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class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Letters</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Letters-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Letters subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Letters-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Prime_Letters" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Prime_Letters"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Prime Letters</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Prime_Letters-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Dependent_Letters" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Dependent_Letters"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Dependent Letters</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Dependent_Letters-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Vanjiyar" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Vanjiyar"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Vanjiyar</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Vanjiyar-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Nouns" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Nouns"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Nouns</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Nouns-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Nouns subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Nouns-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Rationality" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rationality"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Rationality</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rationality-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Noun_inflection" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Noun_inflection"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Noun inflection</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Noun_inflection-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Nominative_Case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Nominative_Case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.1</span> <span>Nominative Case</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Nominative_Case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Accusative_Case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Accusative_Case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.2</span> <span>Accusative Case</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Accusative_Case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Dative_Case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Dative_Case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.3</span> <span>Dative Case</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Dative_Case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Instrumental_Case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Instrumental_Case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.4</span> <span>Instrumental Case</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Instrumental_Case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sociative_Case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sociative_Case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.5</span> <span>Sociative Case</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sociative_Case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Locative_Case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Locative_Case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.6</span> <span>Locative Case</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Locative_Case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Ablative_Case" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ablative_Case"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.7</span> <span>Ablative Case</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ablative_Case-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Oblique_Stems" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Oblique_Stems"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Oblique Stems</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Oblique_Stems-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Genders_and_number" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Genders_and_number"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.4</span> <span>Genders and number</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Genders_and_number-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Pronouns" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Pronouns"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Pronouns</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Pronouns-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Pronouns subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Pronouns-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Demonstratives_and_Interrogatives" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Demonstratives_and_Interrogatives"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>Demonstratives and Interrogatives</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Demonstratives_and_Interrogatives-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Personal_pronouns" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Personal_pronouns"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.2</span> <span>Personal pronouns</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Personal_pronouns-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Verbs" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Verbs"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Verbs</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Verbs-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Verbs subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Verbs-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Auxiliaries" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Auxiliaries"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1</span> <span>Auxiliaries</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Auxiliaries-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sentence_structure" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sentence_structure"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Sentence structure</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sentence_structure-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Example" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Example"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Example</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Example-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon 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dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Grammar of the Tamil language</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Tamil_palm-leaf_manuscript_of_Tolk%C4%81ppiyam.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Tamil_palm-leaf_manuscript_of_Tolk%C4%81ppiyam.jpg/440px-Tamil_palm-leaf_manuscript_of_Tolk%C4%81ppiyam.jpg" decoding="async" width="440" height="36" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Tamil_palm-leaf_manuscript_of_Tolk%C4%81ppiyam.jpg/660px-Tamil_palm-leaf_manuscript_of_Tolk%C4%81ppiyam.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Tamil_palm-leaf_manuscript_of_Tolk%C4%81ppiyam.jpg/880px-Tamil_palm-leaf_manuscript_of_Tolk%C4%81ppiyam.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2153" data-file-height="177" /></a><figcaption>Palm leaf manuscript of Tolkappiyam</figcaption></figure> <p>Much of <b>Tamil grammar</b> is extensively described in the oldest available grammar book for <a href="/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language">Tamil</a>, the <i><a href="/wiki/Tolkaappiyam" class="mw-redirect" title="Tolkaappiyam">Tolkāppiyam</a></i> (dated between 300 BCE and 300 CE). Modern Tamil writing is largely based on the 13th century grammar <i><a href="/wiki/Na%E1%B9%89%E1%B9%89%C5%ABl" title="Naṉṉūl">Naṉṉūl</a></i>, which restated and clarified the rules of the Tolkāppiyam with some modifications. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Parts_of_Tamil_grammar">Parts of Tamil grammar</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Parts of Tamil grammar"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Traditional Tamil grammar consists of five parts, namely eḻuttu, sol, poruḷ, yāppu and aṇi. Of these, the last two are mostly applicable in poetry.<sup id="cite_ref-five_parts_grammar_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-five_parts_grammar-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The following table gives additional information about these parts. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"> <tbody><tr> <th>Tamil name </th> <th>Meaning </th> <th>Main grammar books </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>eḻuttu</i> </td> <td>letter </td> <td><i>Tolkāppiyam</i>, <i>Nannūl</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>sol</i> </td> <td>word </td> <td><i>Tolkāppiyam</i>, <i>Nannūl</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>poruḷ</i> </td> <td>content </td> <td><i>Tolkāppiyam</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>yāppu</i> </td> <td>compilation </td> <td><i>Yāpparuṅkalakkārikai</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>aṇi</i> </td> <td>decoration </td> <td><i>Taṇṭiyalaṅkāram</i> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i>Eḻuttu</i> (writing) defines and describes the letters of the Tamil alphabet and their classification. It describes the nature of phonemes and their changes with respect to different conditions and locations in the text. </p><p><i>Sol</i> defines the types of the words based on their meaning and the origin. It defines the gender, number, cases, tenses, classes, harmony etc. This chapter also provides rules for compounding the words. </p><p><i>Porul</i> defines the contents of poetry. It gives guidance on which topic to choose for poetry based on certain conditions like the nature of the land or time or the people. It gives a distinction between <i>Agam</i> (internal / love life) and <i>Puram</i> (external / worldly life). </p><p><i>Yāppu</i> defines rules for composing Traditional poetry. It defines the basic building block <i>Asai</i> and describes how <i>asai</i> should be joined to form a <i>sīr</i>, joining <i>sīr</i> for an <i>adi</i>. </p><p><i>Aṇi</i> defines techniques used for comparing, praising and criticizing the taken topics. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Letters">Letters</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Letters"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The script of Tamil Language consists of 247 letters. The script falls under the category <a href="/wiki/Abugida" title="Abugida">Abugida</a>, in which consonant-vowel sequences are written as a unit. The grammar classifies the letters into two major categories. </p> <ul><li>Prime Letters – <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">முதலெழுத்து</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">mutaleḻuttu</i></span></li> <li>Dependent Letters – <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">சார்பெழுத்து</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">sārpeḻuttu</i></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Prime_Letters">Prime Letters</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Prime Letters"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>12 vowels and 18 consonants are classified as the prime letters. </p> <ul><li>The vowels (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">உயிரெழுத்துகள்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">uyireḻuttukaḷ</i></span>): அ (a), ஆ (ā), இ (i), ஈ( ī), உ (u), ஊ (ū), எ (e), ஏ (ē), ஐ (ai), ஒ (o), ஓ (ō), ஔ (au)</li> <li>The consonants (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">மெய்யெழுத்துகள்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">meyyeḻuttukaḷ</i></span>): க், ங், ச், ஞ், ட், ண், த், ந், ப், ம், ய், ர், ல், வ், ழ், ள், ற், ன்</li></ul> <p>The vowels are called <i>uyir</i>, meaning soul, in Tamil. The consonants are known as <i>mey</i>, meaning body. When the alphasyllabary is formed, the letter shall be taking the form of the consonants, that is the body, and the sound shall be that of the corresponding vowel, that is the soul. </p><p>The vowels are categorized based on the length, as short (<i>kuril</i>) and long(<i>nedil</i>). The short vowels are pronounced for a duration 1 unit, while the long vowels take two units. Based on the duration of the sound, the vowels form 5 pairs. The other two vowels ஐ(<i>ai</i>) and ஔ(<i>au</i>) are diphthongs formed by joining the letters அ(a)+இ(i) and அ(a)+உ(u). Since these two are a combination two short letters, their pronunciation takes 2 units of time, that is they fall under <i>nedil</i> category. ஐ(ai) and ஔ(au) can also be spelt அய் and அவ். This form is known as <i>eḻuttuppōli</i> and is generally not recommended. </p><p>The consonants are categorised into three groups, <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">வல்லினம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">valliṉam</i></span> (hard), <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">மெல்லினம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">melliṉam</i></span> (soft) and <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">இடையினம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">iṭaiyiṉam</i></span> (medium), based on the nature of the sound. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>valliṉam </th> <th>melliṉam </th> <th>iṭaiyiṉam </th></tr> <tr> <td>க் k </td> <td>ங் ṅ </td> <td>ய் y </td></tr> <tr> <td>ச் s </td> <td>ஞ் ñ </td> <td>ர் r </td></tr> <tr> <td>ட் ṭ </td> <td>ண் ṇ </td> <td>ல் l </td></tr> <tr> <td>த் t </td> <td>ந் n </td> <td>வ் v </td></tr> <tr> <td>ப் p </td> <td>ம் m </td> <td>ழ் ḻ </td></tr> <tr> <td>ற் ṟ<sup id="cite_ref-தொல்19_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-தொல்19-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>ன் ṉ<sup id="cite_ref-தொல்20_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-தொல்20-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>ள் ḷ<sup id="cite_ref-தொல்21_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-தொல்21-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>From the 30 prime letters, the dependent letters are formed. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Dependent_Letters">Dependent Letters</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Dependent Letters"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Tamil grammar defines 10 categories of Dependent letters. </p> <ul><li>Alphasyllabic letters <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">உயிர்மெய் எழுத்து</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">uyirmey eḻuttu</i></span></li> <li><i>Aidam</i> <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">ஆய்த எழுத்து</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">āyta eḻuttu</i></span></li> <li>Elongated vowel <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">உயிரளபெடை</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">uyiraḷapeṭai</i></span></li> <li>Elongated consonant <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">ஒற்றளபெடை</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">oṟṟaḷapeṭai</i></span></li> <li>Shortened <i>u</i> <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">குற்றியலுகரம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kuṟṟiyalukaram</i></span></li> <li>Shortened <i>i</i> <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">குற்றியலிகரம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kuṟṟiyalikaram</i></span></li> <li>Shortened <i>ai</i> <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">ஐகாரக் குறுக்கம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">aikārak kuṟukkam</i></span></li> <li>Shortened <i>au</i> <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">ஔகாரக் குறுக்கம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">aukārak kuṟukkam</i></span></li> <li>Shortened <i>m</i> <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">மகரக்குறுக்கம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">makarakkuṟukkam</i></span></li> <li>Shortened <i>Aidam</i> <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">ஆய்தக்குறுக்கம்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">āytakkuṟukkam</i></span></li></ul> <p>The alphasyllabic letters – 216 in total – are formed by combining the consonants and the vowels. The duration of the sound is that of the vowel attached to the consonant (or the inherent vowel, in case of the pure consonants). For example, the table below shows the formation of க் based letters. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"> <tbody><tr> <th>Combination</th> <th><i>Uyirmei</i> form</th> <th><a href="/wiki/ISO_15919" title="ISO 15919">ISO 15919</a></th> <th>IPA </th></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + அ</td> <td lang="ta">க</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ka</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kʌ]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + ஆ</td> <td lang="ta">கா</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kā</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kɑː]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + இ</td> <td lang="ta">கி</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ki</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ki]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + ஈ</td> <td lang="ta">கீ</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kī</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kiː]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + உ</td> <td lang="ta">கு</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ku</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ku]</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kɯ]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + ஊ</td> <td lang="ta">கூ</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kū</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kuː]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + எ</td> <td lang="ta">கெ</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ke</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ke]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + ஏ</td> <td lang="ta">கே</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kē</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[keː]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + ஐ</td> <td lang="ta">கை</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kai</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kʌj]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + ஒ</td> <td lang="ta">கொ</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ko</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ko]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + ஓ</td> <td lang="ta">கோ</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kō</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[koː]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td lang="ta">க் + ஔ</td> <td lang="ta">கௌ</td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kau</i></span></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kʌʋ]</span> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i>Aidam</i> is also known as <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">தனிநிலை</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">taṉinilai</i></span> (stand alone). The <i>aidam</i> is always preceded by a single short letter (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">தனிக்குறில்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">taṉikkuṟil</i></span>) and followed by a hard alphasyllabic letter (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">வல்லின உயிர்மெய்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">valliṉa uyirmey</i></span>). It takes half unit time for pronunciation. </p><p><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">Uyiraḷapeṭai</i></span> (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">உயிரளபெடை</span></span>) and <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">Oṟṟaḷapeṭai</i></span> (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">ஒற்றளபெடை</span></span>) are formed by elongating the duration of pronunciation of a letter to satisfy certain grammatical rules while composing poetry. In <i>Uyiralapetai</i>, the intrinsic vowel of the letter that is elongated is written next to it, to indicate that the letter now is pronounced for 3 units of time. </p><p>In <i>Kutriyalukaram</i>, the duration of the short 'u' letters of <i>vallinam</i> category (கு, சு, டு, து, பு, று) is reduced to half units, when the letter is found at the end of the word, preceded by multiple letters or a single <i>nedil</i>(long) letter. </p><p>If a word with <i>kutriyalikaram</i> is followed by a word with 'ய'(ya) as the first letter, the <i>u</i> sound is corrupted to <i>i</i> sound and takes a half unit of time for pronunciation. </p><p>In <i>Aikarakurukkam</i> and <i>Aukarakurukkam</i>, the duration of the letters ஐ and ஔ are reduced to 1 1/2 units if they are the first letters of the word. If situated elsewhere it is reduced to 1 unit. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Vanjiyar">Vanjiyar</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Vanjiyar"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In Tamil, a single letter standing alone or multiple letters combined form a word. Tamil is an <a href="/wiki/Agglutinative_language" title="Agglutinative language">agglutinative language</a> – words consist of a <a href="/wiki/Lexeme" title="Lexeme">lexical root</a> to which one or more <a href="/wiki/Affix" title="Affix">affixes</a> are attached. </p><p>Most Tamil affixes are <a href="/wiki/Suffix" title="Suffix">suffixes</a>. These can be <i><a href="/wiki/Derivation_(linguistics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Derivation (linguistics)">derivational</a> suffixes</i>, which either change the part of speech of the word or its meaning, or <i><a href="/wiki/Inflection" title="Inflection">inflectional</a> suffixes</i>, which mark categories such as <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_person" title="Grammatical person">person</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_number" title="Grammatical number">number</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_mood" title="Grammatical mood">mood</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_tense" title="Grammatical tense">tense</a>, etc. There is no absolute limit on the length and extent of <a href="/wiki/Agglutination" title="Agglutination">agglutination</a>, which can lead to long words with a large number of suffixes, which would require several words or a sentence in English. To give an example, the word <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">pōkamuṭiyātavarkaḷukkāka</i></span> (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">போகமுடியாதவர்களுக்காக</span></span>) means "for the sake of those who cannot go", and consists of the following <a href="/wiki/Morpheme" title="Morpheme">morphemes</a>: </p> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" style="margin:auto;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="text-align:center;"><i>pōka</i> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><i>muṭi</i> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><i>y</i> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><i>āta</i> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><i>var</i> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><i>kaḷ</i> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><i>ukku</i> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><i>āka</i> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>go</b> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td><b>be possible (impersonal)</b> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><b>epenthetic approximant letter<br /><i>breaks illegal diphthongs</i></b> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><b>negation<br />(impersonal)</b> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><b>nominalizer<br /><i>he/she who does</i></b> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><b>plural marker</b> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><b>to</b> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td> <td style="text-align:center;"><b>for</b> </td> <td>  </td> <td>  </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Words formed as a result of the agglutinative process are often difficult to translate. <i>Today Translations</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> a <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">British</a> translation service, ranks the Tamil word <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">செல்லாதிருப்பவர்</span></span> (<span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">sellātiruppavar</i></span>, meaning a certain type of <a href="/wiki/Truancy" title="Truancy">truancy</a>) as number 8 in their <i><a href="/wiki/Words_hardest_to_translate" class="mw-redirect" title="Words hardest to translate">The Most Untranslatable Word In The World</a></i> list. </p><p>In Tamil, words are classified into four categories namely, </p> <ul><li>Nouns <i>Peyarsol</i></li> <li>Verbs <i>Vinaisol</i></li> <li>Particles and Pre-/Postpositions <i>Idaisol</i></li> <li>Adjective and Adverbs <i>Urisol</i></li></ul> <p>All categories of nouns are declinable. Verbs are conjugated to indicate person, tense, gender, number and mood. The other two classes are indeclinable. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Nouns">Nouns</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Nouns"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The nouns stand for the names of objects both animate and inanimate, and abstract concepts. Nouns are the collections of names of animate/inanimate objects (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">பொருட்பெயர்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">poruṭpeyar</i></span>), places (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">இடப்பெயர்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">iṭappeyar</i></span>), concepts of time (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">காலப்பெயர்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kālappeyar</i></span>), names of limbs of animate/inanimate objects (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">சினைப்பெயர்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ciḷaippeyar</i></span>), qualitative nouns (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">பண்புப்பெயர்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">paṇpuppeyar</i></span>) and verbal nouns (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">தொழிற்பெயர்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">toḷiṟpeyar</i></span>). </p><p><i>Nouns of place</i> stands for both conceptual names like <i>town</i>, <i>village</i>, <i>heaven</i> and real names like <i>New York</i>, <i>Amsterdam</i>. </p><p><i>Nouns of time</i> includes units of time, names of days of the week, names of months and seasons. </p><p><i>Nouns of quality</i> includes the nature and quality of the abstract and tangible objects. Example: names of tastes, shape, quantity, etc. