Lesson 2: Tamil Verbs
1. Introduction to Tamil Verbs
Tamil verbs are words that express actions or states of being. They are a crucial part of Tamil grammar and have some unique features:
- They change form based on tense (past, present, future)
- They agree with the subject in person and number
- They can incorporate negation within the verb itself
Let's look at some basic Tamil verbs:
செய்
Pronunciation: sey
Meaning: Do/Make
போ
Pronunciation: pō
Meaning: Go
2. Present Tense
To form the present tense in Tamil, we add specific endings to the verb root. These endings change based on the subject:
நான் செய்கிறேன்
nān seykiṟēn
Meaning: I do/am doing
நீ செய்கிறாய்
nī seykiṟāy
Meaning: You do/are doing (informal)
அவன் செய்கிறான்
avan seykiṟān
Meaning: He does/is doing
அவள் செய்கிறாள்
avaḷ seykiṟāḷ
Meaning: She does/is doing
3. Past Tense
The past tense in Tamil is formed by adding different endings to the verb root:
நான் செய்தேன்
nān seythēn
Meaning: I did
நீ செய்தாய்
nī seythāy
Meaning: You did (informal)
அவன் செய்தான்
avan seythān
Meaning: He did
அவள் செய்தாள்
avaḷ seythāḷ
Meaning: She did
4. Future Tense
The future tense in Tamil is formed by adding specific endings to the verb root:
நான் செய்வேன்
nān seyvēn
Meaning: I will do
நீ செய்வாய்
nī seyvāy
Meaning: You will do (informal)
அவன் செய்வான்
avan seyvān
Meaning: He will do
அவள் செய்வாள்
avaḷ seyvāḷ
Meaning: She will do
5. Negative Verbs
In Tamil, negation is often incorporated into the verb itself. Here are some examples:
நான் செய்யவில்லை
nān seyyavillai
Meaning: I don't do/am not doing
நான் செய்யமாட்டேன்
nān seyyamāṭṭēn
Meaning: I will not do
Summary
In this lesson, we learned about:
- Basic characteristics of Tamil verbs
- How to conjugate verbs in present, past, and future tenses
- How negation works with Tamil verbs
Keep practicing these verb forms, and you'll soon be able to express actions and states in various tenses in Tamil!