Kannada grammar
Kannada question words & yes/no questions
Kannada wh-questions use a fixed set of question words; yes/no questions are formed by adding -ಆ (-ā) to the verb.
what
ಏನು
ēnu
—
where
ಎಲ್ಲಿ
elli
—
when
ಯಾವಾಗ
yāvāga
—
who
ಯಾರು
yāru
—
why
ಯಾಕೆ / ಏಕೆ
yāke / ēke
—
Did you come?
ಬಂದೆಯಾ?
bandeyā?
The suffix -ಆ (-ā) turns a statement into a yes/no question.
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More Kannada grammar lessons
Kannada personal pronouns
Kannada distinguishes formal and informal pronouns. Learn the core set to form basic sentences.
Kannada present tense verbs
Kannada present tense attaches -ಉತ್ತ- (-utta-) to the verb stem followed by a person-and-number ending. Here it is conjugated for "ಮಾಡು" (māḍu, "to do").
Kannada negation — ಅಲ್ಲ vs. ಇಲ್ಲ
Kannada splits negation the same way Telugu does: ಅಲ್ಲ (alla) negates identity/description ("is not"), while ಇಲ್ಲ (illa) negates existence, possession, or a completed action — and is also the everyday word for "no."
Kannada postpositions & case markers
Kannada is agglutinative — case markers attach directly to the end of a noun instead of using separate preposition words.
Kannada sentence structure — building a basic sentence
Kannada follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. Descriptive words come before the noun, and case markers attach after it.
Kannada numbers 1–10
The Kannada numerals 1 through 10.