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Rationality">Rationality</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Rationality"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The nouns are divided into two main classes based on rationality: The "high class" (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">உயர்திணை</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">uyartiṇai</i></span>), and the "lower class" (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">அஃறிணை</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">aḵṟiṇai</i></span>). </p><p>All the rational beings fall under the category of "high class". Examples could be Adult humans and deities. All the irrational beings and inanimate objects fall under the "lower class". Examples could be animals, birds, plants and things. Since children are considered to be irrational, the word "child" <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">குழந்தை</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">kuḻantai</i></span> is considered "lower class" or neuter. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Noun_inflection">Noun inflection</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Noun inflection"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Nouns are inflected based on number and grammatical case, of which there are 9: <a href="/wiki/Nominative_case" title="Nominative case">nominative case</a>, <a href="/wiki/Accusative_case" title="Accusative case">accusative case</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dative_case" title="Dative case">dative case</a>, <a href="/wiki/Instrumental_case" title="Instrumental case">instrumental case</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sociative_case" title="Sociative case">sociative case</a>, <a href="/wiki/Locative_case" title="Locative case">locative case</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ablative_case" title="Ablative case">ablative case</a>, <a href="/wiki/Genitive_case" title="Genitive case">genitive case</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Vocative_case" title="Vocative case">vocative case</a>. If the plural is used, the noun is inflected by suffixing the noun stem with first the plural marker <i>-kaḷ</i>, and then with the case suffix, if any. Otherwise, if the singular is used, the noun is instead inflected by suffixing either the noun stem with the case suffix, or the oblique stem with the case suffix. An optional euphonic increment <i>-iṉ</i> or <i>-aṉ</i> can occur before the case suffix. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <caption> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>case </th> <th>suffix </th></tr> <tr> <td><b>nominative</b> </td> <td><i>-∅</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>accusative</b> </td> <td><i>-ai</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>instrumental</b> </td> <td><i>-āl, -(aik) koṇṭu</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>sociative</b> </td> <td><i>-ōṭu, -uṭaṉ</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>dative</b> </td> <td><i>-(uk)ku, -iṉ poruṭṭu, -iṉ nimittam</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>ablative</b> </td> <td><i>-il(ē) iruntu [irrational], -iṭam iruntu [rational], -iṉiṉṟu</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>genitive</b> </td> <td><i>-atu, -uṭaiya</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>locative</b> </td> <td><i>-il(ē) [irrational], -iṭam [rational]</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>vocative</b> </td> <td><i>-ē</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><b>benefactive</b> </td> <td><i>-(u)kkāka</i> </td></tr></tbody></table> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Nominative_Case">Nominative Case</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Nominative Case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The nominative case is used for the subject of an intransitive verb, the agent of a transitive verb, the predicate of a nominal sentence, and subject and object complements. It is the base form of the noun with no suffix. </p> <dl><dd><table> <tbody><tr> <td><i>Kumār māṇavaṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar (is) (a) student." </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Kumār māṇavaṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar becomes (a) student." </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Katavu tiṟanatu.</i></td> <td>"The door opened." </td></tr></tbody></table></dd></dl> <p>It can also be used to mark the direct object when it is indefinite and irrational. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Accusative_Case">Accusative Case</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Accusative Case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The accusative case marks the direct object of a transitive verb. It is marked by the suffix <i>-ai</i>. It is required when the direct object is rational. When used with irrational nouns, the accusative must be used when the direct object is definite. When an irrational direct object is indefinite, the nominative is used instead, unless there is an explicit indefinite determiner present, in which case either the nominative or accusative may be used. </p> <dl><dd><table> <tbody><tr> <td><i>Kumār paiyan<b>ai</b> pārtāṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar sees <b>a/the boy.</b>"</td> <td>(rational direct object, the accusative must be used regardless of definiteness) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Nāṉ eṉ cāviy<b>ai</b> tolaittēṉ.</i></td> <td>"I lost <b>my key</b>."</td> <td>(irrational direct object, the possessive pronoun <i>eṉ</i> makes the noun definite, the accusative must be used) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Nāṉ cāviy<b>ai</b> tolaittēṉ.</i></td> <td>"I lost <b>the key</b>."</td> <td>(irrational direct object, the accusative shows the noun is definite) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Nāṉ cāvi tolaittēṉ.</i></td> <td>"I lost <b>a key</b>."</td> <td>(irrational direct object, the nominative shows the noun is indefinite) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Nāṉ oru cāvi(y<b>ai</b>) tolaittēṉ.</i></td> <td>"I lost <b>a key</b>."</td> <td>(irrational direct object, the determiner <i>oru</i> makes the noun explicitly indefinite, accusative is optional) </td></tr></tbody></table></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Dative_Case">Dative Case</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Dative Case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The dative case is marked with <i>-ukku</i>, <i>-kku</i>, or <i>-ku</i>. It expresses an indirect object, a goal of motion, a purpose, or an experiencer. </p> <dl><dd><table> <tbody><tr> <td><i>Kumār appāv<b>ukku</b> oru paṭattai kāṭiṉāṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar shows <b>father</b> a picture."</td> <td>(indirect object) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Kumār ūr<b>ukku</b> pōṉāṉ</i></td> <td>"Kumar went <b>to a town</b>."</td> <td>(goal of motion, in this sense restricted to inanimate nouns) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Kumār tāṉ uṭampu<b>kku</b> ṭāṉik cāppiṭukiṟāṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar takes tonic <b>for his health</b>."</td> <td>(purpose) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Kumār<b>ukku</b> oru vīṭu vēnṭum.</i></td> <td>"<b>Kumar</b> wants a house."</td> <td>(experiencer) </td></tr> </tbody></table></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Instrumental_Case">Instrumental Case</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Instrumental Case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The instrumental case is shown with <i>-āl</i>. It marks the instrument, means, source, or reason by which an action occurs. </p> <dl><dd><table> <tbody><tr> <td><i>Kumār kattiy<b>āl</b> paḻattai veṭṭiṉāṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar cuts the fruit <b>with a knife</b>." </td></tr> </tbody></table></dd></dl> <p>It also marks the agent in passive constructions. </p> <dl><dd><table> <tbody><tr> <td><i>Kumār appāv<b>āl</b> aṭikkappaṭṭāṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar was beaten <b>by father</b>." </td></tr> </tbody></table></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Sociative_Case">Sociative Case</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Sociative Case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The sociative case is marked with either <i>ōṭu</i> or <i>-uṭaṉ</i>. It shows that the noun it modifies is involved in the action of the sentence. </p> <dl><dd><table> <tbody><tr> <td><i>Kumār taṉ maṉaiviy<b>ōṭu</b> vantāṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar came <b>with his wife</b>." </td></tr> </tbody></table></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Locative_Case">Locative Case</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Locative Case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The locative case is marked with either <i>-il</i> or <i>-iṭam</i>. <i>-il</i> occurs with inanimate nouns and plural animate nouns, while <i>iṭam</i> occurs with animate nouns in both numbers. It shows location. </p> <dl><dd><table> <tbody><tr> <td><i>Kurivi maratt<b>il</b> uṭkārkiṟatu.</i></td> <td>"The bird is sitting <b>on the tree</b>." </td></tr> </tbody></table></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Ablative_Case">Ablative Case</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Ablative Case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The ablative case is expressed through the suffix <i>-iruntu</i> added onto the locative of a noun. It marks motion away from something. </p> <dl><dd><table> <tbody><tr> <td><i>Kumār maratt<b>iliruntu</b> viḻuntāṉ.</i></td> <td>"Kumar fell <b>from the tree</b>." </td></tr> </tbody></table></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Oblique_Stems">Oblique Stems</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Oblique Stems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The oblique stem of a noun is used before adding case suffixes, as a modifier in genitive function before a head noun, as the first element of a compound, and before postpositions. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <caption>Oblique Stem Formation<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th rowspan="2">Rule </th> <th colspan="2">Tamil </th> <th rowspan="2">English </th> <th rowspan="2">Notes </th></tr> <tr> <th>Nominative </th> <th>Oblique </th></tr> <tr> <th>0 </th> <td><i>peyar</i> </td> <td><i>peyar-</i> </td> <td>name </td> <td>No change. The nominative is identical to the oblique stem. Most Tamil words belong to this group. </td></tr> <tr> <th>1 </th> <td><i>maram</i> </td> <td><i>maratt(u)-</i> </td> <td>tree </td> <td>Final <i>-am</i> is replaced with <i>-att(u)</i>. </td></tr> <tr> <th>2 </th> <td><i>pala</i> </td> <td><i>palavaṟṟ(u)-</i> </td> <td>many </td> <td>Consists of only five words. The suffix <i>-aṟṟ(u)</i> is added to the end of the word. </td></tr> <tr> <th>3 </th> <td><i>vīṭu</i> </td> <td><i>vīṭṭ(u)-</i> </td> <td>house </td> <td>The consonant in the last syllable <i>-ṭu</i> or <i>-ṟu</i> is doubled, yielding <i>-ṭṭ(u)</i> or <i>-ṟṟ(u)</i>. This applies to all words that end in <i>-ṭu</i> or <i>-ṟu</i>, except those consisting of two short syllables. </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Genders_and_number">Genders and number</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Genders and number"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The grammatical gender of Tamil nouns corresponds to their natural sex. Nouns in Tamil have two numbers, singular and plural. </p><p>Grammatical gender, known as <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">பா</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">pā</i></span> in Tamil, encompasses both the concepts of gender and number. Masculine and feminine genders are only applicable to "higher class" nouns. Even though the genders of animals are marked in a sentence (e.g.: <span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">பெண் நாய்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">peṇ nāy</i></span> "female, dog"), grammatically they are handled as a neuter noun. Thus there are five genders in Tamil, namely, masculine singular (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">ஆண்பால்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">āṇpāl</i></span>), feminine singular (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">பெண்பால்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">peṇpāl</i></span>), high-class plural (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">பலர்பால்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">palarpāl</i></span>), lower-class singular (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">ஒன்றன்பால்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">oṉṟaṉpāl</i></span>), lower-class plural (<span title="Tamil-language text"><span lang="ta">பலவின்பால்</span></span> <span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">palaviṉpāl</i></span>). These are summarized in the table below. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"> <caption>peyarccol (Name-words) </caption> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th colspan="3">rational </th> <th colspan="2">irrational </th></tr> <tr> <td>Class </td> <td>Male </td> <td>Female </td> <td>Collective </td> <td>One </td> <td>Many </td></tr> <tr> <td>Example: "doer" </td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ceytavaṉ</i></span><br />He who did </td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ceytavaḷ</i></span><br />She who did </td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ceytavar</i></span><br />They who did </td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ceytatu</i></span><br />That which did </td> <td><span title="ISO 15919 Indic (Tamil language) transliteration"><i lang="ta-Latn">ceytavai</i></span><br />Those which did </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Pronouns">Pronouns</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Pronouns"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Demonstratives_and_Interrogatives">Demonstratives and Interrogatives</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Demonstratives and Interrogatives"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable floatright"> <tbody><tr> <th>இவன் <br /> <i>ivan</i> </th> <td>he, who is near to the 1st person </td> <td>near deixis, demonstrative particle </td></tr> <tr> <th>உவன் <br /> <i>uvan</i> </th> <td>he, who is near to the 2nd person </td> <td>distant deixis, demonstrative particle </td></tr> <tr> <th>அவன் <br /> <i>avan</i> </th> <td>he, who is near to the 3rd person or someone not present </td> <td>distant deixis, demonstrative particle </td></tr> <tr> <th>எவன் <br /> <i>evan</i> </th> <td>who? (male singular) </td> <td>interrogative particle </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In Tamil, the demonstrative particles are <i>a</i>- (அ), <i>i</i>- (இ), and <i>u</i>- (உ) (archaic and has fallen out of use, except in Sri Lankan dialects). These demonstrative particles display deictic properties. <i>i</i>- (இ) is a near deixis form, which demonstrates the objects around/near the first person, while <i>a</i>- (அ) has distant deixis form, which demonstrates things near the 3rd person. <i>u</i>- (உ) was used to indicate objects near the second person, but has gradually fallen out of use. In modern Tamil <i>i</i>- (இ) indicates objects nearer and <i>a</i>- (அ) indicates objects in a distance. Using these particles demonstrative pronouns are derived. The same set of pronouns is also used as personal pronouns in 3rd person. e.g. <i>avan</i> (he), <i>atu</i> (that object/being), <i>anta</i> (that) </p><p><i>e</i>- (எ) and <i>yā-</i> யா are the two important interrogative particles in Tamil. <i>e</i>- (எ) is used for deriving the interrogative pronouns. e.g. <i>evaṉ</i> (which one, 3rd person singular masculine), <i>enta</i> (which), <i>etaṟku</i> (for what?) </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Personal_pronouns">Personal pronouns</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Personal pronouns"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>First person plural pronouns in Tamil, distinguish between <a href="/wiki/Clusivity" title="Clusivity">inclusive and exclusive we</a>. In Tamil, plural terminators are used for honorific addressing. It could be noted in both 2nd and 3rd persons. There are unique personal pronouns available for first and second persons while demonstrative pronouns are used in place of personal pronouns as well. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2">Pronoun </th> <th rowspan="2">English <br /> Translation </th> <th rowspan="2">Person / Gender / Number </th></tr> <tr> <th>Nominative </th> <th>Oblique </th></tr> <tr> <td>நான் <br /> <i>nāṉ</i> </td> <td>என் <br /> <i>eṉ</i> </td> <td>I </td> <td>1st / neutral / singular </td></tr> <tr> <td>நாம் <br /> <i>nām</i> </td> <td>நம் <br /> <i>nam</i> </td> <td>Inclusive we </td> <td>1st / neutral / plural </td></tr> <tr> <td>நாங்கள் <br /> <i>nāṅkaḷ</i> </td> <td>எங்கள் <br /> <i>eṅkaḷ</i> </td> <td>Exclusive we </td> <td>1st / neutral / plural </td></tr> <tr> <td>நீ <br /> <i>nī</i> </td> <td>உன் <br /> <i>uṉ</i> </td> <td>you </td> <td>2nd / neutral / singular </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2">நீங்கள் <br /> <i>nīṅkaḷ</i> </td> <td rowspan="2">உங்கள் <br /> <i>uṅkaḷ</i> </td> <td>honorific singular you </td> <td>2nd / neutral / singular </td></tr> <tr> <td>you </td> <td>2nd / neutral / plural </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2">அவன் / இவன் <br /> <i>avaṉ / ivaṉ</i> </td> <td>he </td> <td>3rd / Masculine / singular </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2">அவள் / இவள் <br /> <i>avaḷ / ivaḷ</i> </td> <td>she </td> <td>3rd / Feminine / singular </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" rowspan="2">அவர் / இவர் <br /> <i>avar / ivar</i> </td> <td>Honorific he/she </td> <td>3rd / neutral / singular </td></tr> <tr> <td>they (low class) </td> <td>3rd / neutral / plural </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2">அவர்கள் / இவர்கள் <br /> <i>avarkaḷ/ivarkaḷ</i> </td> <td>they (high class) </td> <td>3rd / neutral / plural </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2">அது / இது <br /> <i>atu / itu</i> </td> <td>it (animals and objects) </td> <td>3rd / neuter / singular </td></tr> <tr> <td>அவை / இவை <br /> <i>avai / ivai</i> </td> <td>அவற்று / இவற்று <br /> <i>avaṟṟu / ivaṟṟu</i> </td> <td>they (animals and objects) </td> <td>3rd / neuter / plural </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Verbs">Verbs</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Verbs"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Like Tamil nouns, Tamil <a href="/wiki/Verb" title="Verb">verbs</a> are also inflected through the use of suffixes. A typical Tamil verb form will have a number of <a href="/wiki/Suffix" title="Suffix">suffixes</a>, which show <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_person" title="Grammatical person">person</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_number" title="Grammatical number">number</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_mood" title="Grammatical mood">mood</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_tense" title="Grammatical tense">tense</a> and <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_voice" class="mw-redirect" title="Grammatical voice">voice</a>, as is shown by the following example <i>aḻintukkoṇṭiruntēṉ</i> (அழிந்துக்கொண்டிருந்தேன்) "(I) was being destroyed": </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"> <tbody><tr> <th scope="row">Morphemes </th> <td><i>aḻi</i> </td> <td><i>-ntu</i> </td> <td><i>(k)koṇṭiru</i> </td> <td><i>-nt-</i> </td> <td><i>-ēn</i> </td></tr> <tr> <th scope="row" rowspan="2">Functions </th> <td>root (base) </td> <td>tense-voice marker </td> <td>aspect marker </td> <td>tense marker </td> <td>person-number-gender marker </td></tr> <tr> <td>"to be destroyed" </td> <td>affective voice; past (absolutive) </td> <td>progressive aspect </td> <td>past tense </td> <td>first person,<br />singular </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Person and number are indicated by <a href="/wiki/Suffix" title="Suffix">suffixing</a> the <a href="/wiki/Oblique_case" title="Oblique case">oblique case</a> of the relevant <a href="/wiki/Pronoun" title="Pronoun">pronoun</a> (<i>ēṉ</i> in the above example). The suffixes to indicate tenses and voice are formed from <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_particle" title="Grammatical particle">grammatical particles</a>, which are added to the stem. The chart below outlines the most common set of suffixes used to conjugate for person and tense, but different groups of Tamil verbs may use other sets of suffixes or have irregularities.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <table class="wikitable"> <caption>Tamil Verb Classes </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>Class</th> <th>Root (Example)</th> <th>Past</th> <th>Present</th> <th>Future </th></tr> <tr> <td>I</td> <td>cey "to do"</td> <td>-t- (ceyt-)</td> <td>-kiṟ- (ceykiṟ-)</td> <td>-v- (ceyv-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>II</td> <td>mīḷ "to be redeemed"</td> <td>-ṇṭ- (mīṇṭ-)</td> <td>-kiṟ- (mīḷkiṟ-)</td> <td>-v- (mīḷv-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>III</td> <td>kol "to kill"</td> <td>-ṉṟ- (koṉṟ-)</td> <td>-kiṟ- (kolkiṟ-)</td> <td>-v- (kolv-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>IV</td> <td>vaḷar "to grow (intr.)"</td> <td>-nt- (vaḷarnt-)</td> <td>-kiṟ- (vaḷarkiṟ-)</td> <td>-v- (vaḷarv-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>V</td> <td>pāṭu "to sing"</td> <td>-i[ṉ]- (pāṭi[ṉ]-)</td> <td>-kiṟ- (pāṭukiṟ-)</td> <td>-v- (pāṭuv-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>VI</td> <td>pōṭu "to place"</td> <td>-ṭṭ- (pōṭṭ-)</td> <td>-kiṟ- (pōṭukiṟ-)</td> <td>-v- (pōṭuv-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>VII</td> <td>uṇ "to eat"</td> <td>-ṭ- (uṇṭ-)</td> <td>-kiṟ- (uṇkiṟ-)</td> <td>-p- (uṇp-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>VIII</td> <td>tiṉ "to eat"</td> <td>-ṟ- (tiṉṟ-)</td> <td>-kiṟ- (tiṉkiṟ-)</td> <td>-p- (tiṉp-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>IX</td> <td>kēḷ "to hear, listen, ask"</td> <td>-ṭṭ- (kēṭṭ-)</td> <td>-ṭkiṟ- (kēṭkiṟ-)</td> <td>-ṭp- (kēṭp-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>X</td> <td>vil "to sell"</td> <td>-ṟṟ- (viṟṟ-)</td> <td>-ṟkiṟ- (viṟkiṟ-)</td> <td>-ṟp- (viṟp-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>XI</td> <td>vaḷar "to grow (tr.)"</td> <td>-tt- (vaḷartt-)</td> <td>-kkiṟ- (vaḷarkkiṟ-)</td> <td>-pp- (vaḷarpp-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>XII</td> <td>paṟa "to fly (intr.)"</td> <td>-nt- (paṟant-)</td> <td>-kkiṟ- (paṟakkiṟ-)</td> <td>-pp- (paṟapp-) </td></tr> <tr> <td>XIII (irregular)</td> <td>cā "to die"</td> <td>– (cett-)</td> <td>– (cākiṟ-)</td> <td>– (cāv-) </td></tr></tbody></table> <table class="wikitable"> <caption>Tamil Personal Terminations </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>Person</th> <th>Singular </th> <th>Honorary <p>Singular </p> </th> <th>Plural </th></tr> <tr> <td>1st</td> <td colspan="2">-ēṉ</td> <td>-ōm </td></tr> <tr> <td>2nd</td> <td>-āy </td> <td colspan="2">-īrkaḷ </td></tr> <tr> <td>3rd masc.</td> <td>-āṉ </td> <td rowspan="2">-ār</td> <td rowspan="2">-ārkaḷ </td></tr> <tr> <td>3rd fem.</td> <td>-āḷ </td></tr> <tr> <td>3rd neu.</td> <td colspan="2">-atu<sup>1</sup></td> <td>-aṉa<sup>2</sup> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><sup>1</sup>Class five verbs take -iṟṟu added directly to the root (-iṉ + -tu). In the future, -um is added directly to the root of verbs in Classes I through VIII, whereas -um replaces the -iṟ- in the present stem to form the future of verbs in Classes IX through XIII (and no termination is added afterwards). </p><p><sup>2</sup>This suffix takes an irregular present in -kiṉṟ-/-kkiṉṟ- before it. The -um future (see directly above) can be used in the plural, as well. </p><p>Tamil has three simple <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_tense" title="Grammatical tense">tenses</a> – past, present, and future – indicated by simple suffixes, and a series of perfects, indicated by compound suffixes. Mood is implicit in Tamil, and is normally reflected by the same <a href="/wiki/Morpheme" title="Morpheme">morphemes</a> which mark tense categories. These signal whether the happening spoken of in the verb is unreal, possible, potential, or real. Tamil verbs also mark <a href="/wiki/Evidentiality" title="Evidentiality">evidentiality</a>, through the addition of the hearsay <a href="/wiki/Clitic" title="Clitic">clitic</a> <i><span title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit transliteration"><i lang="sa-Latn">ām</i></span>.</i><sup id="cite_ref-steeverevidentiality_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-steeverevidentiality-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Tamil has two <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_voice" class="mw-redirect" title="Grammatical voice">voices</a>. The first - used in the example above - indicates that the subject of the sentence <i>undergoes</i> or <i>is the object of</i> the action named by the verb stem, and the second indicates that the subject of the sentence <i>directs</i> the action referred to by the verb stem. These voices are not equivalent to the notions of <i><a href="/wiki/Transitivity_(grammatical_category)" class="mw-redirect" title="Transitivity (grammatical category)">transitivity</a></i> or <i><a href="/wiki/Causality" title="Causality">causation</a></i>, or to the <a href="/wiki/Active_voice" title="Active voice">active</a>-<a href="/wiki/Passive_voice" title="Passive voice">passive</a> or reflexive-nonreflexive division of voices found in <a href="/wiki/Indo-European_language_family" class="mw-redirect" title="Indo-European language family">Indo-European languages</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Auxiliaries">Auxiliaries</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Auxiliaries"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Tamil has no <a href="/wiki/Article_(grammar)" title="Article (grammar)">articles</a>. Definiteness and indefiniteness are indicated either by context or by special grammatical devices, such as using the number "one" as an indefinite article. In the first person plural, Tamil makes a distinction between <a href="/wiki/Clusivity" title="Clusivity">inclusive</a> pronouns that include the listener and exclusive pronouns that do not. Tamil does not distinguish between <a href="/wiki/Adjective" title="Adjective">adjectives</a> and <a href="/wiki/Adverb" title="Adverb">adverbs</a> – both fall under the category <i>uriccol</i>. <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_conjunction" class="mw-redirect" title="Grammatical conjunction">Conjunctions</a> are called <i>iṭaiccol</i>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Auxiliary_verb" title="Auxiliary verb">Verb auxiliaries</a> are used to indicate <i><a href="/wiki/Attitude_(psychology)" title="Attitude (psychology)">attitude</a></i>, a <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_category" title="Grammatical category">grammatical category</a> which shows the state of mind of the speaker, and his attitude about the event spoken of in the verb. Common attitudes include <a href="/wiki/Pejorative" title="Pejorative">pejorative</a> opinion, <a href="/wiki/Antipathy" title="Antipathy">antipathy</a>, relief felt at the conclusion of an unpleasant event or period, and unhappiness at or apprehension about the eventual result of a past or continuing event. