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Session 4
Listen to find out how to talk about your habits.
Akkatti waa’ee amaleeffannaakee itti dubbattu hubachuuf caqasi.
Activity 1
How do I talk about my habits?
Listen to find out how to talk about your habits.
Akkatti waa’ee amaleeffannaakee itti dubbattu hubachuuf caqasi.
Deebiiwwankee sirreeffachuuf caqasi. Ittaansuun barruu kanaa gadii waliin walbira qabii ilaali.

Caalii
Yooyyaa! Gara barnootaa How do I…'tti baga nagaan dhufte! An Caaliidha. Akkasumas Shaan nawaliin jirti.
Sian
Hi, everybody!
Caalii
Kutaa kana keessatti karaa garagaraa fayyadamuun waa'ee amaleeffannaa akkatti dubbachuu dandeessu ilaalla.
Namoota, waa'ee sochii qaamaa 'exercise' yeroo hagam hagamiitti akka hojjatan dubbatan caqasuudhaan haa'eegallu. Hubachuuf yoo si rakkise hinyaada'in, gara boodaatti gargaarsa siif goonaa. Ammaaf eenyu irra caalaa sochi qaamaa akka hojjatu qalbeeffadhu.
I exercise once or twice a week.
I exercise every day.
I never exercise.
I hardly ever exercise.
Caalii
Tole, egaa namni lammaffaan sochii qaamaa guyyuun hojjata.
So, Sian, shall we look at the language we can use to talk about habits?
Sian
Yes, so first we can see that they all used the present simple tense – so this is how we usually talk about habits.
Caalii
Tole egaa, waa'ee amaleeffanwwanii dubbachuuf hennaa ammaa fayyadamna – waantokko hangamitti akka raawwattu dubbachuuf yeroo mara gochima irradeddeebii argisiisu fayyadamuun kan barameedha. Ammas irradeebinee nama kana haacaqasnu – gochima irradeddeebii argisiisu kam fayyadamaa?
I never exercise.
Sian
Ok so they use the adverb 'never' which means 'not at any time'. And the opposite of 'never' is 'always' – this means 'at all times'.
Caalii
Akkasumas bakka gochimni galu qalbeeffattee? Abbaa ykn Ab-gocha fi gocha gidduu gala.
'I never exercise'. 'I always exercise'.
Sian
But can you remember the adverb that you heard to mean 'almost never'? Let's listen again to find out.
I hardly ever exercise.
Caalii
Tole egaa waa'ee waan ati gonka gochuuf hindandeenyetti siqu tokko dubbachuuf 'hardly ever' fayyadamna. Let's practise the pronunciation, Sian.
Sian
Repeat after me.
…hardly ever…
I hardly ever exercise.
Caalii
Gochimoota biroo kan akka 'sometimes' ykn 'al-tokko tokko' jechuu isa ta'eefi 'often' ykn 'yeroo mara' jechuu isa ta'e fayyadamuu dandeenya.
Sian
And they also go between the subject and the verb. Let's practise the pronunciation. Repeat after me.
I sometimes exercise.
I often exercise.
Caalii
Waa'ee lakkoofsa guyyootaa waantokko ittii hojjannu addatti baafnee himuus ni dandeenya, hindandeenyuuree?
Sian
Yes, so if you do something all the days of the week, you can use 'every day' but, careful, the position of this is different. Where does it go? Let's listen again.
I exercise every day.
Caalii
Egaa 'guyyaa hunda' inni jedhu gocha booda dhufa. Hima ittiin jalqabuullee ni dandeenya: Akkas jechuun: 'Every day I do exercise'.
Sian
But if you want to say that you do something one time or two times a week we use 'once a week' or 'twice a week'. Let's practise the pronunciation. Repeat after me.
…once a week…
…twice a week…
I exercise twice a week.
Caalii
Akkasumas torbanitti al-tokko – 'once' ykn al-lama – 'twice' garaarra yoo ta'e lakkoofsatti aansine 'times' ykn yeroo galchuun dubbanna. Egaa ani torbanitti al shan shaakala jechuuf:
I exercise five times a week.
