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Bengali grammar (Bengali: āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻ˛āĻž āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ°āĻŖ Bangla bÃĒkôrôn) is: theââstudy of the morphology and syntax of Bengali, an Indo-European language spoken in the Indian subcontinent. Given that Bengali has two forms, Bengali: āĻāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻž (cholito bhasha) and Bengali: āĻ¸āĻžāĻ§ā§ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻž (shadhu bhasha), it is importantââto note that the grammar discussed below applies fully onlyââto the Bengali: āĻāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¤ (cholito) form. Shadhu bhasha is generally considered outdated. And no longer used either in writing. Or in normal conversation. Although Bengali is typically written in the Bengali script, a romanization scheme is also used here to suggest the "pronunciation."
Pronounsâģ
Personal pronounsâģ
Bengali personal pronouns are somewhat similar to English pronouns, "having different words for first," second, "and third person." And also for singular and plural (unlike for verbs, below). Bengali pronouns do not differentiate for gender; that is, the same pronoun may be, used for "he"/"she". However, Bengali has different third-person pronouns for proximity. The first are used for someone who is present in the discussion, and the second are for those who are nearby. But not present in the discussion. The third are usually for those who are not present. In addition, each of the second- and third-person pronouns have different forms for the familiar and polite forms; the second person also has a "very familiar" form (sometimes called "despective"). It may be noted that the "very familiar" form is used when addressing particularly close friends or family as well as for addressing subordinates. Or in abusive language.
In the following tables, the abbreviations used are as follows:
VF = very familiar,
F = familiar,
P = polite (honor);
H = here,
T = there,
E = elsewhere (proximity),
and I = inanimate.
The nominative case is used for pronouns that are the subject of the sentence, such as "I already did that" or "Will you please stop making that noise?"
Subject | Proximity | Honor | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | N/A | N/A | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ (ami, I) | āĻāĻŽāĻ°āĻž (amra, we) |
2 | VF | āĻ¤ā§āĻ (tui, you) | āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻž (tora, you) | |
F | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ (tumi, you) | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻ°āĻž (tomra, you) | ||
P | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ (apni, you) | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ°āĻž (apnara, you) | ||
3 | H | F | āĻ (e, he/she) | āĻāĻ°āĻž (era, they) |
P | āĻāĻ¨āĻŋ (ini, he/she) | āĻāĻāĻ°āĻž (áēŊra, they) | ||
I | āĻāĻāĻŋ/āĻāĻāĻž (eÅŖi/eÅŖa, it) | āĻāĻā§āĻ˛ā§ (egulo, these) | ||
T | F | āĻ (o, he/she) | āĻāĻ°āĻž (ora, they) | |
P | āĻāĻ¨āĻŋ (uni, he/she) | āĻāĻāĻ°āĻž (Ãĩra, they) | ||
I | āĻāĻāĻŋ/āĻāĻāĻž (oÅŖi/oÅŖa, it) | āĻāĻā§āĻ˛ā§ (ogulo, those) | ||
E | F | āĻ¸ā§ (she, he/she) | āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻž (tara, they) | |
P | āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋ (tini, he/she) | āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻ°āĻž (tÃŖra, they) | ||
I | āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻŋ/āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻž (sheÅŖi/sheÅŖa, it) | āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ (shegulo, those) |
The objective case is used for pronouns serving as the direct or indirect objects, such as "I told him to wash the dishes" or "The teacher gave me the homework assignment". The inanimate pronouns remain the same in the objective case.
Subject | Proximity | Honor | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | N/A | N/A | āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻā§ (amake, to me) | āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (amaderke, to us) |
2 | VF | āĻ¤ā§āĻā§ (toke, to you) | āĻ¤ā§āĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (toderke, to you) | |
F | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻā§ (tomake, you | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (tomaderke, to you) | ||
P | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻā§ (apnake, to you) | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (apnaderke, to you) | ||
3 | H | F | āĻāĻā§ (eke, to him/her) | āĻāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (ederke, to them) |
P | āĻāĻāĻā§ (áēŊke, to him/her) | āĻāĻāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (áēŊderke, them) | ||
I | āĻāĻāĻŋāĻā§/āĻāĻāĻžāĻā§ (eÅŖike/eÅŖake, to it) | āĻāĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻā§ (eguloke, to these) | ||
T | F | āĻāĻā§ (oke, to him/her) | āĻāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (oderke, to them) | |
P | āĻāĻāĻā§ (Ãĩke, to him/her) | āĻāĻāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (Ãĩderke, to them) | ||
I | āĻāĻāĻŋāĻā§/āĻāĻāĻžāĻā§ (oÅŖike/oÅŖake, to it) | āĻāĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻā§ (oguloke, to those) | ||
E | F | āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§ (take, to him/her) | āĻ¤āĻžāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (taderke, to them) | |
P | āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻā§ (tÃŖke, to him/her) | āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ (tÃŖderke, to them) | ||
I | āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻŋāĻā§/āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻā§ (sheÅŖike/sheÅŖake, to it) | āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻā§ (sheguloke, to those) |
The genitive case is used to show possession, such as "Where is your coat?" or "Let's go to our house". In addition, sentences such as "I have a book" (āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ āĻāĻā§) or "I need money" (āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻžāĻāĻž āĻĻāĻ°āĻāĻžāĻ°) also use the genitive (the literal translation of the Bengali versions of these sentences would be "There is my book" and "There is my need for money" respectively).
Subject | Proximity | Honor | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | N/A | N/A | āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° (amar, my/mine) | āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° (amader, our) |
2 | VF | āĻ¤ā§āĻ° (tor, your) | āĻ¤ā§āĻĻā§āĻ° (toder, your) | |
F | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° (tomar, your) | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° (tomader, your) | ||
P | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° (apnar, your) | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° (apnader, your) | ||
3 | H | F | āĻāĻ° (er, his/her) | āĻāĻĻā§āĻ° (eder, their) |
P | āĻāĻāĻ° (áēŊr, his/her) | āĻāĻāĻĻā§āĻ° (áēŊder, their) | ||
I | āĻāĻāĻŋāĻ°/āĻāĻāĻžāĻ° (eÅŖir/eÅŖar, its) | āĻāĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ° (egulor, of these) | ||
T | F | āĻāĻ° (or, his/her) | āĻāĻĻā§āĻ° (oder, their) | |
P | āĻāĻāĻ° (Ãĩr, his/her) | āĻāĻāĻĻā§āĻ° (Ãĩder, their) | ||
I | āĻāĻāĻŋāĻ°/āĻāĻāĻžāĻ° (oÅŖir/oÅŖar, its) | āĻāĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ° (ogulor, of those) | ||
E | F | āĻ¤āĻžāĻ° (tar, his/her) | āĻ¤āĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° (tader, their) | |
P | āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻ° (tÃŖr, his/her) | āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻĻā§āĻ° (tÃŖder, their) | ||
I | āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ°/āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻ° (sheÅŖir/sheÅŖar, its) | āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ° (shegulor, of those) |
Indefinite and negative pronounsâģ
Bengali has no negative pronouns (such as no one, nothing, none). These are typically represented by, adding the negative particle āĻ¨āĻž (na) to indefinite pronouns, which are themselves derived from their corresponding question words. Common indefinite pronouns are listed below.