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sentence_structure">Sentence structure</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Sentence structure"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Except in poetry, the subject precedes the object, and the verb concludes the sentence. In a standard sentence, therefore, the order is usually <a href="/wiki/Subject%E2%80%93object%E2%80%93verb" class="mw-redirect" title="Subject–object–verb">subject–object–verb</a> (SOV), but <a href="/wiki/Object%E2%80%93subject%E2%80%93verb" class="mw-redirect" title="Object–subject–verb">object–subject–verb</a> is also common. </p><p>Tamil is a <a href="/wiki/Null-subject_language" title="Null-subject language">null-subject language</a>. Not all Tamil sentences have subjects, verbs and objects. It is possible to construct valid sentences that have only a verb, such as <i>muṭintuviṭṭatu</i> (முடிந்துவிட்டது, "It is completed"), or only a subject and object, such as <i>atu eṉ vīṭu</i> (அது என் வீடு, "That is my house"). </p><p>The elements that are present, however, must follow the SOV order. Tamil does not have an equivalent for the existential verb <i>to be</i>; it is included in the translations only to convey the meaning. The negative existential verb, <i>to be not</i>, however, does exist in the form of <i>illai</i> (இல்லை) and goes at the end of the sentence (and does not change with number, gender, or tense). The verb <i>to have</i> in the meaning "to possess" is not translated directly, either. To say "I have a horse" in Tamil, a construction equivalent to "There is a horse to me" or "There exists a horse to me", is used. </p><p>Tamil lacks <a href="/wiki/Relative_pronoun" title="Relative pronoun">relative pronouns</a>, but their meaning is conveyed by relative participle constructions, built using agglutination. For example, the English sentence "Call the boy who learned the lesson" is said in Tamil like "That-lesson-learned-boy call". </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Example">Example</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Example"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A sample passage in Tamil script with transliteration. </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1209690778">.mw-parser-output .interlinear .bold{font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .interlinear .smallcaps{text-transform:uppercase;font-size:smaller}</style><div class="interlinear" style="margin-left:2em"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">ஆசிரியர்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">Āciriyar</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">வகுப்புக்குள்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">vakuppukkuḷ</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">நுழைந்தார்.</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">nuḻaintār.</p></div><p style="display: none;">ஆசிரியர் வகுப்புக்குள் நுழைந்தார்.</p><p style="display: none;">Āciriyar vakuppukkuḷ nuḻaintār.</p><p style="clear: left;">The teacher entered the classroom.</p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778"><div class="interlinear" style="margin-left:2em"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">அவர்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">Avar</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">உள்ளே</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">uḷḷē</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">நுழைந்தவுடன்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">nuḻaintavuṭaṉ</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">மாணவர்கள்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">māṇavarkaḷ</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">எழுந்தனர்.</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">eḻuntaṉar.</p></div><p style="display: none;">அவர் உள்ளே நுழைந்தவுடன் மாணவர்கள் எழுந்தனர்.</p><p style="display: none;">Avar uḷḷē nuḻaintavuṭaṉ māṇavarkaḷ eḻuntaṉar.</p><p style="clear: left;">As soon as he entered, the students got up.</p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778"><div class="interlinear" style="margin-left:2em"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">வளவன்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">Vaḷavaṉ</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">மட்டும்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">maṭṭum</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">தன்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">taṉ</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">அருகில்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">arukil</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">நின்று</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">niṉṟu</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">கொண்டிருந்த</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">koṇṭirunta</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">மாணவி</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">māṇavi</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">கனிமொழியுடன்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">Kaṉimoḻiyuṭaṉ</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">பேசிக்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">pēcik</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">கொண்டிருந்தான்.</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">koṇṭiruntāṉ.</p></div><p style="display: none;">வளவன் மட்டும் தன் அருகில் நின்று கொண்டிருந்த மாணவி கனிமொழியுடன் பேசிக் கொண்டிருந்தான்.</p><p style="display: none;">Vaḷavaṉ maṭṭum taṉ arukil niṉṟu koṇṭirunta māṇavi Kaṉimoḻiyuṭaṉ pēcik koṇṭiruntāṉ.</p><p style="clear: left;">Only Vaḷavaṉ was talking to Kaṉimoḻi who was standing next to him.</p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778"><div class="interlinear" style="margin-left:2em"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">நான்</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">Nāṉ</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">அவனை</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">avaṉai</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="tam" style="margin: 0px;">எச்சரித்தேன்.</p><p lang="tam-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">eccarittēṉ.</p></div><p style="display: none;">நான் அவனை எச்சரித்தேன்.</p><p style="display: none;">Nāṉ avaṉai eccarittēṉ.</p><p style="clear: left;">I warned him.</p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> <table class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"> <tbody><tr> <th>Word (romanised)</th> <th>Translation</th> <th>Morphemes</th> <th>Part of speech </th> <th>Person, Gender, Tense</th> <th>Case</th> <th>Number </th> <th>Remarks </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>āciriyar</i></td> <td>teacher</td> <td><i>āciriyar</i></td> <td>noun </td> <td>n/a, gender-neutral, n/a</td> <td>nominative</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Honorific" title="Honorific">honorific</a> plural indicated by suffix <b>ar</b> </td> <td>The feminine gender <i>āciriyai</i> can be used here too; the masculine gender <i>āciriyaṉ</i> is rarely used, considering the honored position of the teacher </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>vakuppukkuḷ </i></td> <td>inside the class room</td> <td>vakuppu+aRai<br />+uL</td> <td>adverb </td> <td>n/a</td> <td>locative</td> <td>n/a </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Sandhi" title="Sandhi">Sandhi</a> (called <i>puṇarci</i> in Tamil) rules in Tamil require euphonic changes during <a href="/wiki/Agglutination" title="Agglutination">agglutination</a> (such as the introduction of <i>y</i> in this case) </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>nuḻaintār</i></td> <td>entered</td> <td><i>nuḻaintār</i></td> <td>verb </td> <td>third, gender-neutral, past</td> <td></td> <td>honorific plural </td> <td>In an honorific context, the masculine and feminine equivalents nuḻaint<b>āṉ</b> and nuḻaint<b>āḷ</b> are replaced by the collective nuḻaint<b>ār</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>avar</i></td> <td>He</td> <td><i>avar</i></td> <td>pronoun </td> <td>third, gender-neutral, n/a</td> <td>nominative</td> <td>honorific plural indicated by suffix <b>ar</b> </td> <td>In honorific contexts, the masculine and feminine forms <i>avaṉ</i> and <i>avaḷ</i> are not used </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>uḷḷē</i></td> <td>inside</td> <td><i>uḷḷē</i></td> <td>adverb </td> <td>n/a</td> <td></td> <td>n/a </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>nuḻaintavuṭaṉ</i></td> <td>upon entering</td> <td><i>nuḻainta</i> +<br /> <i>uṭaṉ</i></td> <td>adverb </td> <td>n/a</td> <td></td> <td>n/a </td> <td>Sandhi rules require a <i>v</i> to be inserted between an end-vowel and a beginning-<i>u</i> during <a href="/wiki/Agglutination" title="Agglutination">agglutination</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>māṇavarkaḷ</i></td> <td>students</td> <td><i>māṇavarkaḷ</i></td> <td>collective noun </td> <td>n/a, masculine, often used with gender-neutral connotation, n/a</td> <td>nominative</td> <td>plural indicated by suffix <b>kaḷ</b> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>eḻunkaṉar</i></td> <td>got up</td> <td><i>eḻunkaṉar</i></td> <td>verb </td> <td>third, gender-neutral, past</td> <td></td> <td>plural </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Vaḷavaṉ</i></td> <td>VaLavan (name)</td> <td><i>Vaḷavaṉ</i></td> <td>proper noun </td> <td>n/a, masculine, usually indicated by suffix <b>aṉ</b>, n/a</td> <td>nominative</td> <td>singular </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>maṭṭum</i></td> <td>only</td> <td><i>maṭṭum</i></td> <td>adjective </td> <td>n/a</td> <td></td> <td>n/a </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>taṉ</i></td> <td>his (self) own</td> <td><i>taṉ</i></td> <td>pronoun </td> <td>n/a, gender-neutral, n/a</td> <td></td> <td>singular </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>arukil</i></td> <td>near (lit. "in nearness")</td> <td><i>aruku</i> + <i>il</i></td> <td>adverb </td> <td>n/a</td> <td>locative</td> <td>n/a </td> <td>The <a href="/wiki/Postposition" class="mw-redirect" title="Postposition">postposition</a> <i>il</i> indicates the locative case </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>niṉṟu koṇṭirunta</i></td> <td>standing</td> <td><i>niṉṟu</i> + <i>koṇṭu</i> + <i>irunta</i></td> <td>adverb </td> <td>n/a</td> <td></td> <td>n/a </td> <td>The verb has been morphed into an adverb by the incompleteness due to the terminal <b>a</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>māṇavi</i></td> <td>student</td> <td><i>māṇavi</i></td> <td>pronoun </td> <td>n/a, feminine, n/a</td> <td></td> <td>singular </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>Kaṉimoḻiyuṭaṉ</i></td> <td>with Kaṉimoḻi (name of a person)</td> <td><i>Kaṉimoḻi</i> + <i>uṭaṉ</i></td> <td>Proper noun </td> <td>n/a</td> <td>comitative</td> <td>n/a </td> <td>The name <i>Kaṉimoḻi</i> literally means <i>sweet language</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>pēcik koṇṭiruntāṉ</i></td> <td>was talking</td> <td><i>pēci</i> + <i>koṇṭu</i> +<i>iruntāṉ</i></td> <td>verb </td> <td>third, masculine, past continuous</td> <td></td> <td>singular </td> <td>Continuousness indicated by the incompleteness brought by <i>koṇṭu</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>nāṉ</i></td> <td>I</td> <td><i>nāṉ</i></td> <td>pronoun </td> <td>first person, gender-neutral, n/a</td> <td>nominative</td> <td>singular </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>avaṉai</i></td> <td>him</td> <td><i>avanai</i></td> <td>pronoun </td> <td>third, masculine, n/a</td> <td>accusative</td> <td>singular </td> <td>The postposition <i>ai</i> indicates accusative case </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>eccarittēṉ</i></td> <td>cautioned</td> <td><i>eccarittēṉ</i></td> <td>verb </td> <td>first, indicated by suffix <b>-ēn</b>, gender-neutral, past</td> <td></td> <td>singular, plural would be indicated by substituting <i>-ēn</i> with <i>-ōm</i> </td> <td> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>A. H. Arden, <i>A progressive grammar of the Tamil language</i>, 5th edition, 1942.</li></ul> <p><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFSchiffman1998" class="citation book cs1">Schiffman, Harold F. (1998). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Books/Linguistics/Mega%20linguistics%20pack/Dravidian/Tamil%2C%20A%20Reference%20Grammar%20of%20Spoken%20%28Schiffman%29.pdf"><i>A Reference Grammar of Spoken Tamil</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <a href="/wiki/Cambridge_University_Press" title="Cambridge University Press">Cambridge University Press</a>. pp. 20–21. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-64074-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-521-64074-9"><bdi>978-0-521-64074-9</bdi></a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240411095759/https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Books/Linguistics/Mega%20linguistics%20pack/Dravidian/Tamil%2C%20A%20Reference%20Grammar%20of%20Spoken%20%28Schiffman%29.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 11 April 2024.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Reference+Grammar+of+Spoken+Tamil&rft.pages=20-21&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1998&rft.isbn=978-0-521-64074-9&rft.aulast=Schiffman&rft.aufirst=Harold+F.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Ftheswissbay.ch%2Fpdf%2FBooks%2FLinguistics%2FMega%2520linguistics%2520pack%2FDravidian%2FTamil%252C%2520A%2520Reference%2520Grammar%2520of%2520Spoken%2520%2528Schiffman%2529.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATamil+grammar" class="Z3988"></span> </p> <ul><li>Lehmann, Thomas. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/tamil/pdf/modgram.pdf"><i>A Grammar of Modern Tamil</i></a>. Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture, 1989.