Language/Telugu/Grammar/Noun-Gender-and-Number
As a Telugu language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am excited to teach you about noun gender and number in Telugu. In this lesson, you will learn how to identify masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns, as well as singular and plural forms. Understanding noun gender and number is important for building proper sentences and communicating effectively in Telugu. So, let's dive in!
Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Negation & Question Formation.
Noun Gender
In Telugu, every noun has a gender, which can be masculine, feminine, or neuter. The gender of the noun is not always related to the object's sex or natural gender. For example, inanimate objects like tables and chairs can have a gender in Telugu. Here are some tips to identify the gender of a noun:
- If the noun refers to a male person or animal, it's usually masculine (ex: నాన్న, తీర్థం).
- If the noun refers to a female person or animal, it's usually feminine (ex: అమ్మ, కుక్క).
- If the noun refers to a non-living object, it's usually neuter (ex: కాగజం, యానం).
Sometimes, it can be difficult to identify the gender of a noun, especially for non-native speakers. In such cases, you can simply ask a native speaker or use the neuter form of the noun.
Let's take a look at some examples:
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ఇంటి | inti | house |
| తల్లి | talli | mother |
| భండారం | bhandaram | store |
| వరం | varam | boon |
From the table above, you can see that "తల్లి" is a feminine noun and "భండారం" is a neuter noun. Note that nouns ending with "లు" (lu) or "రు" (ru) can be either masculine or neuter. It's essential to pay attention to the gender of the noun as it influences the choice of articles and pronouns used in the sentence.
Noun Number
In Telugu, nouns can be singular (representing one object) or plural (representing more than one object). Just like gender, the number of a noun must also be considered while constructing a sentence in Telugu. Here are some basic rules to form the plural of a noun:
- If the noun ends with a vowel, we usually add "-లు" (lu) to form the plural (ex: మొదటి (modati) means "first", మొదటిలు (modatilu) means "firsts").
- If the noun ends with a consonant, we usually add "-లు" (lu) to form the plural (ex: పెద్ద (pedda) means "big", పెద్దలు (peddal)) means "bigs").
Note that there are some exceptions to these rules, and some nouns have irregular plural forms. It's essential to memorize these nouns' plural forms to use them correctly in sentences.
Here are some examples of singular and plural nouns:
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| పుస్తకం | pustakam | book |
| కమ్మీడి | kammidi | ant |
| కుక్క | kukka | dog |
From the table above, you can see that the plural of "పుస్తకం" (book) is "పుస్తకాలు" (books), the plural of "కమ్మీడి" (ant) is "కమ్మీడిలు" (ants), and the plural of "కుక్క" (dog) is "కుక్కలు" (dogs). Note that the addition of "-లు" (lu) to the noun changes its form to the plural form.
Conclusion
In this lesson, you learned about noun gender and number in Telugu. You learned how to identify masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns, as well as singular and plural forms. Understanding noun gender and number is essential to building correct sentences and communicating effectively in Telugu. So, keep practicing and using the correct forms, and soon you will be able to master Telugu grammar. In the next lesson, we will learn about personal and possessive pronouns. Stay tuned!
With this lesson finished, you may want to explore these additional pages: Conditional Mood & Present Tense.
Videos
Noun In English Grammar || Nouns In Telugu || Types Of Nouns ...
Other Lessons
- Verbs
- Conditional Mood
- Conjunctions
- How to Use Be
- Adverbs
- Plurals
- Nouns
- 0 to A1 Course
- Question Formation
Sources