Learning pronouns in Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in Sri Lanka, is essential for mastering both spoken and written communication. Sinhala pronouns are characterized by their forms according to person, number, gender (in certain cases), and case. This guide covers personal, possessive, demonstrative, reflexive, and interrogative pronouns, providing detailed explanations and examples for each, including transliterations for pronunciation help.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns in Sinhala replace nouns referring to people or things and are used based on the person being referred to.

Subject Pronouns:

• මම (Mama) – I: “මම යමි.” (Mama yami) – I go.
• ඔබ (Oya) – You (singular, formal): “ඔබ කන්නේ කුමක්ද?” (Oya kannē kumakda?) – What are you eating?
• ඔයා (Oyā) – You (singular, informal): “ඔයා එනවාද?” (Oyā enawāda?) – Are you coming?
• එයා (Eyā) – He/She (informal): “එයා ඉන්නවා.” (Eyā innawā) – He/She is there.
• අපි (Api) – We: “අපි ඉගෙන ගන්නවා.” (Api igena gannawā) – We are learning.
• ඔබලා (Obalā) – You (plural, formal): “ඔබලා එන්න.” (Obalā enna) – You (plural) come.
• ඔයාලා (Oyālā) – You (plural, informal): “ඔයාලා සෙල්ලම් කරනවාද?” (Oyālā sellam karanawāda?) – Are you (plural) playing?
• ඔවුන් (Owun) – They: “ඔවුන් යනවා.” (Owun yanawā) – They go.

Object Pronouns:

• මට (Mata) – Me: “ඔබ මට දැනුම් දෙනවාද?” (Oya mata dænum denawāda?) – Will you inform me?
• ඔබට (Obata) – You (singular, formal): “මම ඔබට උදව් කරනවා.” (Mama obata udaw karannawā) – I help you.
• ඔයාට (Oyāta) – You (singular, informal): “මම ඔයාට පොත දෙනවා.” (Mama oyāta pota denne) – I give you the book.
• එයාට (Eyāta) – Him/Her: “මම එයාට කතා කරනවා.” (Mama eyāta kathā karannawā) – I speak to him/her.
• අපිට (Apita) – Us: “ඔබ අපිට උදව් කරනවාද?” (Oya apita udaw karannawāda?) – Will you help us?
• ඔබලාට (Obalāta) – You (plural, formal): “මම ඔබලාට කියනවා.” (Mama obalāta kiyanawā) – I will tell you (plural).
• ඔයාලාට (Oyālāta) – You (plural, informal): “මම ඔයාලාට ආදරය කරනවා.” (Mama oyālāta ādaraya karannawā) – I love you (plural).
• ඔවුන්ට (Owunta) – Them: “මම ඔවුන්ට ලියනවා.” (Mama owunta liyanawā) – I write to them.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns in Sinhala indicate ownership and are directly related to the personal pronouns.

• මගේ (Magē) – My: “මගේ පොත.” (Magē pota) – My book.
• ඔබේ (Obē) – Your (singular, formal): “ඔබේ ගෙදර.” (Obē gedara) – Your house.
• ඔයාගේ (Oyāgē) – Your (singular, informal): “ඔයාගේ කාර්ය.” (Oyāgē kārya) – Your task.
• එයාගේ (Eyāgē) – His/Her: “එයාගේ පාසල.” (Eyāgē pāsala) – His/Her school.
• අපේ (Apē) – Our: “අපේ නිවස.” (Apē nivasa) – Our home.
• ඔබලාගේ (Obalāgē) – Your (plural, formal): “ඔබලාගේ සිහින.” (Obalāgē sihina) – Your (plural) dreams.
• ඔයාලාගේ (Oyālāgē) – Your (plural, informal): “ඔයාලාගේ ගමන.” (Oyālāgē gamana) – Your (plural) journey.
• ඔවුන්ගේ (Owungē) – Their: “ඔවුන්ගේ ඉඩම.” (Owungē idama) – Their land.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in Sinhala point to specific nouns and vary based on distance.

• මේ (Mē) – This: “මේ කුමක්ද?” (Mē kumakda?) – What is this?
• ඒ (Ē) – That: “ඒ කවුද?” (Ē kawuda?) – Who is that?

Reflexive Pronouns

Sinhala uses reflexive pronouns when the subject performs an action upon itself. Often, reflexive meanings are expressed through verbs rather than separate pronouns.

• මා ස්වයං (Mā svayaṁ) – Myself: “මම මා ස්වයං පුහුණු කරනවා.” (Mama mā svayaṁ puhuṇu karannawā) – I train myself.
• ඔබ ස්වයං (Oba svayaṁ) – Yourself: “ඔබ ස්වයං රැකගන්න.” (Oba svayaṁ rækaganna) – Take care of yourself.

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions about people, places, or things.

• කවුද (Kawuda) – Who: “කවුද මේ?” (Kawuda mē?) – Who is this?
• මොකක්ද (Mokakda) – What: “මොකක්ද උඹ කරන්නේ?” (Mokakda umba karannē?) – What are you doing?
• කොහේද (Kohēda) – Where: “ඔබ කොහේද?” (Oba kohēda?) – Where are you?

Understanding and correctly using Sinhala pronouns is vital for effective communication. Practice forming sentences with each type of pronoun, and engage in conversations or writing exercises to apply these concepts actively. Remember, context and the nuances of Sinhala culture and language play a significant role in choosing the correct pronoun form.