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-five_parts_grammar-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-five_parts_grammar_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.southasia.upenn.edu/tamil/lit.html">"Five-fold grammar of Tamil"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 June</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Five-fold+grammar+of+Tamil&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.southasia.upenn.edu%2Ftamil%2Flit.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATamil+grammar" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-தொல்19-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-தொல்19_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">வல்லெழுத் தென்ப க ச ட த ப ற.<br />-தொல்காப்பியம் 19</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-தொல்20-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-தொல்20_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">மெல்லெழுத் தென்ப ங ஞ ண ந ம ன.<br />-தொல்காப்பியம் 20</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-தொல்21-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-தொல்21_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">இடையெழுத் தென்ப ய ர ல வ ழ ள.<br />-தொல்காப்பியம் 21</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041012031017/http://www.todaytranslations.com/index.php/fuseaction/home.content/page/press">"Translation company UK, UK translation agency, translation company london, translation services, translation agency, translation jobs, translators, trade transcription"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.todaytranslations.com/index.php/fuseaction/home.content/page/press">the original</a> on 12 October 2004<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">14 April</span> 2005</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Translation+company+UK%2C+UK+translation+agency%2C+translation+company+london%2C+translation+services%2C+translation+agency%2C+translation+jobs%2C+translators%2C+trade+transcription&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.todaytranslations.com%2Findex.php%2Ffuseaction%2Fhome.content%2Fpage%2Fpress&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATamil+grammar" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLehmann1989" class="citation book cs1">Lehmann, Thomas (1989). <i>A Grammar of Modern Tamil</i>. p. 14-19.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Grammar+of+Modern+Tamil&rft.pages=14-19&rft.date=1989&rft.aulast=Lehmann&rft.aufirst=Thomas&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATamil+grammar" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Tamil.html">"Tamil"</a>. Languagesgulper.com<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">14 April</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Tamil&rft.pub=Languagesgulper.com&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.languagesgulper.com%2Feng%2FTamil.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATamil+grammar" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-steeverevidentiality-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-steeverevidentiality_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSteever2002" class="citation book cs1">Steever, Sanford B. (2002). "Direct and indirect discourse in Tamil". In Güldemann, Tom; von Roncador, Manfred (eds.). <i>Reported Discourse: A Meeting Ground for Different Linguistic Domains</i>. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 91–108. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/90-272-2958-9" title="Special:BookSources/90-272-2958-9"><bdi>90-272-2958-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Direct+and+indirect+discourse+in+Tamil&rft.btitle=Reported+Discourse%3A+A+Meeting+Ground+for+Different+Linguistic+Domains&rft.place=Amsterdam&rft.pages=91-108&rft.pub=John+Benjamins+Publishing+Company&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=90-272-2958-9&rft.aulast=Steever&rft.aufirst=Sanford+B.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATamil+grammar" class="Z3988"></span> at p. 105.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style 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src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg/40px-Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg/60px-Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg/80px-Wikibooks-logo-en-noslogan.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="400" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: <i><b><a href="https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Tamil" class="extiw" title="wikibooks:Tamil">Tamil</a></b></i></div></div> </div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1235681985"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1237033735"><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" 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and languages</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist 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abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Tamil_language" title="Template:Tamil language"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Tamil_language" title="Template talk:Tamil language"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Tamil_language" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Tamil language"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Tamil_language" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language">Tamil language</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">History</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Old_Tamil" title="Old Tamil">Old Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Tamil" title="Middle Tamil">Middle Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modern_Tamil" class="mw-redirect" title="Modern Tamil">Modern Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manipravalam" title="Manipravalam">Manipravalam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proto-Dravidian_language" title="Proto-Dravidian language">Proto-Dravidian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proto-South_Dravidian_language" title="Proto-South Dravidian language">Proto-South Dravidian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_Sangams" class="mw-redirect" title="Tamil Sangams">Tamil Sangams</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Sangam" class="mw-redirect" title="First Sangam">First Sangam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Second_Sangam" class="mw-redirect" title="Second Sangam">Second Sangam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Third_Sangam" class="mw-redirect" title="Third Sangam">Third Sangam</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Dialects</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">Indian</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bangalore_Tamil_dialects" title="Bangalore Tamil dialects">Bangalore Tamil dialects</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Tamil_dialect" title="Central Tamil dialect">Central Tamil dialect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kongu_Tamil" title="Kongu Tamil">Kongu Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Madras_Bashai" title="Madras Bashai">Madras Bashai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Madurai_Tamil" title="Madurai Tamil">Madurai Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nellai_Tamil" class="mw-redirect" title="Nellai Tamil">Nellai Tamil</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Tamil_dialects" title="Sri Lankan Tamil dialects">Sri Lankan</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Negombo_Tamil_dialect" title="Negombo Tamil dialect">Negombo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Batticaloa_Tamil_dialect" title="Batticaloa Tamil dialect">Batticaloa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jaffna_Tamil_dialect" title="Jaffna Tamil dialect">Jaffna</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">Southeast Asian</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Malaysian_Tamil" title="Malaysian Tamil">Malaysian Tamil</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">Sociolects</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brahmin_Tamil" title="Brahmin Tamil">Brahmin Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arwi" title="Arwi">Arwi</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Global organizations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/World_Tamil_Conference" title="World Tamil Conference">World Tamil Conference</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/World_Classical_Tamil_Conference_2010" title="World Classical Tamil Conference 2010">World Classical Tamil Conference 2010</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Literature</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">Classics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sangam_literature" title="Sangam literature">Sangam literature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_books_of_Law" title="Tamil books of Law">Tamil books of Law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Five_Great_Epics_of_Tamil_Literature" class="mw-redirect" title="The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature">Five Great Epics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ponniyin_Selvan" title="Ponniyin Selvan">Ponniyin Selvan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Sangam_poets" title="List of Sangam poets">List of Sangam poets</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Commentaries_in_Tamil_literary_tradition" title="Commentaries in Tamil literary tradition">Commentaries in Tamil literary tradition</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">Devotional<br />literature</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Umaru_Pulavar#Literary_works" title="Umaru Pulavar">Cīrappurānam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ramavataram" title="Ramavataram">Kampa Irāmāyaṉam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Naalayira_Divya_Prabhandham" class="mw-redirect" title="Naalayira Divya Prabhandham">Nālāyira Tivviya Pirapantam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thembavani" title="Thembavani">Tēmpāvaṉi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tirumurai" title="Tirumurai">Tirumurai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tirumuruk%C4%81%E1%B9%9F%E1%B9%9Fuppa%E1%B9%ADai" title="Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai">Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thiruppugal" class="mw-redirect" title="Thiruppugal">Thiruppugal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thiruvilaiyadal_Puranam" title="Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam">Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vinayagar_Agaval" title="Vinayagar Agaval">Vinayagar Agaval</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Tamil_literature_works_about_Ganesha" title="List of Tamil literature works about Ganesha">Tamil Ganaptya texts</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">Poetry</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kural_(poetic_form)" title="Kural (poetic form)">Kural</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Venpa" title="Venpa">Venpa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iraichchi" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraichchi">Iraichchi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Akam_(poetry)" title="Akam (poetry)">Akam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Puram_(poetry)" class="mw-redirect" title="Puram (poetry)">Puram</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thinai" class="mw-redirect" title="Thinai">Thinai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ullurai" title="Ullurai">Ullurai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ula_(poetry)" title="Ula (poetry)">Ulā</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">Grammars and<br />dictionaries</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Agattiyam" title="Agattiyam">Agattiyam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nann%C5%ABl" class="mw-redirect" title="Nannūl">Nannūl</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Purapporul_Venbamaalai" title="Purapporul Venbamaalai">Purapporul Venbamaalai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tolk%C4%81ppiyam" title="Tolkāppiyam">Tolkāppiyam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_literature#Vijayanagar_and_Nayak_period" title="Tamil literature">Caturakarāti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_Lexicon_dictionary" title="Tamil Lexicon dictionary">Tamil Lexicon dictionary</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">History</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Yalpana_Vaipava_Malai" title="Yalpana Vaipava Malai">Yāḻpāna Vaipava Mālai</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;font-weight:normal;">Mathematics and<br />natural science</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Asthana_Kolahalam" title="Asthana Kolahalam">Asthana Kolahalam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ka%E1%B9%87akkatik%C4%81ram" title="Kaṇakkatikāram">Kaṇakkatikāram</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ka%E1%B9%87ita_T%C4%ABpikai" title="Kaṇita Tīpikai">Kaṇita Tīpikai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yerambam" title="Yerambam">Yerambam</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Tamil and<br /> other languages</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Tamil_origin" class="mw-redirect" title="List of English words of Tamil origin">English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Sinhala_words_of_Tamil_origin" title="List of Sinhala words of Tamil origin">Sinhala</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indo-Aryan_loanwords_in_Tamil" title="Indo-Aryan loanwords in Tamil">Indo-Aryan languages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dravidian_languages" title="Dravidian languages">Dravidian languages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_loanwords_in_Malay" title="List