Language/Kannada/Grammar/Adjectives

Kannada Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Kannada learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about adjectives in Kannada. Adjectives are words that describe or modify a person, place, thing or an idea. Adjectives add more detail and information to a sentence. They are like spices that add flavor to a dish.

Types of Adjectives

In Kannada, adjectives can be divided into three types:

1. கூட்டு வினை வார்த்தை (kootu vinai vaarthai) - Compound Adjectives 2. செதுக்களான (chedukkaLaana) - Qualitative Adjectives 3. எண்ணாக்கள் (ennaakkal) - Quantitative Adjectives

Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives are formed by combining two or more words to make a new word. In Kannada, compound adjectives usually consist of two nouns or an adjective and a noun. Here are some examples:

Kannada	Pronunciation	English
ಮಣ್ಣುಪಾದ (manNu paada)		muddy feet
ಕರುಣಾಪೂರ್ಣ (karuNaapUrNa)		full of compassion
ಗಟ್ಟಿಮೂಟಿ (gaTTimooTi)		strongly built
ಅಂಡಭೆಸ್ತನ (andha bhestana)		slow walker

Qualitative Adjectives

Qualitative adjectives describe the quality or nature of a person, place, thing or idea. They give more details about the noun they are describing. Here are some examples:

Kannada	Pronunciation	English
ರಂಗವಾಣ (raNgavANa)		colorful
ಶಾಂತವಾದ (shaaMta vaaDa)		peaceful
ಬುದ್ಧಿವಂತ (buddhivanta)		intelligent
ಕಠಿಣ (katthiNa)		difficult

Quantitative Adjectives

Quantitative adjectives describe the quantity of a noun. They answer the questions "how many?" or "how much?". Here are some examples:

Kannada	Pronunciation	English
ಏನುವಿಷಯದ (enu vishayada)		of what matter
ಕೆಲವು (kelavu)		some / few
ಅನೇಕ (aneka)		many / several
ಪುಷ್ಟ (pushTa)		healthy

Adjective Forms

Adjectives in Kannada change their form based on the gender, number, and case of the noun they are describing. Here are some examples with the Kannada word for "beautiful" (ಸುಂದರ - suMdara):

Kannada	Pronunciation	English
ಸುಂದರ (suMdara)		beautiful (masculine singular)
ಸುಂದರಳ (suMdaraLa)		beautiful (feminine singular)
ಸುಂದರಮ್ (suMdaram)		beautiful (masculine plural)
ಸುಂದರೆಗಳು (suMdarEgaLu)		beautiful (feminine plural)

Adjectives Agreement With Nouns

Adjectives in Kannada have to agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they are describing. Here is an example of how adjectives agree in gender:

• Masculine singular noun: ಸುಂದರ ಮಹಿಳೆ (suMdara mahiLe) - beautiful woman
• Feminine singular noun: ಸುಂದರಳ ಮಗಳು (suMdaraLa magaLu) - beautiful daughter

Here is an example of how adjectives agree in number:

• Singular noun: ಸುಂದರ ಮನೆ (suMdara mane) - beautiful house
• Plural noun: ಸುಂದರಮ್ ಮನೆಗಳು (suMdaram maneGaLu) - beautiful houses

Here is an example of how adjectives agree in case:

• Nominative case: ಸುಂದರ ಮಲ್ಲ (suMdara malli) - beautiful jasmine
• Accusative case: ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ (suNdara vaaDa mallige) - to the beautiful jasmine

Dialogue

Here is a dialogue to help you understand how adjectives are used in Kannada:

• Person 1: ನೀನು ಯಾರಿಂದ ಬಂದಿದ್ದೀ? (nInu yaarinda baNdidde?) - Where are you from?
• Person 2: ನಾನು ಸುಂದರ ಊರ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದವನು (naanu suNdara oora huTTidavanu) - I am from a beautiful village.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned about the different types of adjectives in Kannada and how they are used to describe nouns. We also learned how adjectives agree in gender, number, and case with the nouns they are describing. To improve your Kannada Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions! Don't forget to check out the Kannada grammar section on Polyglot Club for more resources. 😊

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➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Related Lessons

• How to Use Have
• Gender
• Negation
• Give your Opinion
• Questions
• Conditional Mood
• How to Use Be
• Pronouns
• Nouns

Sources

• Kannada Adjectives
• Kannada grammar - Wikipedia
• Kannada