Language/Assamese/Grammar/Adjectives
Hi Assamese learners! đ
In this lesson, we will discuss Adjectives in the Assamese language. Adjectives are essential elements of speech that modify or describe nouns or pronouns. Adjectives help us to understand the qualities of the person, place, or thing we are talking about. They are also used to compare two or more things. For example, "The red flower is more beautiful than the white flower."
Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Negation, Future Tense, Questions & Adverbs.
Types of Adjectives[edit | edit source]
In the Assamese language, adjectives are broadly categorized into four different types:
1. āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖ (bôrnô): Color Adjectives 2. āĻā§āĻŖ (gun): Descriptive Adjectives 3. āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŽāĻžāĻĒ (porimÃĄp): Quantitative Adjectives 4. āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ (shômpôrkô): Relative Adjectives
Let's discuss each type of adjective in more detail:
āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖ (bôrnô): Color Adjectives[edit | edit source]
As the name suggests, color adjectives describe the color of the object. In Assamese, color adjectives usually come before the noun. Here are some examples:
Assamese | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ (lal) | lÉËl | Red |
āĻšāĻŋā§°ā§ā§ąāĻ¨ (hirobon) | hi.ÉšÉĘ.Én | Yellow |
āĻ¸ā§°ā§ (suru) | sĘ.ÉšĘ | Pink |
Dialogue:
- Person 1: āĻ¸ā§āĻ āĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ā§ āĻĢā§āĻ˛āĻā§ āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻĒāĻ¯ā§āĻā§āĻ¤āĨ¤ (Sei lali phul-to nejote upayukto.) (That red flower is suitable for decoration.)
- Person 2: āĻšā§āĻ¤ āĻ¸ā§āĻ āĻ¸ā§°ā§ āĻĢā§āĻ˛āĻā§ āĻŦā§āĻāĻŋ āĻĒā§°āĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ āĻ˛āĻžāĻā§āĨ¤ (Hoyot sei suru phul-to beÅi porichit lage.) (Maybe I am more familiar with that pink flower.)
āĻā§āĻŖ (gun): Descriptive Adjectives[edit | edit source]
Descriptive adjectives describe the qualities of an object. In Assamese, these adjectives usually come after the noun. Here are some examples:
Assamese | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻĒā§ā§°ā§āĻŽāĻŦāĻžāĻŖā§ (prembani) | pÉšÉm.bÉÉŗi | Loving |
āĻ¸ā§āĻšāĻžāĻ (sohag) | so.hag | Beautiful/Married |
āĻļāĻā§āĻ¨ā§ (shakuni) | ĘÉ.kĘ.ni | Witty |
Dialogue:
- Person 1: āĻ¸ā§āĻ āĻĒā§ā§°ā§āĻŽāĻŦāĻžāĻŖā§ āĻŽāĻšāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻā§ āĻ¯āĻĨā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻāĻā§āĻā§āĻŦāĻ˛āĨ¤ (Sei prembani mohila-to jathesto ujjol.) (That loving woman is quite bright.)
- Person 2: āĻ¤ā§āĻāĻ āĻŽāĻ¨ā§ā§°āĻŽā§ āĻāĻā§āĨ¤ (Teu monoromi achÊ.) (She is also beautiful.)
āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŽāĻžāĻĒ (porimÃĄp): Quantitative Adjectives[edit | edit source]
Quantitative adjectives describe the number or quantity of the object. They are usually placed before the noun. Here are some examples:
Assamese | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻŦāĻšā§ (bohu) | bÉ.hĘ | Many |
āĻāĻŽ (kom) | kÉm | Few/Less |
āĻā§°āĻžāĻā§ (goraki) | go.Éža.ki | Whole |
Dialogue:
- Person 1: āĻ¤ā§āĻāĻāĻĻā§ā§ąā§° āĻā§°āĻ¤ āĻŦāĻšā§ āĻ¨āĻžāĻā§āĨ¤ (Teu-deuor ghorot bohu natse.) (There are many people dancing in their house.)
- Person 2: āĻļā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻŽāĻ˛ āĻ¸āĻāĻ˛ā§āĻ āĻāĻ āĻāĻā§āĻā§ āĻā§°āĻžāĻā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĨ¤ (Shyamol sakolei ek ekeke goraki jane.) (Everyone knows each other well.)
āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ (shômpôrkô): Relative Adjectives[edit | edit source]
Relative adjectives describe the relationship between two or more objects. In Assamese, they usually come after the noun. Here are some examples:
Assamese | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻš (manuh) | mÉ.nuh | Human |
āĻāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ (uchit) | uchit | Appropriate |
āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ (bhinno) | bĘąinno | Different/Unique |
Dialogue:
- Person 1: āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻš āĻŦāĻŋāĻļā§āĻˇāĻ¤ āĻ¨āĻŋāĻĻāĻžāĻ āĻā§°ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻāĻŦāĻž āĻĒā§ā§°āĻļā§āĻ¨ āĻā§°ā§āĨ¤ (Manuh biseshot nutai kore kingba prôshn kore.) (Humans especially ask for food or ask questions.)
- Person 2: āĻŽāĻ¤ āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ (Mot kotha bhinno hoi.) (Opinions differ.)
Comparison of Adjectives[edit | edit source]
In the Assamese language, comparative and superlative forms of adjectives are created by adding specific suffixes to the adjective.
Comparative Form[edit | edit source]
To create the comparative form of the adjective, the suffix "-āĻ¤ā§°" (-tor) is added to the adjective stem. For example:
- āĻŽāĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻāĻāĻ¤ āĻŦāĻšā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛ā§ā§āĨ¤ (Moi teu-t bohut kotha boloj.) (I speak more than him.)
Superlative Form[edit | edit source]
To create the superlative form of the adjective, the suffix "-āĻ¤āĻŽ" (âtam) is added to the adjective stem. For example:
- āĻ¤ā§āĻāĻāĻ˛ā§āĻ-āĻ¤ āĻĒā§ā§°āĻļā§āĻ¨ āĻā§°āĻžāĻā§ āĻŦāĻžāĻŦā§ āĻāĻāĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻšāĻŋāĻā§āĨ¤ (Teulok-t prôshn koratô babÊ agatei ahichÊ.) (He has come early to ask the most questions.)
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
In Assamese, adjectives are an important part of speech. Color, descriptive, quantitative, and relative adjectives are the four main types of adjectives that we use in Assamese. To become more proficient in using adjectives, you should practice constructing sentences with adjectives and use native speakers to verify your usage. You can check out the Grammar section on Polyglot Club to learn more about Adjectives in the Assamese Language.
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With this lesson finished, you may want to explore these additional pages: Conditional Mood, Assamese Resources (2023), Prepositions & Pronouns.
Videos[edit | edit source]
Assamese(Grammar) - Bixexon(Adjective) - YouTube[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Pronouns
- Prepositions
- Questions
- Negation
- How to Use Have
- How to Use Be
- Future Tense
- Plurals
- Conditional Mood
Sources[edit | edit source]