of loanwords in Malay">Malay</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dravido-Korean_languages" title="Dravido-Korean languages">Korean</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Scripts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Megalithic_graffiti_symbols" title="Megalithic graffiti symbols">Megalithic graffiti symbols</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil-Brahmi" title="Tamil-Brahmi">Tamil-Brahmi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kolezhuthu" class="mw-redirect" title="Kolezhuthu">Koleḻuttu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vatteluttu_alphabet" class="mw-redirect" title="Vatteluttu alphabet">Vatteluttu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pallava_grantha" class="mw-redirect" title="Pallava grantha">Pallava grantha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_script" title="Tamil script">Modern script</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_Braille" title="Tamil Braille">Tamil Braille</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arwi" title="Arwi">Arwi</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Lexis and<br /> grammar</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Tamil grammar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_honorifics" title="Tamil honorifics">Tamil honorifics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_numerals" title="Tamil numerals">Tamil numerals</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Phonology</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_phonology" title="Tamil phonology">Tamil phonology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_onomatopoeia" title="Tamil onomatopoeia">Tamil onomatopoeia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_prosody" title="Tamil prosody">Tamil prosody</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Transliteration</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/ISO_15919" title="ISO 15919">ISO</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mozhi_(transliteration)" title="Mozhi (transliteration)">Moḻi</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Events</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Standardisation_of_Tamil_script" title="Standardisation of Tamil script">Standardisation of Tamil script</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tanittamil_Iyakkam" title="Tanittamil Iyakkam">Tanittamil Iyakkam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Simplified_Tamil_script" title="Simplified Tamil script">Simplified Tamil script</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Printing_in_Tamil_language" title="Printing in Tamil language">Printing in Tamil language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamil_Heritage_Foundation" title="Tamil Heritage Foundation">Ancient manuscript digitalisation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Institute_of_Classical_Tamil" title="Central Institute of Classical Tamil">Formation of CICT</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Madurai" title="Project Madurai">Project Madurai</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Grammars_of_specific_South_Asian_languages" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Grammars_of_South_Asian_languages" title="Template:Grammars of South Asian languages"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Grammars_of_South_Asian_languages" title="Template talk:Grammars of South Asian languages"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Grammars_of_South_Asian_languages" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Grammars of South Asian languages"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Grammars_of_specific_South_Asian_languages" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Grammars of specific <a href="/wiki/Languages_of_South_Asia" title="Languages of South Asia">South Asian languages</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Indo-Aryan_languages" title="Indo-Aryan languages">Indo-Aryan</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bengali_grammar" title="Bengali grammar">Bengali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bhojpuri_grammar" title="Bhojpuri grammar">Bhojpuri</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gujarati_grammar" title="Gujarati grammar">Gujarati</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hindustani_grammar" title="Hindustani grammar">Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maithili_grammar" title="Maithili grammar">Maithili</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marathi_grammar" title="Marathi grammar">Marathi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nepali_grammar" title="Nepali grammar">Nepali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Odia_grammar" title="Odia grammar">Odia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Punjabi_grammar" title="Punjabi grammar">Punjabi</a></li> <li><b>Sanskrit</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sanskrit_grammar" title="Sanskrit grammar">Classical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vedic_Sanskrit_grammar" title="Vedic Sanskrit grammar">Vedic</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Dravidian_languages" title="Dravidian languages">Dravidian</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kannada_grammar" title="Kannada grammar">Kannada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malayalam_grammar" title="Malayalam grammar">Malayalam</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telugu_grammar" title="Telugu grammar">Telugu</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Sino-Tibetan_languages" title="Sino-Tibetan languages">Sino-Tibetan</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kokborok_grammar" title="Kokborok grammar">Kokborok</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mizo_grammar" title="Mizo grammar">Mizo</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Iranian_languages" title="Iranian languages">Iranian</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pashto_grammar" title="Pashto grammar">Pashto</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Grammars_of_the_world&#039;s_languages" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_grammars" title="Template:Language grammars"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Language_grammars" title="Template talk:Language grammars"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Language_grammars" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Language grammars"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Grammars_of_the_world&#039;s_languages" class="wraplinks" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Grammar" title="Grammar">Grammars</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Lists_of_languages" title="Lists of languages">world's languages</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_phonologies" title="Template:Language phonologies">Phonologies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_orthographies" title="Template:Language orthographies">Orthographies</a></li> <li><b>Grammars</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_adjectives" title="Template:Language adjectives">Adjectives</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_determiners" title="Template:Language determiners">Determiners</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_nouns" title="Template:Language nouns">Nouns</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_prepositions" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Language prepositions">Prepositions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_pronouns" title="Template:Language pronouns">Pronouns</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Language_verbs" title="Template:Language verbs">Verbs</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Indo-European_languages" title="Indo-European languages">Indo-European</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Germanic_languages" title="Germanic languages">Germanic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Afrikaans_grammar" title="Afrikaans grammar">Afrikaans</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Danish_grammar" title="Danish grammar">Danish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dutch_grammar" title="Dutch grammar">Dutch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_grammar" title="English grammar">English</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Old_English_grammar" title="Old English grammar">Old</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Faroese_grammar" title="Faroese grammar">Faroese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_grammar" title="German grammar">German</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Icelandic_grammar" title="Icelandic grammar">Icelandic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norwegian_language#Grammar" title="Norwegian language">Norwegian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Old_Norse_morphology" title="Old Norse morphology">Old Norse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Colognian_grammar" title="Colognian grammar">Ripuarian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Swedish_grammar" title="Swedish grammar">Swedish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Frisian_grammar" title="West Frisian grammar">West Frisian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yiddish_grammar" title="Yiddish grammar">Yiddish</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Celtic_languages" title="Celtic languages">Celtic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Breton_grammar" title="Breton grammar">Breton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cornish_grammar" title="Cornish grammar">Cornish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Irish_grammar" title="Irish grammar">Irish</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Old_Irish_grammar" title="Old Irish grammar">Old</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manx_grammar" title="Manx grammar">Manx</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic_grammar" title="Scottish Gaelic grammar">Scottish Gaelic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_grammar" title="Welsh grammar">Welsh</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Colloquial_Welsh_morphology" title="Colloquial Welsh morphology">colloquial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Literary_Welsh_morphology" title="Literary Welsh morphology">literary</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Italic_languages" title="Italic languages">Italic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Catalan_grammar" title="Catalan grammar">Catalan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dalmatian_grammar" title="Dalmatian grammar">Dalmatian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_grammar" title="French grammar">French</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Istro-Romanian_grammar" title="Istro-Romanian grammar">Istro-Romanian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Italian_grammar" title="Italian grammar">Italian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Latin_grammar" title="Latin grammar">Latin</a></li> <li>Lombard <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Lombard_grammar" title="Eastern Lombard grammar">Eastern</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Western_Lombard_grammar" title="Western Lombard grammar">Western</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portuguese_grammar" title="Portuguese grammar">Portuguese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romanian_grammar" title="Romanian grammar">Romanian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_grammar" title="Spanish grammar">Spanish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Venetian_grammar" title="Venetian grammar">Venetian</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Baltic_languages" title="Baltic languages">Baltic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Latvian_grammar" title="Latvian grammar">Latvian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_grammar" title="Lithuanian grammar">Lithuanian</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Slavic_languages" title="Slavic languages">Slavic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Belarusian_grammar" title="Belarusian grammar">Belarusian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bulgarian_grammar" title="Bulgarian grammar">Bulgarian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Czech_language#Grammar" title="Czech language">Czech</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Macedonian_grammar" title="Macedonian grammar">Macedonian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Old_Church_Slavonic_grammar" title="Old Church Slavonic grammar">Old Church Slavonic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish_grammar" title="Polish grammar">Polish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russian_grammar" title="Russian grammar">Russian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Silesian_grammar" title="Silesian grammar">Silesian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Serbo-Croatian_grammar" title="Serbo-Croatian grammar">Serbo-Croatian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slovak_language#Morphology" title="Slovak language">Slovak</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slovene_grammar" title="Slovene grammar">Slovene</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slovincian_grammar" title="Slovincian grammar">Slovincian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ukrainian_grammar" title="Ukrainian grammar">Ukrainian</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Iranian_languages" title="Iranian languages">Iranian</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kurdish_grammar" title="Kurdish