Specialized Adjective Functions
Specialized Adjective Functions
Beyond description and quantity, Ge'ez adjectives serve several specialized grammatical roles that English handles through separate word classes. Possessive adjectives (Niwayawi Qitsil) indicate ownership and overlap with the possessive pronoun system (the Bequi forms). Demonstrative adjectives (ʾAmari / ʾAmelkači Qitsil) point out specific items and encode the same near-or-distant distinction found in the demonstrative pronoun system. These two categories are considered Deqiq Qitsil (minor adjectives) and were examined in conjunction with the personal pronouns in the previous article.
Partitive adjectives (Kiflawi Qitsil) describe how nouns are distributed into parts or segments: Leʾele ahadu (each), ʾAhadihomu (either of them), Bebe ahadu (individual, one by one), ʾAlbo ʾahadihomu (neither of them). In sentences:
ወሀቦሙ ኃይለ ለእለ አሐዱ ሐዋርያቲሁ፣
Wä-habomu hayle le-ʾele ʾaḥadu hawaryatihu.
"He gave the powers to each of his disciples."
እምነ ክልኤቱ ነገስት አልቦ አሐዶሙ ዘተመይጡ በሕይወት እምጸብዕ፣
ʾImne kliʾetu negest ʾalbo ʾahadomu ze-temeyṭu bə-hywet ʾim-ṣebʾ.
"Neither of the two kings returned from the battle alive."
ድውያን ድኅኑ በበአሐዱ በንዝሐተ ማይ ቅዱስ፣
Dəwyʾan dəḥnu be-be ʾaḥadu bə-nəzḥate may qəddus.
"The sick were healed one by one by the sprinkling of the holy water."
Interrogative adjectives (Nus Qitsil) function as minor interrogative clauses. They include Manu (who/which), ʾAyinu (what), Beyne mint (why), ʾAyte (where), Maʾeze (when), Zemanu (whose), and ʾIsfintu (how many/much). In sentences:
መኑ ብእሲ ዘአድኃና ለሀገር
Manu biʾisi ze-ʾadḥana la-hager.
"Who is the man who saved the city?"
አይኑ ትእምርት ገብረ ሙሴ በበትሩ በቅድመ ፈርዖን
ʾAyinu təʾmərt gebera Muse be-betru bə-qedme Farʿon.
"What sign did Moses perform before Pharaoh with his staff?"
እስፍንተ ኅብስተ ፈተተ እግዚእ ከመ ያጽግብ ኃምስተ ምዕተ
ʾIsfinte ḥəbse fetete ʾIgzi kemā yaṣgəb ḥamste məʿte.
"How many loaves did the Lord break to feed the five thousand?"
Finally, emphatic adjectives (ʾAṣinʾotawi Qitsil) emphasize ownership or self-identity: Berʾisu, Zerʾisu, Lerʾisu (for himself/his own), Berʾisaye (by myself), Lerʾisaye (for myself). In sentences:
ዝንቱ ቃል ዘርእስየ፣
Zintu qal ze-rəʾisaye.
"This is my own promise."
ዝንቱ ቃል ዘርእሱ
Zintu qal ze-rəʾisu.
"This is his own promise."
Gender, Number, and Agreement
Ge'ez maintains strict gender and number agreement in its adjectives. To form the feminine gender, the suffix -t is added to the adjective: Minun becomes Minint, Manani becomes Mananit, Weld (son) becomes Welet (daughter). However, some adjectives remain the same for both genders without suffixes — these are called Sirwats Qitsil (Common Adjectives): Ferahi (Fearful), Hidg (Abandoned), Tsewag (Cruel), Neqwar (Blind). Pluralization is achieved by adding prefixes like ʾA- or ʾEle-, or suffixes like -n, -wi, -ya, or -t: Hager (city) becomes ʾAhgur (cities); ʾAb (father) becomes ʾAbew (fathers); Memhir (teacher) becomes Memhiran (teachers).