Question word | Indefinite pronoun | Indefinite negative pronoun |
---|---|---|
āĻā§ (ke, who) | āĻā§āĻ (keu, someone) | āĻā§āĻ āĻ¨āĻž (keu na, no one) |
āĻāĻžāĻ° (kar, whose) | āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻ (karo, someone's) | āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻ āĻ¨āĻž (karo na, no one's) |
āĻāĻžāĻā§ (kake, to whom) | āĻāĻžāĻāĻā§ (kauke, to someone) | āĻāĻžāĻāĻā§ āĻ¨āĻž (kauke na, to no one) |
āĻā§āĻ¨ (kon, which) | āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ (kono, any) | āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ āĻ¨āĻž (kono na, none) |
āĻāĻŋ (ki, what) | āĻāĻŋāĻā§ (kichu, some/something) | āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻ¨āĻž (kichu na, nothing) |
Relative pronounsâģ
The relative pronoun āĻ¯ā§ (je) and its different variants, as shown below, are commonly employed in complex sentences. The relative pronouns for animate objects change for number and "honor." But those for inanimate objects stay the same.
Animacy | Case | Honor | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|---|---|
Animate | Nominative | F | āĻ¯ā§ (je) | āĻ¯āĻžāĻ°āĻž (jara) |
P | āĻ¯āĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋ (jini) | āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ°āĻž (jÃŖra) | ||
Objective | F | āĻ¯āĻžāĻā§ (jake) | āĻ¯āĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° (jader) | |
P | āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻā§ (jÃŖke) | āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻĻā§āĻ° (jÃŖder) | ||
Genitive | F | āĻ¯āĻžāĻ° (jar) | āĻ¯āĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° (jader) | |
P | āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ° (jÃŖr) | āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻĻā§āĻ° (jÃŖder) | ||
Inanimate | Nominative | N/A | āĻ¯āĻž (ja) | |
Genitive | N/A | āĻ¯āĻžāĻ° (jar) | ||
Locative | N/A | āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¤ā§ (jate) |
Nounsâģ
Caseâģ
Nouns are also inflected for case, including nominative, objective (accusative), genitive (possessive), and locative. The marking pattern for each noun being inflected depends on the noun's degree of animacy. The objective case cannot be inflected upon nouns which are inanimate, and the locative case cannot be inflected upon nouns which are animate. When a definite article such as -ÅŖa (āĻāĻž, for singular nouns) or -gulo (āĻā§āĻ˛ā§, for plural nouns) is added, nouns are also inflected for number. In formal contexts, especially in writing, the definite article -ÅŖa is replaced by -ÅŖi (āĻāĻŋ). There is also an alternative way of using the plural definite article, -gulo, by making it -guli (āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋ). For animate nouns, -gulo/-guli are often replaced by -ra (āĻ°āĻž) Below are two tables which show the inflections of an animate noun, āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ° chhatrô (student), and an inanimate noun, āĻā§āĻ¤āĻž juta (shoe).
Case | Animacy | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative | Animate | āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻŋ/ chhatrô-ÅŖi/ āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻž chhatrô-ÅŖa āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻŋ/ āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻž chhatrô-ÅŖi/ chhatrô-ÅŖa the student |
āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻ°āĻž chhatrô-ra āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻ°āĻž chhatrô-ra the students |
Objective | āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻŋāĻā§/ chhatrô-ÅŖi-ke/ āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻžāĻā§ chhatrô-ÅŖa-ke āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻŋāĻā§/ āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻžāĻā§ chhatrô-ÅŖi-ke/ chhatrô-ÅŖa-ke (to) the student |
āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ chhatrô-der-ke āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻĻā§āĻ°āĻā§ chhatrô-der-ke (to) the students | |
Genitive | āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻŋāĻ°/ chhatrô-ÅŖi-r/ āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻžāĻ° chhatrô-ÅŖa-r āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻŋāĻ°/ āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻžāĻ° chhatrô-ÅŖi-r/ chhatrô-ÅŖa-r the student's |
āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻĻā§āĻ° chhatrô-der āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻĻā§āĻ° chhatrô-der the students' | |
Nominative | Inanimate | āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻŋ/ juta-ÅŖi/ āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻž juta-ÅŖa āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻŋ/ āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻž juta-ÅŖi/ juta-ÅŖa the shoe |
āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§āĻ˛ā§ juta-gulo āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§āĻ˛ā§ juta-gulo the shoes |
Genitive | āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻŋāĻ°/ juta-ÅŖi-r/ āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻžāĻ° juta-ÅŖa-r āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻŋāĻ°/ āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻžāĻ° juta-ÅŖi-r/ juta-ÅŖa-r the shoe's |
āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ° juta-gulo-r āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ° juta-gulo-r the shoes' | |
Locative | āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ā§/ juta-ÅŖi-te/ āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ juta-ÅŖa-y āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ā§/ āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ juta-ÅŖi-te/ juta-ÅŖa-y on/in the shoe |
āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¤ā§ juta-gulo-te āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¤ā§ juta-gulo-te on/in the shoes |
All of the inflected nouns above have a definite article preceding their case markers. There are some basic rules to keep in mind about the cases, apart from the "default" nominative.
For the objective case, the ending -āĻ°ā§ -re may be used in certain non-standard dialects of Bengali. For example, the non-standard āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§ chhatrô-ÅŖa-re may be used instead of the standard āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻāĻžāĻā§ chhatrô-ÅŖa-ke.
For the genitive case, the ending may change, though never with a definite article attached. A noun (without an article) which ends in a consonant or the inherent vowel, āĻ ô, is inflected by adding â ā§āĻ° -er to the end of the word (and deleting the inherent vowel if applicable). An example of this would be the genitive of āĻŽāĻžāĻāĻ¸ mangshô "meat" being āĻŽāĻžāĻāĻ¸ā§āĻ° mangsher "of meat" or "(the) meat's". A noun which ends in any vowel apart from the inherent vowel will just have a -āĻ° -r following it, as in the genitive of āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ chhele being āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ° chheler "(the) boy's". The genitive ending is also applied to verbs (in their verbal noun forms), which is most commonly seen when using postpositions (for example: āĻļā§āĻāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ shekhar jonno, "to/for learning").
