Language/Tamil/Grammar/Pronouns

Tamil Pronouns

Pronouns (Simple sentences)

	Singluar		Plural
1st Person	நான்	I	நாம்	we (listener included)
			நாங்கள்	we (listener not included)
2nd Person	நீ	you	நீங்கள்	you
	நீங்கள்	you (with respect)
3rd person	அவன்	he	அவர்கள்	they
	அவள்	she
	அவர்	he/she (respect)
	அது	it	அவை	they ("those things")

Singular and Plural

• The singular means that a word refers to only one thing.

• The plural means that a word refers to more than one thing.

First, Second and Third Person

First person speech means that the person speaking is talking about him/herself as an individual (“I…”) or as a group (“we…”). In Tamil, நாம் is used when the person being spoken to is included in the group. (“Are we there yet?”) நாங்கள் is used when the person being spoken to is not included. ("We saw a bear! You missed it.")

Second-person speech means talking about the person you're talking to. (“Who are you?”) நீங்கள் is used for a group of people, as well as a single person who receives respect.

Third person speech means that the speaker is talking with someone about someone else. (“He's good.” “They're smart.”) அவர் is used to refer to a person who receives respect. அது refers to everything that is not a person (place, thing, idea). அவை is used to refer to more than a place, thing, or idea, such as 9 dogs or 5 tables.

Simple Sentences

There is no way to translate "is" in Tamil, and there is no translation for "is" in simple sentences. So if you want to make a simple and informative statement, just combine the two words without a verb. Ex:

• அவர் காவல்காரன் = "He's a policeman."

You can also use numbers to describe what it is referred to. There is a word for "a" / "an", which is ஒரு. Ex:

• அவர்கள் ஐந்து ஆசிரியர்கள் = "They are 5 teachers."
• நான் ஒரு பையன் = "I am a boy."

Technicalities

If you want to say something like "It's red" you will have to wait until you get to Adjectives and Adverbs. In English, the words "is" and "are" are called linking verbs. A linking verb reformulates the subject (அவர்) with the predicate noun (காவல்காரன்). In other words, அவர் = காவல்காரன். The word "red" in "It's red" is a predicate adjective and is said differently in Tamil.

Pronouns (More complex sentences)

1st person, 2nd person (singular & plurals)

First person, Second person of singular and plurals are similar to English:

	First person	Second person
Singular	I =  நான் – Naan	You  =  நீ – ni
Plural	We = நாங்கள் (NaangkaL) or நாம் (Naam)	You = நீங்கள் – niingkaL

3rd person (singular & plurals)

It becomes more complex with third person singular and plurals: 

In English, we say “he went here” and “he went there”. No confusion about distance – whether it is here or there, “He” is always “He”. 

However, Tamil distinguishes “he” in two forms:

• if he is close to you, “He” = இவன் (ivan)
• if he is away from you, “He” = அவன் (avan)! 

Similarly, “She”, “They”, and “It” also have two variations.

We can summarize it in the table given below:

Pronoun	If close to you	If away from you
He	இவன் (Ivan)	அவன் (avan)
She	இவள் (ivaL)	அவள் (avaL)
They (uyarthiNai)	இவர்கள் (ivarkaL)	அவர்கள் (avarkaL)
It	இது (ithu) remember ,this resembles “this”	அது (athu) remember, this resembles “that”
They (ahriNai)	இவை (ivai) can be compared with “these”	அவை (avai) can be compared with “those”

Now, I can imagine the confusion on your face – “What does uyarthiNai and ahriNai means?”.

The Tamil language divides all creatures into two groups:

1. உயர்திணை (uyarthiNai)
2. அஃறிணை (ahriNai) 

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உயர்திணை literally (high caste) humans are known as uyarthiNai. Supernatural living beings like gods, demons are also considered as uyarthiNai.

• Eg: ஆசிரியர் (aasiriyar – teacher), தாய் (thaay – Mom) தந்தை (thanthai – dad), சிறுவன் (Siruvan – Boy)

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அஃறிணை (litt. other than high caste) = dead, non-viable and all living beings except humans are known as ahrinai.

• Eg: மாடு (maadu – Cow), காகம் (kaakam – Crow), புத்தகம் (Puththakam – Book), வீடு (viidu – Home) 

The third person plural அவர்கள்/ இவர்கள் is usually referred to uyarthiNai in Tamil while இவை/அவை referred to ahrinai. 

Summary

Summary of today’s lesson: Tamil differs in mentioning second person and third person singular and plural depending on its distance from us!! Tamil Grammar divides all creatures into two groups – uyarthiNai and ahriNai. Humans, Gods and demons are uyarthiNai while all other creature are ahriNai. Third person plural differs in Tamil depending on their “caste”

Sources

• https://www.learntamil.com
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCPOAP7uI48
• https://fos.cmb.ac.lk/blog/lets-learn-tamil-grammar-introduction-pronouns-lesson-05/