Tamil grammar

# Introduction

This page contains the essential grammar of spoken Tamil as heard in the popular media of Tamil Nadu. It also contains short notes on formal Tamil, which can be heard in formal speech and most songs.

If you want quick answers to quick questions or a broad overview of how Tamil works, you're in the right place. Otherwise, you can try these resources instead:

• For textbooks, try Jeyapandian Kottalam's Learning Tamil by Yourself.

• If you want a comprehensive reference book, try Harold Schiffman's A Reference Grammar of Spoken Tamil.

• If you are also interested in formal Tamil, try Thomas Lehmann's A Grammar of Modern Tamil.

Before we begin, some basics:

• In Tamil, we express meaning by adding one or more suffixes to a word base. Generally, studying Tamil grammar means studying these suffixes.

• Formal Tamil is based on 13th-century usage and is standard across the Tamil world. Informal Tamil is used at home and in conversation, and it can vary widely from one community to the next. Almost all written Tamil is formal, and almost all spoken Tamil is informal.

• For learners, grammar is at best a supplement to the real task of engaging with interesting Tamil content. We hope this page can give you quick answers so that you can return to more interesting things.

# Sounds

For advice on pronouncing these sounds, see our pronunciation guide.

# Nouns

Nouns are naming words like "house" and "tree." They follow this pattern:

The plurality and case suffixes are both optional.

Examples:

# Plurality

By default, nouns are singular. We add a suffix to make them plural:

-ga(ɭ) means that we use -ga by default and -gaɭ if another suffix follows:

# Case

Suffixes that express a noun's role in a sentence are called case suffixes. Some suffixes are more common in formal Tamil, and others are more common in informal Tamil:

Examples:

# Base changes

A noun's base form may change in certain contexts, such as:

• When a case suffix is added directly to the base.

• When the noun is compounded with another noun.

Common changes:

1. Only for words ending with று in formal Tamil. Examples include āru (river), nūru (hundred), keɳaru (well), and a few other common words.

Examples:

# Pronouns

Base forms:

Special forms used with case endings:

# Tables

For examples and irregular forms, see our noun tables.

# Verb

# Components

All verbs are built upon these three components:

• Root — the base form of the verb, as listed in dictionaries.

• Infinitive — created by adding -a to the root. Many roots use -kka instead. On its own, the infinite means "to X."

• Adverb — created by adding a past-tense suffix to the root. On its own, the adverb means "having X" or "after doing X."

We create all other verb forms by adding suffixes to these three components.

Some common verbs and their components:

# Commands

Examples:

# Statements

1. An exception is the future neuter singular, which uses the pattern (infinitive) + um.

2. Formal (infinitive) + illai (இல்லை).

3. An exception is the neuter singular, which uses the pattern (infinitive) + ādu.

Examples:

# Tense suffixes

The past suffix is the same as the suffix used in the adverb. But if the adverb ends with -i, the suffix is -in instead:

The present suffix is -kkir if the infinitive uses the -kka suffix and -r otherwise:

The future suffix is -pp if the infinitive uses the -kka suffix and -v otherwise:

# Final suffixes (for statement verbs)

These finals are common to almost all statement verbs:

# -kku Verbs

Also known as verbs with dative subjects, since the sense expressed by the -kku is sometimes called the dative. These verbs use only the neuter singular suffixes, and their subject is stated with the -kku suffix.

Negative verbs follow the standard pattern (teriyādu, teriyile, …), except that the future negative of vēɳum is vēɳɖām.

Examples:

# Compound verbs

1. The nuance here is subtle but important. (infinitive) + pāru has a sense of "try to X" (to see if one is able to do so), and (adverb) + pāru has a sense of "try out X" (to see if one likes it, e.g.).

2. From koɳɖu (கொண்டு) (the adverb of koɭ (கொள்)) and iru (இரு).

3. This use of vā is rare in informal Tamil but may appear in stories and other kinds of historical narratives.

4. Often implying something undesirable or negative, as in settu pōnān ("he died").

# Other verb forms

1. Both forms are used, but some dialects strongly prefer one to another.

Examples:

# Verbal adjectives

1. An exception is the future adjective, which uses the same form as the future neuter singular (varum, irukkum, etc.).

Examples:

# Verbal nouns

Examples:

# Other suffixes

Examples:

Suffixes that convey tone or audience:

Various forms of the verb āgu used as suffixes:

Examples:

# Phrases

# Sound rules

# Coupling transformations

A Tamil sound may change when in close contact with another sound. There are many such changes, but here are some common ones:

# Consonant doubling