Language/Telugu/Grammar/Tenses

Telugu → Grammar → Tenses

As a Telugu language teacher with 20 years of experience, I am excited to introduce you to the Telugu tenses. Understanding verb tenses is crucial for effective communication in any language. In this lesson, you will learn about the different Telugu tenses and their usage in sentences.

Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: Subject, Object, and Verb & Negative and Interrogative Sentences.

What are Telugu Tenses?

Telugu tenses indicate when an action or event took place. Like English, Telugu also has three primary tenses: past, present, and future. Telugu verbs change according to the tense to convey the correct meaning of the sentence.

Telugu Verb Conjugation

The basic structure of Telugu verbs is similar to that of English verbs. A Telugu verb consists of a root form that is modified by adding prefixes or suffixes to indicate tense, aspect, and mood. The root form of a Telugu verb does not change, except in rare cases.

The present tense of Telugu verbs is formed by adding '-u' or '-utunnanu' to the root form for singular and plural subjects, respectively. The past tense is formed by adding '-di' or '-du' to the root form for singular and plural subjects, respectively. The future tense is formed by adding '-istunnanu' to the root form for both singular and plural subjects.

Telugu Tenses

Present Tense

The present tense shows an action that is happening right now. It is also used to describe habits, customs, or general truths. Below are some examples of the Telugu present tense.

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
నేను కూర్చోను	nēnu kurchōnu	I am sitting
అతను ఒక పాపి అవుతున్నాడు	atanu oka pāpi avutunnādu	He is a sinner
మీరు అది చేస్తారు	mīru adi cēstāru	You do that

Past Tense

The past tense shows an action that has already happened. It is also used to describe a habitual action in the past. Below are some examples of the Telugu past tense.

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
నేను కూర్చుంది	nēnu kūrcundi	I was sitting
అతను ఒక పాపి అయిపోయాడు	atanu oka pāpi ayipōyādu	He became a sinner
మీరు అది చేసారు	mīru adi cēsāru	You did that

Future Tense

The future tense shows an action that will happen in the future. It is also used to indicate an action in the present with a future time reference. Below are some examples of the Telugu future tense.

Telugu	Pronunciation	English
నేను కూర్చుకోసం ఉంటాను	nēnu kūrcukōsaṁ uṇṭānu	I will be sitting
అతను ఒక పాపి అయిపోతుందాడు	atanu oka pāpi ayipōtundādu	He will become a sinner
మీరు అది చేస్తారని ఉన్నారు	mīru adi cēstārani unnāru	You will do that

Conclusion

In this lesson, you learned about the Telugu tenses and how to use them in sentences. Understanding the tenses is crucial for effective communication in Telugu. Remember to practice using these tenses in your daily conversations. Stay tuned for the next lesson on Telugu adjectives.

Upon wrapping up this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Question Formation & Advanced Verbs.

Other Lessons

• Nouns and Pronouns
• Nouns
• Verbs
• Questions
• Prepositions
• Gender
• Future Tense
• Conjunctions
• How to Use Be

Sources

• How to learn tenses in telugu | Tenses in telugu | learn english ...
• Tenses In Telugu - Apps on Google Play
• Tenses In Telugu, All Tenses In 40 Minutes, How to learn Tenses in ...