Language/Malayalam/Grammar/Future-Tense

Malayalam Grammar - Future Tense

Hi Malayalam learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about the future tense in Malayalam. The future tense is used to indicate actions that will take place in the future. By the end of this lesson, you will have a good understanding of how to form sentences in the future tense. Let's get started!

Formation of Future Tense

To form the future tense in Malayalam, we use the present tense form of the verb "to go" (പോകുക). We add the infinitive verb to the end of "to go". The infinitive verb is the base form of a verb that has not been conjugated. For example, to say "I will speak", we would say "ഞാൻ പോകുക പറയുക" (njaan pokuk parayuk). Here, "പറയുക" (parayuk) is the infinitive form of the verb "to speak".

Let's see some more examples in the table below:

Malayalam	Pronunciation	English
ഞാൻ പോകുക ചെയ്യും	njaan pokuk cheyyum	I will do
നീ പോകുക കാണും	nee pokuk kaanum	You will see
അവൻ പോകുക വരും	avan pokuk varum	He will come
അവൾ പോകുക പഠിക്കും	aavl pokuk padhikum	She will study
ഞങ്ങൾ പോകുക കഴിയും	njangal pokuk kazhuyum	We will be able to
നിങ്ങൾ പോകുക പറയും	ningal pokuk parayum	You will say
അവർ പോകുക കണ്ടുപിടിക്കും	avar pokuk kandupidiyum	They will find

Using Future Tense with Time Markers

To add time markers to the future tense, we simply place the time expression at the beginning or end of the sentence. For example, to say "I will eat tomorrow", we would say "ഞാൻ നാളെ പോകുക കഴിയും" (njaan naale pokuk kazhiyum). Here, "നാളെ" (naale) means "tomorrow".

Let's see some more examples below:

• ഞാൻ രാത്രി പോകുക കഴിയും (njaan raathri pokuk kazhiyum) - I will go tonight
• നിങ്ങൾ വെള്ളിയാഴ്ച പോകുക കഴിയും (ningal velliyaazhcha pokuk kazhiyum) - You will go on Saturday
• ഞാൻ ഇന്ന് പോകുക വരിക (njaan innu pokuk varika) - I will come today

Future Tense Negation

To form the negative future tense, we use the word "അല്ലെങ്കിൽ" (al̥leŋk̚il̥) before the verb "to go". For example, to say "I will not go", we would say "ഞാൻ പോകുക അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പോകാൻ ഇല്ല" (njaan pokuk alleŋkil pokaaN illa). Here, "പോകാൻ" (pokaan) means "to go" and "ഇല്ല" (illa) means "not".

Let's see some more examples below:

• നിങ്ങൾ പോകുക അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പറയാൻ ഇല്ല (ningal pokuk alleŋkil parayaan illa) - You will not go or say
• ഞാൻ പോകുക അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പ്രാര്‍ത്ഥനയിലേക്ക് പോയേക്കാൻ ഇല്ല (njaan pokuk alleŋkil prarthanayilekk poyekkaan illa) - I will not go or go for prayer

Dialogue

Person 1: നിങ്ങൾ നാളെ പോകുക കോളേജുകൾ കഴിയുംഎന്നു കരുതുന്നു (ningal naale pokuk kolezhukal kazhiyum ennu karuthunnu) - You think you will go to college tomorrow? Person 2: അതെ, ഞാൻ നിന്നെ കൊണ്ടുവരും (athe, njaan ninne konduvarum) - Yes, I will come with you. Person 1: അവൻ ഒരു വർഷം പിന്തുണച്ചിട്ടുണ്ടോ? (avan oru varsham pinthunachchittundo?) - Has he made plans for a year from now? Person 2: അതെ, അവൻ നിങ്ങൾക്ക് ഒരു സിനിമക്ക് കാത്തിരിക്കും (athe, avan ningalkku oru sinimakku kaathirikkum) - Yes, he will take you guys to a movie.

Culture and Interesting Facts

In Malayalam culture, it is a common practice to use the future tense to politely request someone to do something. For example, instead of saying "നിങ്ങൾ സാമീപ്യം സഹായം ചെയ്യാമോ?" (ningal saameepayam sahaayam cheyyaamo?) which means, "Can you please help me?", one can say "നിങ്ങൾ സാമീപ്യം സഹായിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യും" (ningal saameepayam sahaayikkum kazhiyum), which means "You will help me and do me a favor".

It is important to note that Malayalam does not have a grammatical equivalent of the English word "will" or "shall". Malayalam speakers use the present tense form of the verb "to go" to denote future tense. This can be quite tricky for non-native speakers to remember.

To improve your Malayalam Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Malayalam Language
• Future Tense on Wikipedia

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