For the locative case, the marker also changes in a similar fashion to the genitive case, with consonants and the inherent vowel having their own ending, â ā§ -e, and all other vowels having another ending, -āĻ¤ā§ -te, with one exception. If a noun ends with â āĻž -a, then its locative case marker would be -āĻ¯āĻŧ -y, as in āĻāĻ˛āĻāĻžāĻ¤āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ Kolkata-y "to Kolkata". However, this special exception for -a ending nouns is often ignored, and colloquially many will say āĻāĻ˛āĻāĻžāĻ¤āĻžāĻ¤ā§ Kolkata-te instead of the proper Kolkata-y.
Measure wordsâģ
When counted, nouns must also be accompanied by the appropriate measure word. As in many eastern Asian languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc.), nouns in Bengali cannot be counted directly by adding the numeral directly adjacent to the noun. The noun's measure word (MW) must be used in between the numeral and the noun. Most nouns take the generic measure word ÅŖa, although there are many more specific measure words, such as jon, which is only used to count humans.
Bengali |
---|
Nôy-ÅŖa Nine-MW ghoÅi clock Nôy-ÅŖa ghoÅi Nine-MW clock Nine clocks |
Kôy-ÅŖa How many-MW balish pillow Kôy-ÅŖa balish {How many-MW} pillow How many pillows |
Ãnek-jon Many-MW lok person Ãnek-jon lok Many-MW person Many people |
Char-paÃąch-jon Four-five-MW shikkhôk teacher Char-paÃąch-jon shikkhôk Four-five-MW teacher Four or five teachers |
Measuring nouns in Bengali without their corresponding measure words (e.g. aÅŖ biÅal instead of aÅŖ-ÅŖa biÅal "eight cats") would typically be considered ungrammatical. However, omitting the noun and preserving the measure word is grammatical and not uncommon to hear. For example, Shudhu ÃĒk-jon thakbe. (lit. "Only one-MW will remain.") would be understood to mean "Only one person will remain.", since jon can only be used to count humans. The word lok "person" is implied.
Adjectivesâģ
Adjectives do not inflect for case, gender, or number in Bengali and are placed before the noun they modify.
Some adjectives form their opposites by prefixing āĻ - (before consonants) or āĻ āĻ¨- (before vowels): for example, the opposite of āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻāĻŦ (sômbhôb, "possible") is āĻ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻāĻŦ (asômbhôb, "impossible").
Demonstrative adjectives â this and that â correspond to āĻāĻ and āĻāĻ respectively, with the definite article attached to the following noun. Their plural forms (these/those) remain the same, with the plurality denoted by the definite article or the classifier. Thus, this book would translate to āĻāĻ āĻŦāĻāĻāĻŋ, while those books would translate to āĻāĻ āĻŦāĻāĻā§āĻ˛ā§.
Comparatives and superlativesâģ
Bengali adjectives form their comparative forms with āĻāĻ°āĻ (aaro, "more"), and their superlative forms with āĻ¸āĻŦāĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ (shôbcheye, "than all"). Comparisons are formed by using genitive form of the object of comparison, followed by the postposition āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ (cheye, "than") or the postposition āĻŽāĻ¤ā§ (môto, "like") and then by āĻāĻ°āĻ ("more") or āĻāĻŽ (kôm, "less"). The word for "more" is optional, but the word for "less" is required, so in its absence "more" is inferred. Adjectives can be additionally modified by using āĻ āĻ¨ā§āĻ (ônek, "much") or āĻ āĻ¨ā§āĻ āĻŦā§āĻļāĻŋ (ônek beshi, "much more"), which are especially useful for comparing quantities.
Bengali |
---|
āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ SubhÄášŖh Subhash āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ° abdur-rahÄĢmÄr Abdur Raheemâs āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ cÄáēÄ than āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž lombÄ tall āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ {āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ°} āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž SubhÄášŖh abdur-rahÄĢmÄr cÄáēÄ lombÄ Subhash {Abdur Raheemâs} than tall Subhash is taller than Abdur Raheem |
āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ SubhÄášŖh Subhash āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ° abdur-rahÄĢmÄr of Abdur Raheem āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ cÄáēÄ than āĻāĻ°āĻ Är'Å more āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž lombÄ tall āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ {āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ°} āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻāĻ°āĻ āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž SubhÄášŖh abdur-rahÄĢmÄr cÄáēÄ Är'Å lombÄ Subhash {of Abdur Raheem} than more tall Subhash is taller than Abdur Raheem |
āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ SubhÄášŖh Subhash āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ° abdur rahÄĢmÄr of Abdur Raheem āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ cÄáēÄ than āĻāĻŽ kom less āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž lombÄ tall āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ {āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ°} āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻāĻŽ āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž SubhÄášŖh {abdur rahÄĢmÄr} cÄáēÄ kom lombÄ Subhash {of Abdur Raheem} than less tall Subhash is less tall than Abdur Raheem |
āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ SubhÄášŖh Subhash āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ° abdur rahÄĢmÄr of Abdur Raheem āĻŽāĻ¤ā§ motÅ like āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž lombÄ tall āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ {āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ°} āĻŽāĻ¤ā§ āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž SubhÄášŖh {abdur rahÄĢmÄr} motÅ lombÄ Subhash {of Abdur Raheem} like tall Subhash is as tall as Abdur Raheem |
āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ SubhÄášŖh Subhash āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ° abdur rahÄĢmÄr of Abdur Raheem āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ cÄáēÄ than āĻ āĻ¨ā§āĻ onÄk much āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž lombÄ tall āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻˇ {āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻŽā§āĻ°} āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻ āĻ¨ā§āĻ āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž SubhÄášŖh {abdur rahÄĢmÄr} cÄáēÄ onÄk lombÄ Subhash {of Abdur Raheem} than much tall Subhash is much taller than Abdur Raheem |
Verbsâģ
Bengali verbs are highly inflected and are regular with only few exceptions. They consist of a stem and an ending; they are traditionally listed in Bengali dictionaries in their "verbal noun" form, which is usually formed by adding -a to the stem: for instance, āĻāĻ°āĻž (kôra, to do) is formed from the stem āĻāĻ°. The stem can end in either a vowel or a consonant. Verbs are conjugated for tense and person by changing the endings, which are largely the same for all verbs. However, the stem vowel can often change as part of the phenomenon known as "vowel harmony", whereby one vowel can be influenced by other vowels in the word to sound more harmonious. An example would be the verb "to write", with stem lekh-: āĻ˛ā§āĻā§ (lekho, you all write) but also āĻ˛āĻŋāĻāĻŋ (likhi, we write). In general, the following transformations take place: ô â o, o â u, ÃĻ â e, e â i, and a â e (the latter only in the perfect tenses), where the verbal noun features the first vowel but certain conjugations use the second. In addition, the verbs āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž (dÃĒoa , to give) and āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž (nÃĒoa, to take) switch between e, i, a, and ÃĻ. If verbs are classified by stem vowel and if the stem ends in a consonant or vowel, there are nine basic classes in which most verbs can be placed; all verbs in a class will follow the same pattern. A prototype verb from each of these classes will be used to demonstrate conjugation for that class; bold will be used to indicate mutation of the stem vowel. Additionally, there are irregular verbs, such as āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž (jaoa, to go) that change the first consonant in their stem in certain conjugations, or such as āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž (chaoa, to want) that add an extra āĻ -i- to the stem in the future, present progressive, simple past, and past habitual.
