Chapter 3.1 Verb Classes and Verb Endings

Verbs in Tamil – வினைச்சொற்கள் (vinnai sorkkal)

All Tamil verbs exist in the command form. Suffixes of tense, gender and number are added to the end of them to change them. The rule is Verb + tense marker + pronoun/gender/number marker. How these are added are based on what class the verb belongs to depending on its ending letter. Adding “nga” to the end of a verb makes it a request. The plural marker is also used to denote “please”.

Pronoun, Number, and Gender Markers for Ending a Verb in Tamil:

Please use this activity to learn the verb endings for First, second, third and neuter endings. In this activity please concentrate on the ending letters of the verbs alone. The list of verbs are given further down in this chapter.

Tamil Verb Classes

The Tamil verbs are divided into seven classes depending on the ending letter of the word. The verbs in classes 1-4 are called weak verbs and 6 and 7 are called strong verbs. Class 5 verbs are divided individually.

Class General Pattern Example:

1a One syllable, short vowel, ends in ய் eg: செய்

1b One syllable, short vowel, ends in ள் eg: ஆள்

1c One syllable, short vowel, ends in ல் eg: செல்

2 Two syllables, ends in -ய், -ர், -ழ், -இ, -ஐ eg: வளர்

3 Ends in -உ (exception -டு, -று ) eg: பேசு

4 Ends in -டு, -று eg:போடு

5 Irregular verbs – see separate chart for this given below (tends to end in ல் or ள்)

6 Combination of Class 2 and Class 4 patterns eg:கொடு

7 Ends in -அ e.g.: நட

Types of Forms Taken on by Tamil Verbs:

The Tamil verb takes on many forms as it morphs to give the correct meaning to a word.

Given below is a PDF of the types of Tamil verbs and how they morph in detail. You may also reference the Appendix.

Tamil Verbs and its different forms (PDF)

List of 25 Verbs for Novice Tamil Learner 

Before we learn about how the verbs morph in Tamil for each tense, let us learn the following basic verbs that are essential for common conversations at a beginner level. The verbs are given with their English meaning, transliteration, and to which of the seven classes they belong to.

Activity for Learning the Verbs