Singular
Ending with S ec on d Feminine አህያ-ሽ [አህያሽ]
አֱህያ
consonant Plural አህያ-ኣችሁ [አህያችሁ]
Masculine አህያ-ው [አህያው]
Singular
Third Feminine አህያ-ዋ [አህያዋ]
Plural አህያ-ኣቸው [አህያቸው]

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: Adjectives

Derivation
Amharic adjectives can be derived from:
i. Verbal Roots by infixing vowels between consonants (C) as shown below
Verbal Root (Examples) Pattern of Derivation Derived Noun
ድርቅ CኧCኧC ድኧርኧቅ [ደረቅ]
ጥ ቅ ር CእCኡC ጥእቅኡር [ጥቁር]
ጥብብ C ኧ C 1C 1ኢ C ጥኧብኢብ [ጠቢብ]
ፍጥን CኧC1C1ኣC ፍኧጥኣን [ፈጣን]
ii. Nouns by suffixing b o u nd
m o r p h eNoun
m e s (Examples) Morpheme Derived Adjective
ነገር -ኧኛ ነገር-ኧኛ [ነገረኛ]
ተራራ -ኣማ ተራራ-ኣማ [ተራራማ]
ፈርስ -ኣም ፈርስ-ኣም [ፈርሳም]
ህዝብ -ኣዊ ህዝብ-ኣዊ [ህዝባዊ]

iii. Stems by suffixing b o u n d

morphemes
Stems (Examples) Morpheme Derived Adjective
ደካም- -ኣ ደካም-ኣ [ደካማ]
ንቅ- -ኡ ንቅ-ኡ [ንቁ]
በል- -ኢታ በል-ኢታ [በሊታ]

iv. Compound Words of nouns and adjectives by affixing the vowel -ኧ

e.g. ֲሆድ ሰፊ --> ֲሆድ-ኧ-ሰፊ [ሆደ ሰፊ ]

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: Adjectives

Inflection
Amharic adjectives can be marked for:

i. Number by affixation of morphemes or repetition of consonants (and affixing the vowel -ኣ)
Adjective in Singular Description of the Morpheme Plural Form
Form (Examples) Adjective
ጠባብ Ending with consonant -ኦች ጠባብ-ኦች [ጠባቦች]
ሰፊ Ending with vowel -ዎች ሰፊ-ዎች [ሰፊዎች]
ረዥም Plural formation by repetition of consonant ረዥ-ኣ-ዥም [ረዣዥም]
ii. Definiteness by affixation of morphemes or vowels based on number, gender, and/or ending
of the adjective.
Indefinite Ending of the Number Gender Definite Adjective
Adjective Adjective
(Examples)
Feminine አዲስ-ዋ [አዲስዋ] / አዲስ-ኢቱ [አዲሲቱ]
Singular
አዲስ Consonant Masculine አዲስ-ኡ [አዲሱ]
Plural አዲሶች-ኡ [አዲሶቹ]
Feminine አሮጌ-ዋ [አሮጌዋ] / አሮጌ-ይቱ [አሮጌይቱ]
አሮጌ Singular
Vowel Masculine አሮጌ-ው [አሮጌው]
Plural አሮጌዎች-ኡ [አሮጌዎቹ]
iii. Gender by affixation of the morpheme -ኢት, e.g. አዲስ --> አዲስ-ኢት [አዲሲት]
iV. Case (Objective Case) by affixation of the morpheme -ን, e.g. አዲስ --> አዲስ-ን [አዲስን]

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: Verbs

Derivation
Amharic verbal stems (from which various forms of verbs are formed) can be derived from:

i. Verbal Roots by
(a)affixing the vowel -ኧ- to p r o d u c e C ኧC 1 C 1 ኧC-, e.g. ስ-ብ-ር --> ስኧብብኧር [ሰበር-]
(b) repeatin g penultim a t e consonants a n d affixing the vowels -ኧ- a n d -ኣ- to produce
C ኧ C 1 ኣ C 1 C 1 ኧ C-, e.g. ፍ-ָል-ግ - - > ፍኧָልኣልልָָኧግ- [ፈֳֶላለግ-]

ii. Verbal Stems by affixing morphemes

Verbal Stem Morpheme Derived Verbal Stem
(Examples)
ሰበር- ተ- ተ-ሰበር- [ተሰበር-]
ለመን- አስ- አስ-ለመን- [አስለመን-]
ወረድ- አ- ኣ-ወረድ- [አወረድ-]

iii. Compound Words of

(a) stems and verbs, e.g. ስብር + አለ --> ስብር አለ
(b) sub-words and verbs, e.g. ፀጥ + አደረገ --> ፀጥ አደረገ