Like many other Indo-Aryan languages (such as Hindi or Marathi), nouns can be turned into verbs by combining them with select auxiliary verbs. In Bengali, the most common such auxiliary verb is āĻāĻ°āĻž (kôra, to do); thus, verbs such as joke are formed by combining the noun form of joke (āĻ°āĻ¸āĻŋāĻāĻ¤āĻž) with to do (āĻāĻ°āĻž) to create āĻ°āĻ¸āĻŋāĻāĻ¤āĻž āĻāĻ°āĻž. When conjugating such verbs the noun part of such a verb is left untouched, so in the previous example, only āĻāĻ°āĻž would be inflected or conjugated (e.g.: "I will make a joke" becomes āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ°āĻ¸āĻŋāĻāĻ¤āĻž āĻāĻ°āĻŦ; see more on tenses below). Other auxiliary verbs include āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž and āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž, but the verb āĻāĻ°āĻž enjoys significant usage. Because it can be combined with foreign verbs to form a native version of the verb, even if a direct translation exists. Most often this is done with English verbs: for example, "to vote" is often referred to as āĻā§āĻ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž (bhot dÃĻoa, where bhot is the transliteration of "vote").
Copulaâģ
Bengali is considered a zero copula language in some aspects.
- In the simple present tense, there is no verb connecting the subject to the predicative (the "zero-verb" copula). There is one notable exception, however, which is when the predicative takes on the existential, locative, or genitive aspects; for such purposes, the incomplete verb āĻāĻ- (ach) is used, which is conjugated according to the rules given below. Whereas the verb āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž (howa) means "to be", the verb āĻāĻ- can be roughly translated as "to exist" or "to be present".
- In the past tense, the incomplete verb āĻāĻ- is always used as the copula, regardless of the nature of the predicative.
- For the future tense and non-finite structures, the copula is supplied by the verb āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž (howa), with the exceptions being the genitive and locative predicatives for which the verb āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž (thaka, "to remain") is utilized.
- Possession: Bengali does not have a verb for possession (i.e. "to have", "to own"). Instead of the sentence "You have a book", possession in Bengali is expressed by the verb āĻāĻ- (for present and past tenses) and the verb āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž (for future tense) inflected with the possessed object ("book") and a genitive (genitive) case for the possessor (i.e. āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ â āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ°, you â your). For example: āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻāĻāĻž āĻŦāĻ āĻāĻā§ (TÅmÄra ÄkaášÄ ba'i ÄchÄ, "You have a book"; Literally: "Your one book exists").
The following table demonstrates the rules above with some examples.
English | Bengali | Notes |
---|---|---|
Simple assertive | ||
I am happy | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§āĻā§ | Simple present: No verb used to denote the copula |
I was happy | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§āĻā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | Simple Past: āĻāĻ- is used as the copula (with past inflection) |
I will be happy | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§āĻā§ āĻšāĻŦ | Simple future: āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž is used as the copula |
Locative aspect | ||
I am at home | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋāĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻāĻŋ | Present: āĻāĻ- is used to connect to a locative predicative |
I was at home | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋāĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | Past: āĻāĻ- is used |
I will be at home | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋāĻ¤ā§ āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻŦ | Future: āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž is used |
Genitive aspect | ||
I have a book | āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻāĻāĻž āĻŦāĻ āĻāĻā§ | Present: āĻāĻ- is used to connect to a genitive predicative |
I had a book | āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻāĻāĻž āĻŦāĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | Past: āĻāĻ- is used |
I will have a book | āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻāĻāĻž āĻŦāĻ āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻŦā§ | Future: āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž is used |
Existential aspect | ||
There is time | āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻā§ | Present: āĻāĻ- is used to connect to an existential predicative |
There was time | āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | Past: āĻāĻ- is used |
There will be time | āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻŦā§ | Future: āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž is used |
Negationâģ
There are four sentence negators employed in Bengali:
- The zero verb copula is negated using the incomplete negator āĻ¨-, which is conjugated as āĻ¨āĻ (1), āĻ¨āĻ (2F), āĻ¨āĻ¨ (2P), āĻ¨āĻ¯āĻŧ (3).
- Existential sentences that use the verb āĻāĻ- are negated with āĻ¨ā§āĻ (nei), which does not need to be conjugated.
- All other verbs (with the exceptions of the ones listed above) are negated using the universal negative particle āĻ¨āĻž (na), which can also refer to "no" in yesâno questions. āĻ¨āĻž is typically placed after the finite verb (see examples below), but can also be placed at the end of the sentence, which negates the whole sentence. āĻ¨āĻž can be used in all tenses except two: the present perfect and the past perfect.
- Verbs in the present perfect and the past perfect tenses are negated using the suffix -āĻ¨āĻŋ (ni) attached to the simple present verb form; this naturally means that in negative sentences the distinction between the two tenses is lost, since they both use the same verb form.
English | Bengali | Notes |
---|---|---|
I am not happy | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§āĻā§ āĻ¨āĻ | Incomplete negator āĻ¨- conjugated for first-person |
We don't have a car | āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋ āĻ¨ā§āĻ | āĻ¨ā§āĻ used to negate āĻāĻ-, which is completely replaced |
I don't work | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ āĻāĻ°āĻŋ āĻ¨āĻž | āĻ¨āĻž is used to negate all other finite verbs |
I didn't help him | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§ āĻ¸āĻžāĻšāĻžāĻ¯ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻ°āĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋ | The suffix -āĻ¨āĻŋ is attached to the simple present form of āĻāĻ°āĻž to negate the past perfect form |
Personâģ
Verbs are inflected for person and honour, but not for number. There are five forms: first person, second person (very familiar), second person (familiar), third person (familiar), and second/third person (polite). The same sample subject pronouns will be used for all the example conjugation paradigms: ami (Bengali: āĻāĻŽāĻŋ), tui (āĻ¤ā§āĻ), tumi (āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ), she (āĻ¸ā§) and apni (āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ). These have the following plurals respectively: amra (āĻāĻŽāĻ°āĻž), tora (āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻž), tomra (āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻ°āĻž), tara (āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻž) and apnara (āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ°āĻž).
