Language/Tamil/Grammar/That,-This,-and-Question-Words

That, This, and Question Words

In Thamil, asking questions or pointing out objects up close (“this”/ “these”) or objects far away (“that”/ “those”) is very simple. In general, the prefix “அ-” points out objects far away, the prefix “இ-” points out objects up close, and the prefix “எ-” asks “which?” or “what?” about the object.

There are a few groups of words in Thamil that differ only by their prefixes and are related in this way. In addition, the similarity between words in one group is that they refer to the same thing. The chart below categorizes these words.

That		This		What/Which		Relationship
அந்த	that	இந்த	this	எந்த	which?	(adjectives)
அது	that thing	இது	this thing	எது	which thing?	thing
அங்கு	there	இங்கு	here	எங்கு	where?	place
அப்பொழுது	then	இப்பொழுது	now	எப்பொழுது	when?	time
அப்படி	in that manner	இப்படி	in this manner	எப்படி	how?	manner / method
அன்று	that day	இன்று	today	என்று	which day?	day
அவ்வளவு	that much	இவ்வளவு	this much	எவ்வளவு	how much?	amount
அத்தனை	that many	இத்தனை	this many	எத்தனை	how many?	number
அவன்	that boy	இவன்	this boy	எவன்	which boy?	boy
அவள்	that girl	இவள்	this girl	எவள்	which girl?	girl
அவர்	that elder	இவர்	this elder	எவர்	which elder?	elder
அவை	those things	இவை	these things	எவை	which things?	things

Sources

• https://www.learntamil.com/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRIlidS9L4w

Other Lessons

• Negation
• Cases
• Prepositions
• Adjective (பெயரடை)
• Personal Pronouns
• Tamil Finite Verbs Conjugation
• Conditional Mood
• Negatives
• Future Tense எதிர்காலம்
• Past tense
• Adjective and Adverb Relationships
• Plurals
• Plural Noun Suffix Addition
• Present Tense