Pronouns in Ge'ez: The Meraḥyan (Leaders) of Grammar
Ge'ez Grammar
📅 November 4, 2026
📄 Page 7 of 7
✍️ by Samuel Tadasea
The Ge'ez pronoun system (Meraḥyan, "leaders") governs verb conjugation across ten pronouns and seven grammatical functions. A comparative study with English.
References
Ethiopian Sources
- ʾAfeWerq Zewde (ʾAba). ሀገረ-መጻሕፍት ሰዋሰው ግእዝ ወዐማርኛ. Addis Ababa: Tensae Publishing House, 1982 EC.
- Dase Keleb (Memhr). ትንሣኤ ግእዝ. Mahbere Qidusan, Sunday Schools Department of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), 2012 EC.
- Liqe Hiruyan Beley Mekonnen. ሕያው ልሳን ግዕዝ-አማርኛ መዝገበ ቃላት. Addis Ababa: Mahbere Qidusan, Sunday Schools Department of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), 2018 EC.
- መጽሐፈ ሰዋሰው መጽሔተ አእምሮ [The Book of Grammar, the Mirror of Knowledge]. Addis Ababa: Tesfa Gebre Selassie Printing House, 1982 EC.
- Yeshaneh Tariku (Memhr). ልሳነ ልሳናት ልሳነ ግእዝ መጽሐፈ ረዳኢ. 2015 EC.
- Metsehaf Qedus: Ge'ez Bible. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Patriarchate, 1980.
English Reference Works
- Lambdin, Thomas O. Introduction to Classical Ethiopic. Harvard Semitic Studies No. 24. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978.
- Butts, Aaron Michael. "Gǝʿǝz (Classical Ethiopic)." In The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook, edited by Stefan Weninger, 117–153. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011.
- Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985.
Companion Articles
- Tadasea, Samuel. "Nouns and the Concept of Naming (Seme) in Ge'ez." Published on Geez Online.
- Tadasea, Samuel. "A Comparative Study of Nouns in Ge'ez and English: Where Two Linguistic Worlds Meet." Published on Geez Online.