Moodâģ
There are two moods for Bengali verbs: the indicative and the imperative. The indicative mood is used for statements of fact; its various tenses are given below.
The imperative mood is used to give commands. Just as in other Indo-Aryan languages, the imperative form of a verb differs on the basis of honorifics. The three sets of second-person pronouns â āĻ¤ā§āĻ/āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻž (2 (VF)), āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ/āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻ°āĻž (2 (F)), āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ/āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ°āĻž (2/3 (P)) â combined with slight modifications to the stem of any verb form the imperatives for that verb; these are described in the table below. Bengali also has a 3rd person imperative, using the pronouns āĻ¸ā§/āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻž (3 (F)). Note that the plural command forms change the pronoun but not the verb ending. The 2nd person familiar and very familiar don't take stem transformations, while the others do.
Verb | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž bôla |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻŦāĻ˛ā§ bôl āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§ tui bôl |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻŦāĻ˛ bôlo āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ tumi bôlo |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻ boluk āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻ she boluk |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ bolun āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ apni bolun |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž khola āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž khola |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ khol āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ tui khol |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻā§āĻ˛ kholo āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ tumi kholo |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ khuluk āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ she khuluk |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ khulun āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ apni khulun |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž khÃĒla āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž khÃĒla |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ khÃĒl āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ tui khÃĒl |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻā§āĻ˛ khÃĒlo āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ tumi khÃĒlo |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ kheluk āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ she kheluk |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ khelun āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ apni khelun |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž chena āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž chena |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ chen āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ tui chen |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻā§āĻ¨ cheno āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ tumi cheno |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ chinuk āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ she chinuk |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ chinun āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ apni chinun |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž jana āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž jana |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§ jan āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§ tui jan |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻāĻžāĻ¨ jano āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ tumi jano |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ januk āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ she januk |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ janun āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ apni janun |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž hôoa āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž hôoa |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻš hô āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻš tui hô |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻšāĻ hôo āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ tumi hôo |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻšā§āĻ hok āĻ¸ā§ āĻšā§āĻ she hok |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻšā§āĻ¨ hon āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšā§āĻ¨ apni hon |
āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž dhoa āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž dhoa |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻ§ā§ dho āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§ tui dho |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻ§ā§āĻ dhoo āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ tumi dhoo |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻ§ā§āĻ dhuk āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻ she dhuk |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻ§ā§āĻ¨ dhun āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¨ apni dhun |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž khaoa āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž khaoa |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻāĻž kha āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻž tui kha |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻāĻžāĻ khao āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ tumi khao |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻāĻžāĻ khak āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ she khak |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻāĻžāĻ¨ khan āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ apni khan |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž deoa āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž deoa |
āĻ¤ā§āĻ tui āĻĻā§ de āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻā§ tui de |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ tumi āĻĻāĻžāĻ dao āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻžāĻ tumi dao |
āĻ¸ā§ she āĻĻāĻŋāĻ dik āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ she dik |
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ apni āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¨ din āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¨ apni din |
Bangla also has a future imperative. In the second person familiar, this is formed by changing the vowel in the present imperative. In the second person very familiar, it's the same as the simple present form for that person. For the rest of the persons, the future imperative is the same as the future.
Non-finite formsâģ
- āĻāĻāĻāĻž ÃŖka â verbal noun ("act of drawing")
- āĻāĻāĻāĻ¤ā§ ÃŖkte â verbal infinitive ("to draw")
- āĻāĻāĻāĻ¤ā§-āĻāĻāĻāĻ¤ā§ ÃŖkte-ÃŖkte â progressive participle ("while drawing")
- āĻāĻāĻāĻ˛ā§ ÃŖkle â conditional participle ("if X draws/ drew/ had drawn")
- āĻāĻāĻā§ áēŊke â perfect participle ("having drawn")
- āĻāĻāĻā§-āĻāĻāĻā§ áēŊke-áēŊke â iterative participle ("having drawn many times")
For non-causative verbs (see more on causative verbs below), the verbal infinitive and perfect participle forms require stem transformations according to the principles of vowel harmony. Causative verbs only require stem transformations for forming their perfect participles.
The verbal noun can act like a regular noun, and can therefore take case-endings and classifier particles; additionally it can also function as an adjective. Both the verbal noun and the verbal infinitive are often used in constructions where the infinitive is needed.
The perfect participle can be combined with some verbs to denote a slight change in meaning for the first verb (as opposed to two verbs.) For example, (āĻāĻāĻž) āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻĻāĻžāĻ (kore dao, 'do it (for us)'), āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻ¨āĻžāĻ (kore nao, 'do it (for yourself)'), āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻĢā§āĻ˛ (kore phÃĒlo, 'do it (with an emphasis on getting it done)'), etc. Many of these are similar to the light verbs used in other Indo-Aryan languages, though formed slightly differently.
Impersonal structuresâģ
Many common sentence constructions, such as those involving obligation, need, and possibility ("I have to", "We must", "He is supposed to", etc.) are built in Bengali without using nominative subjects; instead, the subject is omitted, or often put into the genitive case. These are typically constructed using the verbal noun (or the verbal infinitive in some cases) along with other nouns or verbs.
- Obligation is expressed using the verbal infinitive and a third-person form of āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž (in any tense, but present tense also uses the future tense conjugation), with the subject in the objective case. For example: āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻā§ āĻā§āĻ¤ā§ āĻšāĻŦā§ ("I have to eat"; āĻšāĻŦā§ is the future tense conjugation for āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž).
- Need is expressed by using the verbal noun with the noun āĻĻāĻ°āĻāĻžāĻ° (dôrkar, need), and the subject in the genitive. For example: āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻĻāĻ°āĻāĻžāĻ° ("I need to talk").
- Constructions involving "should", "ought to", or "must" are constructed with the verbal noun and the adjective āĻāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ (uchit, appropriate), and the subject in the genitive. For example: āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ ("We ought to go").
Passiveâģ
Any active verb can be turned into a passive one by attaching the auxiliary āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž to the verbal noun aspect of the verb in question. Only this suffix is conjugated, using the third-person endings for the various tenses. For example: "to eat" is āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž, so "to be eaten" becomes āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž; in the future tense, "will be eaten" would be āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻšāĻŦā§, where āĻšāĻŦā§ is the third-person conjugation for āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž in the future tense (more information on tenses below).
