Chapter 2.4 Plurals and Case Suffixes

Suffixes in Tamil

In this chapter, we will learn how to add suffixes to words in Tamil. We will learn how to make a singular word into a plural and how case suffixes work in Tamil.

Adding suffixes is one of the most common and important things in Tamil language. Multiple suffixes are added to a word (usually a verb) to make a sentence meaningful. There are some basic rules as to how the suffix is added to a word depending on the ending letter of the word that it is being added to, as well as the beginning letter of the suffix itself.

Basic Rules to Add Suffixes to Words

1. If the suffix begins in a vowel sound and the word ends in an இ, ஈ, ஏ, or ஐ, insert a ய் in between.
2. If the suffix begins in a vowel sound and the word ends in an அ, ஆ, ஊ, ஒ, ஓ, or ஔ, insert a வ் in between.
3. If the suffix begins in a vowel sound and the word ends in an உ sound, and…
   1. If the word is made of 2 short letters, insert a வ் in between.
   2. If the word is not made of 2 short letters, drop the -உ and add the suffix.
4. If the suffix begins in a vowel sound and the word is made of 2 short letters, with the 2nd letter being a consonant, then double the 2nd letter and add the ending.
5. Otherwise, join the word and suffix as they are.

Here are some examples of how this conjugation happens:

Singular and Plural in Tamil (ஒருமை & பன்மை)

In Tamil, the suffix +கள்/+க்கள்/+ங்கள் is added to a noun to make it a plural.

1. If the word ends in -ம், drop the -ம் and add +ங்கள்
2. If the word is one syllable and ends in a long vowel sound, add +க்கள்
3.  If the word has a short vowel sound and ends in -ல், drop the -ல் and add +ற்கள்
4. If the word ends in ள், drop the ள் and add +ட்கள்
5. For all other nouns, add +கள்

Examples:

மரம் + -கள் = மரங்கள்

பழம் + -கள் = பழங்கள்

ஈ + -கள் = ஈக்கள்

பூ + -கள் = பூக்கள்

கல் + -கள் = கற்கள்

பந்து + -கள் = பந்துகள்

நூல் + -கள் = நூல்கள்

முள் + -கள் = முட்கள்

Activity to learn plural in Tamil

Case Suffixes in Tamil (வேற்றுமை உருபுகள்)

Tamil nouns are divided into two groups: The “high class” (உயர்திணை uyartiṇai), and the “lower class” (அஃறிணை aḵṟiṇai). Humans and gods make the higher group and all other animate and inanimate objects make the second group. These are added to the noun in order to modify the noun to explain its function.

In Tamil, we use the word திணை to mean division. The case suffixes are attached to the end of nouns to express the case in the sentence. Variations in dialects and accents can influence the way these cases are used.

According to Tholkappiyam, the oldest Tamil book on grammar, there are eight kinds of case suffixes in Tamil. Each has a certain suffix attributed to it. This original grammatical form has changed over the centuries and with the need for more accessible way of communication for people of various language backgrounds the number of case suffixes change from author to author. This is what I have found to be the most useful for my students. The table below shows the case and the suffix that is added to change the noun.

Nominative Case

The nouns in Tamil function as the subjects of the sentences and indicate what or who is performing the action. In Tamil, the nominative case has no suffix.

Accusative Case

This is also called the object case. It is used to indicate the direct object of a verb. In Tamil, we use +ஐ to express the accusative case. In spoken Tamil, எ is used instead of ஐ.

Instrumental Case

Instrumental case, Tamil is used to express “because of” or “with the use of”. The suffix used is +ஆல் or + ஐக் கொண்டு. In spoken Tamil +ஆலெ (ale) is used.

Socitive Case

The socitive case is used to express “with” in Tamil. We use the suffix +ஓடு or + உடன். In spoken Tamil + ஓட, +கூட are used.

Dative Case

Dative case is used to express “to” “for” and “for the sake of”. We use the suffix +கு . In spoken Tamil +க்கு, +உக்கு are added.

Ablative Case

This is also sometimes called locative case and are used to express “in”, “at”, or “on”. We use the suffix + இல். The suffix +இடம் is used for “with”. It takes on a few specific meanings each of which are different. The suffix +இலிருந்து is used to express “from”. In spoken Tamil we use + லெ, and +லெந்து for +il and + illunthu and use + கிட்டெ to mean with.

Genitive Case

This shows possession. In Tamil, the suffix + உடைய is used. The rules for adding this suffix are:

1. In nouns ending in -ம், -டு, or -று , it is formed by adding the case suffix -இனுடைய
2. All other nouns by adding the case suffix -உடைய
3. In spoken Tamil, we use + ஓட.

Benefactive Case

This is used to mean “for”, “for the benefit of”, or “intended for”. In Tamil, we use the suffix + க்காக.

Practice + க்காக. with this activity:

You can lean more about case suffixes by reading the document given below. This document contains detailed information about the usage of the Tamil case suffixes. It was created at Carnegie Melon university. The author is not known and it is available freely on the web. You may also reference the Appendix.

Tamil Case suffixes (Prepositions) with examples. (PDF)