Free short notes and revision cards
Grade 11 Amharic on Temari has 22 revision cards, arranged by the chapters of the Ethiopian national curriculum. Every card says when the rule applies, what each symbol in it stands for, and the mistake students most often make with it. They are free to read and need no account.
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When you use it
Use this when a question asks whether a writing system belongs naturally to one language, or why one script can be adapted to another language.
Watch out
Do not answer that a particular script is naturally tied to its language. The chapter says any writing system can serve any language once it is suitably adapted, and this shows there is no natural bond.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 1-29, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when you must write an Amharic word in colour (ቀለማዊ) form or count how many colours a word has.
Watch out
Do not count colours by consonants. Each colour has one vowel as its centre, so count the vowels. A held consonant can end one colour and begin the next, so it is shared and counted twice in the sounds. For example, ድመት [ድአም-ምእት] has two colours, ድአም and ምእት, with vowels አ and እ.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 1-29, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when asked to name the function of a word in a sentence (ባለቤት, ተሳቢ or ዘርፍ) or to correct a faulty sentence. Check the position and the suffix or prefix of each word.
Watch out
A predicate noun (ተሳቢ) must take the suffix -ን (ኑን), and leaving it off is the error this chapter's exercise tests. A noun at the start of a sentence is not automatically the owner: a subject takes no suffix, so check the whole sentence before naming the function.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 30-53, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when asked to shorten a passage to a word limit or to a fraction such as one third. Read the passage several times, note its main ideas, then rewrite them in your own words within the limit.
Watch out
Count your words and stay within the limit set in the question (for example 25, 20 or 15 words, or one third of the original). Do not drop the main message to save words, and do not add facts that are not in the passage.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 30-53, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when you must split a word into its morphemes or say whether a suffix is an እርባታ (inflectional) or ምስረታ (derivational) affix.
Watch out
Do not call a suffix derivational just because it is added. Check whether the word class changes: ፍየል plus -ኦች stays a noun, so it is inflectional, while ባህል plus -ኣዊ becomes an adjective, so it is derivational.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 54-73, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when a question asks you to identify a symbolic or paradoxical expression in a ወግ and explain how it highlights the writer's idea.
Watch out
A symbol is not read literally: አድባር stands for a great, powerful person and ፍሬ stands for a child, so do not explain them as a tree or a fruit. A paradox seems untrue at first and becomes true on reflection, so do not call it a plain contradiction without showing that reflection.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 54-73, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when asked to rewrite a sentence or paragraph so it is concise and clear, removing repeated words, redundant phrases, unnecessary borrowed words or tired expressions.
Watch out
Cut only what adds nothing. The chapter turns 'መናጢ ደሀ ብሆንም፣ አንቺን በልቤ አፈቀርኩ' into 'ድሃ ብሆንም አንቺን አፈቀርኩ', dropping 'መናጢ' because it repeats the idea of poverty and 'በልቤ' because love is known to sit in the heart. Do not remove a word that carries the writer's meaning or tone.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 54-73, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when asked how a conflict develops in a novel, or why a conflict is believable or not.
Watch out
A conflict with no adequate cause loses credibility and cannot move the story forward. Name the cause in the answer rather than just saying there was a fight.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 74-91, then checked twice before it went up
| Technique | What it shows or does |
|---|---|
| Dialogue (ምልልስ) | Shows characters' feelings, aims, problems and psychological state through their speech |
| Description (ገለጻ) | Presents characters' looks, surroundings and mood in words that appeal to the senses |
| Flashback (ምልሰት) | Returns to a character's earlier experience to explain their present behaviour |
| Foreshadowing (ጥቆማ) | Gives a hint of what will happen later so the reader can predict it |
When you use it
Use this when asked which technique a passage uses, or when explaining a novel's narrative method with an example from the text.
Watch out
Flashback and foreshadowing both move through time, but in opposite directions: a flashback looks back to the past, while a hint looks forward. Do not confuse them.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 74-91, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when asked to tell a novel's plot apart from its story, or to find the points where the two differ and meet.
Watch out
Listing events in time order is only story. The sentence becomes plot when it gives the cause that links the events, so do not call a time-ordered list of events a plot.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 74-91, then checked twice before it went up
| Term | Meaning in the chapter |
|---|---|
| ህብረ ቃል | The word or phrase in the verse that carries the hidden meaning. |
| ሰም | The meaning in front, the one the verse first appears to state. |
| ወርቅ | The hidden message the poet actually intends. |
When you use it
Use this when a question asks you to name the pivot word of a ቅኔ or to separate its surface meaning from its hidden message.