Causativeâģ
Most verbs (not all verbs have causative forms) can be made causative by adding the suffix -āĻ¨/āĻ¨ā§ to it. For example: "to do" is āĻāĻ°āĻž, which takes the -āĻ¨ā§ suffix to become āĻāĻ°āĻžāĻ¨ā§, or "to cause to do". The stem of such a causative verb â to be used when conjugating it â is thus the verbal noun form of the base verb (āĻāĻ°āĻž in the case of āĻāĻ°āĻžāĻ¨ā§). For the most part, such stems do not undergo any vowel transformations when conjugating for tenses. However, in the perfective participle (and thus, the perfect tenses), the -a at the end of the base gets removed, the -iye suffix is added, and the stem vowel changes, while the second person familiar future imperative is the same but with an -iyo and not an -iye.
Tenseâģ
Bengali has four simple tenses: the present tense, the past tense, the conditional or habitual past tense, and the future tense. These combine with mood and aspect to form more complex conjugations: the perfect tenses, for example, are formed by combining the perfect participles with the corresponding tense endings.
Aspectâģ
There are three aspects for Bengali verbs: simple aspect, the progressive/continuous aspect, and the perfect. The progressive aspect is denoted by adding prefix the regular tense endings with āĻ (for stems ending with consonants) or āĻā§āĻ (for stems ending with vowels), while the perfect aspect requires the use of the perfect participle. These are combined with the different tenses described below to form the various verbal conjugations possible.
Simple present tenseâģ
The present tense in Bengali is similar to that of English: I eat, you run, he reads. The endings are -i, -(i)sh, -o, -e, and -(e)n, and only the 1st-person and the VF forms require stem transformations for vowel harmony.
Verb | 1 | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
bôla | ami boli | tui bolish | tumi bôlo | she bôle | apni bôlen |
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khola | ami khuli | tui khulish | tumi kholo | she khole | apni kholen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khÃĒla | ami kheli | tui khelish | tumi khÃĒlo | she khÃĒle | apni khÃĒlen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
chena | ami chini | tui chinish | tumi cheno | she chene | apni chenen |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ |
jana | ami jani | tui janish | tumi jano | she jane | apni janen |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ |
hôoa | ami hoi | tui hosh | tumi hôo | she hôe | apni hôn |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻšā§āĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻ¨ |
dhoa | ami dhui | tui dhush | tumi dhoo | she dhoe | apni dhon |
āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¨ |
khaoa | ami khai | tui khash | tumi khao | she khae | apni khan |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ |
deoa | ami dii | tui dish | tumi dao | she dÃĒe | apni dÃĒn |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻžāĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻ¨ |
Present progressive tenseâģ
The present progressive tense in also similar to that of English: I am eating, you are running, he is reading, etc. This tense is formed by combining the progressive aspect suffix (āĻ/āĻā§āĻ) with the present tense endings; we thus get -chhi, -chhish, -chho, -chhe and -chhen, and all forms require stem transformations for vowel harmony.
Verb | 1 | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
bôla | ami bolchhi | tui bolchish | tumi bolchho | she bolchhe | apni bolchhen |
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻā§āĻ¨ |
khola | ami khulchhi | tui khulchhish | tumi khulchho | she khulchhe | apni khulchhen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻā§āĻ¨ |
khÃĒla | ami khelchhi | tui khelchhish | tumi khelchho | she khelchhe | apni khelchhen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻā§āĻ¨ |
chena | ami chinchhi | tui chinchhish | tumi chinchho | she chinchhe | apni chinchhen |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻā§āĻ¨ |
jana | ami janchhi | tui janchhish | tumi janchho | she janchhe | apni janchhen |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻā§āĻ¨ |
hôoa | ami hochhi | tui hochhish | tumi hochho | she hochhe | apni hochhen |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻšāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻšāĻā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
dhoa | ami dhuchhi | tui dhuchhish | tumi dhuchho | she dhuchhe | apni dhuchhen |
āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
khaoa | ami khachhi | tui khachhish | tumi khachho | she khachhe | apni khachhen |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
deoa | ami dichhi | tui dichhish | tumi dichho | she dichhe | apni dichhen |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
Present perfect tenseâģ
The present perfect tense is used to relate events that happened fairly recently, or even past events whose effects are still felt in the present. It is formed by adding the present progressive tense suffixes (see above) with the perfect participle of the verb.
Verb | 1 | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
bôla | ami bolechhi | tui bolechhish | tumi bolechho | she bolechhe | apni bolechhen |
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
khola | ami khulechhi | tui khulechhish | tumi khulechho | she khulechhe | apni khulechhen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
khÃĒla | ami khelechhi | tui khelechhish | tumi khelechho | she khelechhe | apni khelechhen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
chena | ami chinechhi | tui chinechhish | tumi chinechho | she chinechhe | apni chinechhen |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
jana | ami jenechhi | tui jenechhish | tumi jenechho | she jenechhe | apni jenechhen |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
hôoa | ami hoyechhi | tui hoyechhish | tumi hoyechho | she hoyechhe | apni hoyechhen |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
dhoa | ami dhuyechhi | tui dhuyechhish | tumi dhuyechho | she dhuyechhe | apni dhuyechhen |
āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
khaoa | ami kheyechhi | tui kheyechhish | tumi kheyechho | she kheyechhe | apni kheyechhen |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
deoa | ami diyechhi | tui diyechhish | tumi diyechho | she diyechhe | apni diyechhen |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§āĻ¨ |
Simple past tenseâģ
The (simple) past tense differs from its use in English in that it is usually reserved for events that have occurred recently; for instance, less than a day ago. It would be translated into the English simple past tense: I ate, you ran, he read. The endings are -lam, -li, -le, -lo, -len (notice that the vowels for the second and third âģ persons are the reverse of those in the present tense), and all forms require stem transformations for vowel harmony. For example: ami dekhlam, tui dekhli, tumi dekhle, se dekhlo, apni dekhlen. In non-rarhi varieties of Bengali, that is to say northern and eastern dialects, "a" is substituted for "e" in second-person familiar forms; thus tumi bolla, khulla, khella etc. which is the original inflection, the âeâ in contrast is a vowel-harmonised variant of the former, having gone through a process called abhisruti.
