ለ-

Ge'ez

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *lV-.

Preposition

ለ- • (lä-)

1. to, for, belonging to.

Inflection

Inflected forms

Base form
Personal-pronoun- including forms		Singular		Plural
		Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
1st person		ሊተ (litä)		ለነ (länä)
2nd person		ለከ (läkä)	ለኪ (läki)	ለክሙ (läkmu)	ለክን (läkn)
3rd person		ሎቱ (lotu)	ላቲ (lati)	ሎሙ (lomu)	ሎን (lon)

References

• Dillmann, August (1865) “ለ”, in Lexicon linguae aethiopicae cum indice latino (in Latin), Leipzig: T. O. Weigel

Tigre

Article

ለ- • (lä-)

1. the, the normal definite article in this language

Usage notes

Unlike Arabic الـ (-al) it can also be met in the construct state, even before nouns bearing pronominal suffixes. If there is a noun with adjective or numeral qualifier then either the noun or the adjective can bear it, usually first article, thereafter adjective, at last the noun. Also, in a list of nouns such as coordinated by ወ- (wä-, “and”) it may be used just once in the beginning to make all nouns determinate.

Pronoun

ለ- • (lä-)

1. (differential) the one

Conjunction

ለ- • (lä-)

1. A relativizer, used to indicate a relative clause

Usage notes

Usually precedes a verb, while it does need to be in the beginning of the relative clause (as Təgrē has SOV word order). If the verb has a preposition in its government then it goes in front of the preposition

Can be used without antecedent, for example:

• 1913, Enno Littmann, editor, Publications of the Princeton Expedition to Abyssinia. Volume III: Lieder der Tigrē-Stämme: Tigrē Text.‎^[1], Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 209 Nr. 285 line 4:

  ምን፡ሽዒር፡መልእዋ፡ምን፡ማሼላ፡ለገመት።

  mən-šəʿir-mälləʾwa-mən-mašela-lä-gämmät.

  Of barley they filled and of durra what was empty [i.e. the containers which were empty].

  translation into German: Enno Littmann, editor (1913), Publications of the Princeton Expedition to Abyssinia. Volume IV: Lieder der Tigrē-Stämme: Deutsche Übersetzung und Commentar.‎^[2] (in Tigre), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 441

It can also be omitted if the antecedent it refers to has the definite article—an opposite of the behaviour of Arabic اَلَّذِي (allaḏī) which is required after الـ (-al).