Watch out
Do not confuse ሰም with ወርቅ: ሰም is the front meaning the verse seems to state, and ወርቅ is the hidden message, so swapping them loses both marks.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 92-107, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when asked how poetry differs from prose, or when asked to name and explain the features of a poem.
Watch out
Compactness (ቁጥብነት) does not mean the poem is short. A few words carry many ideas, so the same message written as prose could fill many pages.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 108-127, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when asked for the synonym or antonym of a word from a poem or from a word list.
Watch out
Match the word class as well as the meaning. The antonym of አርበኝነት (patriotism) is ባንዳነት (collaboration), both nouns in the same form. Answering with an adjective or a verb loses the mark even if the meaning is right.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 108-127, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when a question asks you to tell a life story apart by who wrote it, or to write one about yourself or another person.
Watch out
The word does not decide it. A ግለ-ታሪክ is written by the person whose life it describes, so it is in the first person. A biography (የሕይወት ታሪክ) written by another person describes someone else's life. Do not mix the two up when you write your own account.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 128-150, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when a question asks whether a suffix in a word is a የእርባታ (inflectional) suffix or a የምስረታ (derivational) suffix.
Watch out
Do not decide by the suffix's shape. Ask what it does. A suffix that only shows person, number or gender (ተማር + ኩ = ተማርኩ, ተማር + ሽ = ተማርሽ) is inflectional. A suffix that builds a new word, often with a new word class, such as ፍሬ + ያማ = ፍሬያማ, is derivational.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 128-150, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when you must write the 'ዋቢ መጻሕፍት' list at the end of a piece of writing that uses several sources.
Watch out
Sort the entries alphabetically by the author's first name, and put the title first only when no author is named. Write the year in brackets straight after the author, then the title, then a full stop, then the place of publication, a comma, then the publisher. For two or three authors, list them all; for more than three, give the first author and then 'ሌሎች'.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 128-150, then checked twice before it went up
| Idiom | Meaning |
|---|---|
| በዐይነ ስጋ | in person, alive |
| ራስ የሌለው | shameless, without a sense of shame |
| እጅ መንሻ | gift, present |
| እግረ ሰላቢ | one whose footsteps cannot be heard |
When you use it
Reach for this when a question asks you to explain a fixed Amharic expression from the chapter or to use one correctly in a sentence.
Watch out
Learn each idiom as one fixed phrase. በዐይነ ስጋ means 'in person, alive', not a literal reading of its words.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 151-168, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when preparing for a class debate: collect ideas from sources, choose the useful ones, set their order, rehearse, then present in order and thank the audience at the end.
Watch out
Record the opponent's points exactly as they are raised and prepare a counter-argument for each. Without this you cannot answer what the other side says, and the debate is lost.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 151-168, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when asked to explain how a life story written by someone else differs from a life story written by the person themselves.
Watch out
A biography (የሕይወት ታሪክ) is written about another person, built from sources and interviews with that person's family and close friends. Do not present a story the person wrote about themselves as a biography; that is an autobiography (ግለ-ታሪክ).
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 169-184, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when a task asks you to collect information by interviewing a person, such as an official or a long-serving worker at an institution.
Watch out
Check beforehand that each prepared question will actually bring the information you need. An unchecked question list wastes the interview.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 169-184, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when a passage must be shortened to about one third of its length while keeping its main meaning.
Watch out
Aim for one third of the original length, not roughly half, and give the shortened piece a suitable title as the guideline requires.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, pages 169-184, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when a question asks you to trace how the conflict of a drama develops. The stages run አውቂያ, ትውስብ, ጡዘት, ቅልበሳ and ልቀት, inside the three major parts ውጠት, ጡዘት and ዝቅጠት.
Watch out
The three major parts (ውጠት, ጡዘት, ዝቅጠት) and the five conflict stages are two different lists. ጡዘት appears in both, so name the stage and the major part separately when answering.
Drafted from Grade 11 Amharic, page 185 onwards, then checked twice before it went up
The student textbook for the new curriculum, free as a PDF. The cards on this page follow its chapters.
Ministry of Education edition, Amharic
216 pages
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