Verb | 1 | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
bôla | ami bollam | tui bolli | tumi bolle | she bollo | apni bollen |
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khola | ami khullam | tui khulli | tumi khulle | she khullo | apni khullen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khÃĒla | ami khellam | tui khelli | tumi khelle | she khello | apni khellen |
āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
chena | ami chinlam | tui chinli | tumi chinle | she chinlo | apni chinlen |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
jana | ami janlam | tui janli | tumi janle | she janlo | apni janlen |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
hôoa | ami holam | tui holi | tumi hole | she holo | apni holen |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻšāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻšāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
dhooa | ami dhulam | tui dhuli | tumi dhule | she dhulo | apni dhulen |
āĻ§ā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khaoa | ami khelam | tui kheli | tumi khele | she khelo | apni khelen |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
dÃĒoa | ami dilam | tui dili | tumi dile | she dilo | apni dilen |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
Past progressive tenseâģ
The past progressive tense is similar to that of English: I was eating, you were running, he was reading, etc. This tense is formed by combining the progressive aspect suffix (āĻ/āĻā§āĻ) with the past tense endings, but with an extra -i- inserted in between; we thus get -chhilam, -chhili, -chhile, -chhilo and -chhilen, and all forms require stem transformations for vowel harmony.
Verb | 1 | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
bôla | ami bolchhilam | tui bolchili | tumi bolchhile | she bolchhilo | apni bolchhilen |
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khola | ami khulchhilam | tui khulchhili | tumi khulchhile | she khulchhilo | apni khulchhilen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khÃĒla | ami khelchhilam | tui khelchhili | tumi khelchhile | she khelchhilo | apni khelchhilen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
chena | ami chinchhilam | tui chinchhili | tumi chinchhile | she chinchhilo | apni chinchhilen |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
jana | ami janchhilam | tui janchhili | tumi janchhile | she janchhilo | apni janchhilen |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
hôoa | ami hochhilam | tui hochhili | tumi hochhile | she hochhilo | apni hochhilen |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻšāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻšāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
dhoa | ami dhuchhilam | tui dhuchhili | tumi dhuchhile | she dhuchhilo | apni dhuchhilen |
āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khaoa | ami khachhilam | tui khachhili | tumi khachhile | she khachhilo | apni khachhilen |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
deoa | ami dichhilam | tui dichhili | tumi dichhile | she dichhilo | apni dichhilen |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
Past perfect tenseâģ
The past perfect tense differs from its usage in English. It's usually used for events that didn't happen recently; over a day ago, for instance, unlike Bangla's simple past (see above). It would usually be translated with English's simple past: I ate, you ran, he read, etc. but it can also be translated with English's past perfect tense: I had eaten, you had run, he had read, etc. It's formed by adding the past progressive tense suffixes (see above) to the perfect participle of the verb.
Verb | 1 | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
bôla | ami bolechhilam | tui bolechhili | tumi bolechhile | she bolechhilo | apni bolechhilen |
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khola | ami khulechhilam | tui khulechhili | tumi khulechhile | she khulechhilo | apni khulechhilen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khÃĒla | ami khelechhilam | tui khelechhili | tumi khelechhile | she khelechhilo | apni khelechhilen |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
chena | ami chinechhilam | tui chinechhili | tumi chinechhile | she chinechhilo | apni chinechhilen |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
jana | ami jenechhilam | tui jenechhili | tumi jenechhile | she jenechhilo | apni jenechhen |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
hôoa | ami hoyechhilam | tui hoyechhili | tumi hoyechhile | she hoyechhilo | apni hoyechhilen |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
dhoa | ami dhuyechhilam | tui dhuyechhili | tumi dhuyechhile | she dhuyechhilo | apni dhuyechhilen |
āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
khaoa | ami kheyechhilam | tui kheyechhili | tumi kheyechhile | she kheyechhilo | apni kheyechhilen |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
deoa | ami diyechhilam | tui diyechhili | tumi diyechhile | she diyechhilo | apni diyechhilen |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ |
Habitual past tenseâģ
The habitual past tense has a few different uses. It is used for events that happened regularly, such as "I used to eat out every day" or "He wrote poems when he was young", the equivalent of an imperfect. It may also be used as a sort of conditional, such as the following: "If you asked I would come" or "If you had asked I would have come" (āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¯āĻĻāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻ¸āĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ tumi jodi bolte ami ashtam). It is easy to form the habitual past tense: simply start with the simple past tense and change the l to t (except in the tui âģ form). The endings are -tam, -tish, -te, -to, -ten, and all forms require stem transformations for vowel harmony. For example: ami dekhtam, tui dekhtish, tumi dekhte, she dekhto, apni dekhten. In less standard varieties of Bengali, "a" is substituted for "e" in second-person familiar forms; thus tumi bolta, khulta, khelta etc.
Verb | 1 | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
bôla | ami boltam | tui boltish | tumi bolte | she bolto | apni bolten |
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
khola | ami khultam | tui khultish | tumi khulte | she khulto | apni khulten |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
khÃĒla | ami kheltam | tui kheltish | tumi khelte | she khelto | apni khelten |
āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
chena | ami chintam | tui chintish | tumi chinte | she chinto | apni chinten |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
jana | ami jantam | tui jantish | tumi jante | she janto | apni janten |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
hôoa | ami hotam | tui hotish | tumi hote | she hoto | apni hoten |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻšāĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻšāĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
dhooa | ami dhutam | tui dhutish | tumi dhute | she dhuto | apni dhuten |
āĻ§ā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
khaoa | ami khetam | tui kheltish | tumi khete | she kheto | apni kheten |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
dÃĒoa | ami ditam | tui ditish | tumi dite | she dito | apni diten |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¤āĻžāĻŽ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¸ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¤ā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¤ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¤ā§āĻ¨ |
Future tenseâģ
In less standard varieties of Bengali, "a" is substituted for "e" in second-person familiar forms; thus tumi bolba, khulba, khelba etc. The endings are -bo, -bi, -be, -be, -ben; the āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ and āĻ¸ā§ conjugations are identical in this tense. Forms ending in a consonant do require stem transformations for vowel harmony, but ones ending in a vowel don't.
Verb | 1 | 2 (VF) | 2 (F) | 3 (F) | 2/3 (P) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
bôla | ami bolbo | tui bolbi | tumi bolbe | she bolbe | apni bolben |
āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
khola | ami khulbo | tui khulbi | tumi khulbe | she khulbe | apni khulben |
āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
khÃĒla | ami khelbo | tui khelbi | tumi khelbe | she khelbe | apni khelben |
āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
chena | ami chinbo | tui chinbi | tumi chinbe | she chinbe | apni chinben |
āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
jana | ami janbo | tui janbi | tumi janbe | she janbe | apni janben |
āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
hôoa | ami hôbo | tui hôbi | tumi hôbe | she hôbe | apni hôben |
āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻšāĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻšāĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
dhooa | ami dhobo | tui dhobi | tumi dhobe | she dhobe | apni dhoben |
āĻ§ā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻ§ā§āĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ§ā§āĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
khaoa | ami khabo | tui khabi | tumi khabe | she khabe | apni khaben |
āĻāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
dÃĒoa | ami debo | tui debi | tumi debe | she debe | apni deben |
āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž | āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻŦ | āĻ¤ā§āĻ āĻĻā§āĻŦāĻŋ | āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻŦā§ | āĻ¸ā§ āĻĻā§āĻŦā§ | āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻŦā§āĻ¨ |
Prepositions and postpositionsâģ
Whereas English features prepositions, Bengali typically uses postpositions. That is, while these modifying words occur before their object in English (beside him, inside the house), they typically occur after their object in Bengali (or pashe, baÅir bhitore). Some postpositions require their object noun to take the genitive case, while others require the objective case (which is unmarked for inanimate nouns); this distinction must be memorised. Most postpositions are formed by taking nouns referring to a location and inflecting them for the locative case. They can also be applied to verbal nouns.
