Language/Tamil/Grammar/Cases
TAMIL Cases
Some special suffixes in Tamil are called case suffixes. There are about 7 case suffixes, and they are only added to names. Each has a different meaning. Examples of meanings of some case suffixes include "to" / "in", "for" / "to" and "from". In a sentence, words that have case suffixes usually appear after the noun but before the adverb.
Case Suffixes
Adding case suffixes is the second case where the word changes before adding a suffix. The first was when creating plural nouns.
Adding Case Suffixes:
- If the word ends in -டு or -று:
- add the case suffix using the [basic set of suffix addtion rules] if:
- the word is made of two short letters
- the final -டு or -று is preceded by a consonant
- change -டு to ட்ட் or -று to ற்ற் and add the case suffix for any other word
- add the case suffix using the [basic set of suffix addtion rules] if:
- If the word ends in -ம்: drop the -ம், add த்த், and add the case suffix
Remember that a consonant is a letter that does not have a vowel (eg க், ங், etc.).
Pronouns change uniquely before adding the suffix:
Case Suffixes - Word Changes | |||
---|---|---|---|
Word | Change before adding case suffix | Word | Change Before Adding Case Suffix |
நான் | என்- | நாம் | நம்- |
நாங்கள் | எங்கள்- | ||
நீ | உந் | நீங்கள் | உங்கள்- |
நீங்கள் | உங்கள்- | ||
அவன் | அவன்- | அவர்கள் | அவர்கள்- |
அவள் | அவள்- | ||
அவர் | அவர்- | ||
அது | அத்-/அதன்- | அவை | அவற்று- |
Word | Change Before Adding Case Suffix | ||
எல்லாம் | எல்லாவற்ற்- |
அது changes very irregularly when adding case suffixes.
See the following lesson on direct objects for examples of case suffix rules.
Videos
Basic Tamil Grammar - வேற்றுமை - Intro to Tamil Cases
Tamil Grammar - முதலாம் வேற்றுமை - Nominative Case
Tamil Grammar - இரண்டாம் வேற்றுமை - Accusative Case
Tamil Grammar - இரண்டாம் வேற்றுமை - Dative Case
Tamil Grammar - இரண்டாம் வேற்றுமை - Genitive Case