Caalii
Amma, malawwan waa'ee amaleeffanna ittiin dubbatan kanneen hunda barateetta, ammammoo yeroon kan itti shaakaltudha.
Yeroo hagam hagamitti Afaan Ingilizii akka barattu hiriyaankee si gaafte haajennu. Torbanitti al-sadii Afaan Ingilizii akka barattu itti himi. Sana booda, deebikee waliin walbira qabdee akka ilaalaaltuuf deebii Shaan caqasi.
Sian
I study English three times a week.
Caalii
Atis akkasuma jette? Ammammoo hiriyaankee yeroo hagam hangamitti buna akka dhugdu baruu fedha. Gonkumaa akka buna hindhugne itti him. Bakka gochimni galu yaadadhu!
Sian
I hardly ever drink coffee.
Caalii
Atis akkasuma jettee?
Sian
Well done! Hopefully you always study English with us!
Caalii
And you visit our website every day! See you next time.
Sian
Bye, everyone!
Learn more!
1) Waa’ee amaleeffannakeenyaa dubbachuuf henna akkamii Afaan Ingilizii keessatti fayyadamnaa?
Hennaa ammaa fayyadamna.
- I eat rice every day.
2) Waa’ee wantoota idleedhaan raawwannuu dubbachuudhaaf gochimoota kam fayyadamuu dandeenyaa?
Gochimoota irradeddeebii argisiisan kanneen fayyadamuu dandeenya. Hima keessatti raawwataafi gocha gidduu dhufu.
- I never eat fast food
- I often read in bed.
- I hardly ever eat chocolate.
3) Waantokko torbanitti al-meeqa akka hojjannu akkamitti dubbachuu dandeenyaa?
Waantokko guyyuutti kan hojjattu yoo ta’e, gaalee 'every day' jedhu fayyadamuu dandeessa. Kun jalqaba ykn dhuma himaarra galuu danda’a.
- I have a shower every day.
Torbanitti al-meeqa akka hojjattu dubbachuuf lakkoofsa eega jettee booda gaalee 'times a week' ittaansitee fayyadamuu dandeessa.
Garuu, torbanitti al-tokko yoo ta’e, 'once a week' akkasumas torbanitti al lama yoo ta’e 'twice a week' akka fayyadamnu hindagatiin. Torban gara 'month', 'year' ykn 'day' tti jijjiiruullee dandeessa.
- I play football once a week.
- I go to the cinema three times a month.
- I eat out twice a month.
Waa’ee amaleeffannakoo akkamittin dubbadhaa?
3 Questions
Complete the gaps in these sentences.
Bakka duwwaa himoota kanneen keessa jiran guuti.
Help
Activity
Complete the gaps in these sentences.
Bakka duwwaa himoota kanneen keessa jiran guuti.
Hint
Waa’ee amalootaa dubbachuuf hennaa akkamii akka fayyadamnu yaadachuu dandeessaa akkasumas hima keessatti gochimni bakka kam gala?Question 1 of 3
Help
Activity
Complete the gaps in these sentences.
Bakka duwwaa himoota kanneen keessa jiran guuti.
Hint
Ji’atti al-tokko waan tokko wayita raawwannu, gaalee maalii fayyadamnaa?Question 2 of 3
Help
Activity
Complete the gaps in these sentences.
Bakka duwwaa himoota kanneen keessa jiran guuti.
Hint
Gochima irradeddeebii argisiisu kam ‘tasumaa’ jechuuf fayyadamnaa?Question 3 of 3
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
Come to our Facebook group and tell us how often you study English.
Gara garee Feesbuukii keenyaa koottuutii hangamitti Afaan Ingilizii akka barattu nutti himi.
Join us for our next episode of How do I…, when we will learn more useful language and practise your listening skills.
Qooqa daran faayida-qabeessa ta’an dabalataa kan keessatti barannuufi dandeettiiwwankee caqasuu kan ittiin shaakaltu sagantaa keenya How do I… 'n yeroo ittaanu walitti deebina
Session Vocabulary
always
yeroo hundaoften
yeroo marasometimes
al-tokko tokkohardly ever
tasumaanever
gonkumaaonce
al-tokkotwice
al-lamathree times
al-sadi