In this week’s episode we’ll give grammar and technicalities a break to have a look at some of the unique phrases or expressions in Amharic that have no translation in English, and which give the language so much character. While I learned some of these just by listening and understanding context, many were actually new to me when I started this episode. Now that I know them, though, I can’t stop hearing them used everywhere. I hope this episode helps make you feel more at home with colloquial Amharic.

S3.E9 - Unique Amharic Expressions

Welcome to the final episode of Season 3 of Bereka Buna, where we’ll do our recap and practice for everything we’ve gone over this season. As always, you’ll hear the activity followed by the answer. If you’d like to use this as a test of your knowledge, make sure to pause before the answer is given and then check your answer. Also remember you can always open up the transcript to see the Amharic Fidel and review more by visiting berekabuna.org. መልካም እድል እና እስከ የሚቀጥለው ጊዜ, ሰላም ሁኑ!

S3.E10 - Season 3 Recap And Practice

Welcome back to a new Season of Bereka Buna! This episode kicks off the Season with a look at Adjectives and how to use them in a sentence. We run through several examples of adjectives and numerals and then look at the grammatical rules to bear in mind when using adjectives in Amharic, closing out with our usual list of practice sentences.

S4.E1 - Adjectives

In this episode we take a deep dive into an element of Amharic grammar known as The Causative. The Causative, as the name implies, refers to actions which wouldn’t happen of their own accord and so must be caused to occur. Amharic has both Direct and Indirect causative verbs. In this episode we look at both, running through some simple examples of causative verbs, and then deconstructing when and how these forms is used and rounding off with many more examples and practice sentences. 

S4.E2 - The Causative

This episode introduces a complex element of Amharic grammar: The Passive Form. An active sentence in English might be “She painted the house”. A similar sentence in its passive form might be “the house was painted”. In this episode we look at how to construct passive sentences starting with verbs in the simple past perfect. I’d recommend pulling up the transcript to follow along with this episode.

S4.E3 - The Passive

Today we’ll continue on from where we left off last episode with a look at more complex aspects of the Passive form, including how to conjugate passive verbs in the Simple Past to other tenses, including the Present/Future, the Contingent, the Gerund, the Imperative, and more. If you are at the early stages of Amharic learning, we recommend going back to previous episodes where each tense is explained more in depth before continuing with this episode on how to conjugate the Passive form. It may also be helpful to pull up the transcript to follow along with conjugations for this episode and better identify subtle differences in the Fidel and pronunciation of the active and passive forms. 

S4.E4 - Conjugating the Passive

For this Story Series episode we give grammar a break to join Selam as she narrates a new wordless picture book. Follow along with the story images, vocabulary list and example sentences in the transcript. If you’ve enjoyed these stories and would like to find out more about taking classes in Addis Ababa or online, please visit us at berekabuna.org. For more on this teaching technique see Greg Thompson’s Growing Participator Approach (GPA).

S4.E5 - Story Series, Alex Pumpernickel

Today we’re lucky to be back with another episode in our Stories Series with the fabulous Selamawit Geleta. If you’re interested in taking Amharic classes, please visit our website at berekabuna.org. As with the last two story series episodes, you’ll find the picture book images and a list of vocabulary in the transcript at our website. I’d recommend following along to test your comprehension and learn new vocabulary. For more on this teaching technique see Greg Thompson’s Growing Participator Approach (GPA).

S4.E6 - Story Series, Frog goes to dinner

We’re back this episode with an in-depth look at one of the words that makes Amharic so dynamic, and so hopelessly confusing at times: that is, the verb አለ. Today we’ll look at compounds of the verb አለ, which can be used in a variety of ways to create meaning. If you need a refresher, I would recommend going back to episode 5 of Season 3 to touch up on some of the other conjugations and variations of አለ. Pull up the transcript and follow along as we run through conjugations, application and practice sentences. 

S4.E7 - Compounds of Ale

Today we’ll tackle a grammatical form used very frequently in Amharic, known as the Relative Clause. In English we use the relative clause to modify a noun or noun phrase by using a relative pronoun like “which”, “that”, “who”, “whom”, “whose”, etc. With the help of such pronouns, we are able to specify and give greater detail in one sentence and connect two ideas or two separate clauses into one sentence. Follow along as we run through relative clause conjugations and how to apply them in a sentence.

S4.E8 - The Relative Clause

Welcome to Bereka Buna, a podcast series designed to support Amharic Language Learning. Episodes in the series range from a focus on vocabulary and grammar to dialogue and more conversational Amharic to get you started on learning the language and move you beyond the basics. Follow along with full transcripts (transliterated and in Amharic Fidel) to hone your reading and writing skills as you listen. The course is meant as support for learning you may already be embarking on. Join host, Luana DeBorst, and guest speakers on this journey of language learning and exploration! For more visit berekabuna.org. Accompanying videos can be found on YouTube @BerekaBuna.