grammar">Kurdish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pashto_grammar" title="Pashto grammar">Pashto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Persian_grammar" title="Persian grammar">Persian</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tajik_grammar" title="Tajik grammar">Tajik</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Indo-Aryan_languages" title="Indo-Aryan languages">Indo-Aryan</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bengali_grammar" title="Bengali grammar">Bengali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bhojpuri_grammar" title="Bhojpuri grammar">Bhojpuri</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gujarati_grammar" title="Gujarati grammar">Gujarati</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hindustani_grammar" title="Hindustani grammar">Hindustani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maithili_grammar" title="Maithili grammar">Maithili</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marathi_grammar" title="Marathi grammar">Marathi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nepali_grammar" title="Nepali grammar">Nepali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Odia_grammar" title="Odia grammar">Odia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Punjabi_grammar" title="Punjabi grammar">Punjabi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sanskrit_grammar" title="Sanskrit grammar">Sanskrit</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Vedic_Sanskrit_grammar" title="Vedic Sanskrit grammar">Vedic</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Albanian_language#Grammar" title="Albanian language">Albanian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modern_Greek_grammar" title="Modern Greek grammar">Greek</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Greek_grammar" title="Ancient Greek grammar">Ancient</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Koine_Greek_grammar" title="Koine Greek grammar">Koine</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hittite_grammar" title="Hittite grammar">Hittite</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Uralic_languages" title="Uralic languages">Uralic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Estonian_grammar" title="Estonian grammar">Estonian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Finnish_grammar" title="Finnish grammar">Finnish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hungarian_grammar" title="Hungarian grammar">Hungarian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ingrian_grammar" title="Ingrian grammar">Ingrian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Komi_grammar" title="Komi grammar">Komi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Livonian_grammar" title="Livonian grammar">Livonian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Udmurt_grammar" title="Udmurt grammar">Udmurt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Me%C3%A4nkieli_grammar" title="Meänkieli grammar">Meänkieli</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Turkic_languages" title="Turkic languages">Turkic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kazakh_language#Morphology_and_syntax" title="Kazakh language">Kazakh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kyrgyz_language#Morphology_and_syntax" title="Kyrgyz language">Kyrgyz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tatar_language#Grammar" title="Tatar language">Tatar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkish_grammar" title="Turkish grammar">Turkish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkmen_grammar" title="Turkmen grammar">Turkmen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Uyghur_grammar" title="Uyghur grammar">Uyghur</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Uzbek_language#Grammar" title="Uzbek language">Uzbek</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yakut_language#Grammar" title="Yakut language">Yakut</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other <a href="/wiki/Languages_of_Europe" title="Languages of Europe">European</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abkhaz_language#Grammar" title="Abkhaz language">Abkhaz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adyghe_grammar" title="Adyghe grammar">Adyghe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Basque_grammar" title="Basque grammar">Basque</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Georgian_grammar" title="Georgian grammar">Georgian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kabardian_grammar" title="Kabardian grammar">Kabardian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Laz_grammar" title="Laz grammar">Laz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mingrelian_grammar" title="Mingrelian grammar">Mingrelian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ubykh_grammar" title="Ubykh grammar">Ubykh</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Afroasiatic_languages" title="Afroasiatic languages">Afroasiatic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arabic_grammar" title="Arabic grammar">Arabic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Central_Atlas_Tamazight_grammar" title="Central Atlas Tamazight grammar">Central Atlas Tamazight</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modern_Hebrew_grammar" title="Modern Hebrew grammar">Hebrew</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Hebrew_grammar" title="History of Hebrew grammar">Historical</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kabyle_grammar" title="Kabyle grammar">Kabyle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Levantine_Arabic_grammar" title="Levantine Arabic grammar">Levantine Arabic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Somali_grammar" title="Somali grammar">Somali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tigrinya_grammar" title="Tigrinya grammar">Tigrinya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ugaritic_grammar" title="Ugaritic grammar">Ugaritic</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Niger%E2%80%93Congo_languages" title="Niger–Congo languages">Niger–Congo</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fula_language#Morphology" title="Fula language">Fula</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pular_grammar" title="Pular grammar">Pular</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Otjiherero_grammar" title="Otjiherero grammar">Herero</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sesotho_grammar" title="Sesotho grammar">Sotho</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Swahili_grammar" title="Swahili grammar">Swahili</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zulu_grammar" title="Zulu grammar">Zulu</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Dravidian_languages" title="Dravidian languages">Dravidian</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kannada_grammar" title="Kannada grammar">Kannada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malayalam_grammar" title="Malayalam grammar">Malayalam</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Tamil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telugu_grammar" title="Telugu grammar">Telugu</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Japonic_languages" title="Japonic languages">Japonic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Japanese_grammar" title="Japanese grammar">Japanese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Classical_Japanese_grammar" class="mw-redirect" title="Classical Japanese grammar">Classical Japanese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Okinawan_language#Grammar" title="Okinawan language">Okinawan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hachij%C5%8D_grammar" title="Hachijō grammar">Hachijō</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Sino-Tibetan_languages" title="Sino-Tibetan languages">Sino-Tibetan</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Burmese_grammar" title="Burmese grammar">Burmese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cantonese_grammar" title="Cantonese grammar">Cantonese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Classical_Chinese_grammar" title="Classical Chinese grammar">Classical Chinese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dzongkha_grammar" title="Dzongkha grammar">Dzongkha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kokborok_grammar" title="Kokborok grammar">Kokborok</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_grammar" title="Chinese grammar">Mandarin Chinese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mizo_grammar" title="Mizo grammar">Mizo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modern_Standard_Tibetan_grammar" class="mw-redirect" title="Modern Standard Tibetan grammar">Tibetan</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Austroasiatic_languages" title="Austroasiatic languages">Austroasiatic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Khmer_grammar" title="Khmer grammar">Khmer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vietnamese_grammar" title="Vietnamese grammar">Vietnamese</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Kra%E2%80%93Dai_languages" title="Kra–Dai languages">Kra–Dai</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Has_Hlai_grammar" title="Has Hlai grammar">Has Hlai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lao_grammar" title="Lao grammar">Lao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thai_language#Grammar" title="Thai language">Thai</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other <a href="/wiki/East_Asia" title="East Asia">East Asian</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Evenki_grammar" title="Evenki grammar">Evenki</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Korean_grammar" title="Korean grammar">Korean</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mongolian_language#Grammar" title="Mongolian language">Mongolian</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Austronesian_languages" title="Austronesian languages">Austronesian</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cebuano_grammar" title="Cebuano grammar">Cebuano</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hawaiian_grammar" title="Hawaiian grammar">Hawaiian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ilocano_grammar" title="Ilocano grammar">Ilocano</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malay_grammar" title="Malay grammar">Malay</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tagalog_grammar" title="Tagalog grammar">Tagalog</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Algic_languages" title="Algic languages">Algic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Massachusett_grammar" title="Massachusett grammar">Massachusett</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Munsee_grammar" title="Munsee grammar">Munsee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ojibwe_grammar" title="Ojibwe grammar">Ojibwe</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Uto-Aztecan_languages" title="Uto-Aztecan languages">Uto-Aztecan</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nahuatl#Morphology_and_syntax" title="Nahuatl">Nahuatl</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Classical_Nahuatl_grammar" title="Classical Nahuatl grammar">Classical</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nawat_grammar" title="Nawat grammar">Nawat</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other <a href="/wiki/Indigenous_languages_of_the_Americas" title="Indigenous languages of the Americas">Native American</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cherokee_language#Grammar" title="Cherokee language">Cherokee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inuit_grammar" title="Inuit grammar">Inuit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Miskito_grammar" title="Miskito grammar">Miskito</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Navajo_grammar" title="Navajo grammar">Navajo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Otomi_grammar" title="Otomi grammar">Otomi</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Sign_language" title="Sign language">sign</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/American_Sign_Language_grammar" title="American Sign Language grammar">American</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Artistic_language" title="Artistic language">artistic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Klingon_grammar" title="Klingon grammar">Klingon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Na%CA%BCvi_grammar" title="Naʼvi grammar">Naʼvi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quenya_grammar" class="mw-redirect" title="Quenya grammar">Quenya</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/International_auxiliary_language" title="International auxiliary language">auxiliary</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Esperanto_grammar" title="Esperanto grammar">Esperanto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interlingua_grammar" title="Interlingua grammar">Interlingua</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interlingue_grammar" title="Interlingue grammar">Interlingue</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lingua_Franca_Nova_grammar" title="Lingua Franca Nova grammar">Lingua Franca Nova</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other <a href="/wiki/Constructed_languages" class="mw-redirect" title="Constructed languages">constructed</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lojban_grammar" title="Lojban grammar">Lojban</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&oldid=1250816759">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tamil_grammar&oldid=1250816759</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a 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