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: Verbs

Inflection
Amharic verbs are m a r k e d for:
i. Person, gender, number, case, a n d
tense/aspect Singular Plural
(Subjective Case) Gender
Past Tense Non-Past Tense Past Tense Non-Past Tense
First Person ሰበር-ኩ/-ሁ እ-ሰብር ሰበር-ን እን-ሰብር
Masculine ሰበር-ክ/-ህ ት-ሰብር ሰበር-ኣችሁ ት-ሰብር-ኡ
S ec on d
Feminine ሰበር-ሽֹּ ት-ሰብር-ኢ ሰበር-ኣችሁ ት-ሰብር-ኡ
Masculine ሰበር-ኧ ይ-ሰብር ሰበር-ኡ ይ-ሰብር-ኡ
Third
Feminine ሰበር-ኧች ት-ሰብር ሰበር-ኡ ይ-ሰብር-ኡ
Person Person
Tense (Subjective Case) (Objective Case) Gender Singular Plural
First ሰበር-ኧ-ኝ ሰበር-ኧ-ን
Third Person, Masculine ሰበር-ኧ-ክ/-ህ
Singular, S ec on d ሰበር-ኧ-ኣችሁ
Feminine ሰበር-ኧ-ሽֹּ
Masculine
Masculine ሰበር-ኧ-ው
Third ሰበር-ኧ-ኣቸው
Past Feminine ሰበር-ኧ-ኣት
Tense First ሰበር-ኧች-ኝ ሰበር-ኧች-ን
Third Person, S ec on d Masculine ሰበር-ኧች-ህ
Singular, ሰበር-ኧች-ኣችሁ
Feminine ሰበር-ኧች-ሽ
Feminine
Third Masculine ሰበር-ኧች-ው
F. eminine ሰበር-ኧች-ኣት ሰበር--ኧች-ኣቸው
. . . . . .
etc etc etc etc etc etc

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

 Introduction N o uns
English Adjectives
Morphology Verbs
Amharic Morphology
Amharic Morphology: Verbs

Inflection
ii.
Mood
Mood
Number Person Gender Completed
Action Command Request Negative
First ሰበር-ኩ/-ሁ ል-ስበር ል-ስበር አልָ-እ-ስበር
Masculine ሰበር-ክ/-ህ ስበር ት-ሰበር አልָ-ት-ስብር
S e con d
Singular Feminine ሰበር-ሽֹּ ስበር-ኢ ት-ሰበር-ኢ አָል-ት-ስበር-ኢ
Masculine ሰበር-ኧ ይ-ስበር ይ-ስበር አልָ-ይ-ስበር
Third
Feminine ሰበር-ኧች ት-ስበር ት-ስበር አልָ-ት-ስበር
First ሰበር-ን እን-ስበር እን-ስበር አልָ-እን-ስበር
Plural S e con d ሰበር-ኣችሁ ስበር-ኡ ት-ሰበር-ኡ አָል-ት-ስበር-ኡ
Third ሰበር-ኡ ይ-ስበር-ኡ ይ-ስበር-ኡ አָል-ይ-ስበር-ኡ

Note:
Amharic verbs in general s h o w high degree of inflection since person, case, gender,
number, tense, aspect, m o o d a n d others are m a r k e d o n the verb.

For example ፣ አልሰበረንም indicates: the subject እሱ(third person, masculine, singular)
the object እኛን (first person,
plural) negation አል…ም
past tense ሰበረ

Department of Computer Science, SC, DDIT, DDU Morphological Analysis

R ea ding Materials

Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy (2002). An Introduction to English Morphology:

Words and Their Structure. Edinburgh University Press,
Edinburgh.
ባየ ይማም (2000)፤ የአማረኛ ሰዋሰው (2ኛ እትም )፤ አዲስ አበባ፡፡
ጌታሁን አማረ (1989)፤ ዘመናዊ የአማረኛ ሰዋሰው በቀላል አቀራረብ ፤ አልፋ አታሚዎች፤ አዲስ አበባ፡፡
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