Thamil Paadanool, Chapter 5 by Elango Cheran
Thamil Cases
Thamil Cases
Certain special suffixes in Thamil are known as case suffixes. There are
about 7 case suffixes, and they are only added to nouns. Each has a different
meaning. Examples of the meanings of some case suffixes include "at"/"in",
"for"/"to", and "from". In a setence, words that have case suffixes usually
appear after the noun but before the adverb.
Case Suffixes
Adding case suffixes is the second instance where the word changes
before a suffix is added. The first was when making plural nouns.
Adding Case Suffixes
If the word ends in -L or -W:
add the case suffix using the basic set of suffix addtion rules if:
the word is made of two short letters
the final -L or -W is preceded by a consonant
change -L to l;l; or -W to w;w; and add the case suffix for any other
word
If the word ends in -k;:
drop the -k;, add j;j,; and add the case suffix
Remember that a consonant is a letter that does not have a vowel sound
(e.g. f;, q;, r;, etc.).
The pronouns change uniquely before adding suffix:
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Thamil Paadanool, Chapter 5 by Elango Cheran
Case Suffixes - Word Changes
Change Before Change Before
Word Word
Adding Case Suffix Adding Case Suffix
ehk; ek;-
ehd; vd;-
ehq;fs; vq;fs;-
eP cd;-
ePq;fs; cq;fs;-
ePq;fs; cq;fs;-
mtd; mtd;-
mts; mts;- mtu;fs; mtu;fs;-
mtu; mtu;-
mJ mj;-/ mjd;- mit mtw;W-
Word Change Before Adding Case Suffix
vy;yhk; vy;yhtw;w;-
mJ changes very irregularly when adding case suffixes to it.
See the next lesson about direct objects to see examples of case suffix
rules.
Accusative Case
A direct object is a word that receives action. Another way to think about a
direct object is to find the verb of the sentence, and then ask the question
"Whom or what received the action of the verb?"
In the sentence "I drink water", the word "drink" indicates the action of the
sentence. The action is drinking. To find the direct object, ask the question
"What is being drunk?" The answer is "water". Therefore, "water" is the direct
object of the sentence.
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Thamil Paadanool, Chapter 5 by Elango Cheran
Direct Objects
The direct objects of a sentence add -I to the end of the word.
It is important to remember that the suffix for direct objects is a case suffix.
Therefore, words that end in -L, -W, and -k; add case suffixes according
to different rules than do all other nouns.
Ex:
ehd; goj;ij rhg;gpLfpNwd;. = "I eat fruit."
mtd; kuj;ij ntl;Lthdh? = "Will he cut the tree?"
(In the second example, the word "cut" is the verb, which means it is the
action. To find the direct object, ask "Whom/What is being cut?" Here, it is the
tree, which means it is the direct object.)
Multiple Suffixes
Already, we have seen one difference between case suffixes and other
("non-case") suffixes, which is that words undergo changes before adding
case suffixes. As we will see in later lessons, there is another difference
between these 2 categories of suffixes:
Adding Multiple Suffixes To A Word
When adding more than one suffix to a word, suffixes are given this precedence
when added:
1. Plural suffix
2. Case suffix
3. Other suffixes
Ex:
ehq;fs; fuz;biaAk; fj;jpiaAk; ghu;f;fpNwhk; = "We see the
spoon and the knife."
mtd; kuq;fis ghu;g;ghdh? = "Will he see the trees?"
In the first example, the direct object is a compound, since two things are
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Thamil Paadanool, Chapter 5 by Elango Cheran
being seen. We need to add the case suffix -I for both words since they are
direct objects, and we also need to add the non-case suffix -ck; to both
words since they are a part of a compound phrase. According to the rule, -I
is added first, and then -ck; is added.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to things that are not precisely known. The
characteristics that distinguish and indefinite pronoun from other words is very
subtle. (Thus, at first, understanding indefinite pronouns may be tricky and may
require a little extra effort.) Examples of English indefinite pronouns are:
"anyone", "anything", "everybody", "something", "other", "all", "some".
Two words for "all" were given in Lesson 7 . The context in which vy;NyhUk;
and vy;yhk; were used in Lesson 7 was to end a plural word or list of several
people or several things. The two words were being used as adjectives. Here,
the words will be used as nouns to refer to "all people" or "all things".
Let us take 2 similar sentences:
Can Arasu answer the question?
Can anyone answer the question?
In the first sentence, we are very sure who we are talking about -- Arasu. In
the second sentence, we are not necessarily talking about Arasu. We are only
talking about the person or group of people who can answer the question.
However, we are unsure which people belong to that group. The uncertainty in
the group to which "anyone" refers makes "anyone" an indefinite pronoun.
Just as indefinite pronouns can be formed in English from question words
("whomever", "whatever"), indefinite pronouns are formed in Thamil from
question words. In particular, the question words that are primarily used are
vJ, vq;F, vg;nghOJ, vg;gb, vd;W, vt;tsT, vj;jid, ahu;, vd;d.
For these question words, the following rules apply:
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Thamil Paadanool, Chapter 5 by Elango Cheran
Indefinite Pronoun - "every-"
Add the suffix -ck; to a question word to form a word with all-inclusive
representation.
Ex:
ePq;fs; vq;Fk; NghtPu;fs; = "You will go everywhere"
Indefinite Pronoun - "some-"
Add the suffix -X to a question word to form a word which reflects uncertainty in
the speaker and any observers.
Ex:
mJ vijNah rhg;gpLfpwJ = "It eats something"
Indefinite Pronoun - "any-" / "some-"
Add the suffix -MtJ to a question word to form a word which reflects
uncertainty on the part of the speaker.
Ex:
ahuhtJ NgRfpwhu;fsh? = "Is anyone speaking?"
Final Note On Indefinite Pronouns
In particular, the tricky part is distinguishing in which circumstances
-MtJ or -X should be used. A likely pitfall might be to construct a
thought in English and then attempt to translate this in Thamil. As you can see,
some words in English have multiple, distinct meanings. Furthermore, words
like "whomever", "whatever", etc. don't quite have a translation in Thamil, since
their meaning in the context in which they are used is quite vague anyway.
Once one begins to construct thoughts directly in Thamil, the proper usage of
the words will come more naturally. The more one speaks, Thamil, and
corrects his/her mistakes in Thamil, the easier this subject will become.
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