Postpositions that require genitive caseâģ
- āĻāĻā§ aage 'before': āĻ¸āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻāĻā§ shôkal-er age 'before the morning'
- āĻĒāĻ°ā§ pôre 'after': āĻ¸āĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ° āĻĒāĻ°ā§ shondha-r pôre 'after the evening'
- āĻāĻĒāĻ°ā§ upore 'on top of', 'above': āĻŦāĻŋāĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻĒāĻ°ā§ bichhana-r upore 'on top of the bed'
- āĻ¨āĻŋāĻā§ niche 'below', 'under': āĻŦāĻāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻ° āĻ¨āĻŋāĻā§ boi-er niche 'under the book'
- āĻĒāĻŋāĻāĻ¨ā§ pichhone 'behind': āĻāĻ˛āĻŽāĻžāĻ°āĻŋāĻ° āĻĒāĻŋāĻāĻ¨ā§ almari-r pichhone 'behind the cupboard'
- āĻ¸āĻžāĻŽāĻ¨ā§ shamne 'in front of': āĻāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋāĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻŽāĻ¨ā§ gaÅi-r shamne 'in front of the car'
- āĻāĻ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§ oi pare 'across': āĻ¨āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§ nodi-r oi pare 'across the river'
- āĻāĻžāĻā§ kachhe 'near': āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻžāĻā§ janala-r kachhe 'near the window'
- āĻĒāĻžāĻļā§ pashe 'beside': āĻā§āĻ˛āĻžāĻ° āĻĒāĻžāĻļā§ chula-r pashe 'beside the stove'
- āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ jonno 'for': āĻļāĻŋāĻā§āĻˇāĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ shikkhôk-er jonno 'for the teacher'
- āĻāĻžāĻ āĻĨā§āĻā§ kachh theke 'from' (people): āĻŦāĻžāĻŦāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻžāĻ āĻĨā§āĻā§ baba-r kachh theke 'from father'
- āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§ dike 'towards': āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸āĻžāĻ° āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§ basha-r dike 'towards the house'
- āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻ°ā§ baire 'outside': āĻĻā§āĻļā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻ°ā§ desh-er baire 'outside the country'
- āĻāĻŋāĻ¤āĻ°ā§ bhitore 'inside': āĻĻā§āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻāĻŋāĻ¤āĻ°ā§ dokan-er bhitore 'inside the store'
- āĻŽāĻ§ā§āĻ¯ā§ moddhe 'in the middle of': āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĻā§āĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻŽāĻ§ā§āĻ¯ā§ shomudr-er moddhe 'in the middle of the ocean'
- āĻāĻŋāĻ¤āĻ° āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ bhitor die 'through': āĻļāĻšāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻāĻŋāĻ¤āĻ° āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ shôhorer bhitor die 'through the city'
- āĻŽāĻ¤ā§ môto 'like': āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻŽāĻ¤ā§ tom-ar môto 'like you'
- āĻ¸āĻā§āĻā§ shôngge 'with': āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻā§āĻā§ am-ar shôngge 'with me'
- āĻāĻĨāĻž kôtha 'about': āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻĨāĻž sheÅŖa-r kôtha 'about that'
- āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§ shômmondhe 'about': āĻāĻ¤āĻŋāĻšāĻžāĻ¸ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§ itihash-er shômmondhe 'about history'
- āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§ shathe 'with'(animate): āĻŽāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§' ma-er 'shathe 'with Mother'
Postpositions that require objective caseâģ
- āĻāĻ°ā§ kore 'by means of': āĻā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻā§āĻ¸āĻŋāĻāĻ°ā§' ÅŖÃĒksi kore 'by taxi'
- āĻāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻž chhaÅa 'without', 'aside from': āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻā§ āĻāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻž ama-ke chhaÅa 'aside from me'
- āĻĨā§āĻā§ theke 'from' (places): āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻ˛āĻžāĻĻā§āĻļ āĻĨā§āĻā§ Bangladesh theke 'from Bangladesh'
- āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ diye 'by': āĻ¤āĻžāĻā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ ta-ke diye 'by him'
- āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ niye 'about' (animate), 'with' (animate): āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻā§ āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ toma-ke niye 'about/with you'
- āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ¯āĻ¨ā§āĻ¤ porjonto 'until': āĻĻāĻļāĻāĻž āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ¯āĻ¨ā§āĻ¤ dôshÅŖa porjonto 'until ten o' clock'
- āĻ¸āĻš shôho 'with', 'including': āĻāĻžāĻāĻž āĻ¸āĻš ÅŖaka shôho 'along with the money'
- āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§ hoe 'via': āĻāĻ˛āĻāĻžāĻ¤āĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§ Kolkata hoe 'via Kolkata'
Postpositions that require nominative caseâģ
- āĻ§āĻ°ā§ dhore 'for' (time): āĻĻā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¨ āĻ§āĻ°ā§ dudin dhore 'for two days'
- āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ niye 'about' (inanimate), 'with' (inanimate): 'āĻ¤āĻž āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§' ta niye 'about/with it'
Prepositions that require locative caseâģ
- āĻŦāĻŋāĻ¨āĻž bina 'without': āĻŦāĻŋāĻ¨āĻž āĻ āĻ¨ā§āĻŽāĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ā§ bina onumoti-te 'without permission'
Referencesâģ
- Chatterji, Suniti Kumar. Bengali Self-Taught. Calcutta: Rupa & Co., 1991.
- Radice, William. Teach Yourself Bengali. Chicago: NTC Publishing Group, 1994.
- Bonazzi, Eros. Grammatica Bengali. Bologna (Italy): Libreria Bonomo Editrice, 2008. ISBN 978-88-6071-017-8
Further readingâģ
- Thompson, Hanne-Ruth (2012). Bengali. Volume 18 of London Oriental and African Language Library. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 9027273138.
MW:measure word